Winston flailed around, giggling and wrestling Patrick while trying to find the action figure. He heaved with laughter, grasping Patrick’s wrists with his hands.
The sight of them made Emily’s chest bubble with affection. That brooding man she’d first encountered at the mansion was actually a lighthearted, affectionate guy under the right circumstances. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Then, suddenly, Winston raised his little fist in the air with the action figure.
Patrick let him go. “That’s skill,” he said playfully.
Winston doubled over, hooting with laughter and out of breath from wrestling.
Patrick glanced over at Emily, and she locked eyes with him. She smiled, and the soft lift of his lips in return gave her a rush she wasn’t sure what to do with.
That night,while Patrick cleaned up a crab-leg dinner worthy of a five-star restaurant, and they finished their final round of Candy Land, a call came through on his phone. His tone was serious while he wiped parsley bits off the counter, the phone tucked between his ear and shoulder. “I hear you, but I’m done. After the last thing, I’mdone… Look, there’s a storm raging right now. Let’s talk about promotion opportunities once we get through this. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay, buddy,” Julia said to Winston, standing from the kitchen table. “Time to get into your jammies and hit the sack.”
“One more game,” Winston whined, clutching his purple Candy Land game piece.
“That was the last game, remember? I think everyone’s tired,” she said, winking at Emily. “We’ve been going strong all day.”
“Maybe we can play again over breakfast,” Blair offered.
Just then, the lights flickered, and they were plunged into darkness. Until that moment, it had been pretty uneventful inside, once Emily got used to the smack of branches hitting the house, the loud shush of the rain against the roof, and the house creaking from the high winds.
There was a faint pop and a fizzle, and then a soft light bathed the immediate space. Julia sunk a match into a jar candle and set it in the center of the table, sending a gold light onto their faces.
They followed the storm on the radio, and while it was still wreaking havoc, it seemed to be turning out to sea again.
“It looks as if we’re going to get the back side of it,” Sienna said, “and the worst will be out in the Gulf.”
Patrick reached over to the counter and clicked on a flashlight, the white beam cutting through the buttery glow. “It’s still too early to know for sure. But for now, I’ll go get the power station.”
He opened the door between the kitchen and the garage and disappeared. Minutes later, he emerged with a contraption the size of a carry-on suitcase.
Winston clambered down from the chair. “You said I could help.”
“All right, bud, but then you need to get some sleep. It’s late.”
“Okay,” he said, already crouched down, pawing at the machine. “What’s this?”
“That’s the LED display,” Patrick said, unbothered, his large biceps flexing in the dim light as he maneuvered the refrigerator away from the wall. He handed Winston the flashlight.
“How about this?” The little boy shone the beam onto what looked like a cigarette lighter.
“DC ports,” Patrick said over his shoulder while creating a wedge of space between the back corner of the fridge and the wall. “Hey, can you come over with that light? I need your help.”
Winston jumped to his feet and ran to him excitedly.
Blair and Sienna looked on with interest. But a new kind of curiosity had taken hold of Emily. She couldn’t shake how safe she felt under Patrick’s composed watch. Did he always have all the answers? She’d yet to see him falter. Clearly, he had his issues, but when it came to taking care of people, he’d been incredible. He’d managed to secure his house and his sister’s, take care of that massive restaurant, and save three women from a storm, and yet he was completely relaxed. It was as if doing for others fueled him. It was such an interesting juxtaposition to his quiet nature. He seemed almost flustered whenever he had to talk to people, but he was fine caring for them. Emily wanted to peel back his layers like an onion and get to the soft underbelly of who he was. She’d gotten glimpses of it through his interactions with Winston, but she wanted nothing more than to see that same openness directed at her. The thought surprised her.
“Shine that back here so I can see the outlet,” he said to Winston, who did as he was told. “Perfect.” Patrick unplugged the fridge. “Turn the light around now and let me see the power station.”
The two worked in tandem, while Patrick connected the plug to the device. He opened the fridge and the light came on.
“There we go,” he said, shutting the door. “That oughta give us about twenty to thirty hours before we need to recharge.”
Julia gave him a squeeze. “You saved the day.” She grabbed hold of Winston spiritedly, making him giggle. “You too.”
The gentleness in Patrick’s eyes revealed his affection for his sister.
