Page 8 of Challenged By the Mountain Man

For a long moment, I don't say anything.

I could tell her the truth: that I don't want anything, that I just didn't want to spend the next two weeks listening to her freeze to death half a mile away.

I could tell her to leave, to take her suspicion and her sharp edges and get the hell off my mountain.

Instead, I say, "You know how to use it?"

She hesitates. "I'll figure it out."

"That's not an answer."

"I'll. Figure it out."

I sigh, push off the doorframe, and step past her onto the porch. "Come on."

"What?"

"I'll show you. Otherwise, you're going to blow yourself up, and I'll have to deal with the noise."

She follows me down the steps, and I can feel her confusion as she glances at me. Bear trots after us, delighted by this turn of events.

The walk back to her cabin is silent.

She doesn't try to make conversation, and neither do I. Bear zigzags between us, sniffing everything, living his best life. When we get there, I haul the generator off the porch and set it on the ground near the side of the cabin where the electrical hookup should be.

"You've got a hookup here," I say, pointing. "It's old, but it'll work. Generator connects here. You'll need to check the fuel every day. It'll burn through it fast if you're running it all the time."

She's watching me, arms crossed again. "Okay."

"Fuel goes here." I point to the cap. "Don't overfill it. Don't run it indoors. Don't—"

"I'm not an idiot."

I glance at her. "Didn't say you were."

"You're talking to me like I am."

"I'm talking to you like someone who doesn't know how to use a generator."

"Because I don't."

"Right. So, listen."

Her mouth twitches, not quite a smile, but close, and she nods. "Fine. Keep going."

I walk her through the rest: how to start it, how to shut it down, how to tell if something's wrong. She listens without interrupting, and I can see her filing it all away, her eyes tracking every movement.

When I'm done, I straighten up. "Got it?"

"Got it."

"You sure?"

"Do you want me to take notes?"

"Would you?"

"No."