Page 34 of His Wounded Heart

Zarek holds up his hands, palms out. “Sorry, I get to be a bit of a mother hen sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” I watch Trenda’s eyebrows lift so high that they’re hidden by her bangs.

“Okay, just call me overprotective of the women in my life. Of course you have everything you need, you’re Trenda.”

“Exactly. I’m the oldest Avery girl, and don’t you forget it.”

Zarek grins. “How could I when you don’t let me? And here I always think that Evie is the scary sister.”

“So now that we know I have the right clothes, I want to tell you about a change of plans. You’re going to move the food you got from the pantry from your Jeep into Simon’s truck, because he’s going to be the one who goes with me up the mountain.”

“Whoa,” I say. “From what everybody is saying about this ice storm, I don’t think it’s wise for you to be coming with me.”

“Simon, let’s not waste time.” She looks over at Zarek and gives him a pointed stare. “Simon’s truck is Fred Sanderson’s without that godawful ornament hanging off the back.” She shudders. “Just pack the supplies in the back.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He gives her another hug then hustles out of the fire house.

“Trenda,” I start patiently.

“Give it up, Commander,” she whispers. “You might be used to giving orders, but that’s not going to work with me. I know what’s right in this situation, you don’t. Now we’re just wasting time having an argument about something that eventually you’re going to agree with, so let’s just stop the nonsense now.”

“You can follow me to my cabin. I drove straight from Bernie’s into town, so I need to get kitted out for this mission. While I’m there, I’m going to check NOAA and see what it has to say about the weather. If it’s going to be awhile before the storm hits, you can come with me.”

She lets me lead her out of the fire station. I know damn good and well she’s letting me. I take it as a win, and touch her lower back as we walk.

Chapter Nine

I have to admit, I’ve been very interested to see if Simon’s made any changes to Bernie’s cabin since he moved in. My guess had been, ‘no.’ He opens the door for me to precede him. I look around. I see three mugs that have been purchased from the coffee shop in town hanging down from underneath the cabinet, those are new.

There is a lot of mail strewn all over the little dining room table, and wedged in between all of the unopened envelopes is a sleek silver laptop. I recognize the brand, and based on the dimensions of the thing, and how thin it is, I know it cost a pretty penny.

I do one more sweep of the room to see if there is anything else that proves he has settled in, and I see a picture on the mantle. It is of two women; one is older, and the other, younger woman looks just as beautiful as her mother. Both of them have the same gray eyes as Simon. I would guess they’re his sister and mother.

“Take a seat, Trenda. I’m just going to check NOAA.”

“What’s NOAA?”

“It stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When I want accurate weather forecasts, that’s where I go.”

“So, what does it say?”

“This morning it said that the storm wasn’t going to hit for twenty-four hours, but after having everybody in Jasper Creek look up into the sky and tell me it’s coming today, I want to check again.”

I giggle. “You’re learning.”

“Trenda, I try to always listen to the locals. They’ve saved my ass and my team’s asses hundreds of times while we were out in the field.”

I watch as he boots up his computer.

“How are you getting a connection out here?”

“I’m using my satellite phone as a hotspot.”

“Fancy.”

Simon gives a resigned sigh as he starts typing.

“What was that for?”