Page 29 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

The request to hold her became cemented in his throat. But he couldn’t do it. “Go relax. I’ll put this stuff away for you,” he said gruffly.

“Okay.” She turned with the box of Kleenex pressed to her chest and made her way to the living room couch. Taking a large yellow blanket from the back of the sofa, she wrapped herself in it while Logan put away the refrigerated stuff. He poured the recommended amount of cold medicine into the tiny, plastic cup.

“Here,” he said, offering it to her.

“Thank you.” She gulped it down like a shot, scrunching her face in disgust. “Blech! Horrible.” She set the cup on the coffee table as he took a seat on the couch beside her.

Logan pressed the back of his hand to her forehead again, not because he suspected she’d become feverish within ten minutes, but rather because it gave him an excuse to touch her.

“You don’t have to stay. I think I can survive a cold.”

“How about if I just hang out with you for a little bit? It’s not like I have anything else going on.” For the first time, he realized how sad this sounded. He truly didn’t have anything in his whole life besides work. It was then he also understood how much he’d been looking forward to the hikes with River as well.

“You want to hang out with me?” Her eyes grew big again.

“Don’t cry. It’s not a big deal,” he replied, hating that he could already see himself turning into a big sucker simply because the prospect of her tears killed him.

“And the mask will prevent you from catching my cold, right?”

He knew it wasn’t guaranteed, as nothing could be promised a hundred percent, but he’d reassure her regardless. “I’m not going to get sick.”

Before Logan knew what was happening, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to the protective screen guard on the side of his face. She’d kissed him—and yeah, she hadn’t actually kissed him, but he’d still felt something as that damn inner bulb of his flickered brighter.

“Make sure you disinfect that when you get home,” she said after pulling back.

“Okay,” was all he could respond.

“Can we just watch a comfort movie of mine?”

“Sure.”

She grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and going to one of the streaming services.

“The Conjuring is a comfort movie?” He hadn’t ever watched it but knew it was a horror story. How anyone could find it comforting was a mystery, especially for someone as light and optimistic as River.

“Don’t judge me. I’m sick,” she wailed.

He chuckled at her dramatics. “What?” he asked when she studied him.

“That’s the second time I’ve ever heard you laugh. I like it.” She blushed and glanced at the screen. “I mean, it sounds funny inside of a mask, but it was nice.” River started the movie, wrapping the yellow blanket tighter around herself, nearly pressed against him, her dark hair sticking out at messy angles.

The couch wasn’t large, more of a two-seater. It was light blue with a velvet texture, worn on the edges but remaining in good shape. The problem was she was close enough that he had the urge to smooth the wild strands of her hair—to touch her. It made it difficult to focus on the movie.

“I’m still confused. How is this a comfort film?” he asked after the first few creepy minutes played out. “I thought you of all people would have picked something happier or with foxes.”

“Because living in a haunted farmhouse is not something that’ll ever happen to me. It’s fun to get scared by things that are so far outside of my life that I know I’ll never have to worry about it. Also, I can like other things outside of foxes.”

“Like what?”

River coughed into her blanket before tilting her head in thought. “I love cheese.”

He laughed again. “Wow, what a woman of multitudes. Foxes and cheese.”

“Oh, yeah, big man? What do you like? I’m dying to hear this big long list of yours. I have a stuffy head and can’t think. What’s your excuse?”

Logan was stumped because what did he like? The word you flashed in his mind, but he couldn’t say it. God dammit. He couldn’t think of anything else. “I like . . . cheese too.”

“Oh, wow, what a man of multitudes. Fire and cheese.” She bumped his shoulder with her own playfully.