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We set the dishes in the sink and wrapped up to head outside. There was a sizable wooden shed that Nicholas opened after a hard trudge through the snow, and he pulled out two shovels, handing me one.
Also, my feet were wet.
I was not wearing the right boots for this.
Sigh.
Rest in peace, my Ugg boots. You will be missed.
We got to work clearing snow around the trucks, each taking our own respective vehicle. It was hard fucking work. Snow was heavy, and after a couple of inches, it became impacted and icy, and we ended up having to clear some of the space around the truck so that we had some room to maneuver.
I put my shovel in the snow and leaned on it, blowing out a long breath. “This is too hard. I don’t think we can get them out.”
Nicholas, who was much fitter than I was, sighed. “I’m starting to think you might be right. Clearing the back end of your truck might mean we can tow them since you’re parked directly behind me.”
I looked at it. I was only behind him because Oscar had taken the space next to him and I hadn’t wanted to block Oscar in last night knowing he and Erin would leave before me.
“Maybe,” I said slowly. “But we’ve been here for ages and we’re not making any progress. It’s all too compacted.”
“If we work together we might get somewhere.”
“I don’t know. I think I need a break.” I leaned the shovel against the truck and headed back to the house. At least we’d been able to clear a path here—it was ninety percent ice, but it was better than nothing.
Nicholas followed me into the house and the kitchen where I unwound my scarf and yanked off my hat. He didn’t say a word as I almost ripped my gloves off my hands and threw my coat onto the kitchen floor—he merely removed his own winter gear gently and draped it all over the back of a chair.
I leaned against the counter and looked down.
All that stress and frustration to open the grotto with my dad getting sick and having to work through the residual feelings with Nicholas, and here I was, back at square one.
Stuck.
I didn’t believe that road would be cleared. Despite Michael and Denny’s best efforts, there was no way they’d be able to get down here and get the road done.
No way.
It wasn’t happening.
“Quinn…” Nicholas said my name so softly I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it. “It’ll be okay. We’ll get out, even if we have to walk out to the main road.”
“That track is half a mile long, Nicholas!” I cried, turning to look at him. “How can we walk through all that for half a mile?”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“You have no heating! You can’t use your water. What do you think you’re going to do? Come back to this and survive this stupid fucking snow? It’s not going to happen.”
“Aw, are you worried about me?”
“Don’t fuck with me now!” I dropped onto the counter and buried my face in my hands. “Nicholas!”
“Oh, God. Quinn, you need to breathe.”
I shook my head, still in my hands, then pushed myself up. “No. I need to try to get out for the grotto. I’ve worked too hard to be snowed in when I knew I should have left and—”
He blocked my exit from the kitchen. “You’re not going anywhere like this.”
“I’m fine!”
“No, you’re a little errant, and I’m not letting you leave until you’ve calmed down.”
“I’m calm.”
I was not calm.
“I’m not kidding.”
I tried to shove past him, but he was bigger and stronger than me and put a swift stop to it by grabbing hold of my shoulders and not letting me past. His grip was strong and firm, and I stilled, dipping my head.
I really had done too much work this year to let it go away because of a snowstorm.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I’ve put so much work into the grotto, and it’s all I have right now, and I just—”
Nicholas released my shoulders and pulled me into his arms, embracing me so tightly I really was stuck here with him right now. His arms were big and strong, and resting my cheek against his chest was nothing short of heavenly.
I could stay here for a good while.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his shoulder. This was definitely crossing the friendship boundary, but in this second, I couldn’t care less about it.
I didn’t want any kind of boundary.
I just—
No.
No, I wasn’t going down this avenue.
No way.
No.
Nuh-uh.
So why was I tipping my head up and drawing my mouth close to his?
I didn’t know.
I would never know.
But I did.
I tilted my head back and hovered my mouth over Nicholas’s.
“Quinn,” he said in a low, gruff tone, with his fingers digging into my waist. “Think very carefully about what you’re doing right now and if it’s something you really want to do.”
