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“And I’m sure he’d be happy to help. What do you have against him?”
The two had been fighting ever since they arrived.
“I don’t know. He just annoys me.”
Merry started to turn away, but not before Katerina saw the betraying blush on her cheeks. Oh Lord. The last thing she needed was for her sister to develop her first crush, especially on a prickly boy like Johnny - although she suddenly wondered if his antagonism towards her sister came from the same cause. Abandoning that worry for later, she returned to the subject of presents.
“I think Lorna would like a game, but I’m not really sure how to make one.”
“Maybe you could use a wide piece of wood to make a board,” Merry said thoughtfully. “Can you find something to burn the squares?”
“That’s an excellent idea. And Johnny could make the pieces.”
Oops. Merry scowled at her.
“I could do that.”
“Maybe you could work together,” she suggested, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake.
“Maybe.”
Despite Merry’s apparent reluctance, she rushed over to Johnny as soon as he returned, waving her hands excitedly as she whispered to him. The boy started off as stiff and scowling as ever, but he eventually gave in to Merry’s enthusiasm. The two of them huddled together in the corner making plans while she went to check on Jack and discovered that he was awake. His blue eyes gleamed at her, but to her relief, he made no reference to their kiss.
“Are you ready for your storytelling duties?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound quite as breathless as it did.
“Of course. I am ready for any duties you wish to impose upon me.”
His voice was deep and warm, a distinct change from his usual somewhat arrogant stiffness, and she was sure she was blushing again. Dammit.
“Good,” she said with as much dignity as she could manage. “I’ll send them in.”
The children eagerly went to join him, Merry following while Johnny stayed in the main room.
“Your sister says you need my help.”
“I’d appreciate it. I want to make a little wagon for Cecil, but I think my wheels would turn out pretty crooked. I saw you whittling earlier and you look really good.”
He ducked his head. “Not much else to do.”
She bit her lip, then decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do? In the future, I mean.”
He immediately scowled and crossed his arms.
“We’re gonna stay here. We don’t bother no one and no one bothers us.”
“I understand that.”
She truly did. Despite the makeshift nature of their accommodations, this felt more like a home than her father’s wagon had ever felt.
“But the children are so small. What would you do if one of them got sick? Or if the food runs out? Or the fuel for the stove?”
“I can take care of them,” he said defiantly. “If the food runs out, I’ll hunt. And there’s plenty of fuel. There’s boxes and boxes of it in the cave beneath the ice.”
“A cave?”
“Yeah. Tolva found it that first day we were here. He made me go with him to make sure I didn’t run off with the kids while he was gone. There’s a bunch of stuff in there. Fuel cubes. Some metal stuff I don’t recognize. That’s where I got my knife. Stole it when Tolva wasn’t looking.”
