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Martha looked up, and her brows furrowed together. “You’re right. I should focus on cleaning the room.”
With that, she brushed past me and hurried into the bedroom.
I folded my arms over my chest and scowled in her direction, the headache in the back of my skull growing worse. Still, she scrubbed and washed every inch, humming to herself as she did. I kept one eye on her and the other on the door while I went through the supplies we had. Once she was done, she placed both hands on her hips and surveyed her handiwork, a smile hovering on the edge of her lips. I didn’t say anything as she came back into the living room and knelt in front of the fireplace.
Reluctantly, I rose to my feet and staggered over to her.
Wordlessly, I picked up two of the smaller logs and placed them together with some paper I found, and lit a fire. Once the first sparks lit up, I tossed more wood into the fireplace, and it roared as it came to life. Red and orange flames crackled and danced, casting long shadows across the wall. Martha held her hands up to the fire, and a tremor went through her.
I moved closer and shifted my weight from one leg to the other.
“I still think it’s a waste of time that you cleaned the kitchen and the room…”
Martha twisted to face me; her face lit up by the embers of the fire. “Would you rather I paced the hut and worried? Because that’s not going to help.”
I settled myself up into the rocking chair by the fireplace. She drifted closer but withdrew her arm when I gave her a meaningful look. Once I was settled, I stretched my leg out and ran a hand through my hair. Martha pushed herself up to her feet and dragged a chair across the floor.
She set it down opposite the fire and stared into the flames. “When I pictured going on a vacation in the snowy mountains, this is not what I had in mind.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wolves and getting stranded in a hut with a stranger wasn’t part of the plan?”
Martha chuckled, the sound slicing through the air. “No, not really.”
“You’re handling the change of plans pretty well.”
Martha curled her hands together and blew hot air onto them. “So are you.”
“This isn’t my first time up here.”
“I bet you love coming up here all the time. I would if I could.”
I shrugged and folded my arms over my chest. Martha stood up and wandered over to the bags. She brought them back, set them down in front of the fire, and lowered herself onto the floor. While she rummaged around, I studied her petite form, hunched over the food, and was struck again with how beautiful she was.
Even in a pair of wrinkled jeans and a shirt with streaks of dirt on her face and moss in her hair.
“It’s a good thing we both got food.” Martha looked over at me, a small smile hovering on her lips. “Although it’s mostly snacks, it’s better than nothing.”
She handed me a few bags of chips and candy before taking some herself. Then she returned to her chair and drew it closer. Outside, the wind howled, and the walls around us shook. Martha’s eyes darted around the hut before she looked back at me, worry etched onto her face. She chewed on her food quietly, her eyes never leaving my face.
“So, my vacation is a bust. What about you? Were you going on vacation too?”
I lifted the bottle of wine and eyed her over the rim. Without answering, I took a few swallows while looking directly at her. Martha didn’t look away when I lowered the wine and set it on the floor next to me. Little by little, I was beginning to feel my extremities again, with the bridge of my nose being the first to thaw.
Pinpricks of pain danced up and down my leg.
Why had I gotten myself into this mess in the first place?
Lily, my ex, had no idea what she was talking about.
While my father was a good and savvy businessman, he had never shown any interest in merging companies before today. Yet, even though I knew better, as soon as she’d texted me, I’d made a few phone calls and changed my entire schedule. An hour later, I was in the car on the way to the hotel to meet him when my car came to an abrupt stop, giving me just enough time to park it in the corner of an abandoned side road.
Through the window, I’d been able to see a vague outline if I looked hard enough.
But I didn’t want to.
Because it was going to remind me that I was stuck here with no way out until morning, a part of me was grateful for the company, but Martha and I barely knew each other, and I wasn’t in the mood to indulge her, or anyone else for that matter.
I wanted the night to be over.
