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Norrie emptied the bags on the table and soon there were books, various types of wool, and needles of different sizes. “I found a bunch of this stuff in the back that no one’s bought, and I thought it was time to teach you a new pattern.”
“You know it’s taken me forever to be able to make the one you already taught me. I spent forever working on the new scarves to replace the first ones I made for Whit and Glen. I can’t believe they’re still wearing those ugly things. Then I finished the blanket. I’m not sure there’s enough time in my life to learn anything else.”
“Ha Ha. You’re so not funny. Look, this is a sweater, and I’ve seen it done up. It’s gorgeous and would look great on you. Especially in this color blue.”
Demi saw the gleam in Norrie’s eyes and a thought hit her smack dab upside her head. What if she worked hard and got it done as a Christmas present for Norrie? She still hadn’t figured out what to get her. It would be perfect.
If she ran into any trouble with the pattern, Mrs. Libby at the café would help. Pretending to still be against the idea, she made a face. Then she showed Norrie the blanket she’d just finished, expecting to hear Norrie laugh but she surprised her.
“See, I said you’d get it. Who cares if there’s a few flaws? You’re a beginner, and you’ve done really well. Now you should start working on your sweater. I brought you a lot of different colors and more than enough wool for whichever one you choose. And remember, if you have any problems, just bring them in, and I’ll give you a hand.”
From then on, whenever she had free time, she’d bring out her bag and work away. To her delight, each portion of the sweater grew quickly… maybe not perfectly but if it was too horrible, she’d spend a little while with Mrs. Libby and she’d perform a miracle, fixing the worst of the mistakes.
If there was one blemish in her otherwise perfect world, it was Whit. He hadn’t settled into his new lifestyle well. Actually, not at all. Finding it impossible to do any outside chores, he’d finally given up. Even letting her and Glen shovel the constant snow made him frustrated. Yet he knew… even without her reminding him, he couldn’t lift anything heavy. He needed to stay quiet, and it was turning him into a grouch and a major pain in the ass.
At the hotel in Miami, he’d seemed to understand his limitations and accept them there. But here, not so much. As if life in Alaska meant work, he’d tried to take on his old ways and couldn’t… shouldn’t.
Demi caught him bringing in an armful of wood for the stove and gently reminded him of the doctor’s orders. He’d bit her head off with a terse… “I know” and got a warning snarl from Nito who’d suddenly appeared as if he’d been ghosting them.
She’d apologized then because she felt somehow in the wrong… yet it wasn’t so. Understanding he needed to be his own mentor was easy. Trusting him to do it right… bloody hardest thing she’d ever done.
Finally the day came when she went to the back of the cabin and saw him outside without his glasses, shoveling the snow off the shed roof, a chore she’d meant to get to later that day.
Angry fear flushed through her, and she found herself racing toward him to grab the shovel from his hands and throw it aside. Then she put her hands on her hips to stop them from pushing his chest, the anger blinding her to everything. “What the fuck are you doing? No glasses, heavy snow, no gloves even. For Chrissakes, Whit. Do you even want to get better?”
“Don’t you yell at me. I’m fed up with being a pussy around here like… like Pearl. I need to do something. Feel like I’m helping, not just sitting around all day trying to find something you’ll let me do. It’s-it’s unmanly.” His voice had risen so he yelled the last words.
Before either of them could move, a flash of gray and white fur flew through the air and pushed at the man, the enormous paws striking his chest, taking him down. Bared jaws and snarling teeth snapped close to his throat.
Demi got in-between them before Whit made a move. “No Nito, no.” She couldn’t budge him until her temper flared, and she lightly smacked his face. “You little bastard, I said no.”
As if the magic words had gotten through, Nito’s warning snarls softened, and he backed away, letting Whit sit up. The wolf went to stand by Demi, his body between her and Whit, sounds of dislike low in his throat.
“Nito, stop it. You know Whit. Stop being an ass.” Demi pulled at his head so he’d stop warning the man on the ground. “Go.” She pointed to the trees and then pushed the wolf’s shoulders. “Go.”
He stepped away but waited close by as if his presence were the threat, which it was.
Demi reached down and took Whit’s hand helping him to his feet. “I’m sorry. He’s a nuisance.”
“No. He thought I was going to hurt you, and he was protecting you the only way he knows how. And’s he right to do so. In fact, I want him to do that. I just have to remember he’s always around and not to yell at you outside.” Whit grinned at his own words and then looked at her with a bashful grimace. “I’m being an idiot. I know that… knew it and still went ahead. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
After that, things were a little better but Demi and Glen both sensed the turmoil building inside the man they both admired.
Then one day, Demi decided it was time to bring out the spelling workbook she’d ordered from Amazon and their lives changed for the better. Once she found out her patience for teaching bordered on zero, Whit took over and matters strangely settled into place.
Every day, he’d set up a classroom to work with Glen both in the mornings and afternoons and they soon found that Glen had never really gotten much of an education at all. And so began the homeschooling.
Finally, Whit decided to work on his project for the mining company and suddenly, between his own reports he needed to finish and the help he could give to Glen, his days were pleasantly filled.
And Demi had enough chores that her life became as full as she could handle. And during this lull, she noticed one other miracle. Whit’s sight had returned.
Chapter Twenty
Whit thought he could see things more clearly, and yet he was terrified his sight wouldn’t stay that way. In fact, over the last weeks it hadn’t, coming and going until it drove him crazy. He caught himself blinking over and over and wondered if others would see him and think he’s gone bonkers. Sometimes the eye clearing helped… many times it didn’t. Most times he wore his darkened glasses, and that hid his behavior.
Until the tides reversed.
And the good times were longer and more frequent.
