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“I’ll go grab the rest of the firewood.” He headed for the door and went to the truck. When he came back in, Ember was sitting on the couch, still wrapped in the blanket.
He set the wood down, then looked through the window on the stove again. When the large pieces of wood caught, he opened the door and tossed in one more, then he change the damper from fully open to half closed. He looked at Ember.
“Are you familiar with woodstoves?”
“Yes. There’s one at my brother’s cabin.”
“Okay. Well, there’s enough wood to get you through the night and have a nice fire when you wake up. I’ll bring you by some more wood and call the propane guys first thing in the morning.”
“Thank you.”
He glanced at the woodstove. “It seems to be going, but maybe I’ll wait a few minutes to make sure.”
“Of course. Have a seat.”
He looked at the couch, then opted for the chair. He didn’t quite trust himself with her alone in the house. “So, your brother has a cabin?”
She took a moment. “Yes. It’s on a lake about two hours out of Santa Fe. I’ve spent a fair amount of time there recently.”
“While you were taking your time off?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds nice.” He suddenly got one of those brain itches, but this time it was more than an itch and it gave him a sharp pain above his left eye. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment until it passed. When he opened them, Ember was leaning forward.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just a smidge of a headache.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about.”
It was starting to get warm, and Ember threw off the blanket and removed her coat. “I think I’ll sleep right here tonight.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” He unbuttoned his coat. He was warm. But he didn’t want to take it all the way off. That would indicate he’d be staying a while. Which he would love to do. But he knew he shouldn’t.
She smiled at him. “Can I get you anything? Probably not coffee this late. But I have water and iced tea. I might even have a soda in the fridge.”
“I’m fine.” He looked at the fire burning away in the woodstove. He had no excuse to stay any longer.
“Jake?”
He looked at her. “Yeah?”
“It’s okay.”
“What’s okay?”
“That you’re here. That you’re comfortable being here. Or you would be if you let yourself be.”
He took a deep breath. “I can’t quite reconcile what I’m feeling, Ember. My mind is still so damn screwed up.”
She nodded. “I’m just saying, I’m here. If you ever want to talk. Or hang out. I’ll even let you beat me at rummy again.”
He gave her a small smile. “I should go.”
She looked at her lap to hide the disappointment in her eyes. But not quick enough. Jake saw it. It seemed, perhaps, she liked his company as much as he liked hers. But he still didn’t know what to do with that. He stood.
“You’re very comfortable to be around, Ember. And, um…once I get my head on straight, I might take you up on that. But for now. I need to go.”
She stood too. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
