Of course.
Of course.
Where else would I fall but a huge, muddy puddle? The kind sixty kids in their finest wellington boots would find fun?
“Shit!” I shouted, stomping my foot against the ground. “Oww!” My ankle had twisted a little awkwardly as I’d gone down, so not only was I freezing and soaking wet, I was now hurt.
This was why I didn’t like being home alone.
Something was bound to go wrong.
“What are you doing down there?”
I looked up at the sound of Miles shouting at me over the howling gales. “I thought it would be a fun spot to enjoy the weather!” I yelled back. “What do you think I’m bloody well doing down here?”
He tugged the hood of his raincoat over his head and jogged over, then held out both of his hands.
I looked at them.
“For God’s sake, Gabriella. I’m helping you up.”
“I hurt my foot.” I put my hands in his, and he gently helped me up. Gingerly, I attempted to put weight on my ankle and was pleasantly surprised when I was able to flatten it almost entirely before it twinged with pain.
“Are you all right?” he asked, looking down at me.
“I think so.” I winced slightly. “I’m fine.”
“Clearly not.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, and my silly little heart skipped a beat at his closeness. “You need to get inside before you get pneumonia to go with that ankle. What are you even doing out here?”
“The gate. It wasn’t shut. It was banging,” I bumbled out. “Had to close it.”
“I would have done that on my way out.”
“Wait, what are you doing here? I sent everyone home, but I couldn’t find you, so I thought you’d already left.”
“Why would I have left without being told to?”
“I asked everyone to pass the message on in case I couldn’t find anyone. I didn’t want anyone getting stranded here.”
“Why would anyone be stranded here?”
Right. He hadn’t been in the area here long. He probably didn’t know the roads flooded in bad weather as we’d had a relatively kind winter with not a lot of major storms.
Late spring, however, was shaping up to be a right bitch.
I opened the door to the mudroom, and we stepped inside out of the weather. It was a most welcome reprieve after being out there for much longer than I’d thought, and I gratefully pulled down my hood and unzipped the wet coat.
“The roads flood,” I said after a moment, looking at him. His coat was bright yellow and had about as much insulation as an outhouse. “Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m always outside. You get used to it.” He shrugged. “The roads flood?”
“Yes, almost all the access roads in and out of both the estate and the village flood. I don’t know if you can pass through now; I saw the water when I closed the gate, and it’s quite close. That means areas will likely be impassable.”
Miles stared at me with his blue eyes. “I have a Jeep. I’ll be fine.”
I wrinkled my face up. “I doubt that very much. The only thing these roads are good for in weather like this is a boat, so unless you have a kayak attached to the roof of your Jeep…”
“I can’t say that’s something I carry around,” he said dryly. “I think I’ll try my luck at getting out, if you’re okay.”
I tested my foot. “It’s better. I twisted it on a rock, but I must have just twinged it. I’ll be fine in the morning.”
“Okay, good. I’ll see you, then.”
“You can’t go. You’ll get stuck.”
“I’ll give it a shot. No offense, but being stuck here isn’t my idea of fun.”
I smiled tightly. “I can’t say I like the idea either, but I’d prefer none of the staff died on my watch. I’ll never hear the end of it from my family.”
He snorted, but there was no humour there. “I’ll see you, Gabriella.”
“Wait.”
“What?”
I sighed. “If you’re going to go, at least take my number. Chances are you won’t make it ten feet in that flood water.”
“What are you going to do if I get stuck?”
“Get our Jeep and winch you out, obviously.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You can use a winch?”
“Do you know what? Get stranded in flood water. See if I care. I’ve seen hundreds of these storms and if you’re not going to listen to me and then you’re going to be rude to me, you can go it alone and see if your Jeep suddenly forms a bloody propeller or offers you paddles when it starts floating.” I shrugged off the coat and shoved it on a hook, then wiggled my finger at him. “And let me tell you, a paddle is what you’ll need, because you’ll be right up shit’s creek.”
“All right, princess, calm down.”
“I’m not a bloody princess.”
“Could have fooled me.” Miles quirked a brow. “Give me your number.”
“I don’t want to. I changed my mind.”
He sighed heavily. “If it will make you feel better, give me your number. Then if I get stuck, you can be safe in the knowledge none of the staff will die on your watch.”
“I really don’t like you,” I said, retrieving my phone and key from the coat pocket. I pulled up my information in my contacts and showed it to him, and he typed my number into his phone, then called it. My phone rang within a few seconds, so I cancelled the call and saved his number.
Under Grumpy Gardener.
There was no mistaking who that was.
“Right. Feel better?”
“Not at all,” I retorted. “I hope you don’t get stuck, or one of us might not make it through this storm alive.”
“Couldn’t agree more.” He glanced at my foot. “Need help getting that boot off?”
“Not from you.”
“You should take some ibuprofen and rest with it raised above your head,” he said, zipping his coat back up. “Just in case.”
“I know how to look after myself.”
“I’m sure you do. Just giving you some friendly advice.” He nodded and opened the door.
“Friendliest you’ve ever been,” I muttered.
“Talking to yourself again?”
“It’s a habit.”
This time, I could swear he laughed, but he left before I could confirm either way.
My ankle was hurting, and after a minute of trying to get the boot off, I kind of really wished I’d taken him up on that offer to help me.
Ah, well.
Emily would have to get over the dirty floors.
Thankfully the kitchen had windows that overlooked the driveway, and I got there just in time to see Miles securing the gate behind his silver Jeep. I shook my head as I watched him get in and drive towards the floor waters.
There was no way he was getting out. The man was a fool.
This was the fundamental problem with being a woman. Nobody ever listened to you.
At least nobody ever listened to me.
As much as I hoped he would in fact make it through the water, I knew I would be getting a call from him in the next ten minutes asking for my help, so I put my phone on loud and waited by the window for the inevitable.