I held up a hand. “I wasn’t asking you to.” Damn. Way to prove what a low opinion he truly had of me. Maybe I wasn’t at my most charming this evening, but I still wasn’t used to this level of skepticism. “I’m perfectly capable of playing a game without a bet on the line.”
“Ha.” Moving back to his chair, he considered me with a hard stare until I had to glance away.
“Okay, you’ve got me. Betting does make things more fun, but I’m not so much of a heel that I’m gonna make you wager something you clearly don’t want to lose.”
“Thank you.” Felix’s face softened. “And I’m sorry. I know you likely were taken advantage of by Tim—”
“I can usually spot a bullshit deal.” I cut him off because no way was I a victim here. Bad enough that I’d likely been lied to, but Felix’s sympathy was almost worse than his judgment.
“Yeah, well, he’s rather convincing when he wants to be.” Felix made a dismissive gesture like it was no big deal to be conned. And maybe it wasn’t to him. “All I’m saying is that I’m sorry for acting like you’re a bad guy simply for making a bet. That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not.” I blew out a breath and shuffled my cards again. He didn’t have to apologize, and I didn’t like how the nicer he became, the more twitchy I got. Maybe distrust was easier to cope with. “But you also didn’t ask to have a strange dude in your house either.”
“Yeah.” A silence stretched out between us. Not exactly companionable, but also not as tense as some of the earlier silences, as if we’d come to some sort of truce. Bizarrely, that unspoken agreement made my uninjured leg jiggle restlessly.
“So what do you say? Friendly game?” I made my voice brighter. “You can’t be tired yet. Don’t make me play solitaire.”
“Oh, the horrors of making you play by yourself.” Felix laughed, but I liked his ribbing far better than his sympathy or his silence.
“Hey, I have three brothers and have spent multiple deployments with a hundred sailors and no place for privacy. Playing alone is not in my skill set.” That was putting it mildly. Other than sleeping and showering, I was rarely on my own, something my friends liked to give me a hard time about.
“I can think of worse fates than solo play.” Felix’s eyes flashed wickedly. The joke was probably not intended to be flirty, and it spoke to how on edge I was that my brain immediately skipped to R-rated thoughts. “Other than go fish, I think the last time I played cards was some overnight shift in residency. And that was likely spades or another easy game, not poker.”
“I can play spades,” I volunteered, totally not ready to be on my own or to sort out sleeping arrangements. Trying to encourage him into a game, I yanked a footstool closer and started dealing two hands.
“All right. But no complaining if I’m terribly rusty.” He picked up the cards and proceeded to give me a great game before eking out a win with some lucky draws.
“I think you’re a ringer.” I immediately started reshuffling. Felix was exactly the kind of player I loved gaming with, smart and decisive with a hint of ruthlessness I hadn’t expected from the mild-mannered doctor.
He shrugged like he hadn’t just waxed me. “Maybe all the go fish experience with the girls helped me more than I realized.”
“Admit you’re having fun,” I prodded.
“Oh, I can get competitive. And yes, winning was a nice bonus. We can play another round.”
Crack. Right as I was dealing us fresh hands, a loud noise from outside broke through the still night like a gunshot.
“Crap. The ice must be bringing down branches. This storm isn’t letting up.” Felix shook his head as he went to the window. A porch light and some solar lights near the path reflected off the snow in the otherwise inky darkness. No stars tonight either, just a steady drizzle of snow and ice, and a wind that kept rattling the cabin’s old bones.
“Are any trees close enough to do roof damage?” I tried to remember what I’d noticed on my way in.
“Grandpa cleared a fairly large perimeter for the cabin for much risk of that, but I suppose we should be prepared to possibly lose electricity. I’ll go make sure the emergency flashlights have batteries.” Efficient and take-charge as ever, he headed into the kitchen area. His willingness to take the lead on things, a sort of intrinsic independence, was really refreshing considering how much of my life was spent with others looking to me for a plan and answers.
“What can I do to help?” I stood with the help of the walking stick, happy to be his new recruit and follow orders.
“You can sit.” Felix waved me back down. “The water you brought will help if we do lose electricity, as no electric means no well. But other than that, probably not a lot we can do to prepare. I’ll keep the fire going while I sleep out here.”
“No way.” Still standing, I shook my head vigorously. “Of the two of us, I probably have more experience sleeping in weird and cramped spaces. I can sleep pretty much anywhere.”
“It’s not a competition, but I made it through medical school and residency. You’re not the only one who can sleep in a room of bunks or upright in a chair. And you’ll be more comfortable with that foot in a bed.”
“Nah.” I kept my voice light. My foot was going to hurt regardless of where I slept, but if I told him that, he’d simply press his case that much harder. “I’m not going to kick you out of the bedroom.”
“Thanks, but I want to be closer to the girls if they wake up and need me. The couch is way more comfortable than the kid-sized beds upstairs, honestly. And you’re injured.” He had me with the point about the girls as it wasn’t like I was a nightmare expert, but I hated the continual reminders that I was injured. As much as I liked his ability to run point on problems like preparing for a possible power outage, not being much help for anything all night was starting to grate on me. I liked being useful and hated sitting around while others worked.
“Okay, fine, I’ll take the bed,” I grudgingly agreed simply because it wasn’t worth a big argument. Also, it wasn’t like we could share the only adult bed. And damn it, now that I’d put that image in my brain—us sharing a bed, sleeping next to each other, bodies touching, everything that went along with that—I wasn’t going to be able to think about anything else all night long.
Chapter Six
Felix
“Why is it still snowing?” Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Charlotte went to the window as soon as she and Madeline trooped down the stairs. There was no sleeping in what with worlds for Charlotte to conquer. Luckily, I’d trained myself into being a morning person in medical school, and I already had the coffee percolating when their questions started.