Maybe not in a blizzard though.
“Fine. Guess I’m stuck.” I slumped back against the couch.
“We’re doomed,” Shorty repeated. This was the same kid who had been rather hyped about my injuries. Charlotte, the uncle had called her, and she was somewhere between six and nine, while the older one was a near-identical ten-or-eleven-year-old version of the same cherubic features. “Maybe we’ll get frozen and have to be rescued.”
“I don’t want a rescue.” The older girl’s lower lip started to wobble. Uh-oh. Here came the waterworks. My back tightened, but Felix rubbed the girl’s shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile before the first tear could fall.
“No one’s freezing, Madeline. We’ll start a fire,” Felix soothed. “See the wood basket?”
“Do you remember how to light it?” Madeline was both quieter and more distrustful than her sister, who was already crouching to inspect the stack of firewood.
“Yes. It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten. You’ll both be happier with some heat.” Felix moved to the stove, quick, efficient movements that contradicted his stuck-up attitude.
“I can help,” I offered. Doing nothing was almost as bad as knowing I’d likely been duped, but Felix motioned for me to stay put.
“You’re injured. I’ve got this.” And apparently he did know what he was doing as he lit the fire on his second try and had a nice blaze a few minutes after that.
“See?” he narrated as he went, naturally parental like my brothers. “Now we add some bigger pieces.”
“Can we roast dinner on that fork thing?” Charlotte pointed at the bucket of fireplace tools.
“No.” Felix gave her an indulgent smile that transformed his face from smug to way too appealing. “I brought you nuggets.”
“Darn.”
“I also brought marshmallows. After we eat, we might safely try toasting a few.”
“Oh, good. I’m holding the stick.” The future pyromaniac shrugged out of her coat, leaving it in a heap for Felix to pick up and place on a chair. “You’re right. It is warmer. Let’s watch the blizzard take over everything!”
Bounding over to the window, she pressed her face against the glass while her older sister grudgingly let Felix take her coat as well.
“Now, I’m going to bring in the groceries. Madeline, you stand at the window with Charlotte and watch me. Stay where I can see you both.” He cast a distrustful look in my direction like I might commit a felony in the five minutes it was going to take him to unload.
“I’ve got food too. And water. If you find me a stick or something I can lean on, I can bring them in.” I’d been in a hurry leaving base, so my food choices had been rather limited at the convenience store where I’d filled my gas tank, but I could at least contribute to the whole not-starving thing.
Felix held up a hand. “You’re staying put. Your car’s around back? Is it unlocked?”
“Yeah.” I hated the idea of a stranger poking around in my car, but I didn’t have a ton of choices. No way was I making it down the hill behind the house to the car without some sort of crutch, and even then it was a dicey proposition with all the ice and snow happening. I dug out my keys because it wasn’t like Mr. Overprotective Uncle was going to ditch the kids and go out for a joyride in the snow. “Food’s in the trunk.”
“All right. I’ll gather our supplies.” Felix headed for the door, and in relatively short order, he reappeared with an armful of bags and snow dusting his dark hair and the shoulders of his coat, some expensive-looking brand for the urbanites who wished to appear outdoorsy. A second trip through the back door resulted in my duffel and grocery sack being added to the collection he had going near the dining table.
“Is it dinnertime?” Charlotte asked, again eyeing that fireplace poker.
“Yes.” Felix was the sort of decisive I usually admired. He’d be decent at cards, not dithering for ages like Max or Derrick, who were both too cautious for my tastes despite being my best friends. Felix, on the other hand, made quick choices, lining up food on the counter before asking, “Who wants to help me cook?”
“I can.” I tried to stand, but he strode over to me and pushed me back down, a surprisingly firm grip.
“You’re—”
“Injured. Yeah, I got that part.” My voice came out a little too testy, but I was tired of sitting and doing nothing.
“After dinner I’ll track down something to be your crutch.” Felix tried the same soothing tone that worked on his nieces. “But right now you’d only be in the way.”
“Well, damn, give it to me honest, Doc.” I sat back down, but not happily.
“Sorry. I only meant that I can be faster without help. Madeline, you can hunt down plates and set the table. Charlotte, why don’t you come tell me which vegetable you’re willing to eat tonight?”
More efficiency, which was both admirable and maddening. I gritted my teeth and endured Felix poking through my bag of food.
“Jerky? Boiled eggs? What sort of dinner is this?” He frowned.
“I was planning to get more food in the morning.” I hated how defensive I sounded.
“Luckily we brought more than enough to share.” Felix deposited my eggs and precut vegetable cup in the fridge before turning his attention to a tray of curly fries and nuggets for the oven. I’d eaten enough meals at my brother Oliver’s place to know that I wasn’t a big fan of kid-friendly foods, but I’d also been raised to not complain when I was the guest somewhere, which I supposed I kind of was here. Damn it.
“Madeline prefers her broccoli raw. Can I assume you eat it cooked?” Felix called to me.
“Sure. Whatever. Just not mush.” I tried to sound more agreeable. “I’d be fine with my jerky though. You don’t have to make the girls share their nuggets.”
“Jerky is not a balanced meal. And the sodium will only make your ankle swell more.” He made a clucking noise. “And you and I are having chicken cutlets, not nuggets.”
“Ah. Thanks.”
“Speaking of your foot, I’ve got the ice packs I surrounded the frozen foods with.” Abandoning his cooking, he brought a flexible blue pack over and unceremoniously deposited it on the foot I’d propped on the couch in front of me. He shoved a pillow under my heel. “There. Keep that on for about fifteen minutes.”
“Aye, aye, Doc.” I saluted him. Despite the brusque manner, he more than made up for the lack of charm with his competence. And I had no idea why I found watching him move around the kitchen so compelling. The ice did a good job of numbing my ankle, but it also tethered me to the spot, and with no phone signal, I had no choice but to observe Felix and the girls. They were a tight unit, and I reconsidered my judgment about his lack of charm as he supervised Charlotte whacking the broccoli into florets while deftly handing Madeline a stack of plates.