Chapter Ten

Randy

T he wind has me up all night as it rattles the windows in their frames, shaking the trees and blowing through the holes in the cabin. I give up trying to sleep in the bedroom halfway through the night and drag the mattress into the living room next to the fireplace, hoping to get some sleep. It doesn’t help. I spend most of the night staring at the ceiling as the fire flickers, casting shadows all around us.

The power goes out at three.

Chewpawca merely stretches and rolls back onto his side, digging himself a little deeper into the blankets, as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him, despite the storm that rages outside.

I text Zach at five and get no answer, but Zelda must be up because she sends me a message asking how Chewpawca and I are holding up. The power’s out there too, but Zander has the generators up and running. All of her “boys,” their mates, and their pups are safe and warm.

You should come over now before the roads get impassable .

I can’t leave the animals.

She doesn’t text back. She probably knows it’s a lost cause.

The wind keeps pounding the cabin, causing the snow to swirl and twist in the air. It looks so romantic in movies, but I spend the entire time I’m outdoors being pelted with tiny freezing flakes of snow. Back inside, I dry off and change, and then realize I have absolutely nothing to do.

Can I really go back to this life? Can I be content here out, alone, on the ranch?

I lay on the tiny sliver of mattress Chewpawca has granted me and try to take a nap. Sleep doesn’t come.

Finally, at nine, my cell phone dings with a text notification. I almost ignore it–it’s probably just Zach finally dragging his ass out of bed, but something compels me to get up and check it.

I pick up the phone and my heart skips a beat.

It’s Soojin.

Sorry to bug you. Can you coach me through turning off the alarm? It’s going off again.

I’m just about to respond when she texts again.

Never mind. The power just went out.

Do you have a generator?

No.

Fireplace? Woodstove?

Nope.

Does the power company have an estimate on service restoration?

Soojin sends me a string of crying emojis and then: 24 hrs

I’ll come get you. You can stay at the pack house.

It’s Christmas Eve. I can’t intrude. Nolig’s only got three days with the family.

I get tired of typing on the tiny screen and hit send on her contact info. She picks up after the second ring.

“Soojin,” I start before she can even say hi, “It’s going to get cold tonight. The pack house has more than enough room for you, and Zelda will love having another woman out there. She says it evens out the testosterone.”

She sighs. “Is that where you are right now?”

“No,” I admit reluctantly. “I’m in our old cabin at the ranch.”

“Do you have power out there?”

“No, but I’ve got a fireplace, so I’ll be fine.”

There is a long pause. “I’ll be fine, Randy. It’s the babies’ first Christmas. Nolig doesn’t have a lot of time. I’m not going to intrude on the pack.”

I sigh and look around. The cabin has seen much better days. It’s old and rough and pretty ugly. I can’t imagine what it would look like through the eyes of Soojin. The only feminine opinion I’ve ever gotten of it is Zelda’s, and she hated this place long before Robert’s accident.

On the other hand, it’s clean and safe. The great room is relatively warm, and would maintain a steady temperature throughout the night when the temperatures drop. I’ll have to drag the mattress back into the bedroom and sleep there so she doesn’t think I’m some creep, but she could have the couch. It would be a safe place to ride out the storm. Would she be offended if I invited her here?

Better question: Can I survive twenty-four hours in such close quarters with her and not lose my mind?

“Sorry to bug you, Randy,” she says. “I’ll let you go–”

“Wait. Would you consider staying out here with me and the cat in the cabin? It’s the least luxurious place you can imagine, but it’s warm by the fire.”

She says nothing for a moment. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Not at all.”

“Okay. Let me pack some things and–”

“The roads aren’t passable right now. I’ll have to come get you.”

“How are you going to get me if the roads aren’t passable?”

I can’t help but smile. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”