CHAPTER SIXTEEN Dirk

" Y ou're not gonna like the answer," I warned.

"What?" Blake responded. "There isn't one?"

"Oh, there is, but it's at the bottom of the hundred or so stairs in a small building with the generator."

"You're joking," he stated. "There's really no bathroom up here?" he questioned, quickly checking out the four different corners of the square space.

"A toilet and shower is at the ground level where the source of water from a well is located," I began. "And here's the best part," I added. Blake sat down and stared at me, his knees together because he had to pee after seven cups of coffee. "A shower requires firing up the generator, then letting the small hot-water heater warm up six gallons of water, and then you can take a very quick shower in a non-heated eight-by-eight shed. Whattaya think?"

Blake wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. "Down a hundred steps?" he asked. I nodded. "In that snow?" He gestured to the windows he wouldn't look out of. "I'm…well, I'm sort of afraid of heights," he mumbled.

I leaned closer to him. "Come again."

He turned away and blushed. "I don't like heights," he confessed. "Or being cold."

My eyebrows immediately shot up. "But you chose to go nearly five thousand feet high into the mountains, with a threat of a late snowstorm, armed with only a tarp?"

Blake nodded. "Dumb, right?"

I would have liked to tell him it was the stupidest fucking thing I'd ever heard of but his fears seemed real and I just wasn't that type of guy. "Let's kill two or three birds at once. Whattaya say?" I asked. He glanced toward me hopefully. "I have two foil thermal blankets up here, so let's wrap up, put boots on, and I'll help you down to the building underneath us."

"On snow-covered stairs?" he asked.

"Yes. Let's assume they're covered in snow, but I'll go first and you can hold onto my back so we can take it slow."

"In nothing but a foil blanket and boots?" he inquired. "What if I have to poop?"

I suppressed a laugh. "While on the steps or in the bathroom?"

"Maybe both," he confessed while I still fought a desperate need to burst out laughing.

I was suddenly confronted with the fact that my guest was not the bold, brash, outdoorsy adventurous man I'd assumed he was. He was a hiker for sure, but I now thought that was the extent of it. He had the entire setup with his old, beat-up, all-wheel-drive Subaru, and the fancy clothing, but he was also a bit timid. I liked timid, sweet, and a bit soft. Blake was turning out to be the type of guy that hit me where he could do real damage: my heart. I had a nurturing and protective nature. A need to provide, protect, and take care of my partner, and he was someone that I clearly saw as needing protection or, at a minimum, care. I was good at that role. I was also good at thinking men needed my caring nature. Many times I was wrong.

"I promise I'll be there for you every single step," I stated. "And that includes all the way down and all the way up. The shed will be cold as shit too. Just so you know."

"But you promise we'll be safe?"

"Absolutely."

After witnessing his fear and reluctance, I decided to make things easier on Blake, so I went down to the shed first and fired up the generator to heat the water. I took a small space heater from the cabin down with me as well to lessen the frosty temps. The less time he spent waiting for hot water, the better for his slight frame. He was a good fifty pounds lighter than I was. He was lean and had muscles but certainly no spare pounds to insulate against the brutally cold weather.

"Done," I stated, entering the cabin and breathing heavy from the climb.

"Thank you for doing that," he said. "That was a nice thing to do."

"I kicked a lot of snow from the steps too," I pointed out. Why not tell him that too? He was giving brownie points away so I wanted to collect as many of them as I could for some reason. I knew the reason but resisted admitting the truth to myself that I wanted him to like me.

With stocking caps on our heads, gloves on our hands, and wrapped up like foil-wrapped turkeys, we stepped into pairs of boots I had. I gave Blake the fur-lined pair, three sizes too big, and with extra-thick wool socks.

At the bottom we were still holding hands and he was showing no signs he was interested in letting go of me. "Look at you," I praised.

He wasn't buying my encouragement. "You think I'm weak now, don't you?" he asked.

I shook my head and smiled. "Of course not. I'm afraid of deep water," I quickly admitted. "I won't even go out on a boat. Oh, and guess what? I didn't attend my parents wedding anniversary on an Alaskan cruise ship last year because of my fear."

Blake smiled in such a gentle way that my heart expanded. Wasn't it yesterday that he'd irritated the fuck outta me? All pompous and entitled acting with a nasty streak about him. Where was that person today? He was adorable and anxious to connect with someone. I could easily feel the want in him and recognized his need for connection because I often felt the same way.

"What?" he asked, noticing me staring at him, forgetting to push the shed door open for us to enter.

"I was wrong about you, Blake," I stated. "Why do you hide this sweet side of you?" He shrugged his shoulders and I was left waiting for an answer he wasn't able to provide. "I like this version of you, if you care to know."

He stared at his feet and his cheeks painted a beautiful rose hue, but it was when he lifted his eyes and smirked that I knew there was a kind man inside.

Shit! I had a crush. Or I was horny. Who knew, but I was something for sure.