Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
“Where are the others?” I didn’t like that we were all separated again. Bad things happened when we were separated.
“Ash went to the tower,” Darcie said, wrapping her arms around her middle. “He thought the snow was letting up a little, figured there might be a signal.”
I couldn’t see anything beyond the windows, the world outside a black void, and didn’t entirely trust Ash’s judgment. It struck me more as hope than reality. “And Grace? Aaron?”
“Grace is in the bathroom—she’s got a bit of a stomachache. Probably nerves. Said she gets like that when stressed. And Aaron must be in the kitchen. He was here, then I looked up and he wasn’t anymore.”
Leaving Vansi to warm up by the fire, I poked my head into the kitchen through the connecting door. The large space was empty, but bunches of fresh herbs lay on the counter, next to a wooden board on which Aaron had already chopped up tomatoes and onions.
Vanilla, warm and lush, scented the air.
“Aaron?” Walking properly into the kitchen, I turned to check out the pantry.
I didn’t realize I was half expecting the entrance to the secret passageway to be open until I found it neatly shut.
The items on the shelf that concealed the door lay undisturbed—even the small glass bottle of spice mix that someone had thrust in there between my last visit to the pantry and now. The haphazard way it was balanced, it would’ve no doubt fallen if he’d pulled the door shut behind him.
A chill crept up my spine.
Where was Aaron?
39
Hey, you’re back.”
I jumped around, my hand flying to my heart. “Jeez, Aaron!”
Holding out his hands, palms out, he winced. “Sorry. I stepped outside for a second. Was hoping that the weather wasn’t as bad as it feels in the unheated parts of the house.” He brushed white powder off his shoulders. “I was wrong. It’s worse. I think my nose is going to fall off from the cold.”
Walking over to the coffee he must’ve put on earlier, he poured himself a fresh mug. When he lifted the carafe in my direction, I nodded. “Lots of milk and sugar. I want to drink it like dessert. Same for Vansi.”
Face solemn, Aaron doctored two mugs, one for me, and one for Vansi, then took a sip of his far less milky concoction. “I’m stress cooking. Got a vanilla cake in the oven, and I’m starting on a homemade sauce we can use for pizza tomorrow.”
“I’m not complaining about cake,” I said. “And it’s not like we’re going to run out of ingredients. The pantry is overflowing with staples that last forever.”
“Jim,” Aaron said. “He grew up around here, knows the weather can be brutal. Darcie says he has a thing about ensuring the pantry has enough food to keep an entire family going for weeks. Just in case.”
Grace came bustling into the kitchen from the hallway, her face flushed and her nose pink. “God, it’s freezing in the bathroom, but would my insides hurry up?” Spotting me the second after the words were out of her mouth, she pressed her palms to her cheeks. “Oh, wow, Grace, way to be embarrassing. Just announcing your unmentionable business like that.”
My lips curved, the sadness banished for this moment of life mundane and precious. “We lived together for a while,” I reminded her. “There was many a night when I screamed down the house because my butt ended up on cold porcelain—Aaron and Kaea had a habit of leaving the toilet seat up.”
“Mea culpa.”
Laughing softly at Aaron’s confession, Grace walked over to him. “I can confirm he’s much better now.” She smiled. “I hope Ash doesn’t turn into an ice block in the tower. Has to be a fridge up there.” She stole some of Aaron’s coffee, and he kissed her on the nose.
Adorable.
Picking up my mug as well as Vansi’s, I inhaled deeply before walking back into the reality of the day. A day on which I’d helped wrap a friend’s body and put him in a cellar cold and dark.
A day on which my best friend had become a widow.
“Darcie,” I said as I entered the living room, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted a coffee.”
“I’ve already had way too much. You guys drink.” She paced to the hallway door, opened it to look out before ducking back inside. “I wish he hadn’t decided to check on a signal. He knows there’s going to be nothing, is just antsy. Next thing you know the lights will go out, and he’ll be stuck stumbling around in the dark.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” To be honest, I was starting to wonder if Ash had decided to head out to get away from Darcie’s jittery energy. I’d never seen her like this. So nervy I’d have said she was on drugs if I didn’t know better. “How long has he been gone?”