“You suck at being a hostess. I can
make it myself once I can walk again.
I’ve never seen snow like that. Thank
God the navigation worked in my
phone. I could have died out there
wandering around.” He resumed
drinking the apple cider and savored
the warmth sliding down his throat.
“I suppose you could have…things like
that happen. People die all the time.”
She walked to a closet at the back of
the room where she pulled out an extra
pillow and some more blankets. “There
isn’t another bedroom. You can sleep
out here. When the storm breaks, you
can leave.”
He thought about arguing, but then
looked at her face. She stared at the
picture above the mantel, a look of
confusion and loneliness replacing the
sarcastic grin she’d worn minutes ago.
“I’ve slept in worse places than your
sofa.” He set the empty cup aside and
watched her look around the room
again before shoving her hair from her
face.
In that one movement, he saw such
sadness transform her face that he
momentarily questioned his intrusion
on her retreat. She’d obviously come
here with a clear set of intentions; he
only hoped that they hadn’t involved
hurting herself somehow. In that brief
unguarded moment, she’d looked
completely lost.
“Sierra…don’t go. Stay here and talk to
me for a while. We’ll watch some
television, crit