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She held up a hand. “Don’t make this a big deal. I don’t need it because I’m sick. I need it because there’s too much to do.”
I did a once-over on her. Amma wouldn’t admit it if she’d hurt herself, but she was standing straight and moved as easily as she always did. “Okay, I’ll stay as long as you need.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Now, let me show you the windows. I expect to lose power, and the curtains won’t hold enough heat in. I need them weatherproofed.”
“I just did the same thing on my house. Show me what you have. I’ll get it done.”
She opened the curtains to reveal the old, weathered windows. They were more than likely original on the house. “You’re as responsible as ever, Alden. I can’t believe you’re still single.”
I huffed out a laugh. I could believe it. It was hard to find a girlfriend when I couldn’t focus on them. I tried, but they always figured out that there was one woman I had eyes for.
And she was the one I couldn’t have.
I couldn’t afford to go down the rabbit hole that was Stella Summers—especially not in front of Amma, who noticed everything. She had tried to get us to reconcileover the years, but I refused to talk about what happened.
“Do you have weatherproofing tape?” I asked. “I can go get some if you don’t.”
Amma put her hands on her hips. “What kind of woman do you take me for? Of course I already have it. It’s all in the bag in the living room.”
“Good. If I do it right, you’ll still be able to see out of the windows.”
“That would be nice. I’d love to see the hills covered in snow and ice.”
Moments later, I found what I needed and worked from the bedrooms inward. It was simple work, making me wonder why she asked me to do it at all.
However, all thoughts fell away when I saw a figure outside. At first, I thought it was one of Amma’s neighbors coming to check on her, but then I realized it was far worse.
It was the very woman I wasn’t supposed to think about.
Stella was staring at my truck, undoubtedly wondering what the fuck I was doing here. It took her only seconds to turn on her heel and walk inside.
Shit.
I planned to duck into the bedroom and leave Amma to her questions, but then my eyes caught on her jacket. It was black—a color Stella wouldn’t be caught dead in, but it was a North Face jacket with a busted zipper.
My feet moved of their own accord and I walked out the front door.
We came face-to-face in the cold of the porch. Her chestnut brown hair was streaked with gold and her oval face and upturned nose still did unfair things to my heart.
But her forest-green eyes were narrowed, which meant she was pissed.
“Why do you have my jacket?” The words blew out of me.
“I have a better question—what the fuck are you doing here?”
Stella’s cheeks were tinted with pink, either from the cold or seeing me. She had dark circles under her eyes that weren’t usually there. Coupled with the black jacket, she’d never looked less like herself.
“I—what happened to you?” I asked.
“Nope. Not going there.”
Her eyes fell to the frozen ground. Mine widened. Since when didn’t she look me in the eye when she was snapping at me?
“Aren’t you usually . . . angrier?”
“Do youwantme to be?”
“Yes.”