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“I’m fine. I’m more worried aboutyou.Do you have enough food still?”
“We have more than enough.”
“And I’ve kept the fire going,” I added. “Having the heat back will help.”
“Good. Stay put and stay safe.”
“I will.”
“I’m so glad to hear from you. And give your brother a call. He wants an update.”
Shit.
Nick.
I hadn’t thought of him since being with Stella again, and the guilt hit me like a pile of bricks. Would she tell him immediately? Would everything fall apart right in front of her?
What was worse, I wasn’t so sure I could break it off, not when I’d found myself so intrinsically bound to her.
“Did the city fare better than we did?” she asked.
“Somewhat. This is still a storm for the storybooks, but they have snowplows that we don’t. Nick didn’t realize how nerve-racking it would be. He’s been callinghere every day, making sure we still see the smoke from the chimney.”
“Can you even see your house from there?”
“Not really, but Hank walked outside. It made Nick feel better.”
“I’ll call now. Thanks, Amma.”
“Give me a shout if you need anything. And Merry Christmas!”
Stella’s face fell. “Yeah, you too. It doesn’t feel the same.”
“We’ll have an extra-special party to make up for it. Don’t you worry.”
She nodded and said her goodbyes. Stella didn’t look at me while she called Nick. I was glad she didn’t glance over because then she’d see the panic on my face.
He answered on the first ring. “Stella? Please tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. Well, as fine as I can be considering the fact that Ijustgot hot water back. Amma’s stove came in handy, though.”
“How’s Alden? Is he okay?”
“He’s right next to me. Say hi.” She leaned the phone over, and I swallowed.
“H-hey.”
She did a double take, immediately picking up on my discomfort. There would be questions after this call, and I needed to decide how to explain what Nick and I had discussed seven years ago.
But then all thoughts flew out the window when Nick said his next sentence.
“You held up on your deal, right? You took care of her?”
Stella blinked, brows pulling low on her forehead. That ... didn’t sound the best, I’d admit.
“Take care of me?” she repeated.
“Well, yeah.” Nick said it like it was obvious. “I figured it would be easier if I tried to get him to talk to you. From what I’ve heard, Winnie did too.”