Page 20 of Escaped (Snowbound with a Stranger #3)

Reconnection

Eli

Squeezing Erin’s fingers, I planted a kiss on the side of her face and shifted on the guest bed. We’d been back at Owen’s for a day since we’d collected the phone in her hand from the cabin, and after sleeping and charging the device, she was finally ready to speak to Chelle.

“It’ll be okay,”

I reminded her.

“Call her.”

Erin had been desperate to get in touch with her friend immediately, but by the time we’d satiated our need at Niantes and driven back to her brother’s, it had been too late for her to reach out to Chelle. Watching her ashen face then, though, it seemed as though the enormity of the call was too much.

“I will.”

Her dainty digits gripped at the phone as she stared at Chelle’s number.

“It’s just…”

“Scary?”

I attempted to finish the sentence for her after her voice trailed away into silence.

“Yeah.”

Her smile was nervous.

“Yet you’ve got through much worse, little girl. Niantes… Hawkins… me.”

She laughed gently, exhaling as one shaky finger hovered over the call button.

“Funny how this suddenly feels like the biggest deal yet.”

“Do you want me to leave you in peace to speak to her?”

No part of me wanted to leave the guest bedroom and be forced to make small talk with Owen while she was on the phone. Her brother had been generous with his house and car, but his orthodox approach to life was the antithesis of what I knew, and I couldn’t wait to be out of his hair. With Erin’s mother’s funeral organized, she and I were set to depart as soon as their goodbyes were completed.

“No, please stay.”

She reached for me, her soft fingers grasping my right wrist.

“I need you, sir. Who knows what I’ll find out.”

“You’ve got it.”

Her breathy plea was music to my ears, reminding me of the hot, pliant woman I’d fucked at the cabin.

“But you are going to have to call to discover the answer.”

“I know.”

She inhaled sharply, her back straightening as her hand withdrew.

“Here goes nothing.”

Hitting the button, she flicked the device’s speaker on so that the noise of the dialing tone echoed around the silver soft furnishings. Unease gleamed in her green gaze, and I sensed the effort it was taking for her not to end the call and kick the mission into the long grass. For so long, she’d longed to know the outcome of Chelle’s plight, yet sitting there on the precipice of that learning, she seemed ready to abandon the call and bolt for the door.

“Hello?”

Time slowed down when a female voice answered, my mind shifting to try and recall if it was Chelle’s voice coming through the speaker.

“Chelle?”

The confusion in Erin’s expression conveyed that she, too, was unsure who had answered the call.

“Erin, is that y-you?”

The woman’s voice stammered, and in my mind’s eye, I envisioned the bubbly and often annoying companion who’d accompanied Erin to the wilderness.

“Chelle!”

Erin’s free hand rose to cover the gasp that had escaped her mouth.

“I’ve been worried sick about you! Are you okay?”

“I thought you were dead.”

There were tears then, and not the dewy-eyed type that could be dabbed away with a tissue. The emotion coming from Chelle was thick and raw, making it difficult to understand what she was saying.

“I’m okay.”

Erin’s brow furrowed.

“But I heard you were in hospital with hypothermia.”

“I went looking for him.”

Chelle’s voice broke again.

“After I left you, I trudged on in the snow looking for James.”

Erin’s desperate gaze flitted to me as she went on.

“Did you find him?”

“No.”

Chelle squeaked the response amidst a torrent of fresh emotion.

“I made it down to the river, but I was just so freaking cold, Erin. It was horrible. I thought I was going to die.”

“I’m so happy you didn’t.”

Erin blinked away tears.

“I’ve missed you.”

“What happened to you?”

Chelle asked.

“I asked when I was in hospital, but no one seemed to know, and I suppose, after James, I assumed the worst. I’m back with my mum for now, but I can’t accept that he’s gone, Erin.”

“I’m so sorry about James, Chelle.”

Erin deflected her friend’s question.

“It still doesn’t seem real.”

Chelle broke down on the other end of the line.

“I keep expecting him to come stalking through the door and he doesn’t… He’s never going to do that again.”

“I know. It must be awful for you.”

Erin’s lips trembled as her tears fell faster, and acting on instinct, I rose to collect a Kleenex from the nearby box, thrusting it in her direction.

One way or the other, the last week had flung her from one tumultuous experience to the next, and while I knew the path to healing and acceptance would be long and require patience, I was looking forward to whisking her away to a place where there could be more than only suffering.

“Thank you.”

Erin mouthed the words at me as she accepted the tissue.

“Who are you talking to?”

Chelle sniffed.

“Are you in hospital too?”

“I’m at Owen’s.”

Erin dabbed the tissue at her eyes.

“Your brother’s? Why?”

“It’s a long story.”

Erin’s gaze darted to mine and I had the distinct impression she didn’t want to tell that story. At least, not over the phone.

“But Mum passed while I was stuck at Niantes and I’ve been helping Owen with the funeral arrangements.”

“Your mum died?”

Disbelief rang out in Chelle’s voice.

“Oh God, Erin. I’m so sorry. You should have said something.”

“You have James’ loss to deal with.”

Erin shrugged as though her friend was there to witness the gesture.

“Mum’s passing was a shock, but she was older. I knew this would happen sooner or later.”

“When’s the funeral?”

“Tomorrow.”

Erin blew out a breath at the enormity of that statement. After everything she’d been through, she still had to bury her mother.

“What about James’?”

“His family is dealing with it,”

Chelle sobbed.

“They want to have a joint service with Miles. I don’t have a date yet.”

“Of course.”

Erin’s eyes fluttered closed as if she, too, sensed the weight of my guilt over the deaths.

“Listen, can we meet up sometime?”

Erin’s gaze flitted open.

“I really want to see you.”

“I’d like that.”

Chelle’s voice was hoarse.

“When are you coming home?”

“After the funeral.”

Once more, Erin’s attention landed on me, the unanswered questions about what came next dancing in her gaze.

We hadn’t yet delved too deeply into the cascading aftermath, choosing to focus on doing the next ‘right thing’ on our collective list, but one thing was for sure, whatever happened and wherever we ended up, I wasn’t planning on leaving her side.

“Come to Mum’s and we’ll talk,”

Chelle offered.

“It’ll be lovely to see you. I’ve really needed a friend.”

“I’ll be there.”

Erin managed a small smile.

“If you need anything before then, just call me.”

“I will. Thanks, Erin. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ll see you in a couple of days,”

Erin replied.

“Hang in there, Chelle.”

She ended the call, allowing the phone to fall to her lap as she turned to me, but rather than the relief I expected to see, there was weariness in her eyes.

“She’s okay,”

I prompted.

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Lifting her hand, she cleared the loose strands of her hair from her face.

“I wanted to tell her about you and me, sir, and I know she’s going to resent how close we’ve become.”

“Because of James.”

Suddenly, it was all clear in my head.

Chelle had lost the man she’d loved, and on the same trip that had taken him—a fate she might well blame me personally for—her friend had found affection and hope in the ashes. I could see why that news would be difficult for Chelle to hear.

“Exactly.”

She slumped forward.

“This thing we’ve found is the only good thing to come out of the hell of the last week, and I want to share that with her, but…”

Swallowing, she stared at her hands.

“I feel bad for even intimating at our happiness.”

“You shouldn’t.”

I reached for her nearest hand.

“A good friend would want you to be happy, little girl. She’d know you merited that much.”

“You don’t know Chelle.”

Her voice was sad.

“That’s not how she’ll see things, and I know she won’t understand the power dynamic between us.”

“So, leave that out when you meet and tell her about us.”

It was none of Chelle’s business anyway.

“But tell her how you’re feeling—about the trauma, your mum, and about me. I’m sure she’d want to know.”

“Maybe.”

She pressed her lips into a hard line.

“Looks like I’m heading back home after the funeral, sir. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s a little late to ask now you’ve already told her you’ll be there.”

I wrapped my palm around hers and patted her hand.

“But it’s fine. I can wait at your place while you visit Chelle, and then we’ll decide what comes next.”

It would be interesting to see where my little girl lived. After everything we’d experienced together, it was easy to forget how little we really knew about the other person. I wondered what new clues her home would reveal about her.

“Do you have a place somewhere too, sir?”

Her tone was hesitant.

“It’s just that you’ve never mentioned anywhere.”

She was right. In the frenzy of Hawkins and everything that had happened since, we’d never really talked about the practicalities, but it was time we did.

“I sold my house after Hawkins kindly had me kicked out of my employment.”

Sighing, I tried not to allow my thoughts to return to the worm who’d created so much of my woe.

“I rented a little place by Niantes while I worked there, but it’s tiny and subsidized by the park authorities, so it cost me virtually nothing. The agreement’s due for renewal in a month or two, and I have a lot of money saved up, so I can be flexible about where we go.”

So long as we were together, I was happy.

“You can be flexible?”

She stifled laughter.

“Well, that’s a first, sir.”

“Don’t push your luck, little girl.”

It was good to see her smiling again, even if my balls did twitch at the idea of yanking her over my lap again.

“Wherever we are, you still belong to me.”

“That’s good to know, sir.”

Placing down her phone, she edged closer along the bed until only inches separated us.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”