Page 71 of Fragile Lives

LEILA

When we wake up from our nap, there is no awkwardness. I don’t feel an ounce of shame for anything I do or say around him anymore. It feels…good.

We have a quick bite and get dressed to go find a Christmas tree. Christmas itself has passed, and today is New Year’s Eve. But we can still celebrate. Plus, I’m feeling jolly, which isn’t a surprise considering the number of orgasms I’ve received in the past twenty-four hours.

Stephan seems happy too. His face is relaxed, the worry lines on his forehead gone. The corner of his eyes crinkle from smiling.

We’re walking deeper into the woods on a mission to find the perfect tree because I don’t like anything on our way—I’m totally lying, I just love spending time out here, in the middle of the woods, with snow falling around us—when I hear the sound of a twig under someone’s foot. We both freeze, and Stephan instantly positions himself in front of me, and I get squashed against a big tree.

Another twig breaks, and the sound of a large, loud animal comes closer.

“Damn it, Frank!” I push Stephan away, unable to breathe. “You scared us half to death!”

The magnificent moose appears from behind the big trees and heads straight toward us. He pushes into Stephan’s shoulder, moving him out of the way, and stops in front of me, looking for affection. I scratch between his eyes and behind his ears, slightly pushing him back. He presses his wet nose into my hand, snorts as he passes Stephan, and slowly meanders back into the woods.

“See, it was just Frank.” I turn to Stephan and find him watching where Frank disappeared, his gaze intense.

When his worried eyes turn my way, there is no humor in them. “I feel someone watching us.”

“It was Frank. Trust me, he’d know if someone was around.” Frank is notorious for beating up bad guys. As an animal, he has way better senses than we do, so I rely on him here. “Don’t be paranoid.” He doesn’t listen, so I tug on his hand. “Stephan, it’s okay, don’t worry. It really was Frank.”

His dark eyes dart between mine. “Yesterday, you thought someone was around. Who is this person from Boston?”

I thought this conversation was settled, and I’ve dreaded more questions. But there’s no reason to hide it anymore. “Someone has been pranking me, sending me weird messages.”

“Do you have them saved?”

“Yes.”

“Show them to me when we’re back,” he demands sternly.

“Okay.” I shrug easily. “We don’t have service, though. What would you do with them?”

“I’ll check them out when we leave.”

“Okay,” I say with a nod. “But it’s real—”

But I’m interrupted by a black furball smashing into Stephan’s legs, coming seemingly out of nowhere. He instantly crouches and pats the creature. It looks almost like a cat if it wasn’t so skinny, missing an eye and an ear, and not covered in so many battle scars. Cats don’t look like that. And besides, I doubt a domestic cat could survive out here.

But it’s indeed a cat. A very hungry one.

“I left you food on the porch. Why didn’t you come?” Stephan coos as he scratches behind the furball’s ears.

“Okay, now the cat food I found makes sense.” I nod, checking off one of the mysteries of the cabin. “Do you want to introduce me to your friend?”

When Stephan looks up, his cheeks are blushing, and I bite my lip, trying to hide a smile.

“Sure. This is Midnight.” He pats the cat one more time and rises to his feet.

Now it’s my turn to crouch. I take off my glove and offer my outstretched hand to the cat, who sniffs it once, lets out a loud hiss, and instantly walks away. “What just happened?” I blink as he disappears.

“He stopped coming for food. He needs to eat.” Stephan’s voice is worried, like he’s a father talking about his child. It’s so cute that my nose starts stinging.

“He’ll come around when he’s ready.” I touch his arm for reassurance, but he just keeps watching the cat. I get the feeling the little thing became jealous when I showed up at the cabin, and I can’t say that I’mnotfeeling bad about it—it looked sohungry and pissed, and I don’t want to be the reason it starves to death.

“You remind me of that cat, you know.”

This draws his attention, and he looks at me with a raised brow because that animal is definitely not the best looking one.