Page 5 of Recipe for a Curse

“Jim mentioned a generator?”

“Generators take gas. That’s not free either, plus getting it filled when I don’t have a car is damn near impossible.” He let out a long sigh. “All I have is the fire. I should wrap you up and take you back to your car. Maybe the roads are clear still.” Though when we both glanced toward the window, and the heavy rush of falling snow, I knew there wasn’t a chance of that. The plows would do the main part of town first, which was a half an hour south. They’d get out here eventually, but it would likely mean my car would be plowed into the tiny alcove I’d pulled into.

“Do you have camping stuff? Like a cook pot? I can make stuff over the fire.” Another class at the manor I’d taken. Honestly, I’d have taken everything if I’d had time. The survival stuff had appealed to me because we were out so far and the manor used to lose power from time to time. Zach had created solar charging stations and backup generators so it didn’t happen anymore, but he was prepared that way. “I can make us some stew.”

“Bacon and steak stew?” Rio sounded dumbfounded and obviously hungry.

I smiled. “Some potatoes and carrots too, if you don’t mind. They are in the bags if they aren’t completely frozen. If they are, well I’ll have to cut them either way. I could use some food too.”

Rio stared at me for a minute, like he wasn’t sure I was saying what he thought I was, but finally he began to dig through the kitchen pulling out some basic camping supplies, a cutting board, and even giving me a good hunting knife. He piled up stuff around me. “What do you need from the supplies you brought?”

I listed off some of the things I knew were in the bags with a plan to create a hearty, protein packed meal that would last a few days. “And water,” I finished.

Rio paused in gathering to glance not at the sink, but outside. He looked down. “I’ll have to melt some snow.”

I processed that for a minute. “As long as it’s not yellow, sure,” I joked.

Rio didn’t seem to catch the joke. “There’s a well, but it’s frozen…”

“Rio, it’s fine. We only need about two cups anyway. I’m sure we can get that in this snowstorm in a minute.”

He nodded, but wouldn’t look at me. Instead, he brought over the piles of food, then vanished outside with a small bowl. He had a good-sized Dutch oven with feet, and heat resistant gloves, so I opened the grate separating the fire from the room and carefully set the pot close, leaving off the lid so I could fill it. He was gone a few minutes while I cut up things and added the bacon to the pot first. Once it began to sizzle, I knew we’d get enough heat to have ourselves a fine meal. Too bad I didn’t have a way to make a loaf of crusty bread to go with it.