Page 25 of The Awakening (The Morton Family Saga #3)
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ellie
T he weather changed, and the sky turned dark. There was a dampness in the air that, if I had been in Montana, I would have interpreted as a sure sign that a blizzard was on the way. The door swung open, and Gavin walked into the house. It was unlike him to be home now.
“Hi, what’s going on?”
“I have to help Rob and Nate bring in a bunch of cows. They need to be brought in before this blizzard hits. The weatherman said it might be a few days.” He walked over to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup, then topped off the one I had out on the counter.
“I need to get some warmer clothes on, and I wanted to let you know I was heading out.”
“Thank you for thinking of me. I hope you won’t have to be out there long.” I took a sip of my coffee, watching him do the same.
“You should have enough wood to last if the power goes out and I’m not back. Keep the fires going in the living room and bedroom. Kate will come get you if I am not back tomorrow. There’s no reason to stay here alone.”
“Tomorrow? Will it really take that long?”
“It shouldn’t, but if we get stuck out there at the cabin, I have no way to let you know. If the power goes out, use the radio to keep up with the weather updates.” He looked around the kitchen. “I don’t know if there’s anything else to tell you. This isn’t your first blizzard, I guess.”
I nodded. This all seemed like a lot of what ifs and maybes.
I bit the corner of my mouth and turned to look out the window.
He was right. This wasn’t the first blizzard I had been through, but it was the first where someone else was relying on me to keep going.
Letting my hands rest on my stomach, I took a deep breath.
Gavin moved quietly behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you have time to miss me.”
“Promise?” I whispered, leaning back into him.
“I promise. I have to go, but I’ll see you soon.” His words were quiet, and I could tell he wasn’t looking forward to the job ahead of him. After kissing the side of my head, he left me standing alone.
His quick footsteps above me filled me with uncertainty. I didn’t need to be coddled, but this was a side of Gavin I hadn’t seen before. He was tense, his face held more emotion than he even realized.
Stomping back down the stairs, he looked like he was wearing five layers of clothes under his coveralls. “Here, take this.” I handed him his coffee in a go cup.
“Thank you. See you soon.” He lifted his hand to my neck and ran his rough thumb across my cheek, gently pulling me toward him and covering my mouth with his hungrily.
It felt like I was kissing him for the last time. Is this what it felt like when frontier women sent their husbands off on long roundups? Was I being dramatic? Quite possibly. But I held on to him tighter until I heard boots on the porch.
“Gavin, come on. We need to ride. Let your wife go. We will be home before she has time to miss you.” Nate had popped his head in the door. “Hi, Ellie.”
Breaking our kiss, I looked over Gavin’s shoulder. “Hi, Nate. Keep my man safe.”
“Will do, ma’am.” Smiling, he nodded and backed away from the door.
“Be safe, cowboy.”
“I will.” Stealing one last quick kiss, he turned and walked out the door.
I watched him swing his leg over his horse as I walked out onto the porch. The three men waved as they rode off. When I couldn’t see them anymore, I turned back into the house and closed the door to the building cold.
The hours passed, and the wind picked up as the snow fell. I sat in the living, watching the storm gradually obscure the trees that surrounded the house until they were no longer visible.
My landmarks gone, I’d never felt more lost than I did at this moment. I placed a few more logs the fire, the sparks exploding like fireworks in the fireplace. Immediately, I felt the warmth of the new logs now ablaze, and as I turned, the lamp beside the couch flickered and went off.
“Well, isn’t that just great?” Placing my hands on my hips, I looked around, mentally making a check list of everything I needed to do.
Check the fire in the bedroom was first on the list.
The minutes ticked by like hours. The house had remained warm, thanks to the almost constant back and forth checking. Rummaging through the hall closet, I found a set of pie irons. It might to be a five-star meal, but I was going to have as much fun as I could riding out this blizzard alone.
Opening the fridge, I pulled out the ham and cheese, then searched for pizza sauce in the pantry. I had the makings of a campfire pizza.
My watch read eight o’clock as the storm raged on outside the window, and I desperately looked for an outline of the three riders.
I stood at the window until my legs were tired, then slumped onto the couch and pulled the big quilt up to my chin. I watched the flames flicker and listened to the hisses and pops of the burning logs as I drifted off.
A cold blast of air filled the house. I startled awake and looked toward the fire, but between the hearth and me stood a large man with his back to me. Then someone was screaming.
“Hey, it’s me. Quit screaming. Ellie, it’s just me.” He came toward me with arms extended, but before I could pull away, the flames from the fireplace lit up his face. Gavin.
I slapped my hands over my mouth to stop the scream I’d been ready to let loose. He pressed his lips together, his eyes lighting up, and I couldn’t help but start to laugh.
“You don’t have a wooden spoon under that blanket, do you?” Gavin was obviously seeing similarities to the night we met, and I couldn’t help but lift the blanket and reach under like I might just pull one out and threaten him with it.
“No, I don’t” I giggled.
“Good, as cold as I am, you just might shatter me into a million pieces.”
Hopping off the couch, I flung my arms around him and held on for dear life. “You should get out of these wet clothes.”