Page 16 of Kian

“I’m in the spare bedroom. Could you come in here, please?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Just let me put the logs in the bin.” A few minutes later, he appeared in the doorway. “What do you have there?”

“It belonged to my uncle. I completely forgot about it. It might have some clothes in it that you could use.”

“That would be great.”

“Let’s see what’s in here.” She lifted the lid and smiled when she saw neatly folded clothes inside. She handed them to Kian and watched him set them on the bed. “Ah ha!” She pulled out a leather aviator jacket and held it up. “It’s my uncle’s old aviator jacket. Here, let me help you try it on.” She slid the right sleeve up his arm, then he put his left arm in. The sleeves were a little short, but other than that, the jacket fit him well. He zipped it up and grinned at her.

“It fits well enough.”

“Then the T-shirts and flannel shirts should fit too.” She dug through the chest and found some more clothing options for Kian. “Good thing I remembered this. Now you have some warm clothes.”

Kian’s grin widened as he replied, “Good. Any sweatpants?”

“Let me look.” Gretchen got on her knees in front of the chest, moved everything aside and dug down into it, finally pulling out a few pair of sweatpants in different colors. She mentally groaned when she saw the gray pair.Men in gray sweatpants.She sighed, then pulled out two more pair, one red, and one black.

“If the weather isn’t too bad tomorrow, I’d also like you to take me to where you found me. Maybe something will come back to me,” Kian said thoughtfully.

“That’s a good idea, but you will not overdo it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a smile.

“And if at all possible, we’ll head to where I can get service.”

She helped him removed the jacket and placed it on the bed.

“Okay. I’ll just leave everything here.”

“That’s fine.” Gretchen blushed slightly as they made eye contact before she looked away.

As the night went on and the sleet continued outside, Gretchen couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth and comfort with Kian in the cabin. And yet, in the back of her mind,she knew that there were still many unanswered questions and uncertainties about him, and she couldn’t let herself forget that.

****

The following morning after breakfast, Kian sat on the sofa watching TV while Gretchen sat in the chair.

“Do you have a computer?”

“No. I used to but since there’s no wi-fi, there was no sense in it. I’m sorry. I’m very secluded, but I can use my phone for a search on you.”

“Why isn’t someone looking for me?”

“Well, like you said, you can’t have been missing long. There’s not any frostbite. You couldn’t have been there long at all. Lobo must have found you right after you were dumped beside the tree. Of course, there was no wind, and that makes frostbite occur quicker. Whoever put you there expected you to die. They took your coat, phone, and any ID you had. You couldn’t have been out there very long.” She shrugged.

“I suppose that’s a good enough reason, but why was I out there to begin with?”

“Now, that I don’t know.”

“It has to do with those men I saw.”

“I’m sure it does.”

He shook his head. “I want to know what I was doing following them.”

“You will.”

“I suppose. I want to know who I am and why I’m here. I didn’t just show up in the woods for no damn reason.”

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