Page 16 of Jasper

“I grew up in Vermont. We had nothing but snow in the winter, and I learned to drive on snow before I did actual asphalt.”

“How’s that?”

“Snowmobiles.” He got up, taking their empty bowls with him to dump in the sink. He’d worry about dishes tomorrow when the power was back on.

As soon as he spotted the donut boxes, he found the paper towels and used them to collect two chocolate sprinkle covered donuts.

When he sank back down on the mattress, he handed one to Sloane. “I think we’ve earned this.”

“Sprinkles?” Her impish grin forced the desire he’d been holding at bay all day to resurface. He beat it back again. The girl was just starting to trust him, and he wasn’t about to ruin it.

“Girls like sprinkles,” he said and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. She laughed and took a bite out of her own. A look of intense pleasure replaced the strained expression she’d worn since he met her.

“So, you do like donuts, then?” he asked once he’d swallowed.

“I do. I don’t eat them often because of all the sugar, though.”

“I’m a sugar-holic. My friend Angel tells me I need to be in Sugar Anonymous. The first step to overcoming my sugar addiction is admitting I have a problem. Which I don’t.”

“Mmhmm.” She looked like she believed him as much as Angel did. Hedidhave a problem, but it wasn’t just sugar. It was food in general. He loved food, but he loved eating more. God help him if he ever slacked off on his exercise regimen.

“Do you know how to play poker?”

“Poker?”

“Well, there’s no TV, no radio, and we can’t use our cells because they’ll die. I found this pack of playing cards upstairs when I was searching for blankets that didn’t stink. Thought we could pass the evening with a couple of games of poker.”

“I don’t know how.”

“That’s all right, sweetheart, because I do. You’ll be an expert in a few hours.”

She looked doubtful, but she didn’t argue when he produced them. He checked the fire one more time, and then they settled in and he began the process of teaching her how to play. He felt bad for Jarrod. By the time he was done with her, she’d be a little shark who took all her cousin’s money.

But at least they’d have fun until they passed out.

Jasper groaned and rolled over. Only there was no mattress, only the empty air between the sofa and the coffee table. He landed with a thump and loud yell of surprise.

Sloane shot up off the mattress, clutching her blankets to her and scanning the room, looking for danger. Even half-asleep, Jasper recognized the look. It alarmed him more than falling off the damn couch and banging his shin on the coffee table.

He’d suspected yesterday something was wrong, but now he knew for a fact it was. How to make her tell him what was going on, however, would be a problem. She was closed off, and every time he mentioned anything to do with her coming to North Dakota, she shut down.

Whatever it was had her scared shitless. Maybe he’d send Jarrod an email. If it was a dangerous situation and Jarrod thought he could help, he’d tell Jasper. It was the best plan he could come up with until they got power and internet back on. Then he could do some digging of his own.

He scrubbed at his face with a hand, trying to get rid of the vestiges of sleep. He needed to get up and moving. The animals needed to be seen to, but first, he’d throw a few more logs on the fire so Sloane would be warm. It was already more than chilly.

“Stay there. I’ll get the fire going again. No sense in both of us freezing our asses off.” Jasper got up and tossed his blanket back on the couch. He grunted and pulled on his shoes and jacket before going to the woodpile. Something else he was going to have to work on today. Jarrod had warned him there was enough for a few days, but he’d need more in case of power outages. They got some pretty decent snows up here, and the power tended to go out.

One thing he was going to do today was go into town and get a damn generator. He was surprised Jarrod didn’t have one, or if he did, it was so well hidden, even Bin Laden would be impressed.

Once he had the fire going, he grabbed a donut and went back outside to see to the animals. They had to be fed, and the horses needed let out to roam. From what he’d seen yesterday, they hadn’t had proper exercise in a while. The guy who had been caring for them didn’t really seem to understand animals needed more than just food twice a day. Hell, if it wasn’t for his grandparents who lived in Virginia, he’d be just as bad. But they owned a farm, and Jasper worked it every summer he spent with them up until they died. His parents sold the farm, and that was the end of that.

But he’d learned a lot from the old people, and for that, he’d always be grateful. He missed them a lot.

Once he’d taken care of the animals, he went back inside to the scent of coffee. Sloane had put an old-fashioned coffee pot on the spit above the fireplace and had several donuts heating on the hearth. A woman after his own heart.

“Where did you find that thing?” He nodded to the pot.

“I used to come here summers, and I remembered Aunt Janey saying they always kept this in case of emergencies. I went looking through the cabinets and found it. I can’t function without coffee.”

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