Page 20 of The Storm
He pulled her back to his chest. “There’s probably six feet of new snow out there. I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you. It’s a good thing you’ve stored food in the kitchen.”
She said nothing.
“Hey, Reni?” He kissed the top of her head. “How long has it been since we’ve seen each other?”
“Two years and ten months.”
He smiled.And four days.“Do you know something?”
“I know lots of things,” she said.
“It’s been two years, ten months, and four days since you left me.”
“You left me.”
“You were packing your bags when I walked out the door, and you weren’t there when I got back.” He was getting off track. “That was two years, ten months, and four days ago.”
“And?”
“I still haven’t met myreshon.”
She shoved his arm from around her waist and stood.
“What?” He watched her reach for her robe and wrap it around herself like armor. “I just thought I’d let you know.”
“Do you think you’re funny?”
“No, I don’t think I’m funny,” he said. “I think I’m pissed off.”
“Then why did you come?”
He let out a long breath. Whyhadhe come?
“I told myself when I was walking up here—when I thought my toes might fall off from the cold—I didn’t know if I was trying to find you for wanting or sheer obstinacy.”
Renata was standing at the window, staring out into the blue wall of snow.
That’s right. You’re not getting rid of me so easily this time.
He looked around at the carved rafters and expertly stacked stone hearth. The house was plain from the outside but stunning within. “How old is this place?”
“The house?” Renata walked away from the window and sat in a wooden rocking chair by the hearth. “I don’t know. It was here when I was born, so at least three hundred years, but it’s been rebuilt over the years. Things were added on here and there. There are eight bedrooms upstairs, so you’re welcome to prepare one for yourself if you like. Mine and the living room are the warmest though, so if I were you, I’d continue sleeping down here.”
He’d be sleeping in her bedroom, but that discussion could wait. “This was your family’s home?”
She shook her head, but she still wasn’t looking at him. “It didn’t belong to us. Not exactly. I’m sure the council has forgotten about it at this point. I’ve made sure the name on the deed is mine. They can’t take it now.” She turned. “I’m sure you’re thinking they wouldn’t be interested in a house this remote, but it’s not the house they’d want. It’s the caves.”
Max sat up and leaned against the sofa. “I wondered if there were caves when I saw how the house was built.”
“The caves are the only reason this house—this whole compound—ever existed. I don’t know how old they are, but my mother told me they were created by very powerful earth singers centuries ago.”
“Why?”
“To store the scrolls.”
Understanding dawned. “This was a library.”
Renata stood and grabbed wood for the fire, placing it on the glowing embers along with some kindling. “This was a library. A unique library. Ciasa Fatima was one of the few combined libraries in the world.”
