6
Kollette was right. Sleep didn’t change anything between her and Ethan. His ever watchful eyes were no longer on her. If anything, it was like he couldn’t bring himself to look at her, which hurt even more.
“Aren’t you feeling well?” Mabel asked.
Heartache wasn’t actually an illness, but it surely was making her stomach do funny things. “My body is just recovering from the cold yesterday. You’re right, I should’ve dressed warmer to go clean off my Jeep.”
“Why don’t you go and sit by the fire. I can handle making dinner.”
“I know you can, and it would probably taste better, but I want to learn everything I can while I’m here. What are we making today?” she asked.
“Chicken and dumplins. It’s something my grandma used to make when I was small. Of course I put my own touches to it.”
“Well let’s get started, because now I’m hungry,” she said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.
“Just so you know, it’s also Ethan’s favorite. I don’t think he’s feeling like himself today either. Maybe this will cheer him up.”
Only thing that’s going to do that is if I leave.She had every intention of doing that once the roads were open. But Roy said that wasn’t going to happen for a few days. Surely the Potters were going to start to question the change between her and Ethan. Kollette was actually surprised they hadn’t already.
“Tell me where you want me to start.”
“It’s all about making a good chicken stock. The broth is the key, but people don’t always know that.”
They spent the next few hours cooking up a storm. Thankfully they were so busy that Ethan didn’t come up in the topic again. That didn’t mean she hadn’t thought about him several times. Kollette needed to find some time alone with him. She’d apologized yesterday, but obviously that wasn’t enough. After dinner she was going to make him listen to her, one way or another.
“It really smells delicious,” she said.
“I think this is the best batch yet. You and I make a good team,” Mabel said. “I guess you grabbing the paprika powder, instead of black pepper, was a good thing. Cooking is all about experimenting. Now baking is a different story. It’s like being a chemist. You need know what reacts with which ingredients or you end up with something that looks like a brick instead of a light fluffy cake.”
“I think I’ll stick with cooking for now. Besides, if I learn to bake, I’ll need to go to the gym even more,” Kollette said. “I just look at dessert and it goes to my hips.”
Mabel looked her over and said, “Then I better get baking, because you’re tiny and could use a bit more meat on you. That’s why you’re so cold. Look at me. I have plenty of insulation,” she laughed patting her stomach.
“Not at all. You’re just used to this temperature. And of course, you have Roy to keep you warm,” she winked.
“That helps too,” she blushed. “I’ve noticed Ethan doing quite a bit of looking in your direction. And you’ve been spending a lot of evenings up late together. Seems like there’s something brewing between the two of you.”
There was.“No. It’s not like that. We’re just killing time while waiting for the roads to open.”
Mabel shook her head. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard Ethan laughing like he has these past few days. It’s nice.”
He wasn’t laughing right now. “I think it was the competition that he enjoyed. I wasn’t about to let him win.”
“Good. Men like a challenge. And Ethan seems to really like you. I hope the two of you stay in contact when you leave.”
“When I get back, it’s back to business. I don’t have time to date,” she said. And even if she did, Ethan wasn’t going to be interested.
“Kollette, you need to make time for what is important. A job is good, but when you’re sick, it doesn’t take care of you. When you’re sad, it doesn’t comfort you. And when you’re lonely, it doesn’t love you.”
“Some day that might happen for me. Right now, I have a career I need to work on.” It was all she had, and focusing on it was what she needed to do so she wouldn’t think about what was missing in her life.
Roy came into the kitchen and announced, “They’re clearing the road. Even all the way to our cabin. I’ve never seen this before. Come and look.”
Mabel took off her apron and followed Roy. Kollette did the same. When they got onto the porch, she saw the large plow pushing the snow off into the woods. Ethan came out and joined them.
“They said they weren’t going to be able to do this for a few days,” Ethan said.
“I’ve never seen them come all the way up either. Maybe it’s a new guy who forgot to stop,” Roy chuckled.