The Better Brother

“Sorry,” I said.

“You should be.”

She wrapped herself up in the blankets while I propped her leg back up on some pillows. For now, the swelling would be kept at bay if she kept her ankle elevated. The ace bandage would work not only as a stabilizer but as a compression sock and, hopefully, no more damage could come to her joints and tendons. I got up and headed to the fireplace, stocking it with kindling before I got a flame going.

Then, I tossed a few logs onto it and allowed the heat to permeate the room.

I looked back at the strange woman and watched her shivering finally die down. The flames of the fire were flickering off her features and, for a moment, I could only stand and stare. What the fuck was I going to do with this woman in this storm? She couldn’t get back to the resort. Not in weather like this. It was dumping by the buckets and that side road would already be snowed out.

And I still hadn’t gotten out with my chainsaw to remove that fucking tree from the road.

“You shouldn’t have been out in this weather,” I said, again.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You hurt yourself,” I said.

“Look, once I get warm, I’m gonna go back, okay? So just leave the fucking attitude over there for now.”

“You can’t go back in a storm like this,” I said. “I know these back roads. They’ll already be snowed out. And the main road that might still be open has a massive tree blocking it.”

“And no one thought to move it?” she asked.

“No one cares about people up here,” I said. “I was gonna move it when I got back home from town today.”

“You’re too late.”

“Excuse me for not knowing someone would be out prancing around in the storm of the century for fun.”

She huffed, turning her back to me while she hunkered down on the couch. She was feisty. She couldn’t go back in this snow and we had no chance of getting her back anywhere until it let up, which I knew wouldn’t be for a few days.

“I’ll get you some more pillows and you can sleep on the couch,” I said.

“How nice of you,” she said sarcastically. “Thanks.”

“Would you like to try your luck with the weather?” I asked. “Because if you’re really that stubborn, go ahead.”

She turned back over to look at me, her eyes filled with fury and fire. I sighed. This was exactly why I didn’t want to be around people and why I had no interest in finding a companion. People talked too much. “This storm’ll eat you alive,” I said. “You can stay on the couch until it lets up.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, sounding more genuine than before.

I heard her sigh as she turned her back to me and a part of me felt sorry for her. I was also intrigued by her. If she was scared, she didn’t show it. Some burly man with a beard and a stern voice found her and brought her inside his cabin and she hadn’t even asked my fucking name yet. It made me wonder what her story was. What could’ve happened to her that was more frightening than a strange man bringing her back to his isolated cabin in the fucking woods?

But if she didn’t want to know my name, then I didn’t care about knowing hers. After all, she’d only be here for a few days and then I’d take her back to wherever the hell she wanted to be.

“I’ll go get those pillows,” I said.

“Okay.”

I walked around the couch and found my way to the hallway closet. I pulled a few extra pillows down from the top shelf, then went back to her. I propped her head up a bit more and put a bit of support underneath her back. I’d taken care of way too many soldiers in my time who were lying on nothing but slabs of wood. I knew how to make sure their bodies were comfortable and the more comfortable she was, the less tension she would carry.

That meant her body would control the swelling of her ankle more, which meant she’d heal faster.

Which meant she’d get the fuck out of my cabin sooner rather than later.

“Thanks,” she said again.

“Yep,” I said. “Just keep that ankle elevated and try not to walk on your own too much. It needs to heal.”