“As soon as it looks like it’s safe, I will drive you out to your car and follow you into town,” I said. “That way if you run off the road or something, I can help you get back to your place.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, speaking directly to her plate. She was upset alright, and I probably was part of the problem. Her leg was bouncing under the table, and I started recognizing all the signs of an anxiety attack coming. Too many guys I had served with had bugged out on occasion, right after or during a firefight. When they realized for the first time they might never see home again. I wondered where her home was. What was a girl like this, with a thick New York accent, doing in the mountains of Tennessee?
“No problem,” I said.
Her fork clattered on her plate as she suddenly looked up at me, a mixture of defiance and pleading in her eyes.
“Can I use your phone?” she asked.
“Sure?”
“I left mine in the car.”
“You left your phone in the car? Before going on a hike? In the snow?”
Her jaw set and her lips thinned as she pressed them together. I got the impression people didn’t usually question her judgment. Maybe she usually had better judgment.
“Yes,” she said, somewhat coldly.
“Here.” I stood and grabbed the phone. “My service isn’t the best out here, but the majority of the storm is passed for now—you should be able to call out. Might have to walk around a bit to get a signal, though.”
She nodded, taking the phone from me, and stood. Moving over to the living room area, she appeared to be searching the internet for a moment before she dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.
“Hi, this is Desiree Giannotti. I had an interview set up for tomorrow?” There was a pause, and she smiled as she spoke, turning on a customer service–type voice that I always admired that people could do. All I had was the Get-jarheads-out-of-the-line-of-fire voice. Her smile turned to a frown as she listened. “Hello, this is Desiree Giannotti. I’m leaving you a message to let you know I need to reschedule my interview due to the blizzard. I’m out of reach of my phone for the next few days, but I will call as soon as I am capable. Thank you.”
“Couldn’t get through?”
“No, I got their voicemail and left a message.”
“Ahh, yeah,” I said. “I’m sure they will reschedule. Everybody shuts down when these things hit.”
She nodded and somewhat reluctantly gave me back the phone. She was young, and I assumed she was the type that normally wasn’t more than a few feet from her device. I felt for her in that regard. I usually had mine sitting near the charger or on it unless I was going outside, having missed a lot of the cell phone craze while I was in the sandbox. Adjusting to how addicted people were to them now was more difficult than I thought it would be.
“Do you mind if I grab a shower?” she asked. “I’ll feel a lot better once I’m clean.”
“Sure. The bottom drawer of the dresser across from the bed is chock-full of T-shirts and sweatpants. You can grab any of them to change into. Your hiking clothes are dry by now too.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Really, thank you. I know this isn’t ideal, and I am panicking a bit, but you have been extraordinarily nice.”
“You’re welcome.” I allowed a smile. “I don’t have a bunch of fancy shampoo or anything, but I have some special soap in the closet in the bathroom. Stuff I brought back from Iraq. You are welcome to it.”
She smiled, and I felt my stomach tighten.
“Thank you,” she said.
I went into the kitchen to tidy up and shut off the sink when I heard her water go on. It was then that I realized I hadn’t gotten the towels back into the bathroom yet. I had brought them all out to sort them, then divvy them up so I had some at the front door for when I had to go tromping through the snow. She didn’t have anything but a couple of washcloths in there.
“Aiden,” I heard her call after a while. “Where are the towels?”
“Be right there.”
I knocked on the door, carrying a stack.
“Come in.”
The water was still running, and she shut it off.
“Setting them down on the counter,” I said, placing them on the sink. Suddenly, the curtain opened just a bit, and her face popped out.
“Can you hand me one?” she asked.
“Sure.” I grabbed one and reached out. As I did, I caught the tiniest glimpse of one side of her body. Her skin was red from the heat, and water dripped down in hundreds of rivulets across her hip. I could see all the way down one side of her leg and up to the faintest hint of the underside of her breast.