“No copies?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Nope. On my honor,” he said, holding up his hand then crossing his heart. “I mean, for what it’s worth.”
I didn’t comment on his honor.
“Well, thank you.” I snatched the key in case this was some sort of trap.
“So, what are you up to today?” he asked. “I heard the news from Lucah. Looks like they have to wait for a while to see how everything is going to turn out. I wish I could be there.”
“I bet. I really wish there was something I could do,” I said.
“You are doing it.” Not really. This wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it was much too easy.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he went to the sink.
“Dishes,” he said, as if it was obvious. “I’m not going to make you clean up. Besides, I got really good at washing dishes those three days I actually did it.” He set the tray down with a clatter.
“So, that was how long you lasted?” He probably didn’t want to talk about this, but tough. He had to talk to someone.
“Yeah. I got a little mouthy, and that was it. They’d already taken a risk hiring me, so I was on thin ice there, too.” I hopped up on the counter and swung my legs.
“So, what did you do all those days when you were supposed to be working?”
He shrugged and didn’t look at me. “Walked around.” That was the answer he’d given his brother. I didn’t buy it.
“No, really. What did you do? Because that was a hell of a lot of time to spend strolling.”
He dropped a glass and it shattered in the sink.
“Fuck,” he said, yanking his hand back.
“Did you cut yourself?” I asked, jumping off the counter and rushing to him.
“Yeah.” He ran his hand under the water.
“How bad is it? Let me see.” I grabbed his arm and yanked it towards me so I could see if the cut was bad. Fortunately, it was shallow and only about a half-inch long. Still, it was bleeding.
“Hold that under the water,” I said, and went to the bathroom to find some ointment and bandages. Ryder let me patch him up, and then I shoved him to the side so I could finish the dishes.
“You’re good at taking care of people, Sloane,” he said as I fished the rest of the glass out of the sink so it didn’t go down the drain.
I snorted. “Um, all I did was put a bandage on you. No big deal.” I finished the dishes, and we both sat on the couch.
“No, you’re good at taking care of people. You may not see it, but I do.” Okay, sure. I wasn’t going to argue with him.
“Hey, it’s snowing!” I said, jumping up and going to the window. I loved the first snow. Not so much the rest of it, but the first snow was always the best. In a perfect world, it would only snow once every winter. Maybe then people wouldn’t complain about it so much.
Ryder joined me at the window. The snowflakes were just what they should be. Soft and floating down slowly from the sky. It was too warm for them to stick to the ground and actually form drifts, but it didn’t matter. I still loved watching it.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said in my ear.
I turned and found our faces only inches apart. The last time we’d been this close, we’d been kissing. I had to stop thinking about stuff like that. Shut it down, Sloane.
“A walk?” I said. I couldn’t stop staring at his lips. They were so tempting.
“A walk,” he said, then pulled back. “Take a walk in the snow with me.”
~*~*~