It Happened One Night

He arched one eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Men really don’t care as long as they don’t have to cook it,” she shot back.

He laughed. “That’s a given, honey.”

While he put their dishes in the dishwasher, Kiley got Emmie ready for bed. He wasn’t sure how other women were with their kids, but Kiley was nothing short of amazing with hers. He couldn’t believe how prepared she was. She not only carried toys to entertain Emmie in that tote bag, she also had a change of clothes for her daughter, toddler-size cutlery and an array of healthy snacks.

He decided right then and there that if he ever found himself in a survival situation, he wanted Kiley and her magic tote bag with him. She was prepared for every contingency and managed to get it all in a nice, neat little canvas bag about the size of a large box of cereal.

Walking into the family room to sit down on the couch, he wasn’t at all surprised when the lights blinked a couple of times, then went off completely. The generator kicked on automatically and the lights immediately came back on, making him glad that he had thought to add the auxiliary power source when he built the house. The three of them might be stranded until the ice melted, but they would be warm and wouldn’t go hungry.

Emmie suddenly came running into the family room as fast as her little legs would carry her. Dressed in the smallest pair of pink sweats he’d ever seen, the little girl’s hair was a cloud of damp blond curls around her shoulders and her eyes were wide. She was clearly excited about something. Jumping into this lap, she waved her hands and her big brown eyes sparkled as she jabbered for all she was worth.

“What’s she saying?” he asked when Kiley walked in and sat down in the armchair.

Kiley smiled. “She’s trying to tell you about the lights going out while she was in the bathtub.”

“I promise we won’t have to worry about the lights going out again,” Josh assured the little girl. He didn’t know if she was frightened or just trying to tell him about the experience, but he figured a little reassurance wouldn’t hurt.

“Is the house on auxiliary power now?” Kiley asked, putting the clothes Emmie’d had on earlier in the tote bag.

He nodded as he picked up the television’s remote control. “I was just getting ready to see if the local news has a report on how widespread the outages are.”

As they watched the news, they learned that Royal and the surrounding area had been virtually shut down by the ice storm. There were only a few pockets of people who still had electricity, but as the ice brought down more trees and power lines, the utility company expected those to be without power by morning.

When the news program ended, Kiley got up and walked over to him and Emmie. “She’s asleep.”

“Do you want me to carry her to bed for you?” he asked, careful to keep his voice low.

She shook her head. “It might frighten her if she wakes up by herself in a strange place.” She lifted her daughter to her shoulder. “I’ll just lay her down on the love seat until I go to bed.”

After laying Emmie on the love seat, Kiley started to sit back down in the armchair, but he caught her hand in his. “Sit here.”

“Josh, I’m not overly comfortable—”

“It will be easier to talk without disturbing Emmie,” he reasoned, interrupting her.

She stared at him for several long seconds before she slowly lowered herself to the cushion. “I suppose you’re right. She normally isn’t a light sleeper, but that’s at home in her own bed.”

“I’ve been thinking about the sleeping arrangements,” he said, nodding.

“And just what about them?” she demanded, looking suspicious.

He couldn’t keep from chuckling. “Calm down. There are two master suites—the one down here that you used to give Emmie a bath, and one upstairs. There are also four more bedrooms upstairs. I thought you could take your pick of where you and Emmie are going to sleep. But common sense tells me that little kids and stairs aren’t always a good mix.”

“Oh.” She paused for a moment. “Thank you. That’s very considerate. But since your things are in the master suite down here, I assume it’s your room?”

He nodded. “Martha has a bad knee and it’s easier for her to clean and make the bed if she doesn’t have to go up and down the stairs all the time.”

Her slow smile sent heat straight to the pit of his belly. “You’re one surprise after another, Josh Gordon.”

He frowned. “Why do you say that?”