“Really?” Excitement burst through my voice.
A slight grin crossed one side of his face, and I felt my face flush.
“If you want to call the company and try to get your interview rescheduled, you can. Phone is on the coffee table.”
“That would be great, thank you,” I said.
I crossed over to the living room and picked up his phone. It was weird to see someone with a phone that didn’t have a password or a thumbprint lock on it, but I guess that was part of living on the mountain. There was no one around to snoop or steal his phone. I called the office again, and this time I was able to get someone. They had already tried to call me to reschedule and were willing to move it a couple of days. I thanked them and hung up, grateful.
I went back into the kitchen after grabbing the book from the nightstand. I sat at the little table in the eat-in area and read while I occasionally looked up to watch him cook. There were times where I wanted to suggest something or correct him, but I held it in. I was determined that whatever he served me, I would pretend like it was the greatest, most authentic dish I had ever been served.
It turned out I didn’t need to be so worried about acting my way through dinner. While it was a far cry from the hazy memories I had of my mother’s cooking or of the chefs Dad called on to make us family meals, it was better than I expected. The sauce was a bit thin, and it could have done with a touch more salt, but overall, it wasn’t bad for being cooked by non-Italian person. At least he served the pasta al dente.
After we ate, I hung out at the kitchen table and eventually moved to the couch. We still weren’t talking much, and I kept my nose in my book while he kept his nose in his own, but we were at least in the same room. It was nice just spending time with another human being, especially with the cabin fever that was starting to rear its head.
As the evening began to creep over the sky, I thought about Sammi and how terrified she had to be that I suddenly wasn’t responding to her. Knowing her, she must have sent me a dozen text messages and called a dozen times more by now.
“Aiden?” I asked.
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I make another call? My friend back in New York and I usually talk every night, and I want to let her know I’m okay.”
“Sure,” he said. “I have some wood to bring in anyway. Phone’s over there.”
I followed his finger to the television stand where he had his phone sitting on one of those emergency backup chargers that you charged with a USB. I picked it up, thanking him, and checked the reception. It had three bars, which I assumed was about as good as it got on the mountain and went into the bedroom. Aiden walked in behind me, slipping on a coat.
As he walked outside through the back door that led into the bedroom, I dialed Sammi’s number, which thankfully hadn’t changed in twenty years.
“Hello?”
“Sammi, it’s me,” I said.
“Oh, thank God,” Sammi said. “Desiree, where the hell are you? I’ve been trying to call you. When your phone stopped ringing, I thought you were dead. Dad was ready to get some fellas and head wherever you were, but since you didn’t tell me where that was, I couldn’t send him.”
I laughed. “Well, you’re not going to believe what happened.”
“I’m sure. Tell me anyway,” she said. “Can we do a video call? I want to see your face and know you are okay.”
“I can’t right now,” I said. “I’m on someone else’s phone.”
“Why?”
“Give me a second, and I’ll explain,” I laughed. “First off, I am so glad to hear your voice.”
“Same—I love you. You scared me. Don’t ever do that again. Yada. Yada. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“Okay, so, I decided to go for a hike,” I began. “Unfortunately, a blizzard was moving in, and I thought I could get back before it hit. I was wrong. I got lost in the woods.”
“Jesus, Desiree,” Sammi muttered.
“Yeah, well, I was freezing, lost, alone, and I left my phone on the suction cup holder in the car. I got stupidly lucky and saw a cabin not far away with smoke coming out of it, and sure enough, there was a dude in there who let me in. I’ve been staying here the past two days.”
“You mean you’re in some strange mountain man’s cabin? Are you safe?” Sammi asked, her voice rising as she talked herself into the belief I was being held against my will.