"As good as this hot chocolate is, I don't think it's going to sustain us for very long." As much as he hated to break the comfortable silence they'd found themselves in, he knew there were things that had to be done. You couldn't just show up at a cabin in the middle of nowhere without making a few provisions. "There's a little town about thirty minutes north of here. They've got a small grocery store, a little diner, and not much else. We can go pick up a few things and grab some lunch while we're there or I can go and pick up some things to keep us going for a few days. You can hang out here and look around, get some rest, whatever."

"You know that actually sounds nice." She took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh scent of the nature that surrounded her. For the first time in as long as she could remember, the heaviness that usually rested on her chest felt a little lighter. "I mean if you don't mind going it alone then …"

"No, it'll be fine." He stood and carefully rearranged the blanket over her legs. "Any requests? You need anything specific to prepare your specialties?"

She smiled, and that action alone surprised her. A day ago, she might have said she would never smile again and now, it had happened naturally. "I hate to be the one to ruin this fantasy, Johnny, but I'm not exactly a five star chef. Let's see." She held her hand out in front of her, preparing to tick off the dishes she'd managed to master in the course of her life. "On a good day, I can make semi-edible oatmeal, scrambled eggs, slightly burnt toast, and something that looks and kind of tastes like pasta. Oh, and I can heat soup … usually … unless I get distracted."

His laugh had a way of making her forget the awfulness that had happened to her and, even if it was only for a second, she felt a flash of happiness - just enough to remind her that it could still exist.

"Well, on that hopeful note," he grinned. "I guess I'll see what I can find. I'll warn you though, you're not gonna be gluten-free or low carb or Paleo or any of that up here."

"I've never been any of that anywhere," she smirked. "I'm sure whatever you get will be fine. Honestly just being here is enough. This place is …" She shook her head, trying to find a way to put into words the strange peacefulness that now seemed to surround her. "It's something really special."

"Yeah. Yeah it is. Alfred took pretty much everything from her - but this place, this was something she was able to hold onto. This was her refuge, our refuge. This is where we would go when it all got to be too much. I never knew why we were here exactly. For me it was just a fun adventure, but for her it was a way to try and hold onto her sanity - hold onto her life. In the end, she left it to me and I come here for the same reasons. When the world gets to be too much, this is where I feel most at home."

"I get that," she whispered. It was difficult to force her lips to form the words as part of her was simply too stunned to speak. She'd always known the relationship they shared was one of convenience, of shared scars, but now she saw something different, something so human and so vulnerable that she feared scaring it away. Hiding that side of yourself, being unwilling to show any weakness for fear of exploitation was something she knew and understood well. It wouldn't take much to send him right back inside himself and now that she'd been given a peek beneath the hard, stoic exterior, she yearned to know more.

"Yeah, well, it's good to know it still works, huh?" He shifted his weight from foot to foot, the change in energy becoming evident even to him. "I better get going. It'll be lunch time before long."

She watched as he headed down the wooden steps and slid into the front seat of her sportscar. Even through the chill in the air, there was something inviting about this front porch, about this whole place. Jonathan was right - it really did feel like home. The hinges on the front door squeaked a bit as she pulled the screen door shut and closed the wooden door behind her. From the outside, the house seemed smaller, more contained, but once you stepped past the threshold, the rooms seemed spacious and cozy all at once. The living room was exactly what she'd always imagined a family would have, a recliner in the corner, a well loved sofa on the wall, a tv flanked by end tables and small lamps and, across the room, a wood burning fireplace.

The kitchen was small but functional. A refrigerator sat in the corner with a toaster and blender positioned beside it on the countertop. The porcelain sink and old stove reminded her of something out of the old sitcoms that often showed up late at night when she'd flip through channels hoping to find something to lull her anxious mind to sleep. It made her smile to think of a young Jonathan in this house, running around and causing what she was almost certain was havok.

There were two bedrooms and a small bathroom down the hallway that seemed to lead through the natural flow of the house. When she reached the back, she stopped, her breath catching a bit as she looked out in front of her. She'd heard the sound of water from the front porch swing, but she'd assumed it had simply echoed through the trees in the distance. Now, as she stood almost transfixed in front of the screened in porch, she could see the river in the distance and even closer was the small pond. Beside it was a small fire pit and she instantly imagined how it would feel to smell the burning wood as the chill of the night fell around her.

At first, she'd wondered if coming here had been a mistake, if running away from all of her problems had been just another cowardly act of avoidance. But now, as she stepped through the screened in porch and out the back door, she felt no doubt. Her eyes settled on the wildflowers that bloomed under the trees in the distance. She recognized the dainty white flowers as snowdrops. When she was much younger, she could remember seeing them while she still wore a coat to keep warm from the biting wind. She'd envied their strength and resilience and now, they almost seemed to be sending her a message. If they could survive the frost and winter, so could she. With a trembling hand, she reached down and slowly pulled a few from the still cold ground.


Edmund huffed as he reached into his jacket pocket for the key card. "Dinah," he called out again before swiping the card through the reader on the door. "It's just me. I'm …" He stopped as heard the deafening silence in the room. The lights were off, the bed was made, the room seemed unnaturally still. Something was wrong. His heart began to beat faster as he quickly raced over to the phone. The receiver was already in his hand, his fingertips poised to dial the front desk when his eyes fell on the handwriting he recognized as hers. Dread instantly filled his entire body as he lifted the folded piece of paper and began to read.

Edmund,

I need some time. Please don't worry. Everything is fine. I'll be in touch.

Dinah

His hand clenched around the heavy paper as he scanned the words again and again. Time for what? To do what? To think about what? "No. No. No," he muttered as he searched his jacket for his phone. "Damn," he hissed as he heard the sound of her voice indicating the switch to voicemail. He bit his lip to try and calm the anger that welled up within him. "Keep it together" he silently coached himself. "Dinah," he began, his tone as even as he could muster given the tension and white hot rage that coursed through him. "I found your note and I can't help but think this is not a good idea. You shouldn't be alone right now. It's not safe and if you need a break or a spa day or whatever it is that you think will make it better for you, I can arrange that, but I need you to get in touch with me now so that I can come and get you and make sure that you're alright. We have things to talk about and I have to make sure that everything's okay. We made an agreement, Dinah and I know that you wouldn't just walk away from that … not after everything we talked about." He felt his body begin to tremble and took another deep breath. "So call me as soon as you get this and I'll make sure that you get whatever it is that you need. Alright? Call me."

He ended the call and slammed the phone down hard on the desk in front of him. His jaw clenched as he looked over and saw the still unsigned contract sitting there, mocking him. Remaining in control was paramount to this project's success and somehow, someway, he was going to get the upper hand back.