51. "It's about to rain, get inside."
“It’s about to rain, get inside.” Amber propped her hands on her chin as she sat on the backsteps of the lodge and looked up at the gray haze descending from the rolling purple hills in the distance. So it was. Another five to ten minutes she reckoned, and then the rain would be upon them. Not such a bad thing. She wondered how Hiwatari would look wet, then she squashed the notion. That way led to trouble. Kai leaned against the axe and stared at her, brown eyes narrowing on her face. “Go inside.”“It’s just rain. I don’t know if you’ve realised this, Hiwatari, but I’m Irish. Rain doesn’t faze us.” She was going to continue sitting on the steps, breathing in the fresh air that held just the hint of the incoming shower mingling with the crisp scent of pine trees and the woodsmoke filtering from the chimney to the side of the house. Earlier the group had lit the fire to make the lodge cozy and warm but then the firewood had dwindled and Kai, who always had to be master and commander of every situation, had huffed out a breath and stomped outside to “chop more wood since you assholes keep wasting it”. “Please yourself,” he muttered, grabbing up the last armful of logs and carrying them up the path to the back door. She leaned against the edge of the steps as he passed her, taking all three steps in one long stride. Once he disappeared inside, she listened to the clump of his boots, the irritated snap of his voice as he ordered Tyson to help him out and the snarky retort before Hilary berated them both and she smiled. This was kind of nice. Kind of bizarre too. She wasn’t used to this particular group of people but alas the rest of the group had been delayed due to a flooded road and would be arriving tomorrow.
A pit, then a pat and a splash of rain hit the bottom step staining the wood. A soft roar began to rise from the woods around them and she shivered, giddily snuggling into the oversized hoodie she’d stolen from Hiwatari. Probably another reason he’d snapped at her. He’d probably have to burn it now. If she ever gave it back. It was comfortable and it smelled good. He’d have to pry it from her cold lifeless body.
The rain turned to a steady downpour, hitting the roof and dripping from the gutter and puddling in the crevices along the path. The world turned quiet and insular, closed in by silvery sheets of rain.
A creak of wood from behind and a warm body sank down onto the step beside her. She curbed the urge to sink into the heat.
“Go inside. You’ll get wet and sick. I’m not nursing you back to health.”
She snorted at his absurd comment. “I’m not going to get sick from rain.” That was fucking stupid.
“Why? Because you’re Irish? You’re as bad as McGregor.”
“One,” -she held up a finger- “no one’s as bad as Scot boy’s ego, though you do give him a run for his vault of money and two, it’s rain. If I get wet, I’ll go inside and shower.” Jesus Christ, she was not five years old.
He got back up with a sigh that screamed annoyance and she subtly flipped him off. She could hear him muttering under his breath as he opened and slammed cupboards in the kitchen. Well, served him right for being an idiot.
A few minutes later he was back beside her and pushing a mug of tea into her hands, the steam rising from the liquid that was just on the darker shade of tan. She blinked, then took a sip and shivered with pleasure. Hiwatari knew how she took her tea.
Something flipped inside her and she held the mug a little tighter.
He might complain about her existence to anyone who’d listen but he knew how she took her tea and that spoke volumes. She smirked and eyed him from under her lashes as his thigh pressed against hers though he kept his eyes glued to the mountains concealed by the rain. She was growing on him. He might not even suspect it yet, but, she thought as she took another sip of her tea, she was definitely growing on him.
amandla
