Christmas, a time of year when Teddy tried to avoid Port Henry. It was why he was up here at the cottage in the first place. Back home, everyone knew he had no family to spend Christmas with and everyone invited him to theirs. If he was in town, he’d have to accept one of those invitations and then attend as the charity case, not really belonging but there out of the goodness of their hearts. The thought was a depressing one.
Shaking his head, he turned to start back only to pause as he spotted a figure in the trees on the other side of the driveway to his own cottage. The individual wore a bright red ski suit and stood as still as a stone, staring from the shadows of the trees. Bundled up as the person was, it was hard to tell for sure if it was a woman or a slender man or youth, but that didn’t trouble him as much as the absolute stillness. There was something about it that made the hair on the back of his neck prickle nervously, and then the person pushed back the hood to reveal a fresh-faced young blonde with a bright smile.
“Hello. You must be my neighbor,” she greeted cheerfully, moving forward.
“Looks like,” Teddy agreed and felt a grin claim his own lips. As he moved to meet her halfway in the deep snow, he nodded toward the driveway they stood in front of. “I rented the Willan cottage here for the holidays.”
“And I’m in the one next door.” She jerked a gloved thumb back the way she’d come. “My cousin, Decker’s.”
Teddy looked curiously the way she’d gestured, able to make out a large cottage through the leafless trees. Glancing back to her, he smiled wryly. “Looks like we picked a bad time to be up here.”
She chuckled at the suggestion and shook her head. “A little snow never hurt anyone. They’ll clear it away quick enough.”
“I’m not so sure,” Teddy said with a sigh. “There are a couple of trees down. One took out the power line. It’ll be a while before they get that cleared up.”
“Damn,” the blonde breathed, her smile fading to be replaced with concern. “Someone was supposed to be bringing me . . . provisions,” she ended quietly.
“Then we’re in the same boat,” Teddy said wryly. “I intended to stop at a grocery store on the way in myself, but I mucked about at the Bass Pro in Vaughan and then a couple of those antiques places on the way up and got here so late I decided to leave it until this morning. Not a bright idea as it turns out,” he admitted with a grimace and then shook his head and said, “Ah well, I’ll get by. At least there’s a fireplace and plenty of chopped wood. I won’t freeze.”
The blonde’s gaze shifted from his face to the road behind him and then she managed a smile, though he could still see the worry under the expression. “Well I have food stuff. You’re welcome to it.”
Teddy raised his eyebrows. “I thought you had provisions coming in today?”
She glanced away, briefly, but when she turned back, the cheerful smile had returned. “Yes, of course. I have loads of dry and canned goods, but someone was to deliver fruits and vegetables and stuff today. As well as gas for the generator.”
“You have a generator?” Teddy asked with interest.
She nodded and then grimaced. “It’s dead at the moment, though. They warned me there wasn’t much gas in it but assured me more would be delivered today. I guess the generator must have kicked on when the power went off last night, but it died a few minutes ago. It’s why I came out here. To watch for the delivery.” She glanced along the road. “But I’m guessing the delivery guy isn’t getting through anytime soon.”
“No,” Teddy agreed with a frown of his own, wondering how long her cottage would stay warm without the generator running. Probably not long, he decided and was about to offer to share his fire when she turned back to him and smiled wryly.
“So I have food and no heat and you have heat and no food. Care to share?”
Teddy sensed the worry under her smile and wondered about it, but then realized the poor girl was pretty much stranded alone in the woods in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger. She didn’t know him from Adam. Any woman