Page 17 of Loving Kai

Mikey backed up a step, and Abe pulled away and onto the main road heading to Bridgeport. There were no other cars on the road, but he drove slowly to give the wipers a chance to stay on top of the rain hitting the windshield. When he drove past the road to the high school where the evacuation center was set up in the gym, Maggie said, “You just passed the road.”

“I’m not taking you to spend the night on a cot next to a bunch of other displaced evacuees.”

“Where are you taking me, then?”

“My place.”

She was quiet for a moment, then faced forward again. “Oh. Okay. Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Unless…”

“No, I do. I mean, it’s fine. Thank you.”

He continued to his house and parked as close as he could to the front door. “Hand me your bags.”

Maggie set the bags on the seat between them.

“Okay. Every man, woman, and dog, for himself.”

They both left the truck and ran for the door. Abe opened it and went inside with Maggie right behind him. He closed the door, then looked at her. “Damn.” He turned on a battery-powered lantern.

She smiled. “Yeah.” She put Donovan on the floor, and he stood and shivered for a moment before running off to explore. She started to remove the slicker, and Abe stepped behind her to help. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Thanks.” He hung it on a rack, and she turned to him. “You’re even wetter than you were.”

“I guess I should change. If you need the bathroom, it’s right there in the hallway.” He handed her the lantern. “Take this. I’ll grab a flashlight.” He kicked off his boots, then headed for the bedroom.

He hadn’t really thought about where he would take Maggie after picking her up. But once they started driving, bringing her to his place seemed like the only option. Was it weird? Maybe. But it was the right thing to do.

When Abe returned to the living room wearing jogging pants and a clean T-shirt, Maggie was sitting on the edge of the chair with the lantern on the military locker that served as a coffee table. She had changed into plaid pajama pants and a T-shirt, looking quite cozy and pretty damn cute.

When she shivered, he went to the woodstove. “I’ll crank this thing up a little.” He added two pieces of oak, then took a blanket from the back of the couch and handed it to her.

“Thank you.” She wrapped it around her shoulders.

He stood by the chair for a moment. “I can make some coffee or pour you a shot of something.”

“I’m fine.”

Lightning lit the room, followed by thunder, and Donovan ran under the couch.

Abe smiled. “I’m not sure how much sleep we’re going to get tonight.”

“I know it’s late, but can we talk for a little while?”

“Sure.” He held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” He returned a few minutes later with two cups in his hands, and he handed one to her.

She looked at the amber liquid. “What is it?”

“Cider.”

“Like hot cider?”

“Um…no. Just take a sip. A small sip.”

Maggie smelled it, wrinkled her nose, then took a tiny sip. She grimaced, then coughed. “Oh my gosh. It’s spiked.”

“It’s hard.”

She set the glass down. “No, thank you.”