I made my way over to her car. The back passenger side was heavily damaged. Obviously, she had hit the tree very hard. The back tire was now completely flat. I shuddered thinking what the results would have been had she hit it head on. I went around and opened the driver’s side back door and saw a bag on the floor. Leaning in, I grabbed it. It didn’t look like a purse to me; more an overnight-type bag.
I looked around the car but that was all I could see. I had another thought, and leaning in, opened the glove box, searching for a registration slip. There was nothing in the glove box at all. I looked in the small console but it too was empty. I noticed the dust on the dashboard and the slight musty odor in the car. Obviously, it hadn’t been driven very much. I felt around under the seats and then checked the trunk, but aside from a snow scraper, the car was empty. I shook my head as a shiver ran through me and knew I needed to get back to the warmth of the house. The mystery of the car would have to wait. I grabbed the small bag I had found and blew out the light before stepping back into the swirling snow. The path I had cleared was already filling in and I started the snow blower back up and made my way towards the house as quickly as possible.
I entered through the side door, dropped the bag on the bench, and then pulled off my snow-laden clothes. I hung them up on the line, threw on a pair of sweats that were there, padded into the kitchen intent on heading for a shower, and stopped short.
Standing in front of the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious was … Rabbit. I smiled internally at her new nickname. She, meanwhile, looked up at me, startled.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I walked toward the stove. She shouldn’t be moving around. She should be resting.
She stepped back quickly away from me. “I … I woke up and heard the snow blower. I thought you’d be cold and … hungry when you were done, so I made some soup. You had lots of vegetables and things in the fridge. I didn’t think you’d mind. I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have …” her voice trailed off, trembling.
Fuck. She was afraid again.
I raised my hand and smiled at her. “No … no, that’s great. It smells wonderful. I had hoped you would still be sleeping. I wanted you to rest. I’m sorry the noise woke you.”
I watched her shoulders relax a little. “I’m happy to do it. I think … I think I like to cook. And I thought if I moved around a little the pain would ease up.”
I grinned at her. “You like to cook? Good to know. Because I hate it. And my repertoire is highly limited. But please, don’t overdo it. I’m just gonna go shower and change, and then we can eat, okay?”
She smiled shyly and nodded.
I was right.
Rabbit had a lovely smile.
It was indeed very appealing.
Chapter Four
Joshua
Twenty minutes later, I looked up from my bowl. “Seriously, all of this was in my kitchen?”
Rabbit smiled shyly. “I just rummaged around and threw in stuff until it tasted good. I thought it would warm you up. You were out there so long.”
I nodded. I hadn’t shown her the bag yet. I thought I would wait until after we had eaten. I dug back into my bowl. “So, you don’t have a name for this?”
She shook her head. “Um … just soup?”
I smiled. “Well, its great ‘just soup’. Thank you.”
We were both quiet as we ate. I wondered how she would react when I gave her the bag. Would she remember everything?
A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows. Rabbit jumped slightly with the unexpected noise.
“It’s okay, Rabbit. It’s just the wind. You’re safe, I promise." I spoke without thinking.
Her head tilted to the side as she regarded me. “Rabbit?”
I shrugged sheepishly. “I have to call you something. ‘Hey you’ doesn’t seem right. And you remind me of the little grey rabbits that are around here.”
“I don’t understand. I’m furry?”
I laughed. “No, you’re small, kinda jumpy and, dressed the way you are right now, you’re all grey. And they look at me apprehensively when I approach them, just like you do.”
She regarded me quietly for a moment, her eyes locking me in their gaze. “Are you hunting or feeding them when you approach?” she asked.
I smiled soothingly. “I’m a sucker. I feed them. I don’t hunt. At all.”
Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Rabbit’s okay then.”
I grinned. “Rabbit it is.”
After we were done, Rabbit moved back into the chair upstairs, Bear hot on her heels. I was pleased to see she wasn’t as unsteady on her feet as she had been. She did, however, take some more painkillers when I offered them to her and she didn’t argue about not cleaning up after we ate. After I tidied, I went back to the mudroom and grabbed her bag. I threw more logs on the fire and went upstairs. I approached her slowly and stood in front of her
“What’s that?” she asked quietly.
I knelt down, gingerly, on the floor in front of the ottoman and placed the bag on top. She looked at the bag with no recognition. I pushed it towards her. “I think it’s yours. I got it out of your car. I’m hoping your ID will be in it.”
“You didn’t look in it?” she asked surprised.