Saving Mr. Bell

Chapter Six

Arlo

Rudolf took my advice and stayed in the shower for a while. Long enough that the image of him slumped in there refused to leave my head and I shouted through the door on three separate occasions to check he hadn’t passed out and was okay. By the third time of asking, Rudolf’s shouted response over the sound of the water held a great deal of irritation. Enough to make me fear for my life if I persisted. If he was well enough to get annoyed, how bad could he be?

My newfound confidence in him bouncing back quickly lasted until he left the bathroom and I saw his face. He might have lost the bluish tinge, but he was still too pale. I immediately pooled all the spare blankets in the cabin and bundled him beneath them on the sofa. Finding a hot water bottle stuffed at the back of a cupboard, I filled it and insisted he hold it.

“You missed your calling,” Rudolf said as he dutifully accepted the offering and it disappeared into the blanket mound.

“What?”

“You should have been a nurse.”

“Yeah?”

“Only… I’d suggest not kidnapping your patients. Let them come to you instead.”

I returned to give the pan of soup on the stove a quick stir. “I wish you wouldn’t use that word.”

“Nurse?”

I leveled him with a stare. “Kidnap.”

“Am I or am I not here against my will?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But it’s for my own good?”

“You don’t have to say it like it’s an absolutely outlandish concept.”

“Oh, trust me, I do. It’s been six years, Arlo. People don’t stay incommunicado for six years and then decide they’re the person to swoop in and save them.”

“Who else was going to do it?” Rudolf slipped further under the blankets, the action not quick enough to hide the wounded expression on his face. “I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, you did. It’s fine. Poor little lost boy surrounded by people but with no one to talk to. Is that what you see when you look at me?”

I filled two bowls with the chicken soup, putting one on a tray and adding a couple of slices of bread and a spoon before carrying it over and positioning it carefully on Rudolf’s lap. “Is that what you are?”

He pushed the blankets down far enough that he could free his arms to hold on to the tray when I let go of it. “Who the fuck knows? I’m usually far too busy for that level of reflection. And friends are difficult when you’re in the public eye. You know that.”

I conceded the point with a slight inclination of my head. “So… take a break. Take some time to reflect on things. You might find it useful.” My soup, I carried over to the kitchen table.

Rudolf lifted a spoonful to his mouth, his expression saying it was nicer than he’d expected as he swallowed. “In case you haven’t noticed, I have issues with the way you went about it. That’s why I keep using the kidnap word.”

I thought hard for a moment. “Okay. How about I agree to take you back to town?”

“You will?”

I nodded. “I accept I did the wrong thing and that I can’t keep you here against your will.”

“But?”

“But…” I flashed a smile. “Although I want to take you back, I can’t because of the snow. Like it or not, we’re both stuck here until the roads are clear enough to drive.”

Rudolf let out a sigh. “And how long will that be?”

I shrugged. “A few days. A week. Two? There’s no way of knowing.”

Rudolf ate his soup in silence for a few moments. “I want my SIM card back.”

“I wasn’t lying about the lack of reception.”

“I know. You showed me your phone. I still want it back. Call it a guarantee that you meant what you said about taking me back as soon as the roads decide to play ball. There’s other stuff on there. Music. Photos. Messages. We’ve got the same phone, so I’ll share your charger.” He narrowed his eyes in a challenge. “Can I have it back or not?”

“Sure. I’ll find it later. It’s in the car.”

Rudolf nodded. “And how long before we starve to death?” His brow furrowed. “Can you eat wolf?”

“I suppose so. It’s meat. It’s probably one of the many things in the world that supposedly tastes like chicken. How are you figuring on catching one?”

Rudolf tore off a piece of the bread and dipped it in the soup, his expression thoughtful as he chewed. “A trap?”

“Do you know how to make one?”

He shook his head. “Not a trap, then. A blow to the head?”

“And you’re going to get close enough to do that, are you? I have a feeling I know who’ll come out on top in that encounter, and spoiler alert, it’s not you.”

“You could come up with some ideas.”

“I have a great idea.”

“What?”

I did my best not to smirk, but lost the battle. “Instead of going caveman and hunting wolves, we could eat the food I brought with me. I brought enough to last until after Christmas. Probably till New Year as long as we don’t go crazy.”

“You could have just said that.”

“I was about to, but I didn’t want to spoil the fun you were having hatching plans to take down a wolf. I found it admirable, considering how your last jaunt outside ended. Speaking of which, how are you feeling?”

“Okay. I’m gradually defrosting.” Rudolf’s brow furrowed. “What about electricity? What if the weather gets worse?”

“If the lights go out, we’ve got candles.”

“No generator?”

I shook my head. “Afraid not. We’re fine for heating as long as we chop some more wood.”

“We?”

“Me,” I corrected with a slight smile. “I wasn’t suggesting you get your hands dirty, princess.”

“Screw you!” The curse only made me smile wider. There was something infinitely enjoyable about winding Rudolf up. Probably something to do with having all that passion and focus directed my way. “So we won’t starve, or freeze to death.” Rudolf left a deliberate pause. “Just… die of boredom.”

“There’s stuff to do.”

“Like what?”

I jerked my head toward the other room, Rudolf stiffening slightly. Did he think I was going to mention the piano? No way I’d risk ruining the fragile truce by bringing it up. “There’s a room full of games in there. Cards. Dominoes. Board games. Probably other stuff as well. I haven’t had a good rummage yet.”

“Wow!” Rudolf drawled. “I’m not sure I can take the excitement. It’s like you’ve brought me to a retirement home.”

I ignored the snark to point to the pile of boxes in the corner. “And there’s that stuff I brought.”

Rudolf’s head swung that way. “What’s in there?” He held up a hand. “Wait! Let me guess. Knitting needles and a stamp collection for us to pore over.”

I rolled my eyes. “Knitting’s fashionable these days. Did you not see Tom Daley at the Olympics?”

Rudolf smirked. “I assure you if I’m looking at Tom Daley, I’m not looking at his hands.”

“Is he your type?”

“Young? Fantastic body? Good at what he does?”

“Married with kids,” I added, just to be awkward.

Rudolf shrugged. “Fine. I’ll just have an affair with him. He can use me for sex.” He turned his attention back to the boxes. “What is in there?”

“Christmas stuff. Decorations. I thought we could do the cabin up.”

“I don’t normally do Christmas.”

“Neither do I,” I answered honestly. “That’s why I thought it might be fun.”

“Maybe.”

At least it wasn’t a straight hell no. I’d take it. And it would give us a chance to get to know each other again while we were doing it.

Rudolf shifted slightly. “I don’t have clothes. Or deodorant. Or shaving stuff. Or a toothbrush. Or—”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? That’s all you have to say? Did none of this cross your mind?”

“I figured you could share my stuff.”

“Your underwear?”

“I don’t mind. Or you could go commando if you’re not comfortable with that.” There was a heat in my cheeks that had nothing to do with the soup I’d just eaten. “As for the rest, you’re leaner than me, but we’re about the same height, so my clothes should fit you. Help yourself to whatever you want. You’re sleeping in there, anyway.”

“Am I supposed to share your toothbrush?”

I collected Rudolf’s tray from his lap. “I have a spare.”

“Hallelujah,” he said with mock cheer. “I have nothing to my name except a phone without a SIM card, and clothes completely unsuited to the environment I find myself in, which are probably ruined now. Oh, and I’ll be spending my days playing bridge and rummy. But at least I’ll own a toothbrush. Who knew I could fall so far in twenty-four hours?”

The gleam in his eye said he wasn’t being wholly serious. It reminded me that the old Rudolf had possessed a great sense of humor. Even if it often veered toward sarcasm. “You’ll survive.”

“Maybe they’ll send the SAS to rescue me from the rescue.”

I took the bowls over to the sink. “I’m not sure the SAS are good with snow.”

“I thought the SAS were good with everything.”

“Well, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for them.” We lapsed into silence while I washed the dishes. It didn’t last long before Rudolf broke it. “When does the first ghost get here, anyway?”

I turned to face him. “What?”

He made a show out of rearranging his blankets. “I figure you’re taking on the role of Jacob Marley, so that means I’ll get a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.”

I laughed. “What have you done to be casting yourself in the role of Scrooge?”

Rudolf winked. “I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.”

Now that he’d dropped the antagonism, it was easy to remember why I’d liked him so much years ago. Did looking forward to spending time with him, and being pleased I had him all to myself make me a terrible person? If so, I was going to hell, and I didn’t need a ghost to tell me that.