True North

Chapter two

Fear clanged in my heart, a deep peal that made me quail inside. "I just have one of those faces. Maybe North is the same." I swept out. "Although, it's hard to tell anything with all that disgusting fur all over his face."

"I happen to think beards are rather dapper," she called after me.

Snorting, I reached the kitchen and began pulling ingredients out for the evening meal. With the three couples in the house, plus a single photographer staying with us while he catalogued regrowth after the fires, North, Mrs Waters and me, I'd be cooking for ten officially, but knowing the generous heart of the landlady, there were bound to be a few extras at the table.

When her sprawling country manor burned to the ground in the Black Saturday fires, a lesser woman would have taken the insurance cheque and moved on. Not Mrs Waters. Not only did she have an architect rebuild her home brick for brick, she opened her doors to the public as a luxury B&B to help boost the local tourism.

During my first few months staying at the guest house, there were more empty rooms than full. But with the town regenerating and tourists beginning to flow again, we were getting busy, even on weekdays.

We offered dinner as an optional extra, but most people ate with us. There weren't really many choices for eating out in our little town. We always made two choices for the evening meal; something vegetarian and something meaty. Plus, Mrs Waters made a lavish cheesecake most days to serve for dessert.

I put the stroganoff into the oven for a slow cook and started on the feta and zucchini risotto. I was a hopeless cook when I'd first arrived, but under Mrs W's guidance, I'd improved to the point where people were happily paying to eat my food.

As I sliced the homegrown veggies, a voice startled me. "Emily."

North stood at the door, a different man than the emaciated hobo I'd stuffed into my car only a few days ago. He was still hairy, but his beard and shaggy mop had been trimmed. With the crusted dirt washed away, I could see his hair was lighter than I'd thought, a shiny tan, and his skin glowed with returning health.

In a cheap cotton tee, his gaunt frame was still evident. Someone must have loaned him jeans, which were pinned to his bony hips by a belt on the tightest loop.

Even so, there was something about his presence that made my skin crawl with heat. "North. Hello, again."

"Can I help you with anything?" He waved a hand around the kitchen, cluttered with food scraps and used dishes.

"I normally clean up when I'm finished," I explained, feeling awkward.

"I'll start now, then." He began loading the dishwasher as I kept chopping. Silence grew between us in the sunny kitchen, the wooden benches throwing the light around the room.

I broke first. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I'm still pretty weak, but Dr Mike said it'll fade as long as I keep gaining weight."

"That should be easy here." I threw three cups of Arborio rice into a pot and covered it with stock. "We eat dessert most nights, and Mrs Waters insists on bacon gracing every breakfast buffet."

"She's lovely," said North, flinching a little as he bent to pick up a crispy onion skin from the floor. "Are you two related?"

"Nope. I'm a stray, just like you."

"A stray? I suppose I am..."

His face clouded and he leaned heavily on the bench, as if standing was too much.

"Here, sit down." I pulled out a chair from the kitchen table for him. He sagged gratefully into it, and I turned to the pantry, hunting for a snack. Coming up with a Tupperware container of homemade cookies, I slid it across to him. "Melting Moments."