On A Night Like This

Chapter Nine

-Dylan-

Two days later, the snow was still falling. Dylan knew there was no way Jayce would be able to get back to a trailhead by himself, even if he took Jayce back to the main trail. Jayce didn't have the experience or the proper equipment to travel through this much snow.

He would have to lead Jayce out of here, all the way back to the road, and give him a ride back into town or arrange to have someone pick Jayce up. He hadn't planned on leaving the cabin until it was time for him to go back to Winthrop for the winter, but it couldn't be avoided now.

The past few days had been spent splitting enough wood to last him for the rest of his time up here. He enjoyed the work and it kept him warm, but it was hell on his hands. After years of manual labor, his hands tended to get stiff and ache to the point where they were throbbing. Today was one of those days.

He went inside the cabin and started to boil water in the kettle. Resting and drinking tea would help some. He flexed his hands, trying to stretch them out, and he didn't even realize he was grimacing until Jayce piped up from where he was sitting on the bed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. My hands get stiff once in a while. If I rest them, they'll be fine."

"Come here," Jayce said, patting the bed beside him.

He and Jayce had settled into a comfortable existence in the cabin, with him working on his knitting and Jayce making his way through the romance book. He was less wary of Jayce now, especially after Jayce had been kind about his knitting and romance reading secrets.

He sat next to Jayce, unsure of what Jayce wanted. Jayce reached over and took one of his hands, bringing it over to his lap. With long, firm strokes, Jayce began massaging Dylan's hand. 

"This should help."

And it did help. The aching began to fade, especially in the palm of his hand where Jayce's thumb made small circles. To his embarrassment, Dylan felt his eyes well up with tears and he stared at the floor, willing them away and hoping Jayce wouldn't see. No one had ever touched him like this - a kind touch, meant to comfort him and help him stop hurting. He was so overcome by the gesture that he had to wait until his breathing leveled out and his throat wasn't too tight before he trusted himself to speak.

"Thank you," he said, his voice low and rough. "It is helping."

Jayce grabbed his other hand and repeated the process, taking just as much time and care as he had with the first one. "Are you going to be able to knit, or do you have to take a break from that?"

"I'll probably take a day off."

"Maybe I can do some of the chores. My hand is almost better, and I'm going to finish the book today."

Dylan nodded. "Okay. The snow is lasting longer than I thought. It might be a few more days before I'm able to take you back to the road. I know you need to get home, but it's not safe yet."

Jayce gave his hand one final rub before he stood up. "I don't really need to get home. I put all my stuff in storage and haven't found a new job or place to live yet, so there's nothing to get back to. This has turned out to be a nice vacation from everything, in a way. Once I realized I wasn't going to die, it was easy to relax."

"You don't mind staying?"

"Not anymore. I am starting to get restless though. Is there something active I can do for a while?"

Dylan looked out the window. "I'm going to go for a walk once the snow settles. Do you want to come with me?"

"I'd like that."