On the Run Together

Chapter 9: There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

There was still a pretty good stretch of time before the end of the season, and the truth was that K needed to take stock of the cottage before they hunkered down for the winter, so she and Clint started the drive north almost as soon as they left the circus.

She didn't say exactly where they were going — other than simply mentioning that they needed to make sure that things were in order at the cottage. "We'll make sure it's all aired out and that we don't have like ... a porcupine chewing on the porch. Little things," K told him as they started to snake down the wooded dirt two tracks in the middle of the forests.

"Whatcha gonna do to the porcupine if it is?" Clint asked.

"Kill it if it won't stay gone," she said. "They're like huge rats with spikes. They're everywhere, and if they're causing trouble, they'll just come back if they think they can get away with it. Stubborn little prickly things."

"Kinda like you and me, huh?" Clint said with a crooked smile.

"We are way smarter than porcupines, sweetheart."

"Yeah, but we're stubborn, and my hair is kinda sorta spiky when you play with it," he pointed out.

"I suppose that's true enough," she said. They went a little way further — and Clint only saw the road just before she turned onto it for all the overgrowth that there was blocking the path. But once they got around the corner, the road cleared up again and it was a rocky tight path all the way up to a little clearing that had more ferns than grass. "So, this is it," she said, gesturing to the little log house with a water wheel attached to the side of it. "It was an old mill a hundred years ago or so ... the drop off to the lake is something else — so watch your step."

"Wow," Clint whispered, his eyes wide. "Wow. This ... this is the biggest house I think I've ever lived in that wasn't a farm." He grinned up at K. "Can I pick my room first? Please? Before Barney gets here?"

"Yep, once we get inside, I'll show you around," she promised. "My room is on the main floor. There are two bedrooms upstairs — and I promise it stays nice and warm up there all winter."

"Thanks!" Clint said, grinning even wider as he took it in. "Maybe when it's not so cold we can come here and swim in the lake, too. That would be pretty cool. I'm not a very good swimmer, but I bet I can learn."

"The water is cold most of the time here, but if you can stand it — it's good to float in."

Clint tipped his head to the side as he considered it before he nodded slowly. "I bet I could. If I had, like, lots of blankets and a fire waiting for me when I got out," he decided.

She smirked at him and parked the car before gesturing to the cottage. "Let's go. I'll need to make a big list for groceries and whatnot."

Clint grinned and all but scrambled out of the car, with Sicem right beside him clearly excited to be running with Clint and excited that Clint was excited. Clint started to laugh as it turned into a race with the dog, and the two of them rushed up to the porch, with Sicem bounding around Clint before Clint got a hold of him — and the laughing and licking started up before K could get to the porch to let them in.

She shook her head at both of them and then unlocked the door, simply pushing it open for the two of them to tumble in. Sicem did a few spins with his tongue hanging out and then trotted over to the fireplace and dropped down in front of it, clearly happy to be back home when he rolled onto his back and started to make little groaning noises as he stretched.

Clint started giggling when he saw it. "I think Sicem likes it here," he whispered.

"He likes it anywhere that he can stretch out in front of a fire," K said, stepping in behind him and then closing the door. "So ... the grand tour. To your right, the kitchen ... etcetera. Your left, my room and the bathroom. Living room ahead ... little bit of a view if you're into that kind of thing ... and then upstairs ... the two rooms for you to pick from."