Chapter Sixty Nine

I rolled my eyes and entered the family room, where the others had congregated. Justine indicated the place next to him on the sofa, and I gladly sat down, allowing him to throw his arm around me and bring me in deeper. I kept an eye on the threshold, waiting for Peter and Ricky to emerge. It was already getting late outside, and I would not want them to be out there unaccompanied for too long, even when they were still on the premises.

I squeezed my hands together, attempting to restore some heat to them. My nose was runny and burning now that I was no longer chilly, and I prayed there was a heater or any hearth nearby. Ugh! So much for this particular day.

I beamed gratefully at Justine as he took a comforter from the back of the sofa and put it over me. To create a fire, it would have to do without a chimney or any furnace. My skin was tingling from being outdoors for so long. I'm simply grateful we've been doing a couple of complex hard work and manual effort to keep ourselves wa