She nodded, feeling helpless.
“In the meantime, would you like any breakfast?”
She shook her head.
She knew there was nothing Nick could do about the situation, but she found herself wanting to talk to him anyway. He’d helped her when her car wouldn’t start, and he’d made sure all her food didn’t spoil when she’d lost power. He was good at taking care of her, and she was not only attracted to him, but to his caring nature. She didn’t want to get hurt, but she knew that, inevitably, she would. She decided to leave him to his work.
“I’ll go up and check on Max and we’ll come down to the dining room. Does that sound okay?” she asked Richard.
“I’ll have something ready in about twenty minutes.”
“I need some painter’s tape. Is there any in the house?”
“I’m nearly certain the groundsmen have some. I’ll check for you. Does your son like eggs and bacon?”
“Yes. He likes scrambled eggs.”
“Scrambled eggs it is then.”
“Thank you,” she said. Abbey headed back up the steps and rounded the corner to the room where Max was sleeping. When she peeked in, he was sitting up, looking around.
“Good morning,” she said, walking in.
Max rubbed his eyes, his hair pressed upward in the back.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Mmm hmm.” Max was clearly still swimming out of his sleep. He fell back down into the fluffy bedding. “This is the best bed ever,” he said, his voice muffled by the pillow.
Abbey smiled and crawled back up under the covers with him.
“I love it here,” Max said.
She knew why he loved it there. It was the most amazing place he’d ever been. It was the most amazing place she’d ever been.
“Are you hungry? They’re making breakfast for us downstairs.”
“Is Nick making breakfast?”
“No,” she said. “He’s working today. Nick has somebody who cooks for him.” Abbey wondered about the elusive cook who’d made her all those wonderful meals. She’d never even met the person before. The staff had all stayed hidden for the most part, and she hadn’t really seen anyone other than Richard since she’d arrived. Was that how Nick wanted them—out of sight?
“Will we get to see him?”
“I don’t think so.” She worried about what Max would do all day if they were stuck there and couldn’t leave. How would she ever entertain him while painting an entire room? She’d have to at least spend some time with him this morning. Perhaps they could play in the snow and then he could help her paint. “How about if, after breakfast, you and I make a snowman—the biggest one we’ve ever made?”
“Yeah!” Max jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom to get ready.
* * *
There had been no sign of Nick during their breakfast, and Abbey had felt odd having the staff wait on her when she didn’t live there or pay their salaries. To her relief Richard had come in to tell her they had a ton of painter’s tape. When he had, he very kindly brought her the most perfect carrot and two olives on a plate after she’d mentioned making the snowman. “It’s all I could find,” he’d said with a smile.
“We have to pack the snow really well before we start rolling the snowball,” Abbey said, the snow sliding down into her shoes. She hadn’t come prepared to play in the snow, but Max had worn his boots yesterday, so he had them today, and his feet were nice and toasty. That was all that mattered.
“Like this?” he said, holding a very small ball of snow in his hands.
“Yep. Just like that.” Luckily, it was the perfect kind of snow for snowman making. Abbey had made a ball too, and she placed it on the ground and began to roll it, modeling for Max how to do it. They rolled and rolled, her fingers feeling the chill of the snow through her thin gloves. When they finally stopped, they each had quite a snowball. Together, they rolled one more.
“Now how are we gonna get yours on top of mine?” Max asked, laughing at their creations. His cheeks were pink from the cold, and Abbey couldn’t help but think how adorable he looked.
She tried to pick up her snowball. She could hardly get her arms around it, it was so big. She lifted with all her might. It didn’t move.
“It’s too big,” Max said.
Abbey moved around the other side of the ball to see if she could get more leverage. When she did, she saw one of the windows, its yellow light glowing against the white sky and falling snow. She could make out a shadow, and she knew who it was by the build of the man. Nick was sitting at his desk, his head angled downward; he was typing something. Did he know they were right outside his window?