him, which was fine, but they were hardly a challenge when he thought about it—and Ginty MacGuire still had her eye on him, just like she had in fifth year, and she was about the prettiest girl in Kirrinfief, even if she was also a pain in the tonsils, so, you know, they’d probably get around to that one of these days. But no harm in checking to see if there was any competition . . .
“Yeah?” a loud English voice shouted at him from the other side of the door, instead of just yelling “come in.”
This was unheard of. Jake considered opening the door and just walking in, as he’d have done if Cormac were home, but (thankfully) discarded that idea (Lissa would have hit him with a lamp she’d already eyed up).
“Hi . . . uh, it’s Jake Inglis? I’m the paramedic. Did Cormac not mention me?”
Lissa cursed. This was the second time she was in trouble for not actually reading the stuff Cormac had so thoughtfully typed up for her and therefore following the most basic of his instructions. She hadn’t left him anything, had just assumed that her entire world was pretty obvious. Was that what anxiety did to you? she thought. Made you so focused on the tumult inside you that you couldn’t focus on anyone else, not properly?
Tentatively, she opened the door a crack. It wasn’t locked, she realized. Presumably if he was going to murder her he’d just have walked in.
Jake, perceiving what she was thinking, stepped back.
“Just me,” he said. “Except, of course, you don’t know me, so saying ‘just me’ isn’t much use. Ha. Aye. And also I’m not in my uniform, so . . .”
Get it together, he thought. This wasn’t like him at all. But he hadn’t expected . . . he hadn’t thought of what to expect, truly. Not this pretty, curvy girl wearing old jeans, with ringlets coming out from her head at all angles, beautiful big freckles dotting her cheeks, and tired dark eyes. She looked a bit cross. He wondered immediately what she’d look like with a bit of effort and maybe a smile.
He tried one himself. “Hello again,” he said. “Jake Inglis.”
“Yeah, you said that,” said the girl, frowning. “Sorry. I thought I didn’t start till tomorrow.”
“Oh, you don’t,” said Jake. “I thought it would be polite to come and introduce myself . . .”
Suddenly it didn’t feel particularly polite to either of them, with twilight falling and the occasional owl hooting in the woods.
“. . . but I suppose I’ll see you about.”
“Okay, thanks,” said Lissa. She was thinking how weird, rude, and standoffish she was being. But she just couldn’t . . . What was she supposed to do, make jolly conversation with a stranger? Nobody in London would do this in a million years.
“Well, let me know if you need anything—I promised Cormac I’d look out for the house if anything came up.”
“Okay, thanks, that’s kind,” said Lissa, feeling her heart beat completely impractically. He’s just being kind! she tried to tell herself. Nothing bad is going to happen! This is normal.
She found herself closing the door in his face anyway.
Oh well, thought Jake. You win some you lose some.
Just as he was pulling out in his silver SUV, he heard her voice behind him.
“Sorry,” she said, and she did sound genuinely sorry, anguished almost. She was, Jake concluded, extremely odd.
“Aye, nae bother,” he said, stopping the car.
“No, I mean . . . could you possibly . . .” She pulled at her curly hair. It really was quite something. “Could you . . . ? Do you know how to light a fire?”
Jake slapped at his forehead. “Did he not leave you instructions? For God’s sake, what a bampot.”
He jumped out of the car again.
“I mean, there’s lots of wood . . . but . . .”
“But that’s the only way to heat the house,” said Jake.
Lissa sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“And the water.” He looked at her. “Were you just going to sit in the cold all night?”
Lissa tried to smile and looked rather rueful. “Um, I don’t . . . I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Because it’s going to be below zero tonight.” He grinned cheerfully. “Just as well I turned up then.”
Lissa bit her lip, nerves returning. “Suppose.”
Jake disappeared and returned with an armful of the neatly chopped logs.