had a footrest.
Gray shivered and zipped up his hoodie. It wasn’t warm in here, that was for sure, but he couldn’t say it wasn’t cozy.
Darius squatted down by the fireplace conveniently positioned along the wall between the living room and kitchen. From there, the heat would spread throughout the cabin’s first floor, and it hit Gray that he saw no radiators—wait. There was one. A portable radiator stood underneath the window.
“A single radiator,” Gray noted.
Darius threw a log on the fire and eyed the radiator. “Only when I’m gone. It keeps the place dry.”
Ah. Made sense.
“There.” Darius wiped his hands on his thighs and stood up. “We should eat something.” He trailed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. The fridge and freezer were the only appliances that looked modern. Stainless steel. The rest… Gas stove, obviously. An impressive knife rack sat on an otherwise empty—and huge—counter. Wooden tools stood in crocks on the small kitchen island instead.
Um, there was no microwave.
Gray bet the counter was empty because it was where Darius baked bread. At least, it fit the fantasy.
“Elise picked up essentials for us.”
Gray joined him in the kitchen and peered into the fridge. Milk, butter, heavy cream, a big cut of some meat, a case of beer, cheese, and… “What’s that?” He pointed at a white box and rested his chin on Darius’s shoulder.
Darius took out the box and opened it.
“Hot damn.” Gray stared at the nine chocolate treats and remembered that Elise owned a shop where she sold those. Truffles and whatnot. “Can we just eat chocolate? There isn’t a whole lot we can do with the rest, aside from slipping into a dairy coma.”
Darius’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Ye of little faith. I’ll show you.” He set back the box of goodies and closed the fridge, then headed out of the kitchen. “My brothers give me shit for this.”
Gray quirked a brow, curious.
They passed the stairs, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Why are the stairs so wide? Three grown men could probably fit side by side.”
Darius shrugged slightly. “The best spot for the bathroom is right here, and I didn’t wanna feel like I was stuck in an airplane toilet.” He opened a door, and Gray did a double take. Goddamn, the bathroom belonged in a hotel room. A nice one. It had a big shower under the tilted ceiling, with a bench farthest in where one could sit but not stand. Tiny spotlights in the ceiling caused each dark-blue tile to give off a glare. “It cost me an arm and a leg, but it was worth every penny. You gotta be comfortable when you read the paper in the morning.”
Gray snickered. “Do you even get the paper out here?”
“No. I pick up my mail in town. But you’ll be proud to know that I read on a tablet. Which reminds me—I gotta charge it.” Darius closed the door again and turned to the wall—okay, maybe it wasn’t a wall…? There was a latch hidden behind a framed illustration of rope knots. “So, this one of my pantries.”
As in, there was more than one pantry? “Oh my God.” As the door opened farther, shelves upon shelves with food were revealed. The pantry wasn’t necessarily big; only one person could stand in there, but it was seriously packed. Floor-to-ceiling with jars, boxes, crates, and bags. There were two entire rows of nothing but flour. One shelf with sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Countless boxes of baking soda and packets of dry yeast.
Gray didn’t know what to say, and he couldn’t stop staring. Crushed tomatoes, canned fruit, canned fucking everything. Peeled potatoes in glass jars, coffee, seeds, pickles, pasta, rice, preserves, powdered milk…
He remembered watching a TV show about this with Gabriel and Gideon. “You’re one of them,” he heard himself say. “One of those doomsday preppers.”
Darius straightened. “I’m a homesteader,” he corrected. “Nothing wrong with being prepared, though.”
“For the zombie apocalypse?”
Darius rolled his eyes and left the storage area.
Gray was quick to follow. “We gotta talk about this! I’m highly fascinated!”
Ignoring the humor, Darius spun on Gray and towered over him in a heartbeat. “Okay, let’s talk. Say you share a one-bedroom apartment in the Valley with a friend, and a storm rolls in. All the stores close, and the power goes out. In your fridge, you have some leftovers and condiments. Would you last a week? What if there’s an epidemic and you gotta self-quarantine? Would you last a month? And what if