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“What do you keep yourself busy with all day?” Philippa asked, glancing around the cabin. “I would lose my mind alone out here.”
“It’s a challenge,” I admitted. “I clean.”
Philippa giggled. “You’re doing a wonderful job at it! I don’t like cleaning, but… I can help if you want? I’ll make an exception.”
“Why?” I asked.
Philippa’s smile wavered a little. “It goes faster if two people work together, you know. Besides, then we can talk, get to know each other. I love having something to do while I talk. It’s so much more fun than just sitting there talking.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, why are you here? How did you know I was here?”
“Oh… Ash sent me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “He did?”
“Okay, okay. Maybe he didn’t send me. He doesn’t even know I’m here, but he talked to Rowan, and Rowan talked to Artie, and she talked to me, and here we are. I just figured you could do with some company.”
I shook my head, confused. “Artie?”
“Another one of our… friends. We’re a tight little group out here, you know.” She lifted her hands and quickly added, “It’s nothing you need to worry about, of course. We all look out for each other.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure where Philippa had come from or who she really was. Something didn’t sound quite right. Then again, nothing added up lately. The whole thing was bizarre, and I felt like I was stuck in some alternate reality.
Despite feeling like everything was backward, I liked Philippa. She was easygoing with a smile that made me feel happy just looking at her, and having some company was great. It beat being isolated all the time and having Ash as my only visitor.
“What are we cleaning?” Philippa asked.
“I scrubbed the floor, but that’s just about done now. I need to clear out the fireplace, but… I have no idea how to do that. We never had a fireplace in the house. My dad firmly believed in modern technology existing for a reason.”
“Your dad sounds efficient,” Philippa remarked. “That’s always to be admired in a man.”
I sighed, sadness overcoming me.
Philippa frowned, her smile disappearing completely. It seemed wrong that she wasn’t smiling.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“My dad died a couple of years ago,” I admitted. I wasn’t sure why I felt like I could tell Philippa everything, but she felt like a long-lost friend. It was like we were the closest of BFFs who had to catch up on what had been going on lately in our lives.
“I’m so sorry,” Philippa said. Her brows pulled together, and her lip trembled, as if she genuinely felt my pain and was hurting on my behalf.
I shook my head. “It’s okay. Most of the time, I can deal with the loss. It’s just that sometimes it trips me up. Like when my life is already a big question mark.”
“Hmm,” Philippa said sympathetically. “Being stuck out here can’t be great.”
“It’s… another challenge.”
“You poor thing. Well, let’s do something productive to counter the bad mood! I’ve found over the years that when things feel very down and dark, keeping busy gets you through.”
“And it gets things done,” I pointed out.
“You see, efficiency!” Philippa cried out and giggled. Her laughter seemed to have a life of its own, skipping around the room. “A good trait in people, not just males.”
She walked to the hearth. “We’ll need to get rid of this stuff first.” She leaned forward. “It’s still pretty hot, so maybe we should wait until it cools down. What else can we do until then?”
“I can make us coffee,” I said, not in the mood to tackle anything else right now. I was suddenly exhausted.
“Oh, I like coffee,” Philippa breathed. “It’s one of the best inventions humans ever came up with.”
