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“What have you done so far?” he asked, combing his fingers through his reddish hair.
“I checked the fuel oil tank.” She set his coat over a kitchen chair. “There’s oil in the tank, so I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Let me look at it.”
“Thanks!” She motioned toward the cellar door. “It’s down there. I’m hoping it’s something simple.”
“Something simple is about the extent of my skills at fixing furnaces.” He gave her a grin. “Just in case, do you have the name of the person who did furnace servicing for Rudy? It’s probably the same company that delivers oil.”
“I probably can find it. He kept that sort of stuff in his desk.” As coffee finished dripping into the clear pot, she asked, “Do you want a cup?”
“I’ll have one when I’m done.” Without another word, he went to the cellar door and opened it. His work boots, which were as battered as his gloves, thumped on each step.
Mercy heard Jeremiah pull on the chain to the bare bulb near the furnace. Hurrying into the room with Grandpa Rudy’s desk, she grabbed a black shawl from a peg. She threw it over her shoulders, holding it close with fingers as clumsy as a collection of icicles.
The desk was heaped with papers and envelopes her grandfather must have tossed there in the days before he died. For a moment Mercy had to blink back tears. Throughout the mess of the past days, one thing hadn’t changed. She missed Grandpa Rudy, the very person she wanted to turn to now.
Mercy found a receipt from the oil company and was relieved to see it had an emergency service number at the top. Putting it in the pocket of her black apron, she hurried into the kitchen to be ready to call the oil company if Jeremiah couldn’t fix the furnace.
She paused when she heard uneven steps on the stairs to the second floor. Sunni was coming down the stairs without her crutches. Mercy frowned. Her daughter had promised to use them on the stairs. Worse, the little girl had wrapped herself in a blanket that threatened to trip her.
“Sunni, you need to be careful,” she chided gently.
“I was afraid of turning into an ice cube if I waited a second longer,” the little girl said. “Why’s it so cold, Mommy?”
“Something’s wrong with the heat.”
Before Mercy could say more, assertive footsteps came from the cellar steps. She turned to see Jeremiah in the doorway.
Sunni mumbled something under her breath and scowled at Jeremiah.
His gaze followed Sunni when her daughter walked into the living room, her pose beneath the blanket one of disdain. He arched his brows at Mercy.
“Were you able to see what’s wrong with the furnace?” Mercy asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with it.” He wiped his hands on a filthy cloth he must have found in the cellar. “Your fuel oil tank is empty.”
“But I checked the tank before I called you. The gauge said it was half-full.”
“The gauge is broken. The tank is completely dry.”
“I never considered the gauge might be wrong.”
“No reason you should.”
“You did.” She pushed away from the stairs and flinched when the door gave a threatening creak. One disaster at a time. Reaching under her shawl, she pulled the receipt out of her pocket. “I’ll call the oil company’s emergency number and see if they can deliver some oil.”
He glanced out the window. “They won’t be able to get in until the road is plowed.”
As if on cue, the rumble of a big truck could be heard coming toward the house. She saw the huge wing of the plow as it pushed snow in large, thick chunks into the yard. She shuddered, thinking of the heavy work of clearing the driveway. Her car was stored in the rickety garage, and the old-style door opened straight out, so she was going to have to clear a large area there, too.
Mercy made the call to the oil company, who assured her they’d be there before nightfall. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one needing service on the cold day.
“You can’t stay here with Sunni,” Jeremiah said after she hung up. “The house is going to get colder and colder. The tenant house is a bit better, but you’ll get so chilled going over there, it probably won’t make much difference. Isn’t there a fireplace in the living room?”
“Yes.”
“Did Rudy use it?”
When she nodded and Jeremiah offered to start a fire, she was relieved. She found a box of matches in the kitchen junk drawer and followed him into the living room, where he checked the fireplace, looking up at the top of the firebox where the damper opened into the chimney. He drew back, wiping soot from his trousers.
While Sunni watched from the couch, as silent as she was whenever Jeremiah was near, he quickly arranged slabs of wood in the fireplace. Mercy handed him the matches and went to sit with her daughter.
He struck one match and held it to the small bits of paper he’d stuck among the wood. Small flames rose, and Mercy resisted the yearning to hold out her half-frozen hands, knowing there wouldn’t be much heat yet. She needed to wait until the fire caught on the dried wood.
Suddenly, Jeremiah jumped to his feet and staggered. Thick smoke chased him toward the middle of the room.
“Get out!” he yelled.
Chapter Four
Mercy grabbed Sunni and ran toward the living room door, but paused when she heard a window slide open with the rattle of glass behind her. Jeremiah waved the smoke from the hearth out the window. Snow fell into the house, but he ignored it as he coughed. She put Sunni down and ran into the kitchen. She filled a bucket with water.
He threw the water on the hearth, where it sizzled. He stirred the ashes, making sure the fire was completely out. Then he took the glass of water she offered him. He drained it in one gulp and coughed a couple more times.
“I told you to get out,” he said. “With this dried-out wallpaper, the fire could have spread fast.”
“Why would I leave you here?” she asked, annoyed he treated her as if she were Sunni’s age. “Once I heard you open the window, I knew the smoke would be sucked out.”
“Maybe I was planning to jump out the window. Did you consider that?”
“No.”
He gave her a wry grin. “Neither did I. Once I could see through the smoke, I was able to see the fire was dying out.” He raised a single finger when she started to speak. “But you and Sunni should have gotten out of the house.”
“To freeze in the snow?”
He sighed as fresh air poured into the room, dispersing the smoke. “I thought you said your grossdawdi used the fireplace.”
“He did.” Mercy took the glass from him.
“Recently?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I almost always visited during the summer vacation.”
“I suspect debris in the chimney has piled up over time. After it’s cleaned out, there shouldn’t be a problem.” He grimaced. “But right now you need heat.”
“I can turn on the oven and open the door.”
“Gas or electric?”
“Electric. Why?”
“I don’t want you to have to deal with gas fumes.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “You two go into the kitchen. Shut the doors and roll up towels and put them at the bottom. That should keep the heat in as much as possible.”
“How about the fireplace between the kitchen and dining room? There are ashes on the hearth.” She glanced at the smoke stains on the ceiling. “Do you think it’d be safe to try to light that one?”
“Let me check.” He followed her and Sunni into the kitchen.
He knelt by the hearth as she turned on the oven and opened the door, hoping the old stove was up to heating the kitchen. Unlike the one in the living room, the kitchen fireplace was utilitarian. No fancy tiles. Just plain brick turned dark after decades of use. He reached in to check the damper. Paying no attention to the ashes, he stretched out on his back and peered into the chimney.
“It looks open.” Jeremiah got up and knocked ashes off his pants. “Let me try a small fire. Got anything else to burn?”
She grabbed a handful of newspaper from the pile left by her grossdawdi. “How about this?”
“It’ll burn long enough to see if the smoke goes up the chimney or not.”
He cheered and Mercy smiled, giving Sunni’s shoulders a squeeze, when the thin wisp of smoke was drawn up the chimney. Going into the living room, she realized there were only a couple of pieces of wood left. She took them into the kitchen and handed them to Jeremiah.
“You keep the fire going, and I’ll get more wood,” she said.
“Mercy, I can do that. It’s cold outside.” He started to stand.
She put her hand on his shoulder, the motion automatic. But her response to the strong sinews was anything but. Jerking her hand back, she wanted to shake it to stop her skin from tingling.
Somehow she was able to say, “No, you watch the fire. I’ll be right back.”
Racing to the door, she flung it open. She pulled on her boots before she stepped into the deep snow on the porch. Quickly closing the door, she wasn’t fast enough to avoid seeing Sunni’s dismay that Mercy had left her with Jeremiah.
Mercy took a steadying breath as her fingers continued to quiver from the memory of Jeremiah’s shoulder beneath them. Had she lost her mind? It was a big mistake to be attracted to him. Even if he didn’t want her farm, she was still reeling from a broken engagement. On top of that, her daughter didn’t like him.
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