He did not ask. He simply wrapped his arms around her. She collapsed against him. She clutched his shirt, her fingers digging into the fabric as if he were the only solid thing in a world of sliding scree. Jonah held her.
He felt the warmth of her body through her thin night dress. He smelled the scent of pine smoke and sage in her hare. He realized then with a jolt that nearly knocked the wind out of him, that he wanted to be her shelter. He did not just want to survive the winter. He wanted to stand between her and the world.
They stayed like that until her breathing slowed. When she finally pulled back, she looked up at him. Her face was inches from his. The air between them crackled. "Thank you," she whispered.
Jonah nodded. He stood up and went back to his corner, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. The next morning, the sun broke through the clouds, brilliant and blinding. Millie was making coffee. She dropped a spoon and it clattered loudly on the floor.
She jumped, then looked at Jonah and let out a short, sudden laugh. "I am jumpy as a squirrel," she said. Jonah looked at her. He had never heard her laugh. It was a small sound, rusty from disuse, but it transformed her face.
It made her look younger. It made the cabin feel less like a grave and more like a home. Jonah watched that laugh like it was a sunrise he thought the world had forgotten how to make. Later that day, Jonah was checking the floorboards near the hearth. The draft was bad there.
He noticed the board Millie had been sitting here on the first night, the one that sat slightly uneven. He wedged his knife into the crack and pried it up. "What is it? " Millie asked, coming to stand beside him. Jonah lifted the board. Beneath it, nestled in the dust and mouse droppings was a packet wrapped in oil skin.
He lifted it out. It was heavy. He unwrapped the oil skin on the table. Inside was a folded map faded and stained with water. There was a small leather ledger, and there was a letter sealed with red wax.
The handwriting on the envelope was shaky and old-fashioned to Jonah Crow. Jonah stared at it. How? Millie gasped. That is Etienne's writing.
Jonah broke the seal. He unfolded the paper. The date was from 6 months ago. Jonah, the letter read. If you are reading this, then you are the damn fool I hoped you would be.
You bought the cabin. Good. The girl Millie, she is my godaughter. Her father was my partner before the drink took him. I promised him I would keep her safe, but I am dying.
Jonah, the cough has me, and there are wolves in this town worse than the grey ones on the ridge. Do not trust the sheriff. He is Pritchard's dog. And do not think this is just a cabin. What is hidden in these walls is the key to everything.