Surviving Passion by Maia Underwood

usually work out to your favor. Much as he’s an ass, I almost never really disagree with him.”
                They approached a small cabin and Blaire went on, “Well, I hope you find us tolerable. Ain’t no one’s idle. Everyone pitches in. We mostly stick to what we’re best at. You might have guessed I do most of the cooking here,” she chuckled, patting her ample belly.
                “Now this was where old Brian used to live, poor codger. Prickly guy but we still missed him when he passed. He had his workshop here in the main room,” she narrated leading Selena up the steps to the door and stepping inside.
                The light was fading and Blaire grabbed some kind of lamp from a little table by the door. Gathering up the flint that lay beside it, she lit the wick and lifted the lantern proudly. “There, you see? I render the animal fat for fuel. It took some tinkering but eventually I found a way to get it burning smoothly. Use it sparingly.”
                Selena nodded, casting her eyes around the inside. A desk sat before the front window and there were leatherworking tools all around, most of which she hadn’t seen before. One of them looked like something her dad had described. It was like a big wooden clamp attached to the front of the chair and it was supposed to help hold the leather in place while you did your sewing. Selena’s interest was piqued. If it’s not too hard to use, it could make the work go a lot faster. She examined the thing carefully, running her hands along the wood, but Blaire was moving on, so she resolved to come back to it.
                “And here’s your bedroom, honey.” Blaire announced as she strode into the adjoining room. “The bedding is all nice and clean, don’t you worry. I try to keep the unoccupied rooms as livable as possible. I’m guessing you want to stay in here for dinner tonight? If I know Dan, you need some recovery time before we barrage you with introductions. I’ll bring you your supper.”
                “Yes, thank you,” Selena said, feeling incredibly relieved.
                “Alrighty then, be back in a jiffy.” She handed Selena the lantern.
                And just like that, Blaire bustled out of the cabin leaving Selena alone in the quiet dimness. Listening to all that talk was starting to grate on her. She thought she liked Blaire, but in the past few years she had become totally unaccustomed to chatter. Selena sat on the bed, admiring the decent condition of the blankets and the frame. There was even a little pair of tables, one to each side, with drawers. Selena tossed her pack on the floor next to the bed and lay down, testing the mattress out of curiosity more than anything else. It was only moderately sunken in the middle so it couldn’t have had a lot of use over the years. Selena couldn’t remember the last time she had lain in anything so soft. All at once she was uncomfortable and hopped to her feet. The room suddenly reminded her of a very small cave she had once ventured into during a bad rain. She had almost opted for the rain after a few minutes in there.
                Selena noticed a separate door adjoining the bedroom. Behind it was an empty closet. She wandered back into the main room and found another door that opened to a completely neglected bathroom. With no plumbing, the only thing it would be good for was storage. She shut that door and heard footsteps coming briskly up the stairs.
                “I’m back!” Blaire hollered as she opened the door carrying a tray with an actual plate on it. “Here’s your dinner. It ain’t gourmet but it’s the best we got,” she said, setting it on the desk.
                There was a steaming hot, generous cut of steak on the plate, as well as some fresh tomatoes and green beans. Not gourmet? Selena thought, wide-eyed with