It went entirely without saying that Emily thought Kate’s idea of Clark as a good man didn’t hold up to much scrutiny. He could accept that. He hadn’t exactly been a good friend to anyone in this town; he deserved their ire, at least where Kate was concerned. Everyone here held her in such high regard. If he failed her, he failed the town. If he saved her, they didn’t mind him quite so much. Before he could respond, Michael emerged from the door, backpack haphazardly slung over his shoulder.

“How is she? Can I see her?” Clark asked.

It was one thing to know someone was all right and quite another to see them with his own two eyes. Kate’s cold, unresponsive body haunted him; her smile could cure the sickening fear humming beneath his skin.

“I think we should let her sleep. She isn’t hypothermic, thanks to your help, but she needs to stay warm and rest. She needs a little bit of peace and quiet after everything she’s been through today.”

“Okay. Thank you.” An idea, a tentative, hesitant idea but an idea nonetheless. “Do you want to stay for Christmas?”

The pair shared a wary look.

“I’ll drop by tomorrow. We have some things to take care of in town.” They started to depart, but she stopped and turned before she went. “But thank you.”

Since arriving in Miller’s Point, Clark couldn’t think of anyone thanking him. They hated him. Made snarky comments behind his back. Criticized Kate for spending time with him. No one ever thanked him until that moment.

As it turned out, he enjoyed being liked more than he enjoyed being hated.

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Kate didn’t know what Michael put in that hot chocolate, but it must have been stronger than morphine and tasteless as water. One minute, she shivered under the covers and warmed her hands against the walls of the steaming mug; the next, she woke from a dream (where she starred as an animated Who in one of those Grinch movies) with a slight start. As she blinked against the darkness, it took her a moment to remember where she was and what had happened. The bedroom, with its crackling fireplace and slightly dusty fixtures—no one had been in here but the caretaker for almost a year now—engulfed her with its largeness. Kate cocooned herself in the warm covers, feeling more than a bit like Alice in Wonderland after downing the shrinking potion. Her entire apartment could fit in this one bedroom.