Take cover with the woodcutter’s son.

“Can I come in?” I ask, hugging myself and starting to shiver as the rain starts to soak through my fur.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, absolutely …” He steps aside, and I slip in, immediately grateful for the warmth and the shelter.

As he shuts the door, behind me, I look around. I’m in a small, cozy room, with handmade cushioned wooden chairs, a small square dining table, a broad fur rug, and a fireplace, with a cheerful fire already in progress. I make a little happy sound and step over to the fireplace, holding out my hands to warm and dry them.

“It’s coming down pretty hard out there,” Aaron says, as he closes the window shutters against the rain.

“I know,” I tell him, shivering and rubbing my arms. I got pretty drenched pretty quickly. “Good thing for me you were here.”

He comes back to my side. “My dad took the cart into town to sell wood. With this rain, he may be there for a while.”

“So, you have the place to yourself?”

I turn back to him, and his eyes drop briefly to my chest. I look down, too, and notice that my top is soaked through and clinging to my nipples, which are firm from the cold and quite visible.

He manages to bring his eyes back up to mine without staring too much, and I smile at him. “I think I could use a towel, or something.”

“I’ll be right back,” he says, and disappears into the next room.

I look after him, still smiling, and I think about how the two of us might spend the rest of the afternoon.