Besides, it wasn't like I had anything else going on. It was just me and a cat and two horses, getting ready to hunker down for the bitter cold winter that was sure to come.

~ ♡ ~

I ended up getting out of bed at 5am, getting dressed, and going downstairs. I couldn't fall back asleep, and there was no sense staying in bed any longer.

I stuck some wood in the woodstove, glad it hadn't gone out during the night. Then I made myself a cup of hot cocoa, adding plenty of marshmallows, and took it to the living room, sitting down in my recliner and picking up my book. I opened it, and started reading, allowing myself to be pulled in and become part of the story.

I read for a few hours, enjoying the peace and quiet, the only sound being a loose shutter that rattled every time the wind blew, making me jump. I'd have to remember to fix that later.

When I was finally accustomed to the rattling shutter, and able to block it out and concentrate on my story, it was only a matter of minutes before I heard Gucci meow. I glanced up, seeing Y/n standing there, a small smile on her face. I smiled back.

"Good morning Y/n. How did you sleep?"

"I slept very w...well, thank you. I don't think I've slept that well in y...years."

I nodded. So she had either been crying in her sleep, and didn't remember, or she just didn't want to mention it to me.

"Well good. I'm happy to hear that. I'm sure it was better than the hayloft in the barn." I winked at her, but she looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been in your barn. I know I w...was trespassing...and y..."

I shook my head, "no Y/n, that's not what I meant. I'm not mad that you were there. I'm glad you found your way out of the weather. I was just teasing you."

She looked back up, looking unsure at first, but relaxing a bit after seeing that I was still smiling.

"T...thank you. I planned to be gone before anyone k...knew I was there, but I guess I got careless, and was just happy to be out of the bitter wind."

"It was still too cold in the barn. You should have knocked on the door. I would have given you a warm place to sleep for the night and we could have talked in the morning."

She looked down again, her hands wringing together nervously. "Most p...people wouldn't let a stranger into their h...homes, especially overnight."

"I'm not most people, Y/n, and I don't make assumptions. Maybe it's foolish to let a stranger into my house, and give them a warm place to sleep, but maybe it's not. I'm willing to take my chances."

"I'm n...not sure why..." she shook her head. "H...how come you aren't afraid?"

"Should I be?" I looked right at her, catching her gaze, our eyes meeting.

She drew in a breath, brows drawn together, shaking her head slowly. "N...no, no, I...of course not. I just don't how you can be so kind...and t...trusting." She averted her eyes. "I've never known anyone so nice."

I took a deep breath, thinking back to my childhood. They were good memories, the best I could ever hope for.

"I was raised by my grandparents, Y/n, and from a very young age, I was taught to treat people how I would want to be treated. That's how I've lived. It isn't something I even think about anymore. I just do it. There's nothing to be gained from treating anyone badly."

I saw the look on her face go from slightly baffled to total confusion. I understood, especially knowing, to a point, what she'd been through. She couldn't grasp the idea of someone being nice to everyone they might meet.

She had lived with negativity, and to have someone you know, to have the person who's supposed to care about you, treat you badly, it makes it hard to understand how anyone would treat a stranger nicely.

"Every one has something going on, Y/n. None of us have a perfect life, no matter how perfect it might look from the outside. We all have inner struggles. My struggles may be minor compared to yours, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we all need to be treated with kindness, no matter how big our problems are. Sometimes, all a person needs is a smile to make their day better."

I watched her, seeing the look on her face change from confusion to something I couldn't read...she seemed to be caught between many different emotions at once.

"I...I don't know if I could be like that...n...nice to everyone. H...how do you know if you can trust them?"

"You don't, and sometimes you get taken advantage of. But the way I see it, even if someone doesn't appreciate what you've done for them, even if they end up taking advantage of you, you still did the right thing. It makes it all worth it when you see the ones who smile, and show genuine gratitude."

"B...but not everyone deserves kindness..."

She hung her head, and I knew she was thinking of her boyfriend, and the way he had treated her. She wasn't able to comprehend that there could ever be a reason to be kind to him, after all he had done to her.

"I don't blame you for feeling that way, Y/n. You have every reason in the world to want to withhold kindness from someone who treated you the way he did. I'm not trying to justify his actions in any way. I'm just going to say that we don't know what kind of life he had before he met you. We don't know how he grew up, or what he experienced."

She looked up, and her expression was apologetic. She chewed on her lip, her brows furrowed in thought.

"I n...never thought of that. I never asked him about himself, or his past. I didn't really ever have the chance, things turned bad kinda quick after I moved in with him."

"It doesn't make what he did to you okay, Y/n, no matter what he may have gone thru. Maybe it would help explain his actions, but it will never make it okay. And you're right, not everyone deserves kindness. There are people in this world that are just plain evil for no reason."

Her eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed into a thin line. "I'll never forgive him for the f...five years of hell he put me through. But I don't believe he was evil. I g...guess he could have had his own troubles, and maybe he was just taking everything out on m...me."

I smiled at her, hoping that maybe she would start to open up a little more as the days went by.

"Would you like some hot cocoa, or maybe some breakfast? I haven't eaten yet, it was too early when I came down."

She looked at me, like she wanted to say something, but she was afraid to. I tilted my head towards her, urging her to speak.

"W...would it be okay...if I m...made breakfast for you?"

I raised my eyebrows, a little surprised, but also intrigued, curious what she had in mind.

"I would love for you to make me breakfast. I'm sure your skills are way superior to mine when it comes to cooking. It'll be nice to have someone cook for me."

She smiled, looking down at the floor. She had rolled up the sleeves to the sweatshirt, creating lumps that looked very cumbersome. I got up, and quickly went up the stairs, grabbing a t-shirt from the shelf, and coming back down, handing it to her.

"That might be more comfortable to work in, you won't have the sleeves getting in your way. I can show you where everything is in the kitchen, and then I'll get out of your way."

She nodded, and followed me into the kitchen. I pointed out where the things I thought she may need were, and told her to use whatever she needed, and just look around if she couldn't find something, or come and ask me.

"Thank you, I think I'll be okay." She smiled shyly, and left to go change into the t-shirt. 

I went back into the living room, sitting back down in my recliner. I smiled at her as she came out of the bathroom and set the sweatshirt on the chair by the small desk in the corner and passed by me headed back to the kitchen.

I sat reading my book, smelling delicious smells coming from the kitchen, smiling to myself. I sighed, and realized that I shouldn't get used to this, because Y/n wasn't going to be here forever. I didn't want her to be here forever.