boy came willingly, eagerly, and stood in the entry dripping water everywhere. He shivered like a wet Chihuahua.
Hayden pulled the door closed and blocked out the chilly wet air.
“We’ll need towels.” Carrie rushed away.
While she was gone, Hayden quietly assessed the young boy. He was slender built, close to skinny, with a heart-shaped face kissed by a sprinkle of brownish freckles. A Huckleberry Finn kind of kid who was trying to look anywhere except in Hayden’s eyes. There was something frighteningly familiar about the kid, so much so that Hayden softened.
In a patient voice, he said, “I’m Hayden. Who are you?”
“Brody.” He rubbed a soggy hand across his wet eyes. His rain-darkened eyelashes stuck straight out above cheeks pale as sand.
“So you got lost?”
The boy stared down at the ever-widening puddle on the floor. “Um...yeah.”
Lost didn’t feel right to Hayden. He was reasonably sure the boy was hiding something. The question was, why?
“What were you doing out in this kind of weather?” A beeping sound came from the kitchen. Hayden kept his focus on the child.
“Camping out.” Brody’s voice was soft and uncertain. “I wasn’t expecting the storm.”
Camping out. Okay, that made sense. Country boys did that kind of thing. He’d done it plenty of times.
“By yourself?”
“Yeah.”
Carrie appeared with two snow-white towels and draped one around the boy’s shoulders. “I warmed them for you in the microwave.”
That explained the beep.
“Smart.” Hayden glanced at her in appreciation.
“Thank you.” Brody shivered and huddled beneath the fluffy towel while Carrie patted at his face and soggy hair with the other. Kind. Tender. Her actions stirred something in Hayden’s chest. He couldn’t remember anyone ever drying him off.
“What’s your phone number, Brody? I’ll give your folks a call.”
“Uh, they’re, uh—” The boy fidgeted. “They’re not home.”
“No?” Suspicion, like a hairy spider, crawled over Hayden’s scalp.
Brody flashed pale blue eyes at Hayden before letting them slide away. But in that instant, Hayden saw the truth. The kid didn’t want to go home. He preferred a stormy, cold, wet night alone.
An icy feeling of déjà vu lodged in Hayden’s chest.
He’d camped out in the woods dozens of times to avoid going home.
Carrie disappeared again to make noises in the kitchen. Lightning flickered against the windows, less intense than earlier.
“You camp by yourself often?”
“I like the woods.” Brody’s quiet words were almost imperceptible.
If the kid knew the woods well enough to camp, he likely had not been lost at all.
“How old are you, Brody?”
“Eleven.”
“You live close by?” The lopsided conversation felt more like an interrogation, which Hayden supposed it was.
“In town.”
Hayden had stopped in the picturesque town of Honey Ridge, a couple of miles down the road, when he’d come through on his way to the inn. “Pretty long walk.”
“I don’t mind it.” A glint of humor showed in the blue eyes Brody flashed his way. “Except when it storms.”
“Can’t say I don’t feel the same.”
Carrie returned, carrying a steaming white cup and the bag of Oreos. “Here you go, Brody. A mug of hot cocoa should warm you up.”
Shaky hands took the offered treats. “Thanks.”
The kid gobbled a cookie in two bites. Hungry, Hayden thought, when he dispatched a second one every bit as quickly. Pondering, Hayden munched on his Oreo while the boy ate and drank.
“You’re welcome to all the cookies you want.” Carrie urged the package toward Brody.
“I should...go.” But he made no move to shed the now-damp towels or move toward the door.
Carrie put another cookie in his hand. “Drink your cocoa, and we’ll figure something out.”
The kid had nowhere to go. Hayden had already figured that out even if Carrie hadn’t. A thought danced through his head, and he latched on.
“I have a perfectly good room upstairs that I won’t be using tonight,” Hayden offered. “Why don’t you bunk there until morning?”
Brody shook his head. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not? I paid for the bed, but I won’t be in it. Someone might as well sleep there.”
“But—”
“He works at night, Brody.” Carrie flashed Hayden a look of gratitude. “It’ll be okay. Julia won’t mind.”
Hayden didn’t know if the innkeeper would mind or not, and he didn’t much care. The kid was cold, hungry and too exhausted to be any trouble. He was staying. If Julia wanted to charge extra on Hayden’s tab, fine.
“I’ll take my laptop into the front parlor close to the coffeemaker. The bed’s all yours.”
The boy looked relieved, hopeful. “You sure? I wouldn’t bother nothing.”
“Drink up, and let’s get you upstairs.”
Brody took a long swig and drained the cup, handed it off to Carrie. “Thank you. You make delicious cocoa.”
Carrie touched his wet hair. She was, Hayden noticed, a toucher. “You’re welcome.”
“Ready?”
The boy nodded, and Hayden led the way up the stairs, whispering, “Watch the third step. It creaks.”
With a solemn nod, Brody imitated Hayden’s path and nothing squeaked.
Inside the bright and pretty Mulberry Room, Brody stood awkward and silent while Hayden dug out a pair of drawstring sweats and a T-shirt. The air was thick and humid from the damp night and a wet boy who smelled of river and woods.
“They’ll be too big, but they’re dry.” He motioned toward the bathroom. “In there. You can grab a hot shower if you want to.”
“I’m
