room had cooled off considerably since she’d gone to bed and yet Jason lay bare. Maybe it was just as well that the room was so dark because she had seen more than she should have. The blanket around her bunk was to give him a little privacy, as well.
Leslie shivered. Wondering about the stranger whose cabin she was in kept her from worrying about her own situation. She didn’t dare call Teri to see if those men had returned looking for her. With their access to law enforcement data, it was possible they had already discovered that she had rented a car.
Would they look for any relatives she might visit? If so, it was possible she may have endangered Larry and his family. Those men could already be in Michigan, looking for her.
The thought terrified her.
Eventually, Leslie drifted off to sleep. When she opened her eyes again a faint light in the room testified that morning had arrived. She pulled her arm out of the cover. The air was cold, although she could hear the crackling of the fire in the stove.
She sat up and pushed the blanket aside, surprised to see Jason on the floor near the stove, exercising. From his muttered curses, the movements must be painful and yet he continued to work his leg and, after several minutes, his arm and shoulders.
Leslie suddenly realized she was watching him once again without his knowledge and quickly dropped the blanket. The light from the kerosene lamp on the table had gilded his body, emphasizing the ridge of muscles running down his torso.
She waited until she heard the bathroom door close before she peeked out to make certain he was no longer in the main part of the cabin. When she knew she was alone, she hurriedly changed into her own clothes and folded the ones she’d borrowed and placed them on the pillow.
After warming her hands at the stove, she wandered into the kitchen nook and looked around. She was amazed at all the provisions. He didn’t have much in the refrigerator but there was plenty of food for her to prepare for breakfast.
She quickly made a batch of biscuits, found some packages of dried fruit and nuts as well as oatmeal. While the biscuits cooked, she made oatmeal, adding dried apricots and chopped walnuts.
The table was set and coffee poured when Jason came out of the bathroom. He’d showered and shaved and she found the transformation remarkable, given the way he’d looked when she first arrived. He was younger than she’d guessed.
Once again he wore jeans and today had on a bulky sweater that must have been bought for him by a loved one because it matched the unusual color of his eyes.
He stopped abruptly when he saw the table. She ducked back into the alcove and grabbed the biscuits, quickly placing them on the table before returning to the kitchen.
“What—? You didn’t have to—” He stopped when she returned with the oatmeal.
She smiled at him. “I hope you don’t mind that I made breakfast.”
“Mind?” he said slowly. He absently pulled her chair out for her before he sat. Ah, so he’d been taught manners at some time in his life—sometime before becoming a hermit. “Thank you,” he said.
Neither one said anything during the meal. She replenished his oatmeal, finishing up what she’d made. When she set it in front of him, he looked up at her. “Where did you get the idea of putting stuff in the oatmeal?”
Since he’d wolfed down the first bowl, she didn’t think he was criticizing her. She ate one of the biscuits while he finished off the rest of them. After sipping her coffee, Leslie replied, “That was one of my mother’s ideas. I used to hate oatmeal so she started experimenting with different ingredients to coax me into eating it.”
“Hmm. Where does your mother live?”
What had happened to the curmudgeon of the day before? The lines on his face were still there, especially around his mouth, but at least he was civilly attempting to make conversation.
“She lived in Alabama until she died last spring.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. I bet you were raised in Alabama, weren’t you?”
She frowned. “Yes. Why?”
He nodded. “Because your speech patterns sound like Alabama.”
She tilted her head slightly. “And you know that because…?”
“One of the men in my squad was—” He stopped, shook his head and drank some coffee. The scowl on his face from yesterday returned.
She waited, but he said no more.
His squad. Military. Something bad had obviously happened that he didn’t want to discuss. She could understand. She certainly had no intention of telling him why she’d left Tennessee in such a hurry.
She searched for another topic of conversation. Finally she said, “Are your parents still alive?”
He nodded and stood. He cleared the dishes from his side and carried them to the kitchen. She shrugged and finished clearing the table. When she went around the corner she saw that he was filling the sink with soapy water.
“I can do that,” she said, adding the dishes she’d carried to the stack beside the sink.
“That’s okay,” he said without looking up. “Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”
A clear dismissal.
She turned away with an inaudible sigh and went over to the stove, which was really radiating heat now. After holding her hands out to the warmth for a few minutes, she walked over to the window and looked out.
It was still snowing. Surprise, surprise. Maybe Jason hadn’t been kidding about having snow until March. Surely the wind would let up soon. She watched the blowing snow for a while before turning away.
Now what?
She thought with longing about her belongings in the car. She’d bought several paperbacks and magazines on her way north, thinking she would need them once she reached Larry’s place.
She needed them now.
With her decision made, Leslie grabbed her gloves and put on her coat, pulling the hood forward as far as it would go. Just as she reached for the door, Jason spoke.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The crabby curmudgeon had returned. Without turning around, she said, “To my car.”
“Why?” he asked baldly.
She counted to ten. Slowly. Still facing the door she said, “Because I need some things out of it.”
She heard his disgusted sigh. “You really love to court danger, don’t you?”
Leslie shook her head. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.” She unlocked the door, opened it, quickly stepped through and slammed it behind her.
She looked around the area in front of her. She had no idea how to get back to the car the same way she came, but the clearing between the trees for his driveway was easy enough to see.
