Chapter 6
Meg’s heart raced.She’d kissed him. What was she thinking? It was only on the cheek, but what was wrong with her? He was an escaped prisoner. Maybe even a murderer. Why was she getting all chummy with him? Why was she even there at all? She should just take the car and leave.
But the thought of sleeping somewhere in Travis’s car wasn’t appealing. Here she’d at least have a bed. And if she could clean herself up and go to town tomorrow, maybe she could apply for a job and get some money coming in. Then she’d be able to afford an apartment.
Meg sighed and grabbed two potatoes. If they were going to eat tonight, she’d have to go find the stream. She walked outside the back, letting the screen door bang. “Which direction is the stream?”
Cade pointed to a path into the woods. “Follow that. You’ll find it.”
“Thanks.” She picked her way down the path in her black flats. They were good for working at the insurance company, but not so great for walking down the side of a mountain. She had to maneuver around patches of snow. Before too long, she heard the rushing sound of water. Another two feet and she saw it. Before she drew too near, she noticed a deer standing on the other side of the river. Meg slowed. She didn’t want to scare it. She watched as it dipped its head and took a drink. A beautiful creature.
Meg stepped on a twig and it snapped. The deer bolted into the woods. Maybe tomorrow she’d see it again. She crouched down by the river and stuck the potatoes under the water. Cade was right. It was freezing cold. She quickly rubbed the dirt off the potatoes and stood, her fingers numb from the brief contact. There was no way she’d be getting in that water.
She climbed back up the slope to the house, her shoes slipping in the soft earth. The sound of Cade chopping wood echoed as she neared. Then it silenced. When she grew closer, she realized Cade was piling wood on the fire pit. Meg went into the kitchen and pulled the ham out. She grabbed a knife and sliced open the package, cut off two chunks of ham, then placed them in the Dutch oven with the potatoes. She put the lid on top and walked out to where Cade was building the fire. “Hungry?”
He glanced at her, but then his gaze held. “Starved.”
She set the cast iron oven down on the bricks. Cade motioned to a log with his head. “Pull up a seat.”
Meg dragged the log over to the fire pit then sat on it. It wasn’t bad for a makeshift seat. Cade finished arranging the small sticks in the bottom of the wood pile, then he lit a match and held it to the kindling. He turned to her. “Where are you from?”
“Iowa.”
“Did you grow up there?”
She nodded. “All my life.”
He chuckled. “This must be different then, being up in the mountains.”
“It’s colder.”
The fire dwindled and blew out, so Cade lit another match. “The altitude will do that.” He glanced at her. “You need a sweater?”
“I need a hot bath.” Wow, she hadn’t meant to sound so cranky. It wasn’t his fault the house had no hot water.
Cade lifted one eyebrow. “When I talk to my brother, I’ll see if he can get the water and electricity turned back on here.”
Meg really didn’t want to ask this, but it came out anyway. “How long are you planning on being here?”
Cade lit another match. “I don’t know. I need to dig into some things. Find out who had a motive to put me behind bars.”
