I wrung my hands. “No. How much farther?”
“According to the map, another two miles.”
“Do you think she’ll be there waiting?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. She said the cabin is ours for one night only, but it’s under a false name. She doesn’t want any connection with us.”
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
A deer emerged from the woods and stared at us wide-eyed as we passed by him and made a left. The tires struggled against the deep snow, and the trees grew taller and denser. There weren’t any tracks ahead, so maybe that was a good sign that we weren’t late. I was afraid if she got there first, she might grow impatient and leave.
“One more turn,” he said, veering left.
We hit a bump, and the front end angled down. Logan suddenly threw the transmission into reverse and backed up a few feet. Once stabilized, he put the car in park and shut off the engine.
“I can see the cabin up ahead. I don’t want to risk getting stuck since we can’t stay for more than a night. This road is probably unpaved, so we don’t have any traction.” He put on a pair of black gloves. “We’ll walk the rest of the way. Why don’t you run ahead of me and get a fire going?”
“Alone?”
He zipped up his coat. “I have a snow shovel in the back. I should clear the road for her so she doesn’t have any trouble getting in. I don’t want the child to be frightened or get injured in a car accident we could have prevented.”
I put on my down coat and got out. The wind was uncompromising, so I drew the hood over my head and marched toward the cabin. Logan left the headlights on to brighten the way since I wasn’t born with night vision.
The snow at one point reached my waist, and I had to use my hands as a shovel and trudge through it. The closer I got to the cabin, the more the snow thinned out. The tree limbs were weighted down, and when I reached the porch, I stomped my feet to get the snow off my boots and jeans. My muscles ached, and despite the cold, I was sweating from the exhausting hike.
Talk about rustic, I thought to myself, getting a good look at the cabin. It might have shocked me that it was a rental had it not been for the fact that there were hunting enthusiasts who didn’t care about amenities. It made it easy for owners who didn’t want to be bothered with things like upkeep and maintenance costs.
Just as the woman promised, the key was hidden beneath the doormat.
When I walked inside, I searched in vain for a light switch. Unable to see very well, I shuffled to the fireplace on the left and searched until I found a box of matches. The first one snapped in half, and when I struck the second one, the tiny flame provided enough light for me to see a candle on the hearth.
I stood up, candle in hand, and surveyed my surroundings.
There were logs stacked against the wall by the fireplace, an area rug covered in dirt, and a plaid sofa facing the front door. On the right side of the cabin was what looked like a kitchenette, except the only thing in there aside from the counter was a woodstove and a sink that probably didn’t work. I glanced up a ladder to the right of the sofa and guessed the loft was above the kitchen.
Talk about quaint.
Checking out the sleeping arrangements wasn’t high on the priority list, so I put a log on the grate and reached up to open the flue. To get the fire going, I wadded up some newspapers that were stacked in the corner and stuffed them beneath the log. At least the wood was dry.
Once the log was lit, I took off my coat and began the impossible task of pulling a Mary Poppins and making this cabin spotless. First I wiped down the floors and table with a rag I’d found beneath the sink. Since the plumbing wasn’t working, I used the water that I’d tracked in. With a child coming, I wanted to get the place as sterile as possible. Most Breeds didn’t catch human viruses, but Relics did. Who knew what all was on the floor or the last time someone had bled on it.
The fire crackled, and the wood floor and walls were suffused with deep amber from the firelight. As I polished the window, my heart leapt. I couldn’t believe this was happening—that I was actually going to be a mom. A torrent of fears flooded my mind, like what if the child was afraid of us? Seeing a Mage and Chitah together wasn’t common; we were natural enemies. If he or she was a Chitah, I might end up being their worst nightmare.
“Get it together,” I muttered, realizing I could end up making the situation a lot worse just by fretting over every worst-case scenario. If the child was a Sensor, then we needed to keep our emotions in check so we wouldn’t convey the wrong message.
The door opened.
“Wipe off your boots!” I shouted. “I just cleaned the floor.”
Logan filled the doorway, his breath heavy as he scraped his boots across the doormat. “This is not what I expected.”
I planted my fists on my hips. “You should have seen this hellhole an hour ago. Can you shake out the rug? It’s full of dust.”
Logan dragged the rug outside and knocked off as much dust as he could. He threw it over the railing and hiked into the woods before returning with a large branch he used to pound it out.
When my rag had turned muddy brown, I inspected the room.
