*
Rance stood staring at the closed patio door for a few moments. So, that’s how it is going to be now? Lady Justice, using the chilly moniker that others in the courthouse often used for her behavior, was back. He should have brought his jacket.
Rance moved to the living room and then looked in the dining room and he found her, with paperwork and her laptop. She looked up when he didn’t move into the room but remained in the doorway.
“It’s best if we move back to the fishing cabin. There are too many people in town, workers putting parts of the area back together, debris removal, and reporters. We’ll leave in an hour. If you’ll lock the door behind me, I’m going to run to the grocery store and pick up some things. The power was off in that area so we might need fresh food. I’m leaving now.”
She stood and followed more slowly as he headed to the front door. He stepped through the open doorway and then turned back, hand on doorknob. “And please don’t open this door until I get back.”
“Want me to cross my heart or something?”
“Just your word will do.” He turned and headed down the steps, and that’s when she noted what was different. He had his gun belt on. He hadn’t been that conspicuous since the first day when he stormed into her courtroom. It gave her pause. Had something happened? A slight chill went down her spine. He turned and looked at her with a pointed stare. She shut the door and gave the dead bolt slide a hard push. He could probably hear it.
Erin went upstairs and began packing the small bag she had brought from the fishing cabin. Then she tidied the room. Looking around the downstairs area to make certain she was leaving nothing behind or out of place, she realized that she felt a strange sense of sadness. Somehow, she had fit into the Primrose Inn as if it were her second home almost. It had felt that way. And that was silly, of course. They’d been here such a short time, yet it felt welcoming and a safe port in a storm. Which it had literally become.
There was a knock on the front door, and she looked onto the porch from a side window and saw it was Rance. She unbolted the door and let him in.
“I’ll run up and get my stuff, and we’ll be on the road shortly,” he informed her as he took the stairs two at a time.
She noted that he certainly seemed in a hurry to get back to the cabin. One step closer to getting rid of her was more like it. Well, she could say the same. The sooner this whole thing could be in the past, the better. Rance came back down the stairs and set about looking through the rooms and kitchen, locking up and making sure lights were off and all was ready for departure. He held the front door open for her. She passed through and did not look back, even as they were pulling away from the house. Goodbyes were meant to be swift with no looking back. Her father had taught her that since she had learned to walk. It would bode well with this detour in her life.
Thirty minutes later, they were back at the cabin. “Wasn’t there a tree there on the bank?” she asked as they stopped in the driveway.
“Yes, Matt said it was taken when the water rose so fast. He and his deputies came over yesterday and removed it. But the rest of the place did just fine. Uncle Joe was smart at raising the cabin higher than just flat on the riverbank.”
“It’s a shame,” she said, following him across the deck to the door. “It was beautiful. Those take years to grow, don’t they?”
“That one won’t grow back to the way it was in our lifetimes, if at all. Lots of cypress and other trees were lost all over the county along the riverbanks. Mother Nature can get mad and throw quite a fit at you when she wants.”
“If you’ll bring in the bags of groceries, I’ll put them away. Just in case you plan to get busy on that fishing that Cassie mentioned.”
“I’ll do that.” He went into his room, and she put her things away in her bedroom. When she came out into the living room again, the bags were on the counter. She took a glance outside and saw that Rance was losing no time on getting his line in the water.
So that was the way the rest of her incarceration was to be, she guessed. They’d be in the same room together as little as possible. Fine. She could do that.
It was just a kiss…no big deal. That’s how he was acting. And she felt the same way. They might have slipped up and kissed more than once…or twice. But each time had been just a kiss. So fine. All they had to do was wait for the phone to ring and bring her freedom.
Chapter Thirteen
Rance kept casting, reeling in, casting again. He had moved down the bank a bit to try his luck in a quieter, slow-moving pond off the main river channel. It wasn’t that he was such an avid fisherman, but it was because he needed to do something that steadied his brain, slowed his processing down. And it kept enough space between him and Erin. The fact that this whole situation had changed somehow over the advent of one kiss…and then a couple of others. It was frying his brain. He had shared a lot of kisses over his lifetime so far. Not that he was a dating Romeo or anything, but he did have his fair share of female admirers. But none had made him seriously think about other things like rings, a cozy cottage, kids. That wasn’t him. And it wasn’t so much he was having those thoughts now; it was just something different going on.
Why it should happen after kissing Erin Latham of all people…he had no idea. She wasn’t his type. Okay, she was beautiful. And very smart. Maybe not as stuck-up or snobbish as he first thought. So, he was wrong about that. And the woman could…and did…cook. She didn’t leave it to servants. Her family life left a lot to be desired. Yet she still made it on her own terms in the end. He had to hand it to her. But he still shouldn’t have kissed her.
It was silly spending so much time dwelling on that fact. The way she had moved on from it…like nothing happened of any importance to her, should be the motivation that he should do the same. It didn’t ruin her day or anything. So why couldn’t he let it go? The answer felt like it was right there stuck in his brain, but he couldn’t get it out in the open. That was irritating. And the peace he usually could find by casting his line out and destressing, was not working. That was doubly irritating.
*
Fishing. What is so great about fishing? She checked out the window and Rance was still in the same spot he was a half hour ago. She had at least done something with her time. Unpacked. Dusted the coffee and side tables in the living room. Restacked the games and magazines neatly on their shelves. And even cleaned the counter tops in the kitchen. That was using time wisely and accomplishing something. She had something to show for her time. Erin shook her head, noting once again in a glance outside that the man had not moved. And she didn’t see any sign of fish having been caught.
She opened the refrigerator and stared at the contents. Her mind wandered. Was this what they called cabin fever? At least at Primrose, she felt she had something to do. And when they went in to help at the café, she did have something to do. But now? She was standing and staring at the insides of a refrigerator, taking mental note of the jar of pickles, container of butter, two bottles of salad dressing, a fresh carton of milk, a dozen eggs, a casserole dish she would heat in a few minutes, and other less than enthralling condiments and containers. This was what her life had come down to. She shut the door on a deep sigh.
A few minutes later, Erin stepped out onto the deck. She went over and stood on the edge of the structure, not saying anything. A full five minutes passed.
“You bored?”
She looked at the speaker, but his gaze was still on the bobbing cork in the water. “Not really. Why? Do I look bored?”
“Well, that’s the third long sigh I’ve heard since you came out.”
