She settled onto one of the chairs while Declan remained standing beside her.
“You must want a shower too,” Cheryl said.
“I would love one,” Willow breathed.
“Come with me then, and I’ll get you those clothes.”
“We should call home first,” she said.
“Oh, of course,” Cheryl said.
“Do you want me to call?” she asked Declan; she was a little concerned he might break the phone.
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Feel free,” Gus said and waved at the phone.
Declan lifted the phone off its cradle and held it to his ear. He hit a couple of buttons before clicking his finger against the receiver. However, the action did nothing as there was still no dial tone. His jaw clenched as he listened to the silence coming over the line.
“It’s not working,” he said.
“What?” Gus asked. “Let me see it.”
Declan placed the phone into Gus’s outstretched hand. Gus stepped closer and pushed down on the button before letting it release. He punched a few buttons before clicking the receiver again.
“Damn,” he muttered before hanging up and turning to Cheryl. “Was it working this morning?”
“Yes,” she said. “My sister called; we talked for at least an hour.”
“Why isn’t it working now?” Willow asked.
“There’s no reason to worry,” Gus said. “We lose service about five times a year. Usually, it’s during a storm.”
“We did have that storm roll through a couple of days ago,” Cheryl said.
“And there was a lot of wind with it. A tree was probably damaged during the storm and fell onto the wires today. I’m sure they’ll fix it soon, but I’ll run over to the Berk’s and see if their phone is working. They’ll let you use theirs if it is,” Gus said.
“A cell phone wouldn’t work at the camp, but would it work here?” Willow asked.
“No. If you drive a couple of towns over, you can get service,” Cheryl said. “There are some people in town who have them, but most of us don’t. The people who have them work in other towns or they use them when they’re on vacation.”
“It would be nice if we could get coverage here, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. I’ll head over to the Berk’s now,” Gus said.
He strode across the kitchen and opened the back door. He forgot to shut the door before descending the stairs and jogging across the side yard to the home next door.
“That man,” Cheryl muttered as she walked over to close the door. “Are you sure I can’t get either of you something?”
“No, thank you,” Declan said.
“I’ll take a glass of water,” Willow said so they didn’t continue to seem so odd.
“Coming right up.”
Declan kept his attention on the door Gus exited through while Cheryl bustled around the kitchen, and the clock on the wall slowly ticked away the seconds. Cheryl and Willow talked while Declan watched for any sign of something wrong in this small town.
Everything looked peaceful outside, and he didn’t think a Savage could have tracked them this far without making their presence known, but he wasn’t going to rule anything out. He hadn’t lived this long by being foolish. He edged closer to Willow as Gus jogged back toward the house, up the stairs, and entered the kitchen.
“The Berk’s phone is down too,” Gus said as he wiped his feet on the mat inside the kitchen door. “I checked with the Winslow’s before coming back, and they don’t have any service either.”
