Page 89 of Silent Shadows

Awesome. Love that for me.

I pull out my GPS while she zips the jacket higher around her neck.

The signal flickers weakly.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asks.

“We won’t be able to meet back up with the crew tonight, but I know where we can go for the night.”

“That’s only mildly comforting.”

I glance around the darkening forest.

Then toward the ridge line farther west.

A decision settles into place immediately.

“Come on.”

She looks up. “Where are we going?”

“There’s an old fire lookout cabin only about a mile from here.”

Her eyes widen. “You know a random cabin in the woods?”

“I know lots of random cabins in the woods.”

“That somehow feels both useful and threatening.”

“No, this is the area we were in on that last trip my family took. I remember this fire lookout because Owen and I ran in to explore—at the time, it felt like a treehouse for grown-ups.”

My mind runs through what the cabin looks like: small. One cot. Supplies in case anyone gets stuck there in an emergency.

Oh.

One cot.

I tuck the GPS away and offer her my flashlight. She takes it slowly.

Then narrows her eyes. “Why do you look nervous now?”

Because my brain just remembered we’re about to spend the night stranded together in a tiny isolated cabin while she’s wearing my jacket and smelling like cedar and campfire smoke.

That’s why.

“Don’t read too much into what’s about to happen,” I blurt out.

Daisy blinks.

Then grins slowly despite the situation.

“Oh, my God.”

“No.”

“You just realized we’re about to be alone in a remote cabin.”

“That is not what this is.”