Page 19 of Mountain Refuge
“He’s a mountain man,” I said in lieu of an explanation.
“And you’re a mountain woman. Would you go out in this?”
He was looking at me like he was trying to read my soul. His eyes were so intense, they darkened. I liked how the black of his pupils blended in flawlessly with the deep brown of his eyes. His sandy beard twitched slightly and it made me realize that, even though he’d been staring at me, he’d noticed me staring right back.
I blinked, shaking my head to clear it. I sat up straighter. I hadn’t intended to lean forward towards him. My body had just done it.
“If I needed to, I could. In fact, if my neighbor doesn’t answer his hails by the end of today, I might just have to in the morning.”
Concern crossed his face. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”
“My lifestyle is dangerous but this is the life I chose, the life I love. I know what I’m doing.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about his concern. It was sweet and not entirely unwanted, but it also brought on strange feelings in the pit of my stomach. Feelings I hadn’t had in almost a decade.
“How old are you?” I asked to change the subject.
“Thirty-six,” he replied. “Am I allowed to ask you the same?”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I knew my hard lifestyle aged me more but I wasn’t ashamed of my looks or the years I’d lived up here. “Thirty-five.”
“Really?” Adam tilted his head to the side, studying me. “This isn’t a pickup line but I would have guessed younger.”
Now I knew he was lying. “I don’t have access to anti-aging skin-care products up here.” Even if I did, I wouldn’t use them. Too many chemicals.
“You don’t need them.” Having finished his cup, Adam stood to walk to the stove. He refilled his soup and took his seat again. “How long have you been living up here? Were you born here?”
“Nine years and no.”
His eyes narrowed when I didn’t elaborate. “We’re going to be stuck here a week together. The least we can do is get to know each other.”
“Oh really?” I leaned forward again. “And where areyoufrom?”
Adam clamped his mouth shut. After a long pause, he conceded. “Touché.” I sat back. “How about this?” he continued. “We can talk about our lives without specific details.”
I was intrigued but not sure how that would work. “Like?”
“Like if we mention the name of a friend or relative, we use fake names or just the title. Mom, dad, sister, uncle… And we use fake locations too.”
“How does this get us to get to know each other better?” I was surprised he wanted to get to know me at all. After all, would we even see each other after he left in a week?
“We can still talk and learn, but it keeps the specifics a secret.”
And you couldn’t tell a secret youdidn’t know. What was the saying? The only way to keep a secret between two people is if one of them is dead.
I didn’t like lies but was this even lying? It was storytelling, maybe. I’d still get to learn about him. Eventually, my curiosity won out. “All right.”
Before Adam could respond, a baby cry echoed through the house. He looked over his shoulder at his son, then looked back at me with a smirk. “Raincheck.”
I watched him go, wondering yet again why it was so important to me that I learn about him. He was a stranger. Even if I did learn all there was to know about him in a week, it didn’t change the fact that he was leaving.
Chapter Eight
Adam
As much as I wished to continue the conversation I had started with Brooke, I was also grateful for the interruption. Had I gone insane? Why had I suggested learning about each other like that? Yes, we were stuck in a cabin together for the next week-ish, but that didn’t mean we had to offer up details about our lives.
But the opportunity to get to know her, even a little bit more, was too great to pass up. Brooke felt important. She lived on the same mountain Corbin had moved the kids and me to. Maybe when we left in a week, it didn’t have to be goodbye.
What if we couldn’t stay on the mountain though? Just because we hadn’t been found yet didn’t mean we were never going to be found. What about the kids? Could I keep them on this mountain? School wasn’t a concern. I’d been homeschooling Lydia her entire life and planned to do the same with Henry. But they needed socialization. They needed to be around other kids. To run and play and be free. Could I raise them on a mountain in a cabin, maybe no bigger than Brooke’s, with Corbin and his mother?
