CHAPTER 5
Adrienne hadn’t noticed the gathering clouds. She mistakenly thought the first raindrop was her own tear. Anger rushed through her as she stormed down the hill. She knew Nick with his long legs could overtake her in minutes, but the fact that he kept his distance reminded her that he was a good person. But she was still angry that he’d ruined their easy camaraderie.
She reached the trailhead but halted when she spotted the car’s flickering dome light. “Oh no,” she breathed. The passenger-side door hung slightly ajar because the seatbelt had gotten caught in it. And she couldn’t blame this on Nick, because she had been the one on that side of the car. “Oh dear,” she murmured.
Nick caught up to her and quickly assessed the situation. He pressed the fob, but the doors remained locked. “Bad sign,” he muttered.
Adrienne climbed in through the passenger side and unlocked the driver’s side door for Nick. He settled behind the steering wheel and inserted the key in the ignition. The dome light went out.
Nick turned the key and the engine made a weak growling noise.
“Can we call anyone?” Adrienne asked.
Nick took out his phone. “I don’t get reception. Do you?”
Adrienne checked hers. “No. Maybe someone will come by.”
“It’s hard to tell because of the midnight sun,” Nick said, “but it’s actually close to ten o’clock. Besides, we’re like a hundred miles from anything.”
Adrienne shivered. “Maybe not. I thought we passed a cabin.”
Just then, lightning flashed. Fat raindrops fell. Thunder crashed and the wind whipped the trees’ branches.
“Which way?” Nick asked.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to find it,” Adrienne said. “And, for all I know, it was a porta potty.”
“Which would be disgusting, but not as bad as spending the night in a storm.”
“We could sleep in the car,” Adrienne suggested, but she knew she would be much more comfortable than poor Nick, who was at least eight inches taller than her.
“I’ll go and see if I can find it,” Nick said.
She grabbed his arm. “I don’t want to be separated.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“They have pumas here!” Panic caught in her voice.
“Then come with me. We’ll look for fifteen minutes. If we haven’t found it by then, we’ll come back to the car.”
She silently agreed and stepped out of the car to face the elements. How many miles to the next town? Twenty? Alone, dark, cold, a storm—this was the stuff of nightmares. She tromped up the trail and was relieved to spot the roofline of a small building poking up out of the trees’ canopy.
Nick spotted it, too, and jogged toward the porch. He rattled the door. “Locked.” He threw the word over his shoulder before trying the window. It slid open.
Adrienne let out a sigh of relief and hurried to take shelter on the cabin’s small porch while Nick climbed in through the window and came to the door to let her in.
“We’re trespassing.” She stood in the doorway, surveying the small cabin. A large bed dominated the single room. She took one of the two chairs at the lone table. Someone had stacked firewood and newspapers near the hearth, and a jar of matches sat on the mantel. The kitchen consisted of some wooden shelves stocked with canned foods and a few utensils. Glancing at the bed, she saw that it was as clean as the rest of the room. A large quilt, fat pillows… She looked away quickly and met Nick’s eyes.
Nick plucked the jar off the mantel and muttered “Thank you” to whoever had come before them as he shook a couple of matches into his hand.
“I wonder who owns this place,” Adrienne said.
“Maybe the park department,” Nick suggested without turning around. He wadded up some newspaper and shoved it between the logs in the grate before striking a match. Minutes later, a flame glowed.
Nick peeled off his wet shirt, but not his drenched, mud-splattered jeans. She’d seen him in a bathing suit countless times, but somehow, this time was very different. His hair was longer and curled along his neck. Watching his back muscles work as he poked at the flame, she wondered if he’d been working out.
“I’d rather be trespassing than wet.” He gazed into the fire. “My feelings aside, you really should hang up your clothes to dry. You must be cold.”
