“Good way to run into a snake. They’re starting to emerge, you know.”
“Likethat’swhat you need to tell me before I do this,” she said, shooting a glare in his direction. “Don’t they go to bed at night?”
A laugh caught him by surprise, and he quickly squelched it. “If you mean do they go to ground, maybe, but land snakes sleep wherever they find shelter from the elements which means under brush and rocks or near anything that might soak up the heat of the day.”
She gulped audibly. “Well, thanks for that terrifying visual.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just pay attention and use your phone light to— Right,” he quickly corrected. “Look in the glove box. I keep a small flashlight in there.”
She leaned forward to find it and clicked it, nearly blinding him in the process.
“Sorry about that,” she said, covering the lens with her hand and clicking it off.
He slowed down until the spots in front of his eyes faded and made the turns as she’d directed. An ornate and lavish black metal fence appeared, the size and scope reeking of money and privilege.
“That’s it,” she murmured. “The gate is just up ahead and—No. No, no, no, no, no,” she said, drawing out the word with all the horror that could come in two letters.
That’s when he saw it. Or rather them. A few vans with logos on the side.
Quinley turned liquid and twisted on the seat, simultaneously unbuckling her belt and sliding into the floorboard at the same time.
“News crews?” he asked, ducking his head as he drove by without slowing.
“My parents must have comehere. To get away from the press. I guess they flew here and— Oh, what am I going to do? I can’t stay there now.”
He barely bit back the groan of irritation that formed. It was late—or rather early in the morning. And seeing as how her face was plastered all over every news channel and online, she couldn’t go to a hotel and book herself a room. He could get one for her, but she’d still be seen by guests or cameras or the staff.
His hands fisted on the wheel when he thought of his nice, relaxing vacation turning into him playing host to the runaway bride and her drama.
The good guy in him couldn’t walk away, though, and leave her somewhere alone and unprotected from the mess of media and attention.
Gritting his teeth and biting back his frustration, he said, “You can stay with me tonight. We’ll figure something out in the morning, or I’ll drive you back to Carolina Cove tomorrow.”
ChapterFive
Let me get things unlocked and check out the camera situation,” Elias said once they’d driven to the mountain cabin he’d booked for the week.
Quinley waited in the truck, gathering up the bags of snacks to have at the ready when he returned to her side of the vehicle.
She watched as he opened up the back of the Jeep Gladiator and dug around among the items stored there, pulling something from the depths.
“There’s a camera by the door and probably some more on the property. Put this on and keep your head down and face averted until we get inside.”
“You think the owner’s watching that closely,” she asked, accepting the baseball cap and gathering up her hair to feed it through the hole in the back.
“Better safe than sorry. Head down walking up to the door. The camera is on the left side. Here, put this on too,” he said, giving her a sweatshirt.
It would’ve been easier to put it on before the hat, but she awkwardly managed to get the thick sweatshirt on and welcomed the warmth considering the cooler temperature now that the doors were open to the mountain air.
To add to her “disguise,” she grabbed the smaller, lighter duffle bag and the snack bags and held them high in front of her as she approached the cabin, tucking her head until her cap hit the assortment of items in her arms and hid her face as well as she could while still seeing where she was going.
The interior of the cabin looked fairly new with wood floors, neutral walls and a thick leather sectional and matching chairs. A big screen TV took up the majority of one wall, but the opposite wall was all glass windows. It was too dark to see the view or what might be beyond it, but there were drapes, so that worked. “Nice place.”
“Not bad for being fairly last minute.”
She stared at him, wondering why he carried the biggest duffle to the kitchen and sat it on the counter.
“Stay put while I bring the rest inside.”
