Jeanne Louise didn’t say anything else, and Paul suspected she’d fallen asleep. It told him just how exhausted she was, because he couldn’t have slept to save his soul at that point. They had got gas and hit the instant teller in Toronto so that the Enforcers wouldn’t know which direction they’d headed and would be forced to spread their efforts over a large area. Now they would know and concentrate their search probably in London and the surrounding area. It was a lot less area to search than the entirety of Ontario. Ipperwash was only an hour away.
Of course, they might not expand the search to the surrounding area, he told himself and then pursed his lips as he considered that if her people now knew they were in London, there was no reason for him not to use the credit card to get gas and save his dwindling cash. Hell, he could even hit an instant teller and load up on cash again.
Happy with that realization, Paul punched the “Point of Interest” button and then typed in the name “Canadian Tire.” He found one far enough away from the mall they’d been at to be relatively safe and followed the directions that way.
“Well, what do you think?” Paul asked, dragging in the last of the bags from the car.
Jeanne Louise turned from checking the kitchen cupboards and smiled. “I think it’s lovely.”
“Yeah. A little grander than I expected,” he admitted wryly, setting down his burden. “The cottage my parents brought me to was a three-room shack with a toilet in a room that I’m sure used to be a closet.”
“Well, this definitely beats that,” she said with amusement, peering around the large open kitchen/dining area and the larger living room beyond. There were two bedrooms up a hall behind these rooms, which faced out on the street side. There was also a curving staircase between the living room and dining room that led down into a basement with another sitting area and two more bedrooms. It was nice. Probably someone’s home at one time before it was converted into a rental cottage.
The only complaint Jeanne Louise had was the endless windows everywhere. Fortunately, there were blinds she could close to escape from the relentless sun.
“Is Livy still in the car?” she asked, moving to the grocery bags first. The cupboards were filled with dishes, pots, and pans, but there was an empty cupboard for foodstuff and they’d definitely bought a lot of that in town, along with everything else.
“Yeah. Boomer’s with her, and I figure it’s better to let her sleep until we get this stuff stowed away. The minute she wakes up she’ll want to get in the water.” He glanced toward the car parked next to the screen door to the kitchen. Livy’s door was open, allowing air in and letting them keep an eye on her and the dog resting on the seat beside her.
Jeanne Louise nodded and began pulling cold food out of the bags to put in the refrigerator. The nap on the way back had done her good. She felt almost back to normal. It had cleared her thinking too though, and now she was a bit worried about Eshe’s spotting her in London. Not unduly so though. They might concentrate the search on London, but Ipperwash was an hour away. When they didn’t find them in London they would probably look further south rather than try every single town east and west of it. She suspected they’d try Chatham and Windsor first, expecting them to choose large populated areas to hide in.
With both of them working, it didn’t take long to get the food stowed away. They then turned their attention to the clothes and towels they’d bought. The cottage supplied sheets and blankets and pillows, so they made the beds after that.
Paul suggested Jeanne Louise take the large main bedroom on the ground floor while Livy took the smaller one next to it. She refused at first until he pointed out that she would be close to Livy if the child needed her in the night. In case she woke up with a headache and needed help, Jeanne Louise realized, and gave in.
She expected Paul would take one of the bedrooms downstairs, but he announced he’d sleep on the couch in the living room in case Livy needed him.
Once they made the beds, their work was pretty much done and there was no reason not to wake Livy. Leaving Paul sorting through a bunch of stuff she didn’t recognize, she went out to collect Livy. The girl was excited as all get-out when she realized they were actually at the cottage. She’d fallen asleep on the way back from town and had slept through their collecting Boomer and their things from the motel, as well as the drive here to meet the cottage owner.
While she was groggy when Jeanne Louise first roused her, the little girl was quickly awake and running the minute she set her down inside the cottage door. Boomer was hard on her heels, barking excitedly as she raced around the inside of the cottage looking in all the rooms, then attacked the small stack of clothes in the smaller room that was to be hers and began rifling through them in search of her bathing suit. She had her clothes off and was climbing into the pretty little blue one piece swimsuit she’d chosen as Jeanne Louise left the room.
She walked into the living room to find Paul in the process of blowing up a small raft. Her eyebrows rose as she glanced from it to the already inflated water wings beside him on the floor. “When did you get those? I don’t remember seeing them anywhere.”
Paul stopped blowing and blocked the opening with a finger as he explained, “At the gas station when I stopped for gas. They had some sort of promotional deal going on. Buy gas, get the raft half price kind of thing, so I picked it up. Then I saw the water wings and grabbed those too.”
“Ah.” Jeanne Louise smiled faintly and then glanced around with surprise as Livy charged into the room.
“Can we go in the water now, Daddy?” she asked eagerly, practically dancing on the spot with excitement.
“Just as soon as I finish blowing this up and change into my swim trunks,” Paul said patiently and then returned to blowing.
Livy groaned, but otherwise didn’t complain. She glanced to Jeanne Louise then though and said, “You’d better put your bathing suit on too, Jeanie. You’ll want to swim too.”
“Er . . . well . . .” Jeanne Louise shifted uncomfortably.
“There are a couple of lovely big trees out there to offer shade, and I bought a big umbrella for you too,” Paul said quietly, pausing in his blowing again. “I know you can’t actually swim until nightfall, but I thought that way you could at least sit outside with us.”
Jeanne Louise sighed and turned to make her way to her room. She had allowed Paul and Livy to cajole her into buying a bathing suit, never really expecting to wear it. It wasn’t often you saw an immortal on the beach unless they were in the middle of a stake and bake—not something any immortal wanted to happen since it was one of their more painful punishments. It was a death sentence that started with being staked out in the sun for hours, sometimes days. This forced the nanos to use up all the available blood to repair the damage caused by the heat and sun. When they ran out of blood in the veins, the nanos then attacked the muscles and finally the organs, drawing blood from them to try to keep the host alive. When the beheading that followed finally came, the victim was usually begging for it.
The bathing suit she’d bought was two scraps of black, a strapless top and tiny bottoms. Jeanne Louise pulled them on and then peered in the mirror critically. Dating mortals, she’d been shaving since women’s shaving had started. She’d shaved during her bath before leaving for work Thursday night. It was now Saturday afternoon though, and for some reason her hair seemed to grow fast. Or perhaps all women had to shave every other day. Her legs looked okay, but running a hand across them revealed stubble.
Finding the razor and blades she’d thought to buy while in town, Jeanne Louise took them into the en suite bathroom and ran water in the sink, then found a wash cloth and a bar of soap. It wasn’t easy, and Jeanne Louise found herself hopping awkwardly around a couple times, but it got the job done, she supposed as she tested her legs for smoothness and didn’t find any stubble.
“Jeanie?” Paul’s voice came through the door accompanied by a knock.
“Yeah?” she asked, straightening to peer toward the wood panel.
“Livy and I are heading down to the water. I’ll take the umbrella and set it up. Got the beach towels too. Grab yourself a drink and come on out when you’re ready to join us.”