steam. Didn’t realize how far I’d gone until I got up there on the hill. Thanks for finding me.”
Hunter flinched. “You’re the second person to say that to me in the past twenty-four hours.”
“Who else did you rescue?”
He dug out his water bottle. Molly was so thirsty her throat ached. Hunter took a long drink first; she almost went over and slapped him before he finally handed her the bottle.
“I found a little girl. She managed to survive on her own. She claims I found her, but I doubt it. She wasn’t really that lost.”
Molly swallowed gratefully as the water quenched her thirst. She capped the bottle and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. “Why do you say that?”
Hunter stared back towards town and Molly took the opportunity to look him over. She always thought of him as a little boy, but Hunter was only one year younger. Molly never would have considered being with someone younger, up until now.
Hunter coughed and she lifted her wandering attention. He smiled, trying to pose and flex, all nonchalant. Molly laughed and he relaxed the muscle show.
“The girl’s name is Catherine. She has some type of magical healing power. I’m telling the truth. I broke my arm last night and she healed it.” Hunter shook his arm at her as visual proof. “And after Vanessa delivered the baby, Catherine saved her from hemorrhaging to death.”
Molly staggered forward. “What? Vanessa had the baby?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Hunter said, smiling and tapping a beat on his gas tank. “You didn’t know, did you?”
“No. How could I?” Molly frowned.
“Yeah, well, he’s pretty cute, even though he resembles the Boy Scout.” Hunter squished up his face in a sour expression. “He’s got a set of lungs on him, too.”
What a time for the baby to arrive, Molly thought. Mark would never forgive her. He was a new dad with a baby boy, and his stupid sister was nowhere in sight.
“Did Mark send you to find me?” Molly asked, voicing her last hope.
Hunter shook his head and she felt worse, if that were possible. “No, Jimmy did. He worries about everyone.”
She gave Hunter a hard look, wondering if Jimmy already blabbed about what happened between them, and if she was now the laughing-stock of Independents.
“Yeah, Jimmy’s a pain,” Hunter said. “First he sends Scout out to find me and then he sends me to find you. The guy seriously needs a hobby.”
Molly was either lucky, or Jimmy was so embarrassed by her revelation that he didn’t want anyone to find out about their encounter. She hated him even more now.
She gave Hunter back his water bottle. “I guess you have to get me home right away, huh?”
Hunter laughed, packing away his water bottle. “We should just stay out here all night and give Jimmy a heart attack.”
Hunter was only joking, but the seeds of a masterful plan began sprouting inside her. Here she thought Jimmy was the only farmer in town who could grow something. Now that there was an experienced partner involved, Molly wasn’t so afraid of being outside Independents after dark. Hunter was perfect.
“What could we do all night underneath the stars?” Molly asked.
Hunter smiled at her. It was a deep, mischievous smile. Not the smile of a boy, but one of somebody free to roam and grow up quickly. Molly reworked all her perceptions of Hunter. He was not a boy at all.
Slowly she licked her lips and Hunter caught the signal. Molly was amazed at her sudden desire. As soon as he swung his leg off his bike, she rushed into his arms.
Hunter lay awake in bed and peered between the drapes where the frosted windowpane tinted the outside world white. The constant snoring from his roommate woke him up early, making further sleep impossible. The first snow would soon fall and then he’d be trapped in town for the winter. The thought disturbed him, and he found no consolation from the warm body snoring next to him.
He repositioned his pillow in a restless attempt to regain his interrupted dream. A short pause in the snoring quickly renewed with greater gusto. Molly’s arm dropped across his chest and the contact sent him over the edge. He cringed, ready to tear out of his own skin to escape. He rolled out of her grasp and his toasty feet slapped the freezing hardwood floor.
Molly stirred and wrapped herself inside the covers, including the ones he just vacated. “Where are you going?” Her eyes remained