course not. There’s always something that must be done.”
“Exactly.” She gave him a crooked smile. “And plenty of guilt if you don’t do it. I have a friend who says the best vacation she ever took was a cruise.”
“Really? That’s never appealed to me.”
“Me either. But she said that while she was out on that boat she was completely cut off from her everyday life. There was absolutely nothing she could do about anything at home. She couldn’t even get a phone call. She said it was the most free she’d felt in her life.”
“I know that feeling, except I’m tethered by a radio.”
“Electronic leashes. I work with a guy who says his cell phone is his electronic leash.”
He smiled. “Good description.”
“Anyway, I’m probably worrying about nothing.”
“Well, that’s the other side of being cut off like this. If worrying is your thing, you have plenty of extra time to do it.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you back to town?”
She shook her head. “Then I’d really worry. About what’s going on out here.”
“Rock and hard place.”
“Not really. I’d rather be here.”
“Things could get dicey.”
“Things are already dicey,” she argued. “Someone was watching the cabin. Someone followed me yesterday and went through my things. I realize I’m no expert, but none of this is striking me as innocent.” In fact, if they wanted to talk about worries, Buddy and his friends would be right at the top of her list.
“The ATF is coming,” he reminded her.
“Right. Like that’s going to prevent something from going critical. Like you’re not going to be in the middle of it.”
“You’re worried about me?”
“Why does that surprise you?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s been a while since anyone worried about me. It’s a nice feeling.”
That spoke volumes to her, and she thought about what it might be like for him. His parents and one brother had abandoned the continent for distant shores. Life had taken all of that away from him just as it had from her, and then he’d chosen the kind of life that kept him mostly alone.
Oh, clearly his fellow rangers and his boss were friends, but from what she had seen they weren’t the kind of friends he’d be spending a whole lot of time with. So he was alone with his forest, which had a lot of advantages but didn’t provide the kind of companionship most people needed.
Of course, these were his choices. Maybe she ought to pay attention to them instead of sitting here trying to establish links with him. Instead of thinking about how much she wanted him to make love to her again.
Instead of realizing that she felt less alone with him than she did at home in Tampa with all her friends. Less alone than she had felt during her time with Hector.
Wow. That was heavy. Dangerous, too.
“Something wrong?” Craig asked. Damn his perceptiveness.
“I’m fine,” she answered, keeping her tone firm.
For a few minutes they sat in silence, the puzzle still scattered on the table in front of them. One corner of one tower had begun to rise, and they had most of the edge done. Their efforts had been casual. No pressure. No demands.
The day had brought enough pressure and demands. And to think that earlier they had both thought they were going to have a vacation day in the rainy woods. It hadn’t exactly worked out that way.
But when did anything ever go according to plan?
Craig stood up. “I need to feed us. I hope we have enough left since we didn’t go to town today. Unless you want to run in and have dinner or something.”
She thought of the long drive along the forest service roads in the rain, thought about returning to civilization and people, and shook her head. “If we can manage it, I’d rather stay here.”
She caught the hint of a smile from him. “Let me go see what we have left.”
They had plenty for tonight. Not all the ice in the chests had melted, and they yielded cold cuts and a small jar of mayonnaise. An unopened loaf of rye bread sat on the shelf. There were even a couple of tomatoes that were still firm.
Sky cleared one end of the table, remarking, “I suppose we ought to just put this puzzle away. It’s getting to the point where we have to keep laying out the pieces.”
“If you’ve had enough of it. I don’t mind having to straighten them out again.”