Page 23 of Double Take

“Looks that way.” He strode to the water pump in the main part of the cabin and cranked the handle.

Taking a candle, she moved closer. Brown. Ugh. No thanks.

Her stomach let out a growl of hunger. If they hadn’t crashed, they would have been at their destination, enjoying dinner in a bistro or café. There were snacks in her bag, but it was in the vehicle. “I wonder if there’s anything to eat in here.”

She opened the cabinet door. Rodents had gotten into a sack of legumes on the lower shelf, but on the upper shelf, she spied several sealed jars. “Bonanza!” she cried.

“What did you find?” He continued to pump. The water didn’t look nearly as brown.

“Peaches.” She plunked a jar on the counter. She blew off the dust and squinted at another. “And…potatoes.”

“Do you think they’re safe to eat?” he asked dubiously.

“As long as they’re sealed, they’ll last for years.”

“Well, good because it looks like that’s how long it’s been here.”

“You can sample them first,” she joked.

“Gee, thanks.”

“We can heat up the potatoes in the fireplace.” She snagged the cast-iron pot from the hearth. “Let’s wash this out.”

The water ran clear now, so he rinsed out the pot, and Faith opened the potatoes and emptied them into the pan. Using a fireplace poker, she adjusted the swivel arm over the fire and hung the pot.

John rinsed the empty jar. “Now we have a drinking glass.” He filled the container and took a sip and then handed it to her. “Water tastes fine. Better than fine, actually.”

“Well water. I didn’t realize water didn’t need to taste like chemicals until I came to Terra Nova.” She took a drink. “We’ll have to eat with our fingers.”

He bent the jar lid into a crescent. “A spoon, madam.”

“That will work.”

“I’m assuming we’ll eat the peaches tonight, too?” he asked.

Her stomach growled. “My stomach says yes.”

He opened the peach jar and then bent that lid into another scoop. “Another spoon. Let’s move closer to the fire, where it’s warmer.”

“Good idea.” The fire was throwing heat, but the tiny cabin wasn’t warm yet.

After setting the jar of peaches on the hearth, he dragged the rope bed near the fire, unrolled the thin mattress, and spread it out.

“When you said move closer to the fire, I didn’t know you meant the furniture.”

“Beats sitting on the floor or standing up in front of the fire. We need the chairs to dry our clothes. I’m hoping by morning my shirt will be dry.”

He hadn’t worn a coat, so he’d gotten far wetter than her. But while her jacket and his body had shielded her from much of the rain, her shirt and pants felt clammy, and she didn’t relish sleeping in them. “We ought to drape the rest of our clothes over the chairs.”

“Much as I’d love to see you naked, I don’t think you’d feel comfortable.”

He desired to see her naked? Awareness and arousal hummed beneath the surface of their casual conversation and cooperation. Her nipples tightened, and not because of thecabin’s chill. She already had a good idea what he looked like naked, having seen her late husband many times. But as her gaze took in his muscular chest and biceps, she realized he was more toned and defined than Mark had been. Were there…other differences? She resisted dropping her gaze.

The chilly cabin suddenly felt very warm.

Maybe Iamconcussed. Theknock on the head rattled my brain.“We’re adults; these are exigent circumstances.” Faking nonchalant confidence, she met his gaze, only to go weak at the knees at the longing in his eyes. Mark had never looked at her with such naked yearning. “We can...uh…wrap ourselves in the blankets I found.”

“We’d both be warm,” he agreed.

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