Page 6 of Owen

“There is one,” I allowed, wishing I’d come up with something a bit more elegant. “They prefer to live remotely.”

“Yeah, obviously,” she whispered, more to herself than to me. Deep in thought. Just what was she thinking? “I had no idea. I almost got there, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you could make it down here in those clothes and end up with hardly a speck of mud on you, with hardly a hair out of place, you couldn’t have been hiking for long.” She looked at me, meeting my gaze with her clear, frank, sparkling eyes. “Right?”

Too smart by half, this one. “Right. Yes. I, ah, wasn’t hiking for long.”

“What brought you out at this time of night? It’s awfully dangerous out here. You see what I did, though it wasn’t much. But it could’ve been worse.” She paused, her brows lifting. “You weren’t even carrying a flashlight!”

Would there ever be an end to her dramatic realizations? I had the very distinct sense that I was digging myself into a hole, lifting shovelful after shovelful of earth, deeper with every word I spoke. “I live in the woods at home. I’m accustomed to moving around in the dark. My eyesight is quite sharp. And as I said earlier, I saw your fire and thought someone down here might need assistance.”

“Yes. You did say that.” She frowned, staring into the fire.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“What about it?” she challenged, shrugging. “If I thought it was worth sharing, I would say something.”

“Yes, I get that impression.” I smiled. “But I want to know. I really do. What has you so thoughtful?”

She frowned before drawing a long breath. “Why didn’t you bring anything with you if you thought somebody down here might be in trouble? Like, bottled water, a blanket, something. Why did you come empty-handed?”

“I… I was already walking. Hiking, rather. I needed fresh air, and I often walk before bed to clear my head. I thought the ground would be a bit firmer now, and as you said, there’s nary a spot of mud on me, and I hadn’t even worked up a sweat when I found you. It was not difficult at all.”

She nodded, her gaze still focused on the flickering flames. “I see.”

“You don’t sound as though you see.”

“No, no. I mean, I asked a question, and you answered. It’s a perfectly reasonable answer. And I ought to be grateful to have somebody to talk to, rather than peppering you with questions.” To my surprise—and, in all honesty, my chagrin—she withdrew her ankle from my thigh and pulled her leg in, reaching down to adjust her sock.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Just, you know, getting my foot off your leg. Because you’re not looking at the stupid ankle anymore and I’ve already invaded your personal space enough.”

“You seem quite fond of this concept of personal space,” I noted.

“Yeah, it’s sort of a hang-up of mine, what can I say? I don’t like people hanging on me.”

“Was I hanging on you?”

“No,” she snapped, “but I was hanging on you, and I shouldn’t have. I need to get some rest if I’m gonna make it down the mountain in the morning. My car is… jeez, I have no idea. It might not even be in one piece anymore.” She bit down on her lower lip, and her eyes welled with tears.

If there was one thing I couldn’t take, it was a woman in tears. Not that they irritated or annoyed me, Rather, I loathed being unable to do anything to stop them from crying. “It will be all right,” I said, feeling helpless and rather stupid.

“Easy for you to say,” she snorted, but to her credit, she fought valiantly against the onslaught of emotion. “You’re not the one who suddenly figured out she might not have a way of getting down the mountain except on foot.”

“I can help,” I offered, kicking myself all the while. My dragon would simply not allow a woman in need of assistance to flounder about, especially one as remarkable as the woman seated before me. “I have a car you could use. A truck, actually. It ought to manage the mountain pretty well.”

So long as I managed not to crash. A cold, sick sensation washed over me at the memory of Callie’s scream.

Molly was unaware of this. Lucky her. “You mean it? You could get me down?”

I managed to shake off my pathetic self-doubt and flashed a smile. “I’ll do my level best.”

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