Page 293 of Her Reluctant Hero
Gabe staggered up the steps to the hunting cabin, leaning heavily on Kim, though Kevin tried to take some of his weight. Gabe’s strategy worked better for keeping both off balance. Strength was returning to his legs, but it would do no good to reveal that now and not be able to run without shoes. He allowed Kim and Kevin to guide him into the shack, into a bedroom with a double bed covered with a Native American woven spread. Is this where Kim and Kevin had fled after the attack on Peyton?
“Is this the honeymoon suite?” he asked, deliberately slurring his words.
Kevin shrugged out from under his arm and pushed him onto the bed. “You bet.”
Gabe struggled to sit up. “Damn, I’m hungry. You have any food?”
Kim gave Kevin a look. He grumbled and left the room as Kim sat beside Gabe, way too close.
“I’m sorry it has to be like this,” she murmured, brushing one breast intentionally against his arm. “I promise I’ll take good care of you.”
“What about firefighting?” he asked. “We can never go back to firefighting.”
She stroked his hair. “I understand how important it is to you. I’m sorry to take you away from it.”
“Peyton wanted to take me away from it and you hated her for it.”
“You won’t miss it,” she crooned, caressing his chest.
She wasn’t going to—was she? He had to stop her, push her away as her hand slid down his belly. “I will. It’s who I am.”
His sharp tone made her snatch her hand away. “You’d leave it for her.”
“I love her.”
She drew back and hit him across the face, fingers curved inward to scratch his cheek. Stung like hell, but at least she didn’t have long nails. Still, it’d leave a bruise.
“How can you say that to me?” she demanded. “After all I’ve done for you, all I’ve been for you?”
“Yeah, my own personal psycho. Gotta love that.”
Maybe not the wisest choice of words. Her eyes flared and she leapt from the bed, backing toward the door, just as Kevin came in with a sandwich. She blocked her brother from giving it to him.
“No, nothing,” she said. “He can’t have anything until he agrees to love me and never speak her name again.”
She slammed the door and Gabe found himself alone, virtue intact, and free to explore the room for clothes and shoes. He was glad they thought he was still weak, so they hadn’t restrained him. Quickly, he looked under the bed, gagged when he saw the skeleton of either a large rat or small cat, but no shoes. He opened the closet door quietly. A long jacket—well, long on some people—hung inside. It was musty, but better than nothing. No shoes on the floor, but when he stood on his toes—and caused the floor to creak—on the top shelf he saw some old hunting boots close enough to his size. The boards beneath his feet creaked again as he reached and he froze for a minute. Then he grabbed the boots—the leather was old and crumbly—and dragged them down. He turned them upside down and tapped the heels, a trick he’d learned long ago. Rarely did it yield anything, but now a scorpion the size of his finger dropped out and scuttled toward him. He cursed and jumped back, then crushed the insect with a boot.
He heard movement outside the door, shoved the boots under the bed and lay back as Kevin opened the door.
“What the hell, man?” Kevin asked, and saw the closet door was open.
Shit.
With a scowl, the younger man went to close it. “Sorry, man. No way out. Not this time.”
He opened the door again, pulled out the jacket and took it with him, locking the door behind him.
Double shit.
So Gabe had shoes, but he would freeze to death. Then he sat up and considered the bedspread.
*****
“I don’t think this is a road,” Peyton said through clenched teeth. She had to clench them— she’d already bitten the inside of her cheek twice and her tongue once.
“It is hard to see without headlights,” Deputy Simpson admitted cheerily.
“If we use headlights, they’ll see us coming,” Devlin reminded them as he maneuvered the vehicle directly from one bump to the next. “I’m on the road most of the time.”
