Page 5 of Caleb's Salvation
I let out a whoosh of breath as if I’d just managed the feat of the century. “I was right, Sammy. When he comes back, he’ll have food and he’ll make us that fire. We did it.”
I kissed the top of his head, sat on the bed and waited.
2
The next day
Cal
I stared at the cabin and wondered if I shouldn’t just leave what I brought at the end of the walkway and call it day. I wouldn’t have to see her. I wouldn’t have to see the kid. Drop off the food and go.
What if she’s freaking out? What if the cabin was too cold?
I shook my head, hating that I knew I had no choice. I couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself. She wasn’t my responsibility.
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
But she was a visitor who’d come to this place with expectations I’d failed to live up to.
And she was hungry.
Cursing under my breath I got out of the truck and stormed up to the door. I banged on it hard enough so she could hear, but not hard enough to wake a sleeping baby.
A second later she opened the door with a smile on her face that made my breath catch.
Fuck, she was pretty. Not beautiful, not in the way Sarah had been. But pretty, soft. Her pale complexion matched her red hair and the freckles added a level of complexity that made a man want to look at her longer, which meant I had to look away.
She opened her mouth to say hello, good morning, I wasn’t sure, but I cut her off. I didn’t want the pleasantries.
“I brought more food. Wait here.”
I marched to the truck and pulled the cooler out of the back. She was holding the door open so I brushed past her and set the cooler near the sink. I made the trip again with a crate of dry goods.
“The cooler will keep what you need cold for a few days,” I told her. My eyes strayed to the unmade bed, the kid was tucked into the blankets, sound asleep and making some wheezy baby noise. I needed to get out of there. “Don’t put any food outside the cabin, you’ll attract animals.”
I started to leave when she caught up and grabbed my arm. “Caleb, I don’t know how to thank you. I know what I said yesterday, but you have to understand, this isn’t…I mean, it’s not easy for me. Asking for things.”
“You’re not asking. Said it yourself, food was part of the deal.”
She rocked back on her heels then and a smile played around her mouth.
“So was a date.”
I scowled at her and she took a step back. That’s right, I thought. Let her be scared. Let her think I’m a giant, fucking monster.
“No date. But I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Okay. See you then,” she said from the doorway as I made my way to the truck. I wasn’t going to look.
I wasnotgoing to look.
I got inside the truck and I looked. She waved and smiled again, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen someone look so fucking pleased to be in Hope’s Point.
* * *
Two weeks later
Cal
