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He didn’t have to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes.
“You’re stuck,” he said.
“Pot meet kettle,” she muttered.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“If I’m stuck in Haleswood, you’re positively cemented into the FBI.”
“It’s a career.”
“A career that means you don’t have a life.”
“I have a life.”
“Not from what I saw. You have the FBI. Your house isn’t much more than a cave for the rare moments when you need to be away from the office.”
“I like my house.”
“I like it too. It could be lovely.”
Just because his place wasn’t cluttered with family photos, overstuffed recipe books, hand-me-down furniture, and an enormous cat didn’t mean he needed a decorator. “Could be?”
“Yes. See that break in the trees?”
He didn’t.
“Just drive on through, but watch out for ruts. And wildlife.”
He slowed down in order to meet her expectations as well as to give himself ample time to find the “break” in what appeared to be a solid wall of trees.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said.
“None taken.”
“Not believing you.” She pointed at something ahead of them. “You’ll want to bear left once we’re through.”
Finally spotting the gap, he made the turn and his tires settled into the ruts created by countless other vehicles.
“Why don’t you ever clear this?”
“It’s for hunting, not neighborhoods. We leave it alone as much as possible. Bear left,” she reminded him. “And this is really the back door.”
“Got it.” After the fork, the trees closed in even more and he tried not to wince when branches swiped at the doors. He’d be lucky if he got out of this with his paint job intact. He concentrated on the road, wishing she’d give him answers he could process and understand.
“Don’t you want to see the world?” He’d done his share of camping when he was a cub scout in elementary school. Seen more than a few slices of rugged terrain during his short stint with the Army. Since his injury, he hadn’t been anywhere more rural than a city park and he’d adapted just fine.
“I’ve seen plenty.”
“Disney World isn’t the real world.”
“That’s why they call it Disney Magic.”
She had a point.
“Almost there,” she said. “You can park on the right.”
“Right of what?” He rolled forward, peering through the windshield, stunned when the trees gave way to a wide clearing. A single story building stood at the far edge, a wide porch spreading out on either side of the door.
