“It is, but it’s so cute. I love it here.”
The cabin was nice. Simple, but clearly built to withstand time and weather. Natalie had already added a wreath to the door. “This is great.”
“Come on inside. I’ll show you around.”
He grabbed the screen door before it slapped shut.
It didn’t take but a minute to see it all. Small and tidy, it did have everything anyone would need. “Your husband shoot all of these?” he asked, pointing to the trophy deer that lined the wall. Six in all down the long wall of the cabin.
“Some of them. Not all.”
He didn’t even know why he’d asked. It wasn’t like he knew him.
“That’s the tour. Not even a nickel’s worth.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t shortchange this place. It’s small, but it looks very comfortable.”
“Thank you. Welcome to Chestnut Ridge. Not much to it, but the people are welcoming, the food is good, and I’ve got a place of my own. I’ve already met more people in this town than I knew in the neighborhood I was living in.”
“That says something.”
“Would’ve been nice if even one of those people might have spoken up and waved a red flag while I was living there.”
“I hear ya. Once everything unfolded, the neighbors had plenty of opinions, didn’t they?”
She nodded, wide-eyed. “But that’s the past. I’m not giving it any more attention. That is, until you crack the case and need me.”
Randy laughed. He knew she was only half joking, and he wished he could tell her he’d made more progress, but he hadn’t heard anything back from the North Carolina detective so far.
He was glad to be here with her. To see where she was living. It wasn’t anything like he’d imagined.
He’d been waiting so long for this moment. To spend sometime with her that had nothing to do with police business. A chance to be with her just as two people, not detective and victim.
“No problem finding it?” she asked as she took a glass tea pitcher and filled it with water. “This is the closest thing to a vase here. Hope you aren’t insulted. These flowers deserve better.”
“They look good.”
She looked fresh. Rested. Her skin was slightly kissed by the sun. He withheld commenting on how pretty she looked, afraid to put her on the defensive from the word go. This lady had been hurt. He knew it, and he’d never hurt her, but he knew it would take time for her to trust in that. He had to earn that trust.
It was hard to not stare at her looking so fresh and relaxed. “Your directions were perfect. The landmarks helped. Still, I didn’t expect it to be this far off the road.”
“I know. We used to come in from the other side. I think it’s shorter, but it’s really steep, and the guy that’s been sort of taking care of the place said that road wasn’t easy to navigate even with the truck.”
“It’s great out here. How long has this cabin been here? The craftsmanship. It has to be old.”
“It was in my husband’s family for generations. We only came up here a couple of times.”
“He grew up in this town?”
“Yeah. I’d never even heard of Chestnut Ridge until Jeremy brought me fishing. It didn’t make that big of an impression on me because I didn’t even remember I had it. I got lucky. It’s nicer than I’d remembered. The plumbing is inside the house now, a big plus. When he brought me here fishing, we had to go outside. I was not a fan of that.”
He couldn’t even imagine her camping, much less this, but here she was, and she was owning it.
“It’s a little early for anything but coffee. Can I get you a cup?”
“That would be nice.”
They carried mugs back out to the front porch, making easy conversation about the short amount of time she’d been here.
