Quinnlyn hung up the phone and headed back to the chair.
“What’d she say?” I asked.
“Um… well, she doesn’t think Ravik really buys it. He has been asking questions,” he said.
“What did you mean by dead body?”
“They got a body from the morgue, and set it on fire and said it was you,” he said.
I gasped. “That's horrible!”
“It was an unclaimed body… and life is horrible,” he said.
I didn’t say anything else. I stood and went outside. I wasn’t sure what to say. The whole conversation played in my head, trying to think of what she was saying and how his responses were.
Was Daxyn really upset about me being dead? Or the baby? If she did come here, where would she sleep? There was only a bed,and Quinnlyn was already sleeping on the floor. Each morning, I could tell his back ached a little until he moved around. One morning, I came out before he was awake, and he was sleeping in the chair. I offered him to nap in the bed, but he refused.
I walked to the river and down the bank until I was across from the eagle’s nest. Watching them became one of my favorite parts of the day. Sometimes there was only one up there, other times both of them were up there bickering over a fish. They had to be sitting on eggs or an eaglet. One of them always remained on the nest.
I sat on the rocks until my butt hurt, then I made my way back to the cabin. My eyes were constantly scanning around, an unease I had when I was alone. Quinn had warned that there were alligators in the rivers and swamps, but most of them were dormant for the winter. Anytime there was a splash in the river, my eyes would dart to the water, searching for anything amiss. It was usually fish or some type of waterfowl.
I was nearly to the cabin door when I heard the rattling of a vehicle coming down the dirt road. I paused, making sure that was what I heard, then I darted inside the cabin. Quinnlyn jumped to his feet as soon as I entered the cabin.
“What’s wro—?”
Then he walked to the door and opened it, looking out. He must have heard them.
“Oh, it’s just my Titi. Shit. I thought Ravik was here!” he said.
“I didn’t know… she was coming,” I said, catching my breath in between words.
“She comes when she comes,” he said, then shut the door behind him.
I walked in and filled up a cup with cold water, drinking most of it in one long swallow. On the counter, there was a plate with a shrimp po’boy sandwich and some homemade chips. My mouth wateredlooking at it. Another plate sat wet in the strainer. He’d already eaten. I grabbed the plate and sat at the small dining table. It seemed over the last couple of days, food called my name more, and my appetite was getting better. My boobs had stopped aching almost completely and were way less firm than they had been.
“What are you talking about, Titi?” Quinnlyn said loudly.
“Ravik called me. He’s looking for you!” she said.
“Yes, Callie called me earlier. As long as no one knows, we will be fine here!”
“You ran off with his future daughter-in-law—”
“That he ordered me to kill!”
“But you didn’t!”
“He doesn’t know that!”
“I don’t think he believes she’s dead!” she yelled.
“If he comes, then I’ll do what I have to,” he said, his voice was lower, but still not calm.
“What about her?”
“I won’t let anything happen—”
“You can’t promise that,” she cut him off. They both had lowered their voice, but I could still hear them inside.
