Page 29 of Love in Overdrive

Chapter 10

She dropped the bag like it held snakes. “It’s not my bag. Mine had gym clothes, ibuprofen, lip balm, water, and twenty-four dollars. Not… this!”

Cade reached up, grabbed his hair with both hands, and tugged until pain pricked his scalp. Kicking the dirt, he swore every curse word he knew. Being in the Army, that was quite a few. After he finished stomping out his aggression on the gravel, he exhaled.

He turned his face to the sky. “Why me? Why?”

“It will be okay. We’ll find a phone and call the police, explain about the robber kidnapping us, taking your car, and then return the money.” Laney’s movements grew more animated with each word. Her expression brightened.

Bless her heart. She really thought it was that easy.

“Oh sure. Sounds great. But… Let’s just think this through. What happens if the dirt-bag who stole the cash realizes that we have it and turns back?” He asked in a dangerously low voice.

What little color she had in her face drained. Her blue eyes stood out even through the dark of night.

Damn, he wanted to comfort her, to pull her into his arms and hold her close. Not the time.

Just then, Laney’s body folded in on itself, and she started sliding down toward the gravel road.

“Hold on there.” He wrapped her up, holding her close to his chest. It was for support. If he enjoyed the smell of her shampoo in the process, so be it.

And the way her curves fit into his edges. Shit. Still not the time.

He held her away, holding her shoulders until she could stand unassisted.

“We need to get out of here and find a phone. Fast.” He searched the area for any sign of civilization. No houses or driveways in sight. “Let’s go, but not that way.” He indicated with his head the direction they were walking.

Figuring they had spent enough time out in the open, he grabbed the bag in one hand and Laney’s hand in the other, then led her off the road and into the woods.

“Do you have any idea where we are going?” A tinge of hope colored her voice.

“No, but if we stay on the road, he’ll see us if he comes back looking for his money. He might not be as pleasant next time. Come on, there is bound to be a cabin around here,” he said and led her into the woods.

Maybe going off the beaten path wasn’t the best idea. Laney’s usually sunny optimism faded in proportion to the rate of her teeth chattering.

“I hate winter sports.” Thank goodness she’d stuck with her New Year’s resolution this time and finally used the gym membership her brother gifted her for Christmas. The last hour of trudging through knee-deep snow reminded her why she hated snowshoeing. Sawyer gave her a pair of those last year. He claimed it was for her health.

She snorted. Deep down, Laney knew it was to torture her. Oh, she’d get him back. She had ten months to figure out the worst gift possible. But right now, she wished she had them. Little Red Riding Hood didn’t have to traverse eighteen inches of snow when she traipsed through the woods.

“It beats the desert in July.” Cade held a branch back for her as he cut a path through the trees.

“Where were you stationed?”

“Kuwait.”

“Uff.” She ran smack right into his back. “Why did you stop?”

The little moonlight that shone through the trees only lit his silhouette. But now, plastered to him, soaking up the warmth of his broad body, she hung onto his jacket. She almost burrowed inside. Her goosebumps had goosebumps at this point.

“Do you hear that?”

She cocked her head and listened. Bear? Bobcat? The gunman coming for his money? “I don’t hear anything.”

“Water. A stream.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.

“Do you see a house?” Her hopes peeked out of the pit of despair she had been in since the bank.

“Not yet, but if there’s water, we will find a house.”