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“Okay, but remind me to close them when you leave.”
“You should just keep them open all night. Give it time to air out.”
“And get murdered? No, thanks.”
“Murdered?” He gives me a concerned look. “Why would you be murdered?”
“A woman all alone at night with the windows open? Have you not seen horror films?”
“Those are movies, not real life. There’s nobody out here. You’re safe to leave the windows open.”
“I wish I could. I love sleeping with the windows open. But I can’t. I’d worry too much. I’d never sleep.”
He looks at me like he’s about to say something, but then doesn’t and continues opening windows.
When he’s done, we go back outside and finish dinner.
“So tell me about yourself,” I say.
“Do I have to?” he asks, kiddingly.
“You don’t want to?”
“Not really. I’m not that interesting and I don’t like talking about myself.”
“Yeah, I kind of already figured that out.”
He doesn’t laugh at my joke. “I really don’t, so if you ask me something and I don’t give you an answer, that’s why. I’m just a really private person.”
“So whatcanyou tell me?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why are you here? In this town?”
“I needed to go somewhere where people couldn’t find me. I needed privacy.”
I feel a nervous twitch in my chest. Maybe he reallyison the run, like Jesse said.
“Why don’t you want people to find you?”
He pauses, then says, “Because I’m writing a book. A novel.”
“You’re a writer?” I smile. “What have you written? Anything I might know?”
“I’m not published yet, but I’m under contract with a publisher and if I don’t finish the manuscript in the next few months, they might cancel the deal. I’ve been struggling with writer’s block and thought getting away would help. Plus, my book is set in a small rural town so living here is research.”
“That’s really cool. I’m living next to a soon-to-be-published author.”
“If I can finish the manuscript. If I can’t, I’m just an out-of-work writer.”
“I’m sure you’ll finish it. Do they pay you to work on it?”
“They give me a little money up front, but the rest comes later.”
“What’s the story about?”
“I can’t say.” He grins slightly. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”
