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Addison looks over at my black, mud-spattered Chevy. ‘Don’tyouhave a spare wheel?’
I have to swallow a laugh. ‘Not that would fit your vehicle, darlin’.’
‘Fine.’ She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. It’s funny seeing her do that. Reminds me of a trick her father taught me for dealing with the PTSD. What did he call it?Mindfulness.
‘Could you possibly take me to the nearest garage, then, Finn?’ She flutters her lashes at me, the manipulative Little thing.
‘Sure,’ I tell her. ‘It’ll have to be tomorrow, though. Nearest garage is an hour away, up in Westcreek, and there’s no way we’ll get there before it closes. In fact,’ I look at the position of the sun in the sky. ‘It’s probably already closed.’
Clearly, I am not the bearer of good news. Addison lets out a short, frustrated moan. ‘I can’t believe this. All I want is for things to go right for me for once. Is that too much to ask?’ I swear, when she talks like this, she sounds just the way a Little would.
A thought crosses my mind. Surely Vee wouldn’t have an ulterior motive, sending her sister here to stay with me, would she?
Addison breaks my train of though, swatting her right cheek with the palm of her hand, and then sighs. ‘Right. Fine. We’ll go tomorrow. First thing.’
‘Sure,’ I say. ‘First thing suits me.’
I walk with her up to the cabin, noticing how good she smells — soap and sea salt and fresh-cut flowers.
I hope this innocent, sweet-smelling woman doesn’t end up having to face any of the horrors that I know are out there, lurking just beyond the forest.
Never mind all the horrorsinthis forest, too.
3
ADDISON
I stop in my tracks just as I reach the front door. ‘Wait,’ I say. ‘Let me think a minute.’
Something tells me I should get in touch with someone first. Let them know where I am. What I’m doing. The only person that knows where I am is my sister, and she’s on a plane to the middle of nowhere right now.
I mean, Mr. Man-Beast talks a good talk. Despite being rude and offensive as heck. But I know all about stranger danger. You don’t just get into the car of someone you barely know because they offer you a piece of candy.
Well, I’m hardly about to jump into the home of someone I barely know just because he’seye-candy.And really, annoyingly, he is. I don’t know what it is about him. I’ve never gone for the gruff, surly, thuggish type before. And I’ve certainly never thought about dating a man who’s full of tattoos.
Not that I’m thinking about datingFinn Wilder, of course. I’m only trying to decide whether or not I can live with him.
Actually, now I come to think about it, that sounds even more intense than dating.
But whatdoI want from a man? Someone who can look after me, help me with structure, with rules. I’m looking for a Daddy. There’s no way that Finn Wilder would want to date a Little freak like me.
‘I need to make a call,’ I say, looking up at Finn. I can tell he’s getting sick of me already. Thinks I’m just some dumb, babyish city girl who doesn’t know her way around the wilderness.
Finn looks at me with those almost unbelievably blue eyes and shakes his head. ‘No reception here, darlin’.’
‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ I cry out. ‘I’m completely off-grid, far away from civilization, with no way of contacting the police if I get into trouble?’
‘There’s a sheriff an hour away from here,’ he says. ‘There’s a hill round the back of the cabin. I can normally get reception up there, on the rare occasion that I need it.’
‘That issodangerous,’ I say, but really, I’m thinking,I’ll bet this guy isn’t scared of anything. It kind of makes me feel braver just being around him.‘Fine,’ I say. ‘Show me the way to that hill. I need to get reception, like, now.’
‘It’ll be dark soon. It’s really not a good idea.’
‘Then stop wasting time. I only want to make a quick call. Just point me in the right direction.’
Finn bites his lip, as if trying to force himself not to say anything he’ll regret. ‘Okay. But if you’re going, I’m coming with you.’
‘Oh no. Oh no you’re not. This is a private call.’
