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She cocked her head to the side. “What’s that?”
His eyes widened. “Here, let me help you.”
He reached across her and pulled at the seatbelt hanging on the other side of her. He pulled it around her and clipped it in place. “Seatbelt. To protect you if we have an accident.”
“Oh.” She sounded breathy when she responded, and he wanted to make her breathy again.
He pulled back slightly. “Have you ever ridden in a vehicle before?”
She shook her head and looked at her hands in her lap.
He lifted her chin with two fingers under it. “No need to be embarrassed. I’ll be careful so you don’t get scared.”
“Okay.” Her eyes stared into his and his heart—wow. It synced to the rhythm of the rock song on his radio.
He sat back and started his truck. His brain had scrambled around all day trying to decide where they could go. A hotel seemed seedy and anticipatory. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to spend time while not having to look over his shoulder the whole time. He wanted to get to know her.
In the end, he settled on the old house they had just moved out of. They still held the lease until the end of the month and it would be private.
He drove the backstreets, making sure they weren’t being followed and he glanced at Elena many times as they drove. She looked out the windows, her eyes rounded in amazement.
“What do you call this music?” she asked.
He stared at her a moment, then smiled. “Rock. It’s actually country rock, I suppose.”
She didn’t respond.
“Do you listen to music up on the mountain?”
“Sometimes. Some of the people up there have great voices. They sit around the fire in the evenings sometimes and sing. But it’s mostly hymns.”
“Do you have church up there?”
She smiled softly. “Yes. Every Sunday.”
He turned into the driveway and tapped the garage door. Driving into the garage, Elena clutched the armrest and froze.
“It’s okay, honey.”
Her eyes darted to his then to the garage as he stopped. He tapped the button to close the door and exited the truck. He strode around to the passenger side and helped her step down to the ground.
“Where is this?”
“This is the house we used to rent before we remodeled the sewing factory and moved in there.”
“Okay.”
He took her hand in his and led her to the door at the side of the garage. He peered out before stepping out, making sure no one was lurking around.
He led Elena from the garage to the back door. He opened the door for her to step inside before him. He secured the locks. When he turned to her, she stared at the kitchen, her mouth open in amazement.
He swallowed to moisten his throat, and to remove the lump that had lodged inside. It dawned on him that she’d never seen a kitchen like this.
“Tell me what you want to know.”
Her eyes landed on his and held for a moment, before her lips turned up into a soft smile. “I want to know it all. What is all of this?”
He moved into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “This is a refrigerator. It keeps food items cold. The freezer keeps food frozen.”
