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Time lost all meaning. The comparative safety of her bolthole was not very comfortable. A bottle of water would have been nice.
How was she going to face Harry after this?
Eventually, she curled up on the bare floor and dozed. The ancient carpet had long since been removed.
Gradually, the room grew dark. Cate knew she was being irrational. A woman couldn’tliterallyhide from her problems, no matter how tempting. When she finally roused and glanced at her watch, it was after nine.
Time to go inside and face the music.
Before she could convince herself to move, the playhouse door opened. Harry crouched and glared at her. “What in the devil are you doing out here?”
Instead of answering his question, she countered, “How did you find me?”
“Your purse and phone are inside. I searched the house. Your running shoes are still by the front door. Unless you’ve mastered time travel, this was my final option.”
“Go away,” she said. Sadly, she couldn’t muster much heat to accompany her demand.
“I’m coming in,” he said.
“You won’t fit.” Harry’s shoulders were a million miles wide. But to her dismay, he kept right on coming.
She pulled her knees to her chest and wedged her body into a corner.
After Harry was all the way in, he sat down with a sigh and used his phone to shine a flashlight in her face. “I’ve picked up women in stranger places, but not many.”
“That’s not funny,” she said. “Get that thing out of my eyes. You’re blinding me.”
Harry shut off the flashlight app and leaned back. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t mean to freak you out. The truth is, I did have a crush on you a million years ago, but once I realized you and Jason were serious, that was the end of it. You don’t have to sleep in the doghouse.”
“It isn’t a doghouse,” she said indignantly. “Grandpa built this play structure for Becca and me fifteen years ago. It used to have a slide attached.” She assessed Harry’s words, unable to see his face. Was he telling the truth, or was this an attempt to cover his ass? “Besides,” she said, “I’m not the one who ran out of the kitchen.”
“I didn’t run.” His tone was mild. “I had some work stuff to deal with.”
“Right.”
She could see the house now because Harry had left the door open. The moon was up. The night had painted her grandparents’ property in silvery hues. Suddenly, a flash of white in the yard caught her attention.
She froze. “Harry,” she hissed. “Closed the door. Now!”
“Why? It’s hot in here.”
“Do it,” she said. When he didn’t move fast enough, she reached across him and yanked the doorknob. Then, she turned and shut both windows.
“Are you trying to smother us?” he asked, his tone sarcastic.
Her heart slugged in her chest. “Harry, there’s a skunk right outside. And this is mating season.”
She sensed the moment when his big body froze. “You can’t be serious,” he croaked.
“Dead serious.”
“And the mating season thing?”
“I grew up in the country. Believe me. I know what I’m talking about,” she said. “I would think you’d know that, too. You’re a son of Blossom Branch.”
Harry snorted. “My mother didn’t like me mucking around outside. I escaped when I could...to hang with my buddies, but mostly I had math tutors and French teachers who came to the house. Besides, we had a groundskeeper who tended to vermin.”
Cate rolled her eyes, though he couldn’t see her. “I keep forgetting you grew up rich.”
