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“Yeah, but I get lost in what needs doing. Not like you. Your eyes are always lit up like it’s Christmas morning.” Drew risked a glance, assuring herself Maisie’s eyes were exactly as she’d described, but even more stunning than she could put into words.
“I love how fired up you get, even when you’re lecturing me about having more confidence.” Maisie turned on one of her thousand-watt smiles, making her eyes even more radiant. “Have you ever considered recording some of your chats?”
“For what purpose?” Drew’s laughter was genuine and came from deep inside, even as her head felt a little light from the compliment. “Who on earth would want to listen to me yammering on?”
“Me for one.” A shyness came over Maisie at this admission. “When I listen to you talk, there’s this moment when I feel like I can conquer the world.”
“Pretty sure you’re a glutton for punishment,” Drew said, feeling her cheeks tingle. “Besides, this is the most I’ve talked in I don’t know how long.”
“Over an hour,” Maisie replied. “We’ve been riding that long, and I hate to admit it, but my butt’s gone numb. Are we almost at this picnic spot you had planned?”
Paying attention to her surroundings for the first time since they’d started out, Drew was overtaken with alarm as she spotted the dark clouds on the horizon. She extended a finger in their direction. “Shit. How long has the sky looked like that?”
Maisie pressed her lips together, worry creasing her features. “Uh, a while, I think. Is it going to rain?”
“Worse.” If she hadn’t been wearing her hat, Drew would’ve grabbed her ponytail and screamed. She’d known the snow was rolling in, but it wasn’t supposed to arrive until overnight. So much for believing the forecast. “The storm’s come early. We need to get back.”
“Another hour of riding?” Maisie was on the verge of tears, her exhaustion and discomfort palpable.
“You’re right. I’m not sure we’ll make it back fast enough.” Drew pictured the property in her mind, an idea coming to her as a cold wind blew and a few flakes whizzed past her face. “We’ll go to the hunting cabin. It’s only another ten minutes, if that. We can ride out the storm there.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Accompanied by a blast of snow,Maisie stumbled into the log cabin. It was as cold inside as out, but the sudden absence of wind was such a relief she nearly started to cry. She held it together only because it didn’t seem fair to indulge in a full-scale meltdown while Drew was still out in the storm, finding safe shelter for the horses and bringing in the bag with their picnic lunch.
Stomping the snow off her feet, Maisie looked around, stunned by her surroundings. Taking in the cheerful interior with its high-ceilinged great room and rock fireplace, she would’ve been embarrassed to admit that when she heard the wordshunting lodge, she’d pictured little more than a rundown shack in the woods. Unlike with her original vision of what a ranch would be like, this time Maisie was delighted to be wrong.
She’d hung up her lightweight jacket and borrowed cowboy hat on a peg by the door and was still getting her bearings when the door opened, and Drew sailed in on another puff of white powder. She held a set of saddlebags draped over one arm and a bundle of wood tucked under the other.
“The horses are safe in the lean-to,” Drew said, setting down the bags and crossing to the fireplace with the wood. “I’ll get the fire going.”
“Can I turn on some lights?” Maisie asked, searching the walls for a switch.
“That would require electricity,” Drew said with a laugh as she stacked pieces of wood in an expert arrangement. “We’ve got a solar panel to run the pump for the well, but otherwise this is strictly a kerosene lamp operation. We’ve thought about upgrading the place, but the truth is we don’t use it much. The fireplace will warm everything up in no time, though.”
Maisie watched in awe as Drew added kindling to her creation, so quietly confident in a skill that would’ve left Maisie baffled, not to mention shivering in the cold, if it had been up to her to do. “When was this cabin built?”
“Right before the Depression hit, if memory serves.” Drew lit a match, touching it to the wood. The flame flared instantly. Maisie wasn’t even surprised. She’d known the whole time Drew’s efforts would end in success. She could hardly imagine the woman failing at anything she set out to do. “My great-granddad built this place for his wife.”
“She was the hunter in the family?” Maisie chuckled. “Yeah, I can picture that with you Campbell women.”
“She was, actually, but from what I hear, it was more of a refuge.” Drew shrugged, a gesture that Maisie was beginning to learn could mean different things. In this context, it seemed to signalwhat can you do?“You might be surprised to hear the men in my family can be stubborn and difficult to live with.”
Maisie burst into laughter. “Just the men?”
Drew slowly swung her head away from the fire to face Maisie. “Got something you need to get off your chest?”
“How much time do we have?”
Drew shot a worried glance to the window where the snow was falling so thickly it was barely possible to see anything but a solid sheet of white. She didn’t reply, but she didn’t need to. Maisie had a feeling they’d be here for a while.
Maisie took in the cozy room again, admiring the leather couch and the bearskin on the floor. There was a colorful woven rug hanging on the wall behind the couch, a small table with two chairs, and a countertop with a sink. There was no refrigerator or oven, but a camp stove sat on the counter, and there was a coffee pot of the type Maisie associated with old cowboy movies, the kind you could heat right over a flame.
“Are there other rooms?”
“Nope. Couch pulls out into a bed, but surely the storm will subside before that becomes an issue.” Drew glanced over her shoulder, nodding toward the one other door in the place besides the one they’d come in. “Bathroom through there. It’s just a toilet and a sink. An old clawfoot tub, too, but there’s no hot water, so don’t get your hopes up for a bath.”
“That’s a shame,” Maisie said without thinking. “I love baths.”
