stretched taut over his backside.
Nice. Very nice.
He turned, grasping an ice chest by the end handles. “Your block of ice. I brought some perishables, too. They’re in the back.”
She had a feeling that meant she was supposed to carry them inside. His gallantry took her breath away.
Not that it made that much difference. Her parents had always taught her to carry her own weight. Even though they had plenty of money, she had her own chores when she was growing up. It didn’t bother her a bit to carry in the other box. She was not a frail female-well, unless there were wild critters around.
She grabbed the open box, glancing at the contents as she carried it inside the cabin. Butcher paper. Meat? Probably. Catsup, mustard, and mayo. No butter. No eggs. She frowned. Eggs would’ve been nice. Butter, too. Surely it couldn’t be that hard to cook an egg.
Cal was just putting the block of ice in the box when she walked inside the kitchen.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you in the morning.” He started back through the cabin.
“You’re leaving?” She set her box on the table. “Right now?”
He stopped on the porch and studied her. She could feel her nipples tightening as his gaze slowly caressed her.
“Was there something else you wanted?” he drawled.
Maybe it was the way he’d said the words, all soft and lazy. It made her think he would stay if he had the right incentive. But what else did she want?
Cal in her bed, that was what else she wanted, but she didn’t tell him that. He looked a little too smug. She wasn’t sure what his game was, but she wasn’t playing, at least not this time.
“Is it always this quiet?” she asked instead.
“Quiet?”
She thought for a moment he’d leave, but instead, he half sat on the wooden rail that ran the length of the porch. “It’s not quiet at all. Listen.”
She did but still didn’t hear anything. She shook her head. “What am I listening for?”
“A sparrow is angry. Another bird is probably trying to steal her nest. Can you hear her?”
She cocked her head to the side. The bird was raising a big fuss. “Yes, I can.” Strange that she hadn’t heard any birds earlier. “She does sound put out, doesn’t she?”
“And look over there in that pile of leaves and sticks. There’s a squirrel foraging for nuts.”
She followed where he pointed and stared for a few minutes. It was getting dark enough that she could barely see. But sure enough, a squirrel popped its head up.
“The chickens have already bedded down for the night,” he told her. “But you’ll see and hear them in the morning when you gather the eggs.”
“Gather the eggs?”
“They have nesting boxes. It’s not that hard. You just reach beneath them and take the eggs.”
Eggs didn’t sound nearly as good as she had thought they would. “Don’t they bite…or something?”
He grinned as though she’d said something funny. How the hell was she supposed to know what chickens did?
“They might peck, but most of them don’t mind if you get their eggs.”
She was stealing their eggs, then eating them. Murdering their offspring. Of course, they probably wouldn’t mind. Uh-huh, sure.
“See you in the morning.” He straightened and went to his pickup.
She couldn’t think of another excuse for him to stay and keep her company. Unless she wanted to rip off her clothes and throw herself at him. She wasn’t quite that desperate-yet.
Nikki could only watch him drive away. At least it wasn’t quiet anymore. No, now she heard all kinds of animals making noise, rustling in leaves. Critters. She missed the quiet.
She went inside and walked to the back door, then stared at the shadowed outhouse. She’d have to use the flashlight so she could see the path.
How much water would she need to take in to ward off dehydration but keep her from having to go to the outhouse as often?
Procrastination didn’t sit well with her.
With determination, she grabbed the flashlight and went out onto the back porch. She gritted her teeth and stepped off, then marched down the path. She could do this. It wasn’t as though she was made of glass. Anything Cal said she had to do, she would do. She was made of sterner stuff than he could even imagine.
She swung the door open and stepped inside.
Oh, Lord, it was worse than she’d remembered. Her eyes crossed as a shiver of revulsion made her tremble from head to foot. She clamped her lips together.
All she had to do was hold her breath. She swam at the gym pool all the time and she could hold her breath a long time. She jerked her skirt up and her panties down, then gingerly sat over the hole, careful not to get a splinter. That’s all she needed-an infected ass. Try explaining that one.
Oh, God, she needed to breathe.
Why the hell had she drunk so much water?
She hurried to finish, then yanked her panties up and her skirt down, opened the door, and was halfway down the path before she inhaled. Fresh air.
She stumbled to the back porch, falling across it as she inhaled mouthfuls of sweet air. She finally had her oxygen levels back up to normal and pushed to a sitting position, frowning.
This really sucked.
Bzzzzzz.
She waved her hand in front of her face.
Bzzzzzz.
A mosquito as big as a fly landed on her arm. Nikki swatted it, but his brother attacked her other arm. Great, she’d probably end up with West Nile virus on top of an infected ass!
She jumped to her feet and hurried inside the cabin, closed the door, and reached for the lock. Not that she thought the mosquitoes could open the door, but she wasn’t too keen on burglars or whatever they had in the country. Cattle rustlers, maybe.
No lock. It figured. Not that anyone would have trouble getting inside. Hell, sneeze and the place would probably collapse into a pile of toothpicks.
Marge had told her to come home if things got too bad. Maybe she would take her up on it. She collapsed in the chair, resting her head on the table. Who was she kidding? To leave would be running away and that wasn’t in her character.
So, she’d stay. At least for a while longer.
A bath would help. She felt as though she wore at least one layer of dirt. She leaned sideways and eyed the stove.
Hot bath?
Okay, she’d settle for a cold wash. How bad could it be? Especially if she hurried.
Real bad, she found out a few minutes later. The water was freezing. More so than city water. But she did the best she could, then quickly crawled beneath the quilt on the bed to get warm again.
She was physically and mentally exhausted. She only wanted to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day.
It damned sure couldn’t be any worse!
She yawned, closing her eyes, then smiled as she immediately visualized Cal sauntering toward her. She snuggled deeper beneath the cover. Umm, nice dream.
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
Nikki came straight up in bed. She was being robbed! Someone had broken inside her apartment and in the next minute, the robber would be in her room to do all kinds of bodily harm. Her gaze flew around the semi-dark room.
This wasn’t her apartment.
She’d been kidnapped. Drugged and brought to this…this dump.
Escape! She stumbled out of bed, dragging the quilt with her, and rushed outside, almost falling off the
