“Let’s get you inside,” Angus said.
They were trailed by the rest of the women in the community, all of them hurrying to the safety of the bunkhouse. Avery ducked into the kitchen. Riley got out a couple of folding chairs. Someone else fetched a blanket. They wrapped up Win, and Angus sat down, Win on his lap.
Only Leslie stood apart, arms folded over her chest, her gaze shifting from one to the other of them.
“What were you two doing in the woods?” she asked.
Hell.
“I… went for a walk,” Win said unsteadily. “I needed air.”
“But you were out there, too,” Leslie said to Angus.
“I… needed air, too,” he said lamely.
Leslie didn’t say another word.
“Who do you think was out there?” Riley asked into the uncomfortable silence.
“I didn’t get a look at his face,” Win managed. “But I think he was the same one I saw before.”
Angus tensed. Looked around to see his confusion echoed in everyone else’s faces.
“I know I should have told you,” Win whispered, “but I didn’t think it was serious—”
“After what happened to Nora? And our food?” Savannah said.
“He was across the creek. I thought he might be hiking.” Win broke off, and Angus figured she knew how ridiculous that sounded.
He couldn’t believe she hadn’t told him about it. “You said your parents told you there’d been threats to your family, and you didn’t take seeing a stranger in the woods seriously?”
“You didn’t take those threats very seriously, did you?” she retorted.
She was right.
“Wait, you knew someone was threatening Win and her family, and you didn’t tell anyone?” Riley asked him.
“I thought her parents were lying again…”
“It sounds like everyone needs to take our security more seriously,” Avery asserted, coming back with a cup of tea. “I hope from now on everyone does, but there isn’t much sense arguing about it now.”
“I agree,” Angus said reluctantly. The important thing was Win was safe.
Leslie kept her face averted, obviously still angry that he’d been out of the bunkhouse with Win in the middle of the night. Angus knew there’s be repercussions.
He hoped he hadn’t just lost them the show.
“I know you don’t want to hear from me, but I’d be remiss as a parent not to let you know the threats aren’t going away. If anything, they’ve ramped up, and your name has been mentioned,” Win’s father said.
Win was already regretting taking his call, but Leslie had been tailing her again as she’d crossed from the bunkhouse to the greenhouses, something she did whenever Angus was detained these days. Win had hoped the younger woman had good enough manners to leave her alone while she took the call. Instead, Leslie folded her arms and waited. Byron and his film crew kept the cameras rolling. On the one hand, she was grateful that everyone in camp made sure she was never alone. The men hadn’t found anyone when they’d searched Base Camp after her scare, so whoever she’d seen was still loose. On the other hand, she could have used a little time to herself—in the safety of camp, of course.
After the events of the other night, Leslie had cornered Boone, demanded direct access to Fulsom, and when she got it, she upbraided him for allowing Angus to keep going off alone with Win. Win didn’t think Fulsom knew what hit him, but he laid down the law. Win and Angus weren’t allowed to be alone together until Leslie’s thirty days were up, and Win had to sleep in the bunkhouse so Leslie could keep an eye on her at night. “It’s either that, or I’ll have to stand guard with Angus when he gets watch duty to keep him from sneaking off,” Leslie had pointed out.
Ever since, Leslie had puttered after Win everywhere she went. Win was beginning to think she was going to lose her mind.
The sun was shining brightly overhead, as it had been for days. Winter was long gone. Leaves were unfurling on the deciduous trees, and there was birdsong in the air. It would have been lovely if Leslie wasn’t watching her like a hawk.
“Do you mind?” Win asked. “This is personal!”
“Is it Angus?”
“No.” Win supposed Leslie was smart to ask. She and Angus did text now and then, despite the ban on being alone together. Some of the other women at Base Camp had eschewed their cell phones as a way to give themselves more time to focus on their artistic pursuits, but she’d refused to give hers up since she’d been back.
“Prove it.”
Win sighed and turned the phone around. “It’s my father. Would you want me to listen in when you talk to your family?”
“I’ve got nothing to hide.” But Leslie took the hint and moved away, lingering by the greenhouse door to watch her, though, even if she couldn’t hear her. Byron and the others followed her. Byron asked Leslie a question, and she answered it distractedly.
“Who was that?” Julian demanded when Win lifted her phone to her ear again.
“Just a nosy cast member.”
“You should be careful. Some of the intel we’re getting says people on your show are digging into our background.”
“Of course they are. I’m in the spotlight until I marry Angus. They’re digging up dirt to make me more interesting.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Then you probably shouldn’t be a politician,” she pointed out. “Our family has been scrutinized forever, Dad. Don’t worry; I won’t spill the beans about what you and Mom just pulled. It’s way too embarrassing that I fell for it.”
He had the grace to pause, if not ashamed by his actions then at least ashamed by being caught in a lie.
“We aren’t a normal family, so you can’t expect everything in your past to be normal. That doesn’t mean it should be dragged through the mud for everyone to see.”
She wondered if he was talking about the kidnapping. Her parents didn’t like to talk about it these days because they were afraid to give other potential criminals ideas.
“I won’t
