The winter sun was low, so I called it a day. Not that the work I’d done warranted finishing, I just couldn’t take how distracted my thoughts were anymore. All day my mind had been bombarded with thoughts of Katrina. Images I’d caught of her flashed into my brain, an exposed shoulder, her tousled hair falling down her back, the slight parting on that full mouth.

My hands were covered in little nicks and tiny cuts where my concentration had dropped to Katrina. Mostly to a naked Katrina.

The damn devil sat on my shoulder all morning and tried to tempt me to go into the cabin and chase her giggling up the ladder to my bed. In my head that’s how she’d react. In reality, she’d probably turn on some of that sassy, princess spunkiness and make me work hard every inch of the way.

“What the fuck, man? You’ve got to get this woman out of your place. She’s messing with your head.”

I thought about taking her to Beau’s cabin. He was too old to do anything about his erections, and he’d be grateful for the eye candy. He lived further down the valley, and it was only a couple of hours on foot, but it will probably take half-a-day for a city gal. Maybe tomorrow.

As I approached the cabin I saw the soft glow of firelight coming from inside, and when I opened the door, a wash of wonderful smells engulfed me.

“What the hell is that?” I said from the doorway.

A flash of annoyance crossed her face, but she plastered a smile on her. “Hi,” she replied brightly, “I took the liberty of cooking us some dinner. I found some meat in the freezer and a bunch of vegetables, so I just threw them all together, and added some spices and oil too. Hope you like it.”

It smelled delicious, and I can’t remember anticipating eating a meal that much before. I wanted to say thank you, but I couldn’t. It looked like she’d cleaned and tidied up the cabin too. She’d been here less than a day and already she’d made the place a more enjoyable, comforting place to live than I had in two years. In a way I loved it, and on the other hand it brought back a memory, a feeling of connection that ripped at me.

She frowned at my expression. “Sorry, but I just couldn’t stand to eat a can of soup for dinner for the second night in a row. I like to eat, and I like to eat good food!”

“Cooking fancy for one is not high on my list of priorities, and no, I don’t mind.”

“Good.” She turned to the wood-burning stove and I thought I saw the glimmer of a small smile of satisfaction curve her lips, as she turned to take out two tin foil wrapped parcels. That’s when I noticed a familiar check print flannel shirt.

“I am, however wondering why you’re wearing my clothes?”

“Oh, yeah!” She laughed her deep, rocky laugh, which was so sexy and self-assured it made my stomach clench. “Sorry about that. My clothes got soaking wet, so when I got back to the cabin today I just put on some of yours while mine are drying.” She waved at the clothesline.

“They look good on you,” I said and immediately regretted making the comment.

She didn’t say thank you, but those big green eyes lit up. A sign she was reading far too much into the compliment. I scowled. It didn’t matter what she thought, it would be Beau’s problem by tomorrow.

“Well. They’ll probably be dry in a little while. I can change out of your clothes if it’s weird.”

“I’d rather you change out of them as soon as yours are dry.”

“Oh. OK.” She looked crushed, like a kicked puppy.

“Let’s just eat,” I said curtly.

“Ok, yeah, I don’t want this to get cold.”

I grunted.

“Well, I hope this dinner is good.” She opened up the two tinfoil parcels. Inside were juicy looking pieces of meat with onions, squash and tomatoes sprinkled with rosemary. She spooned rice over them, which soaked up the juices from the meat and vegetables. She put a corncob next to that, and gave me the parcel with a kitchen towel underneath to protect my hands from the heat. I grabbed a fork while she took the same for herself and sat down on the floor.

We ate quietly. After a long day of work the food was surprisingly delicious and totally kept my attention until we were almost done. Then, something she’d said earlier struck me as odd.

“What did you mean, ‘when I got back to the cabin?’ Where did you go?”

She wiped her mouth and grinned happily. “I just went for a walk today. There was nothing else to do all by myself, so I just took off on a little exploring expedition, and I ended up finding one of those hot spring pools people are always searching for up here. I saw some tourists buying maps for them at the store in the valley, but I’d never come across one. It was amazing. I guess you must go up there all the time. You’ve got your own personal hot tub up there. I did wonder if that’s where you go to take a bath.”

I put the fork down and stared at her. “You went all the way to the hot spring?”