Chapter 11

Jenny followed Roy in her silver Neon to his cabin on the outskirts of town. He sent the girls inside to make themselves at home while he gathered their things from the back of his truck.

Jenny came out a while later with her car keys in her hand.

“Not making a break for it, are you?” he asked as she unlocked her car. “If so, this cabin is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. You might need a map.”

“As much as I want to head out of here, I'm not going anywhere,” she responded.

She pulled open the back door and dug around under the seat.

“I thought I saw one of Isabelle's books in here this morning.”

“That's kind of you to fetch it for her.”

Jenny shrugged. She found the beautifully illustrated book and closed the car door.

“I'm just trying to make her feel more comfortable,” she told him.

“Don't worry too much,” he responded as they walked side by side up to the cabin's front door. “It is just going to take a little time for you both to adjust to your new arrangement. I’m sure that the two of you are going to make it through just fine.”

“I sure hope so.”

Jenny knew Roy was trying to be nice, but what she really craved right now was some alone time.

She couldn't help but feel grateful to him for having offered her and Isabelle use of his cabin until they could figure out what to do next. She hated the idea of checking into a hotel on the other end of the town. It would have only made their situation even more awkward and uncomfortable than it already was.

Jenny was surprised by how large the cabin was. It had to be at least three bedrooms with a spacious living and kitchen area. A small study led off one of the guest bedrooms, but to respect his privacy, she hadn't taken too long of a look in there. The bathroom at the far end of the hall looked inviting after her ordeal, but a cleanup would just have to wait.

She checked in on Isabelle and gave her the book. Isabelle took it gratefully but without comment. Jenny wished Isabelle knew she could confide in her. It would make things easier if they could be open and honest with one another.

Isabelle stood up and carried the book to a more private place in the next room. This relationship was going to take some time.

Jenny and Roy went out to the wooden deck at the front of the cabin. Isabelle had resumed her silence. She hid behind her book, grateful for the solitude it provided.

“Someone knew what they were doing,” Roy told her as he unscrewed the lid of his whiskey bottle.

He set out two shot glasses and poured a liberal amount of alcohol into each.

“What do you mean?” Jenny asked him as she took a seat.

“They were trying to kill two birds with one stone. The crime scene. That's now destroyed, leaving us no hope of finding any new evidence. And then, of course, there's you.” He nudged her shoulder with a soft fist.

“But look at you, trooper. You survived despite the odds.”

“It's a miracle.” Jenny joked sarcastically as she reached for the open whiskey bottle.

The first shot went down so easy. A little buzz wouldn't hurt after the day she’d had.

“You should take it easy on the whiskey,” Roy suggested taking a seat beside her. “Your throat has been through a hell of an ordeal today.”

“My whole body feels like it's been put to the test,” Jenny responded, downing the second shot. To ease his mind, she set the bottle aside for the time being. She leaned back against the deck chair sighing.

“The house is a write off, isn't it?”

“It sure is. But the great thing about houses is that they can be rebuilt.”

“But memories can't be replaced. I can only imagine what was lost today in that house.”

“I'd rather that they lost those precious memories than you or Isabelle,” Roy reminded her sharply, his finger gesturing at her chest. “You came awfully close to the end today.”

“Because I was a damn chicken, right?”

“What the-”

“I hid under the kitchen table, Roy. I was hardly a hero in there.”

“Hey, you listen to me!”

His voice rose and she fell silent.

“It was madness in there. With the smoke and heat, hell, I didn't even know in which direction I was heading. I don't blame you for finding a hiding spot in all that chaos.”

He reached angrily for the whiskey bottle and poured himself a healthy shot before knocking it back. He rose to his feet.

“I'll go check on the kid.”

* * *

Jenny watched as he strolled into the house, the screen door slamming behind him. She remained where she was, a part of her wanting to follow him in and another wanting to keep her distance. He was so damn hot, but that paled in comparison to the feelings that were starting to bloom after he risked his life to rescue her from the fire. What kind of guy would do such a selfless thing, she wondered.

She was unsure what to make of Roy. At times he was distant and unapproachable, but lately, she had seen a friendlier, gentler, more generous side of him. She was never sure which side of him she was going to get.

It was clear he had a hold on her. She quickly learned that Roy had a way of jumping to anger, but he told it to her straight and that, she could appreciate.

She reached for the whiskey bottle one last time and poured herself a shot. She paused a moment and held it up to the sky.

“To Chloe,” she said aloud. “I'm really missing you down here.”

When Jenny stepped back into the house with the whiskey bottle in tow twenty minutes later, she hoped he had settled down some.

She had spent the past few minutes crying. It felt good to release the emotion and stress that had collected inside her over the past three days. She cried especially hard over the loss of her best friend.

She and Chloe had been close since ninth grade. They had bonded at high school orientation and had clung to each other for safety ever since.

In Chloe, Jenny had found the perfect best friend. Chloe’s happy disposition and positive outlook on life had helped Jenny through many difficult times and her periods of depression. The death of her parents in grade school was extremely difficult for Jenny, and it remained difficult even after so much time had passed. Chloe had a knack for bringing her around whenever she got to feeling low.

Without Chloe, she would have had to fight her inner demons alone. She owed it to Chloe to do right by her daughter.

Jenny just wasn't sure how she was going to do that. These past three days they had been put to the test, and she still didn't believe she was any closer to forging a friendship with Isabelle. Lack of a proper home was not going to help.

At the sound of the front door closing, Roy stepped out from the kitchen. His face revealed that he was still embarrassed by what had transpired outside.

She cut to the chase.

“You were right, you know? I wasn't a chicken.”

“Well,” he said, holding up his thumb and forefinger, indicating a small gap between them, “maybe you were just a little bit of a chicken.”

“Hey, that's enough of you,” she said laughing.

“You must be ready to settle in for the night.”

Despite their jokes, he looked just as nervous with this awkward arrangement as she was.

She was thankful that Isabelle was so easy going about it. That little girl had a lot of guts to to handle what had been thrown her way.

“You know what? I'd kill for a shower.”

She regretted her choice of words and cringed. Isabelle, tucked away by the window with her book, seemed to have missed her slip up.

She reiterated, “A hot shower would be nice.”

“Of course.”

Roy pointed down to the end of the hall.

“It's the very last door down there. The water heater is a little testy, so don't step into the tub too fast after you turn on the taps.”

“Thanks for the heads up. And clean towels?” she asked as she headed in the direction of the bathroom.

“There's a cupboard in there. Guest towels are on the top shelf.”

“Have a lot of guests, do you?”

She smiled mischievously over her shoulder.

“A few.”

He let slip a short sexy smile.

“None that were here for protection, but they say there’s a first time for everything.”