Cade stepped into the kitchen. The fading light outside made the house quite dark. Meg struck a match and lit one of the jar candles she’d bought. She handed it to him then lit another one. Her skin glowed in the soft light of the candle.

She turned to him. “I’m tired, so I’ll be going to bed. I’m guessing that’s where you’re headed too.”

“I’m actually heating up some water so you can wash up. I cleaned out the Dutch oven and filled it with stream water. It’s in the fire right now.”

Meg grinned. “That sounds wonderful.”

“I know it won’t be much, but you can dip a rag in it and at least scrub off the dirt and sweat.”

“I could kiss you right now.”

Meg meant it as a joke, he was sure, but nonetheless, his gaze dipped to her full lips. He couldn’t help it. He’d been looking at them all day. Instead of saying something flirty back, he clamped his jaw shut. He didn’t need to be thinking about kissing Meg.

She turned from him. “I’ll go get a change of clothes.”

Cade went outside to check on the water. When it was warm enough, he brought it in and took it into the bathroom. He set it down on a trivet he’d placed on the tile floor.

Meg entered the room and Cade took the lid off with the tool he’d used to carry in the oven. “I’ll use whatever you have left when you’re done.”

Meg touched his arm. “Thanks, Cade.”

He shut the door after he left. The sun was completely down now, and the darkness was kind of creepy. His little jar candle didn’t produce much light. The house was also quite cold now. He went into the great room and put three more logs in the fireplace and lit them.

He sat down to enjoy the warmth and listen to the crackling of the wood. Meg joined him a few minutes later. “Oh, good. You got the fire going again. It’s freezing in here.”

“Hopefully, it wasn’t too uncomfortable while you were washing up.”

“It was fine.” She sat next to him. “But you might want to hurry. I’m not sure how warm that water is anymore. I left the soap I bought in there.”

“Okay.” Cade got up from the couch, his muscles complaining to him about having to move again. His body wanted to drift off to sleep. But it would be good to be clean. He took his jar candle and walked through the house to the bathroom.

The tile floor was original, as was the beautiful clawfoot bathtub. He set the candle down on the floor. After sponge bathing, he had to put his clothes back on. He’d have to wash them in the stream tomorrow.

His eyelids were heavy by the time he’d finished and dumped the water down the drain. He picked up his candle and walked back through the house to the great room. He chuckled at the sight of Meg sitting on the floor in front of the fire amongst a massive pile of blankets and pillows. “Warm enough now?”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. They were in the closet and I was cold.” She patted the blanket pile beside her. “There’s room if you want to join me.”

Cade plopped down, surprised at how soft the blankets were. “This is quite comfortable.”

“I think these are new. One was still in the package. And I can put another log on the fire if you think we’ll stay in here for a while.”

He shrugged. “Might as well.”

He leaned back and shoved a pillow under his head while Meg opened the metal fireplace door. “So, you’re not really a camper. What did you like to do growing up?” he asked.

“It was just me and Dad after Mom died. When I was lonely, I made up songs. When I got to be a little older, I wrote them down.”

“You’re not just a singer then, you’re a songwriter? That’s cool. What kinds of songs do you write?”

Meg’s cheeks flushed pink. “Just stupid stuff. I don’t know. I’ve never really shared them with anyone.”

Cade turned to stare at her. “No one?” He wanted to add, “Not even your husband?” But the words wouldn’t come out. They sounded rude.

She shook her head. “It’s a part of me that’s hard to share.”

“Oh. Then you write songs for just you, not like something you’d ever sing to an audience?”

Meg picked at a thread on one of the blankets. “I don’t know. I guess deep down I don’t really think I’ll ever have a singing career, so I don’t worry about it.”

Cade could see the longing in Meg’s eyes, and it kind of broke his heart to see her not believing in herself. He patted her shoulder. “Don’t give up on your dreams.”

She nodded and gave him a little smile, although it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re right. I’ve let Travis get in my head too much. I have to get rid of his voice telling me I’m no good.”

Cade withdrew his hand, mostly because he wanted to clench his fists. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that again.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so passionately.

Meg blinked and leaned back on the pile of blankets and pillows. She didn’t say anything for a while, but finally, she spoke. “Thanks, Cade. I needed that.”

“You deserve someone who will treat you right.”

Meg sighed and closed her eyes. “I know,” she said softly.

The crackling of the fire and the warmth of the blankets were making his eyes feel heavy. He pulled one of the blankets over him and closed his eyes. “What happened to your mom?”

She shifted. “Cancer.” Her voice was getting quieter, harder to hear.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He reached over to find her hand. When his fingers touched hers, electricity zapped up his arm. She was warm and her skin soft.

“That’s okay,” she mumbled.

Cade wondered if they should just sleep there since the upstairs was cold, but before he could voice the thought, Meg’s even breathing told him she was already ahead of him. He snuggled into the blankets and was asleep a few seconds later.

***

MEG HEARD A QUIET SCRATCHING noise. What was that? It was interrupting her nice dream. She was dancing with Cade at a fancy ball, in a large mansion. A gorgeous chandelier hung down, the crystals sending tiny rainbows throughout the room. Cade’s solid chest was warm, and she snuggled into it. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. He smelled like the outdoors with a hint of soap. A rugged smell. Manly. It was making her heart pound.

The scratching noise came again, and Meg slowly became aware of herself. Where was she? This wasn’t her bed. Then the events of the last couple of days came to her. Oh. She was with Cade in the mountains. She must have fallen asleep in the great room by the fire.

She opened her eyes and realized the warmth she was feeling was Cade. She’d been sleeping on his chest. His arm was wrapped around her. Sunlight streamed in the windows. What time was it? She didn’t want to wake Cade, so she moved slowly. His arm dropped off her shoulders and she sat up.

Something moved in her peripheral vision and she turned to look. A baby raccoon sitting in the corner of the room stared back at her.

Meg screamed, and Cade flew up so fast he knocked her over. “What? What is it?” Meg scrambled to her feet while the raccoon dashed across the room. Cade saw it and picked up a blanket. He tossed it, but it missed, and the raccoon ran under the couch.

“What kind of a house is this?” Meg hopped up on one of the chairs, her legs shaking so much she thought her knees were going to knock together.

“It’s been abandoned for two years.”

“Well, where did he come in from?”

“Oops.”

“Oops, what?” she shrieked.

“I forgot to plug the hole under the kitchen sink.” Cade picked up the blanket and gave the couch a shove. The raccoon dashed out and Cade ran after it. He followed it out of the room, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Then she heard a muffled thump. “I got him.”

Meg’s heart raced. “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

His voice called through the house. “No.”

Meg waited until she heard the screen door bang before hopping down from the chair. Why did this house have to have so many guests?

The screen door sounded again, and the floorboards creaked with Cade’s steps. He entered the room, a guilty look on his face. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Now that her heart had slowed a bit, and the raccoon had been taken care of, it almost seemed comical. “I’m fine. Just startled me is all.” She waved her hand in front of her face as if that would make her calm down. Then she felt stupid and shoved it behind her.

“Startled you? I awoke to hysterical screaming.” Cade looked like he was trying not to smile.

Meg gave him a flat look. “I wasn’t hysterical.”

“I thought you were on fire until I saw the baby raccoon.”

She playfully whacked him on the arm. “I was not that bad.”

Cade put his hand on his chest. “I think my heart rate is almost back down to just racing. Tomorrow maybe you can wake me by throwing a cup of cold water in my face.”

Meg picked up a pillow and swung it at him. Cade stepped back and she missed. “Oh, is that how this is going to go?” he asked, swiping his own pillow.

“I was. Not. Hysterical,” she said, swinging the pillow each time, the last one connecting with his face. A puff of tiny white feathers flew out.

“You’re going to get it now,” he said while laughing. He swung his pillow, and it hit her in the arm.

She yelped and swung again. This time it bounced off the top of his head, making his hair stand up funny. She doubled over with laughter.

“What?” he said, the puzzled look on his face making the image even funnier.

“Your hair...” Meg could hardly breathe, she was laughing so hard.

Cade dropped his pillow and shoved his hands through his hair until it wasn’t sticking up anymore. “Better?” A feather floated down and landed on his head.

“Yes, but now you have a feather on you.” She pointed, and he tried to knock it out but missed it.

She took a step toward him and reached up to brush the feather off. Her gaze caught his and she stilled. His eyes were captivating. Brighter somehow today, like the color of emeralds. He was looking at her with such intensity, her body turned to Jell-O.

Why was she standing so close to him? She should have an intelligent molecule in her brain and take a step back, but her body wouldn’t budge. She just stood there, feeling the heat from his chest radiate over her.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving again. “Thanks,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“Yeah.” Meg involuntarily moved closer to him, like he had some kind of pull on her she couldn’t control. She couldn’t stop staring at his lips, and for a split second, she imagined what it would be like to kiss him.

Then she snapped out of it. What was happening? She wasn’t about to kiss him, was she? That would not be a good idea. She took a step back and ran a hand through her hair. “I guess I’d better get some breakfast going.”

Cade nodded, his gaze dipping to the floor. “Good idea.”