Page 30 of Love in Overdrive

Was he a Boy Scout, or did they teach him this stuff in the military? She loved the outdoors. Correction. She loved the outdoors in the summer. But she was no Girl Scout. She picked up her pace to keep up with Cade. She was tall, but his long legs could eat up the ground.

Fatigue weighed on her limbs. The only thing keeping her going at this point were visions of the gun-wielding maniac. If it hadn’t been for Cade, she’d have curled up and let the wilderness claim her.

“Ouch!” A dull pain stabbed her in the shin, and Laney’s legs crumbled.

A pair of strong arms caught her seconds before she face-planted in the snow.

“What happened?”

“I tripped. I’m alright.” Laney rubbed the front of her left leg.

“Can you walk?” He was so close. She could feel his hot breath on her cheek.

“I think so.” Gingerly, she put weight on her leg and bit back a hiss of pain.

“Here, let me take your weight.” Wrapping his arm around her torso, he pulled her arm over his shoulders. “It’s okay. I got you.”

Why did she let herself go and gain those twenty pounds since the divorce? Good thing he couldn’t see her face, but she knew she turned three shades of red.

No pain. No pain. Laney grit her teeth with each step. Her new mantra failed to keep her mind off the sharp ache in her lower leg.

“Why Gray Duck?” His deep voice cut through the dark.

“What?”

“The name of the town. Gray Duck Grove. Is it named for the children’s game?” Warm breath brushed her cheek.

“Oh, that. No. Back in 1886, the governor and several state politicians came to town. Rumor has it, a large flock of migrating ducks landed in the pond south of town and one of them said the town should be named for the lovely grove of gray ducks.”

“That makes sense.”

“Except the ducks weren’t gray.”

“What?” The confusion rang clear in his voice.

“Nope. The guy was color blind, and no one wanted to correct him.”

Cade laughed. His low chuckled sent a rush of warm tingles down her neck, straight to her chest. With each step, she became more aware of Cade taking more of her weight. His distraction tactics hadn’t escaped her notice either. She glanced up at him. His head constantly swiveled, canvassing their surroundings. It was at that moment that she realized they had a chance of making it out of this alive. All thanks to Cade.

They limped another quarter of a mile. As they exited the trees, there it was. A river. They scanned the shores as far as they could see. No lights.

“There?” Cade pointed downstream.

Laney squinted. If they got out of this, she’d be making an eye appointment. Either she needed glasses or Cade had eagle vision. As they moved closer, she saw it, a dock.

“Hallelujah! It’s a cabin. No lights, but maybe it has a landline.” Cade said, pointing to the small A-frame log cabin through the trees.

Laney glanced up at the structure. Nothing about it looked to be kept up in this century. Her fleeing hope slipped back into the pit.

The cabin was rustic, to say the least. It might have been called “quaint” thirty years ago, but the years weren’t kind, and the cabin showed signs of neglect. Cade doubted it had been inhabited in many years, at least by a human. The logs could use a few coats of stain, and the roof… It was missing more than a couple of its cedar shakes.

Looking at the porch, Cade sucked in a breath. The whole thing gave him horror movie vibes.

No car outside, the path had over a foot of snow on it, and the squirrels, or something, had taken up residence in the screened porch.

Well, if nothing else, they could get out of the elements tonight.

Cade carefully climbed the two steps to the porch and opened the door. Laney watched him with concern from the yard. He knocked, but as expected, there was no answer. He started feeling around the top of the door, then he lifted the old welcome mat. Laney called up to him, “What are you doing?”