Page 36 of Torin

He turns and heads back toward his own truck.

I follow him down the steps. “Handled how?”

“A friend of mine owns a repair shop. We got it off the tree and towed it over there. It’s inside, out of sight from the road.”

Relief loosens something in my chest. “And your friend?”

“Knows the owner wants the truck kept quiet. That’s it.”

“You didn’t tell him about me?”

“Nope.”

I let out a breath. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Then he reaches into the bed of his truck and pulls out my license plates.

“Almost forgot these.”

I take them from him. “Where am I supposed to put them?”

“Somewhere your father won’t find them.”

I look around at several thousand acres of forest. “I think I can manage that.”

Torin follows me back inside and glances around the cabin. “So, what’ve you been doing all afternoon?”

“Trying to work, mostly. The internet’s down and my phone still has no signal, so that didn’t go particularly well.”

He glances toward the router on the bookshelf. “Any idea what’s wrong with it?”

“No. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. That exhausted my technical expertise.”

He wanders over to the bookshelf and crouches in front of it. After checking the cables, he pulls one out, pushes it firmly back into place and watches the lights for a few seconds.

“Do you actually know how to fix it?” I ask.

“Not really.”

I laugh. “Glad I asked.”

He fiddles with it for another minute anyway, but the missing light never comes on. Eventually he straightens up. “Could be the service rather than the router. I can ask around.”

“Thanks. It’s not urgent. Bennett will be back in thirteen days, and I knew I might have to wait for him anyway.”

Torin nods. “So, what did you do when you gave up on work?”

“I sat outside for a while, then found one of Bennett’s novels and read for a bit.”

Torin glances at the couch. “And took a nap.”

I eye him. “How do you know that?”

He gestures toward his cheek. “You’ve got a cushion mark on your face.”

My hand flies to my cheek.