Chapter Thirty

 

 

 

“Have you heard anything from her?” Lex Valentine spoke without preamble when Myrna opened her front door. He was dressed in walking gear and scuffed hiking boots.

“Not yet.” She did her best not to sound as worried as she felt. Adding her worry to his wouldn’t help. “She said she just needed time to think.” Myrna stepped aside and nodded him in, careful not to brush against him. “Her mother’s cabin isn’t far. She said—”

“I know what she said. You told me what she said, but she’s not back yet, and she should be, and she’s not answering her phone, and she’d call if she was going to be late, surely she would.”

“She promised me she’d charge her phone before she left here,” Myrna said. “But with everything on her mind, she might have forgotten.”

Lex moved inside like he was walking in a daze and took in the kitchen table where Andy sat with his girlfriend, who was crying softly. Apparently, she had been the one who spilled the beans. Terry sat across from them. He’d come as soon as he’d heard. He’d helped Lana get her video of Gale Ann Spaulding’s ill-fated attempt at an interview on YouTube, where everyone could see what that vicious bitch had done, and it was now trending on Twitter.

When Andy saw who it was, he stood and came to greet Lex. He reminded Myrna of one of the twins when they were about to be punished. “I’m so sorry, Lex. I tried to get hold of Kelly. It wasn’t Jenny’s fault, that Spaulding woman got her drunk. She deceived her.”

“It was my fault,” Jenny said, coming to join Andy. “There’s no one to blame but me, Mr. Valentine, and I’m so, so sorry. I’ll do anything, anything you need me to do.”

“I just need to find her,” Lex said. “I just need to let her know that it doesn’t matter. Dear God, surely she knows that.”

“Of course she knows that,” Terry said, joining them and offering a nod in lieu of a handshake. “Kelly wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

“I know that. I do, but she must have been so upset, and she’s not back yet, and she’s out there alone.” Lex gave both Myrna and Terry a desperate look.

“Bringing up her mother like Spaulding did, that’s still very raw with her,” Myrna said. “She’s… Well, she’s never really processed it all, and I’m sure she just wanted to have time to think before she came back to Mountain View. I mean, she insisted that I let you know.” That was what was worrying, she thought. Not only was Kelly always on time, but she was usually five minutes early.

“I thought you could give me directions to her cabin,” Lex said. “I can’t just do nothing. I need to go to her.”

“Not alone, you don’t,” Myrna said, taking Terry’s arm.

“She’s right. We both know the place. We’ve both been up there and used it as a getaway with the kids several times. It’ll be dusk when we get there and the weather’s changing. With any luck, we’ll meet her coming down and we’ll have all worried over nothing. But no matter what, you’re not going alone.”

“Jenny and Andy have already agreed to stay with the twins,” Myrna said. “Let us help.”

As Myrna gathered the rucksack she had packed and put on her hiking boots, Lex turned his attention to her kids. “Lana, Lane?”

They both looked up at him from where they sat on the sofa with their iPads checking weather reports and monitoring responses to Lana’s video.

“Thank you, both of you. Kelly’s lucky to have a niece and a nephew like you two.”

Lane bit his lip and blushed, giving a little nod. Lana gave him a thumbs-up and a smile that trembled a little bit around the edges. “Just find Auntie Kell, please.”

 

* * * *

 

“Mom, that nasty woman just called Auntie Kell a prostitute… My aunt is not a prostitute and you’re trespassing. You leave her alone.”

Gale Ann Spaulding wished like hell she could look away from the YouTube video that the Kieran kid had posted, but even if her boss wasn’t glaring down at it from where he stood just behind her chair, the thing had gone viral. The whole damn world had seen it by now. So she sat stiff-backed, eyes forward, hands clenched in her lap as she watched herself shove the Dictaphone in Kelly Blake’s face and say, “Isn’t it true that you’ve followed in your mother’s footsteps and you’ve either deceived Alexander Valentine into giving you that rock you’re wearing there, or he’s paying for your services. Either way, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? Like mother, like daughter.”

“Pause it. You get the picture, Spaulding.”

She gladly paused the horrid video. Her boss only called her Spaulding when he was angry, which he seldom was. She was his golden girl, or had been. He’d shoved into her office without even knocking, slammed a script down on her desk and ordered her to pull up the humiliating piece of trash and play it. All the while she watched, he stood behind her, his hot breath coming in angry little puffs against the back of her neck, the incriminating images on the laptop seeming way too big for the tight little space.

After a pause long enough for her to wish he’d just kill her and be done with it, he spoke, his voice barely more than a lethal whisper. “It’s not so much that I mind you calling someone a whore. Hell, you’ve called people worse and gotten away with it. It’s your job. What I mind is that you let the woman get in the last word. And you did it in front of a kid with an iPhone.” The whisper was gone, but the lethal tone remained in spades. “What I mind is that the kid put the whole goddamned fiasco up on YouTube and now Talk About Town has to deal with a shit storm of your making. What I mind”—his voice rose another decibel—“is that you confronted the woman without knowing the whole story, like a goddamned first year journalism student.” He paced the room in front of her desk like he was a drill sergeant dressing down a private, and the image was very fitting under the circumstances. He’d suspended her show for the day and put up some boring-assed documentary in its place. In the meantime, she had been ordered to wait in her office, which felt pretty much like the brig right now.

“What I mind, Spaulding, is that the woman you called a whore in front of the whole fucking Internet just happens to be the fiancée of Alexander Valentine.” His rant fell into rhythm with his stomping back and forth in front of her desk. “What I fucking mind is that after she and her neighbor’s snot-nosed kid dressed you down properly, Kelly Blake went to her mother’s cabin in the mountains to calm herself, and no one has seen her since.”

Gale Ann’s heart skipped a beat, and the room was suddenly hot. “I didn’t know. I didn’t…”

“Of fucking course you didn’t know! You’re not the one fielding the enraged calls. You’re not the one trying to convince sponsors not to pull their advertising, are you?” He leaned over her desk, all but yelling in her face, “Valentine’s people are threatening to sue the goddamned station for a shit load of money, and if I were you, Spaulding, I’d be checking in with my lawyer because I guarantee your salary, no matter how damn much we overpay you, won’t be nearly enough for damages once Valentine’s people get through with you. And if you’re a praying woman, you’d better fucking pray that they find Kelly Blake safe and sound without a hair on her head damaged. Because if she’s injured or, heaven forbid, she dies, then you may goddamn well be trading in your swank corner office for a prison cell.”

He stepped back out of her space, which was just as well, because as that little jewel sunk in, there was a very real possibility she just might just throw up. Dear God, surely the woman wouldn’t harm herself? Surely she wouldn’t do anything rash. A clammy sweat broke on Gale Ann’s forehead and she fumbled for the bottle of water sitting on the corner of her desk, struggling to hear over the flutter of wings in her ears as her boss continued.

“Now, Spaulding,” he said her name like it was a dirty word. “If you want to keep your job, here’s what you’ll do.” He shoved the script at her. “You’ll go into the studio right now—it’s all set up—and you’ll read the apology we’ve written for you. You’ll read it verbatim. You’ll not deviate from it nor will you add to it in any way. Verbatim!” He barked. “You’ll apologize to Ms. Blake and Mr. Valentine, you’ll apologize to all of their fans and friends and you’ll apologize to all of the good people in the listening area for your gross incompetence. You’ll say that you’ve been unwell, that you’ve been under a lot of stress and that you’re taking a leave of absence in which to recover your health. A month’s leave, Spaulding. You’re taking a month’s leave until you can get your edge back. Then we’ll revisit your contract.” He nodded down to the script. “Are we clear?”

“We’re clear,” she said, barely opening her mouth.

“Good. When you’re finished, the manager will make a general apology for the station, while we all keep our fingers crossed for Kelly Blake’s safety and prompt return to the loving arms of her fiancé, and hopefully we can control the damage before it’s too great. Oh, and by the way, Carl Freeman will be taking over your show while you’re convalescing.” He nodded her toward the door. “Let’s get this over with, then. The sooner you apologize, the sooner we can start kissing ass and placating the sponsors.”

When she reached for the lipstick and mirror from her bag, he gave an angry jerk of his head toward the door. “Leave it, Spaulding. No one gives a shit about your fucking makeup today. You’ve lost your right to play diva. Now get your butt out there before I fire you on the spot.”

 

* * * *

 

They took two vehicles, and Myrna insisted on riding with Lex. She didn’t think he needed to be alone, though he would have preferred it. In truth, he didn’t want anyone to see him this vulnerable. But none of that mattered, not really. If it came down to it, he didn’t care if they saw him naked on his knees, puking, if it would get Kelly back safe. As the traffic of the city thinned, they rode in silence. He was glad that Myrna didn’t mind his taciturn mood. He really didn’t want to talk. But as they left the lights of Sandy behind, he found he had to say something. What he said wasn’t at all what he expected. “I love her.”

Myrna’s response was even less what he expected. “I know. But then again, how could you not?”

“Why did she do this? Why didn’t she come back to me and let me comfort her? God knows she’s comforted me often enough.”

“Her mother was missing for three months before they found her body. Up until that point, there were a dozen false sightings of her alive and well. Kelly lived without closure, in a horrible nightmare of not knowing if her only close relative was alive or dead.” Myrna shrugged. “Well, her father’s still alive somewhere in Georgia, but they’ve had no contact since he left them, and he made no effort to get in touch with her after Elizabeth’s death. Turn here,” she said, as they approached a forest service road leading off toward Mount Hood.

“I didn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t. She doesn’t talk about it. She’s fairly closed-mouthed where her emotions are concerned, and we’ve been her family, me and the kids and Terry, even before it happened. She’s not alone, Lex, if that’s what you’re worried about. Make a left here.”

It shocked him to realize he wasn’t worried about her being alone, but he was incredibly jealous that Myrna and her tribe were Kelly’s family, when he wanted to be that for her. He wanted to take her into his own tribe and they would all love her and care for her. Hell, they already did. Most of all, he wanted to be the one she turned to.

They were suddenly bouncing down an access road that was little more than a dirt track, and Lex was glad he’d taken Dillon’s Jeep. “You were in on the subterfuge with the press at the gallery,” he said. “Why?”

“Because I saw what you put yourself through to be with her, and what she was willing to do to get you out of there. My track record might not be good in the marriage department, but I know love when I see it. I also know it’s worth fighting for when it’s real. There’s the cabin, and there’s her car.”

Inside, they found her shoulder bag and cell phone lying on the table beside an empty glass that looked like what might have been iced tea. Otherwise, the house was cool and felt unoccupied. A quick walk-through showed no evidence of use of any of the rest of the house except possibly the bathroom sink.

“Christ, where is she? Why isn’t she here?” He didn’t think he’d ever been closer to true panic. Being phobic was one thing, but this was worse. This was truly horrible. The weather was deteriorating rapidly and heavy rains were predicted. Up this high in the Cascades, that could be fatal if one wasn’t prepared for it. He knew that only too well. He absolutely couldn’t think about that right now. All that mattered was finding Kelly and getting her back to Mountain View safe and sound.

“There are two trails that lead into the woods around the cottage,” Myrna said, handing Lex a flashlight and a whistle, both of which he handed right back.

“Brought my own.” He flashed the whistle around his neck, then settled his pack on the floor and pulled out a headlamp and a Maglite. “I’m pretty good in the outdoors. Don’t worry. I’m prepared.”

“And so am I.”

The door to the cabin burst open, and Terry shoved in, followed by Dillon. “Seriously, bro, you didn’t think I’d let you search for her without me, did you? I had a helluva time convincing V and Cookie not to don gear and come along, and Duncan, well, he’s waiting in the Land Rover.”

“When Dillon called, I filled him in,” Terry said. “If something has happened to Kelly”—he raised a hand—“and I’m not saying that it has, but the more eyes the better.” Then he added, “The woman knows this mountain like the back of her hand, and she knows what to do if something does go wrong, Lex. Believe me, no one is better prepared than she is. But on the chance that she needs help”—he unfolded a geological survey map on the table—“best you know what we’re facing.”

Within ten minutes, Dillon and Lex were heading down the trail that led to a small nameless stream at the bottom of a narrow canyon, while Terry and Duncan took the trail up the mountain to a meadow above the cabin. Myrna stayed put, keeping a fire burning and manning the phone.

“Kelly! Kelly!” Their voices echoed and bounced back at them as they both called out into the thickening darkness, careful not to blind each other with their headlamps.

The path was a steep descent down a narrow ravine, treacherous with loose rock and overgrown tree roots, which made the going painfully slow and did little to ease the knot of fear that had been tightening in Lex’s stomach since Kelly hadn’t shown up when expected. If she were in distress, if she were upset, she might not be concentrating on the path. She could have easily fallen. Hell, it would be the easiest thing in the world for anyone to become distracted and take a tumble. The thought had barely crossed his mind before he heard the sharp hiss of Dillon’s breath, followed by the sound of shifting rock and a curse swallowed back in a harsh grunt. He turned to find his friend sprawled on his belly on the ground only scant inches from where the path dropped off steeply into the ravine.

“Jesus, Dil! Are you all right?” His heart dropped to his stomach as he glanced down into the dark nothingness below them.

“Just knocked the breath out of me and bruised my ego,” Dillon said, shoving his way back to his feet just as the rain began. It started as a sprinkle, but very quickly became a relentless downpour, which to Lex’s dismay, slowed progress even further. If that wasn’t bad enough, a glance back at Dillon showed the man was visibly limping.

“Fuck, bro! How bad is it?”

“Not bad. It’s fine.” The man might be a good liar, but Lex knew him too well not to see that he was in pain.

“Bullshit,” he yelled above the rise of the storm and the roar of the water below. Then he scrubbed his hand through his drenched hair and said, “Look, according to the map, it’s not that much farther down to the stream, and Myrna says there’s a cave there that Kelly might hole up in if the weather’s bad. You stay put and I’ll go on alone. Surely, I’m within yelling distance, or at least I can flash you a signal or blow the whistle if I find her. Thank God there’s no fog.”

Reluctantly, Dillon agreed and found a protected place beneath the bows of a Douglas fir. “One flash and one burst on the whistle every ten minutes. You got that? We’re not taking any chances. If you find her, blow the bloody thing like Gideon’s trumpet at the end of the world. But if I don’t hear from you every ten minutes,” he said, “then I’m bringing back the troops.” Neither of them stated the obvious, that if the storm got worse, if it blew in like the weather reports warned, there would be no sending in of any troops until it let up.

Lex continued the painfully slow descent, going as fast as he dared, slipping and sliding as he went. “Kelly! Kelly where are you? Kelly, I’m here.” No matter what, he would find her in the darkness, just as she’d found him, and he would bring her back home. “Kelly, it’s Lex! Kelly, answer me, please!” The sound was nearly drowned out by the rain-swollen stream, roaring over the rocks below, a sound that made him stop dead still and hold his breath, listening. Dear God, let it be her! Please let it be her. “Kelly?”

The rain let up just for a second, or perhaps it was just that he was in a more protected spot, but it was enough. It was enough for him to hear a moan and the sound of crackling brush just off the trail to his left. Then there was a flash of light and another and a third. Heart leaping in his throat, he turned on his Maglite, stupidly blinding himself, but not before he caught a glimpse of her curled in a fetal position in the shelter of a large boulder, flashing her light back at him. He broke into a run, stumbled and went flying, barely catching himself on a low-hanging branch before careening into the swollen stream. “Kelly! Kelly, hold on, I’m here. I’m here!”

“Lex?” She blinked owl-like into the bright light, and he got his first good look at her, not liking what he saw at all. The air smelled of blood. There was a bruise blooming along her cheekbone and she was soaked to the skin and shivering.

“Jesus, Kelly! What the hell happened?” He fell to his knees by her side, examining her more thoroughly in the beam of the Maglite, to which she responded with a moan and a feeble raise of her hand to shield her eyes. It was then that he saw where the blood was coming from. There was a deep gash dangerously close to her brachial artery. He sat back hard on the rocks, struggling to breathe, struggling not to throw up. A quarter of an inch, just a quarter of an inch, maybe less, and she would have bled out. She would be dead, but she wasn’t. She wasn’t dead! She would be fine.

Trying to breathe shallowly, he grabbed the first thing he could get, a bandana stuffed in the outer pouch of his rucksack, and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Then he swallowed hard, and did his best to speak conversationally. “I’m here. It’s gonna be all right, I’m here now,” he said. As promised, he flashed the Maglite on and off manically in the general direction of where he’d left Dillon. “I found her!” he yelled. “I found her!” Then he blew the hell out of the whistle in loud, long bursts. There was an immediate response from above, but he paid no attention. Dillon was well able to take care of himself. They’d had a fair few outdoor adventures together. The man knew his way around the woods. With the storm worsening, Lex’s priority was Kelly, but when he turned back to her, dear God in heaven, her teeth were chattering! So hard! Her teeth were chattering! Bile rose in the back of his throat, threatening to choke him, and the chill he felt had nothing to do with the icy rain. Had he dragged her into his dreams? Could he do such a thing? But then she spoke between the chatter, and it was her voice that brought him back to himself.

“Lex?”

“I’m here, Kelly. It’ll be all right now.”

“I fell. It was stupid really. I wasn’t paying attention, and after, that I don’t remember anything. Then I heard you calling. How did you find me?”

“Myrna and Terry. They’re here and so are Dillon and Duncan.” He dug in his bag for a space blanket, which he settled around her shoulders before he realized what he’d done, before he noticed the panic tightening his chest.

But even in her state of distress, she noticed. “Lex? Are you okay?”

“Fine! I’m fine.” And he really was—or he would be. Besides, there were more urgent things to think about at the moment than his discomfort. “Can you walk? We’ve got to get you somewhere warm and dry.”

When her effort to get to her feet ended in a gasp of pain and a terrifying slump into unconsciousness, which, thankfully, only lasted a second, he knew they were in trouble.

“I’m sorry,” she managed around the pain in her voice. “I don’t think the ankle’s broken, but I fell a long way. I might have cracked a rib”—she sucked a harsh breath—“or two.”

The rain now pelted down full force, and the temperature had clearly dropped another notch as the wind rose. In the slice of light his headlamp provided, Lex was sure he could see sleet mixed with the rain. Please, dear God, no, he thought. It was already taking all of his focus not to associate the chattering of Kelly’s teeth with his dream. “We can’t stay here,” he yelled over a gust of wind. “How far are we from the cave? Myrna said there was a cave you might try for.”

“It’s just up the stream, maybe a hundred yards. I was trying to get there when…” Her voice drifted off between chattering teeth. “I must have passed out. The next thing I heard was you.” She chuckled softly, then caught her breath with a moan. “I thought I was dreaming.”

He didn’t tell her that he’d had his own thoughts about it being a dream. This was Kelly. This was real, and her injuries were only life-threatening if he didn’t get her out of the weather. This was something he could do, something he had to do. For an awful moment, his vision faded in and out of focus at the realization of what that meant. His mother had died promising him everything would be all right. It wasn’t. It was never all right again, but that was over. That was the past. This was the present and this was the woman he loved. This was the woman he loved! The words sank in deep and took root, somehow easing the knot in his stomach. Kelly Blake was the woman he loved and he would not let anything happen to her. That was a promise he could keep.

He took a deep breath, shrugged out of his waterproof and was instantly wet. Ignoring the icy bite of the wind, he handed it over to her. “Put this on.” She was trembling too badly to do it, and clearly the movement hurt her, so he found himself easing it around her shoulders, holding it into position so she could manage, cringing each time she cringed in pain, gasping each time she gasped, feeling the agony of her every move as though it were his own. And strangely, concentrating on her pain and distress allowed him to forget about his own. He had her bundled and zipped in before he realized he’d been touching her, feeling her convulsive shivers against his. At some point, he had joined her in a duet of chattering teeth, the chattering teeth of two people very much alive and damn well going to stay that way.

That done, he slipped the rucksack onto his back. It had things in it they’d need if they were going to get through until help could come to them. “Now then,” he said, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. “I’m going to get you up. All you have to do is lean on me and point me to the cave. We’ll get there together.” When she gave him an alarmed look, he added, “Trust me, Kelly. Please. I can do this.”

She passed out twice before he got her to her feet. As horrible and heart-stopping as it was to feel her go limp, it kept him focused on her and not his own distress. The cold grip of panic was still there threatening to steal his breath away. Nausea clawed at his insides, forcing him to swallow back bile time and again to keep from throwing up. But Kelly depended on him. If he had to, he could puke his guts out later when she was safe and warm.

“It’s all right. It’s going to be fine. Really, it will be. You’ll be fine, you’re doing great. We’ll make it. We’re almost there.” It took him a moment, as they fought their way through the wind and sleet, along the rising stream toward the cave, to realize that it was her voice doing the reassuring. Her concern for him rose above all in spite of her obvious pain and the danger she was in. God, that did something to him. There was no doubt he loved this woman, and when they were out of this mess, he planned to tell her and prove it to her over and over again, if she’d let him.

At last, the bouncing ray of his headlamp caught the dark maw of the cave, and he could have cried with relief.

“Let’s hope if we have to share it with any bears, they’ve already eaten,” she said.

“Well, they’re not getting the snickerdoodles. Cookie packed those for you,” he managed, as they stumbled into the opening and literally fell onto the ground. When he’d had a second to catch his breath and shine the light around, he could see that the place was really less of a cave than just a deep recess beneath an overhang of rocks, but it was dry and sheltered from the wind. He settled her onto the rocky floor and was busy digging through the pack before he realized he had neither passed out nor thrown up, and the urge to do either was, at least for the moment, tempered by more urgent needs. But the relief was short-lived when he turned to find her curled around herself, deathly still.

“Kelly! Kelly, talk to me!” He grabbed the sleeping bag he’d stuffed in the pack and crawled close. “Kelly!” Throwing caution to the wind again, he took her face in his hands and briskly slapped her cheeks.

“Cut it out,” she mumbled, batting his hand away with a limp arm. “Just let me sleep for a few minutes then I’ll be fine.” Her words were slurred and her eyes unfocused.

“No, Kelly! Absolutely no sleeping. Not yet. Talk to me. I saw the video Lana put up on YouTube of Spaulding making an ass of herself. Those kids are really something.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Her little chuckle sounded like she was spaced out on some really good drugs. “And so smart. I’m not a fan of most kids, but those two, well, I love them to bits.”

“I can understand why you feel that way,” he said. “You tore Spaulding a new one, that’s for sure. Those two put it all up on YouTube. They’re amazing.” He began stripping her with surprisingly steady hands.

“That’s nice,” she said. Her words were muffled as he pulled the tank top off over her head and she all but fell against his chest while he unhooked her bra.

“Tell me about your mother,” he said. “She must have been really something.” As he stripped her, she told him, in little snippets of partially incoherent sentences, about Elizabeth Katherine Blake, as though Gale Anne Spaulding was no big deal, really, and she wasn’t at the end of the day. She was no match for Kelly Blake. As he eased her out of wet boots and socks, careful of the swollen ankle, she told him of learning anatomy along with her mother while she was in med school. Her way of studying it was to teach it to her daughter. Then Kelly began, in a slurred sing-songy voice, to recite the bones in the body, beginning with the skull. And suddenly her teeth were chattering again, a sound that he never thought he’d be thankful to hear, but she was no longer listless. She was fully engaged. There was an occasional sob of pain as he worried her out of her clothes, trying to be careful, but needing to be quick. There were other bruises. Remembering Dillon’s close call, his stomach bottomed at the thought of that happening to Kelly. In the illumination of the headlamp, he could see that the bruises were consistent with a hard fall. But he saw them only briefly before he shoved and tucked and maneuvered her into the sleeping bag, as she finished her recitation of the bones in the skull and moved to the cervical vertebrae in the neck.

“Lex? What are you doing?” She stopped her recitation halfway down the spine as he began to strip.

“I’m getting naked to warm you up.”

“Oh. Oh! Lex? Are you sure?”

“I promise, I won’t throw up on you.”

“That’s nice. But I can’t promise I won’t throw up on you,” she said. “I think I hit my head when I fell.”

“I’ll take my chances. Anything for a good anatomy lesson.”

That made her chuckle, then she inhaled sharply at the resulting pain.

When he’d stripped completely, tossing his clothes carelessly where they fell, he took a deep breath, braced himself, and wriggled down next to her and, for a terrifying moment, he was pulled back into the dream. She was so cold, so icy cold. Like his mother had been. But then she shivered and moved in close to his body, and, even as his flesh recoiled at the chill and his mind fought back the memory, he took her into a spoon position, curling around her, willing himself to stay calm, willing his warmth to become hers. Willing her to be well. Willing her to be his. Dear God, was that even a possibility? Only a short time ago, he could not even have hoped.

“Are you all right?” she said.

“I am now,” he whispered against the top of her head.

“Good. I was worried about you for a little while there.” She reached around and laid a hand on his flank, and the sound that came from his throat in response was embarrassingly close to a purr. Then she added, with a little wriggle of her bottom, “We can wait out the storm in luxury here. They’ll find us in the morning. Myrna will know exactly where to look.”