Don't Cry for Me

He proceeded to show her the bathroom, the little utility room next to the kitchen, then the kitchen itself. He stopped by the kitchen table to sort through the things Ryal and Beth had left for him, then moved to the sideboard and took a cell phone out of a drawer.

“As soon as I charge this up, it’s yours. It’ll keep me in touch with you, and you with the outside world, when I’m at work, okay?”

Another niggle of worry had just been laid to rest. “Very okay,” she said.

“I assume you know how to use a gas stove?”

“I can turn one on and off and I can use a can opener, but cooking like Beth cooks…no way.”

He frowned. “I didn’t haul your cranky ass all the way up here to cook for me. I just need to make sure you know how to heat a can of soup when I’m not here. Understood?”

She stifled a grin. “My cranky ass?”

He ignored her and led her out onto the back deck.

“This is a good place to critter watch or, if the weather’s nice, read a book.”

Now she was the one frowning. “Critter watch as in cute critters, right? Not killer bears?”

“Definitely not killer bears,” Quinn said, but he wasn’t entirely truthful. He didn’t want to scare her, but until the bear was found and put down, he couldn’t really guarantee anything. “However, you would be smart if you stayed inside the cabin or, if you’re out, don’t go farther than the deck when I’m not here.”

She shuddered. “Consider it done.”

He eyed the setting sun. “I need to unload the Jeep before it gets dark. If you want to walk around a bit before you go inside, you can hold on to the deck railing for stability. You saw your bed in the living room. The TV remote is on the table beside it if you’d rather stretch out. I’ll make us some supper later.”

“Do what you have to do and don’t worry about me.”

He’d started to go inside when, despite her words, she stopped him with a touch.

“Quinn?”

“Yeah?”

“I would never have believed when I got up this morning that I would be here with you before nightfall. The fact that I am is beyond amazing, and I want you to know how grateful I feel.”

He ran a finger down the side of her cheek. “I didn’t do it for your gratitude,” he said, then went back inside, leaving her alone.

She would have pursued the conversation just to ask him why he had done it, then, but she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle the answer.

Using the railing as he suggested, she walked the length of the deck and back again a couple of times, but as the sun finally dropped behind the mountain, she went inside.

Quinn was at the kitchen stove. A bowl of salad was on the counter, a pitcher of what looked like iced tea beside it.

“Something smells good,” she said.

“Hamburger steaks and fried potatoes.”

“Oh, my Lord, that sounds good,” she said. “I’m going to wash up.”

“Don’t dawdle. I’m dishing it up now.”

“Yes, sir, right away, sir,” she said, and headed to the bathroom.

She was halfway across the room when something hit her in the middle of the back. She turned, looked down and saw a wadded-up dish towel on the floor.

“Hey!”

“You’re dawdling,” Quinn said.

She rolled her eyes, picked up the towel and tossed it on the table as she passed.

Quinn could see the stiff set of her shoulders as she walked away, but he smiled as he filled their plates. If he kept her guessing, she would have less time to dwell on her situation. As for the nights, there was no way to prevent the inevitable as they slept. Hell was a hard thing to climb out of when your defenses were down.

* * *

One thing between them had not changed. Quinn knew he’d always had the ability to get on Mariah’s last nerve, and it was still happening. Before, they’d always ended their squabbles by making love, but that release was no longer available, and he found himself pushing and teasing to keep from taking her back to bed. By the time the meal was over and the dishes were done, Mariah wanted to hit him and Quinn knew it. He needed to disarm the situation and decided the best thing he could do was leave her alone.

“I’m gonna go upstairs and shower. Do you need anything before I go up?”

“Where’s my bag?” she asked.

“I put it on top of the washing machine so it would be close to the bathroom.”

“If I take a shower, will it use up your hot water?”

Quinn began to smile. “I don’t know. Wanna race to find out?”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

He shrugged. “I want a shower. You want a shower. I’m going up to my bathroom. You’ve got the one down here. I guess we’ll find out if the water heater holds up, won’t we?”

She didn’t know whether to laugh or light into him. “You have got to be kidding,” she muttered, as she swung her aching leg around and headed for the bathroom.

Quinn waited until he heard the door swing shut and then he headed upstairs, grinning as he went. Bringing her here to stay with him just might turn out to be the best idea he’d ever had.

Mariah stripped without digging into her bag and was a little anxious as she turned on the shower, afraid the water would get cold before she was through. She couldn’t believe Quinn was actually planning to take his shower now, too. Chances were they would both wind up finishing in cold water.

A fresh towel, a new bar of soap and a small bottle of shampoo were on the little counter, and she guessed he’d put them there for her. His thoughtfulness was touching, but a cold shower was not. By the time she stepped in, she was caught up in the idea of racing to get clean.

The water pressure was good. The water was nice and hot. She squirted a small dab of shampoo into her hand and lathered up, racing through the suds and rinsing faster than she’d ever rinsed before. By the time she got to washing herself, the water had gone from hot to comfortably warm.

“Oh, crap,” she said, and began rinsing the soap off her body as fast as she could. Her bad leg was hampering her, because she had to hold on to the railing with one hand as she scrubbed at her skin.

Then the water went from warm to lukewarm.

“No, no, no,” she squealed, as she turned around to rinse off her back.

At that point lukewarm shifted to straight-from-the-well cold, and Mariah screamed and turned off the taps.