Page 8 of Out of the Cold

She turned on every light she passed as she ran to the kitchen, though part of her wondered if she should be making it so obvious that someone was living here.

The screams continued, but they weren’t quite right for a person being hurt. They were too regular, rising and falling the same way each time. She crept to the front door and slowly opened it, holding Hilde by the collar so she wouldn’t escape. The sound came again, farther away now.

Female mountain lions in heat sounded like a woman screaming. She’d seen it once on a nature program. She closed the door with a shaky laugh. Hilde whined and looked at her, the ruff on her neck still standing on end. She reached out and tried to smooth the dog’s fur.

“It’s okay, girl.”

The dog seemed unconvinced. And who could blame her? She was from San Francisco, where nothing wilder than a squirrel roamed the night. Neither of them were cut out for this.

She found her cell phone on the kitchen table and dug her charger out of her luggage.

“Come, Hilde,” she called softly, but the dog kept her vigil by the door.

She plugged in her phone and climbed into bed, the covers up to her neck, and waited for her heart to stop racing. Would this place ever seem like home, or at least less threatening?

It was four a.m., which meant it was seven o’clock back home. Early, but not for her mother. Without stopping to think through what she’d say, she picked the phone back up and dialed.

“Lucy!”

Tears blurred her eyes at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Hi, Mom.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Nothing. I thought I’d let you know I got here okay.”

“What are you doing up?”

“Something woke me up, so I figured I’d call you.”

“You’re not sleeping well?”

There it was, the worry she heard whenever she let on that her life wasn’t perfect.

“It’s only my first night. I need to get used to the sounds out here, that’s all. It’s different from city noise.”

“Is it what you expected?”

“Even better. I figured it would be a decent cabin, but it’s more like a vacation home. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the kitchen has all the best gadgets.”

There, that wasn’t even a lie. She was just omitting the fact that she was terrified and living in the middle of nowhere.

“That sounds lovely.”

“It really is. I can’t believe I get to stay here for free.”

“We miss you, honey. Will you be able to come home for Thanksgiving?”

“I should see how the writing goes first,” she said, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “But I’d love that.”

“You keep us posted. But you know you can come back anytime. We’ll pay for the flight if money’s an issue.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Get some rest and I’ll talk to you soon. Give a call tomorrow if you think of it.”

“Give my love to Dad.”

The tears came as soon as she hung up. God, she missed them. She missed the safety of home, and the predictability. Missed her brothers and their families. She imagined pulling her car into her parents’ driveway and her whole family spilling out to greet her. Her nieces and nephews would run around and beg to be picked up. Her brothers would tease her about her car, which had seen better days. Cam would probably open the hood and check that everything was in order.

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