Page 18 of Deadly Past

He held her bag as he watched her, curiosity on his face. “I’ll show you the bedroom.”

Wynona followed her ex-husband down the dark hall. Declan opened the first door. “It’s not much, but there’s a bed and a dresser.” He set her bag down inside once he’d gone in.

Wynona stood in the doorway. A thick flannel comforter and two matching pillows covered the small bed. After the day they’d gone through, it looked inviting.

“Bathroom is the next door down if you want to take a shower and grab a nap. I’m going to see if I can put something together for a meal.”

As inviting as the shower and sleep sounded, she didn’t want to be that far from Declan. “That’s okay. Maybe later. Why don’t you let me handle the meal.”

“You sure?”

She gladly nodded.

“Then, I think I’ll go check on Amos before it’s completely dark out.”

Wynona felt a shiver of unease at being here alone.

“Unless you’d rather I waited until tomorrow.”

She was being foolish. The island was safe. “No, you should go.”

He hesitated a second longer before agreeing. “Do you still have the handgun I gave you?”

She nodded. “I do. It’s in my handbag.”

“Get it now.”

Wynona returned to the bedroom and grabbed the gun. She checked the clip. It was full. Once she walked back to the living room, she showed him the gun.

“To be safe, lock the door behind me, okay?”

She followed him to the door. “I have a four-wheeler in the small garage beside the house. I just wanted to let you know that you’ll be hearing it fire up shortly.”

She smiled at his consideration. “Thank you.”

Declan picked up his flashlight and stepped out into the fading light. “I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.” Brave words. But the second he disappeared around the corner of the cabin she wished him back. “You’re being ridiculous,” Wynona chided herself and closed the door. She made sure she locked both the doorknob and the deadbolt to feel better.

Soon, the four-wheeler’s engine fired.

Wynona carried the bags of groceries over to the rustic kitchen. Once she’d put the cold food away, she found a large pot and decided on the beef stew that Declan had once loved. She brought out the vegetables and started chopping while Simone wound herself around her legs and meowed.

“Are you hungry, girl?”

Simone confirmed she was. Wynona found her food bowl and opened one of the cans of food Declan had brought.

With Simone happily eating, Wynona poured some water in her water bowl and finished chopping the vegetables. She placed them into the pot along with the stew meat and fumbled with the stove until she figured it out.

With the stew cooking, she found herself listening for any sound. In the distance, the four-wheeler’s engine droned on. And outside the wind howled with renewed fury.

The stew began to boil, diverting Wynona’s attention from the wind. She started for the kitchen when she froze midway to the stove. A noise near the back door. A scraping sound near the window.

Her gun—she’d left it in the living room. Wynona raced for the living room, her heart pounding. “Declan, please hurry,” she whispered to herself as she inched toward the kitchen with the gun.

The window’s gingham curtains were closed. Wynona quickly killed the lights.

Several minutes of silence, then the scratching sound once more.

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