Page 124 of Mountain Grump

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Ethan shrugs. “Hunger is more important than age. They wouldn’t have walked away so willingly if they were hungry.”

I stare at him.

Hunger.

As in,she wants to eat us.

“H-how long does it take a mountain lion to get hungry?”

Ethan pulls a face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m not scared.” I’d be more convincing if my statement didn’t come out shrill.

Ethan moves closer to me, reaching up and pulling my hair free from the collar of the flannel shirt. “They can go days without eating. Sometimes over a week. We’ll be fine. I promise you.”

“But if it comes back?”

Ethan drops his hand to his hip.

I follow the movement. And notice the gun.

“I don’t want to shoot anything out here. But if I have to, I will. Now tell me you trust me.”

I resist the urge to glance across the river.

If Ethan says he’ll protect me…

I place my hand on his chest. “I trust you.”

Chapter 72

Ethan

I hold her gaze.And I nod.

I trust you.

I told her to say it. Gave her the words.

But still…

I inhale the weight of it.

She trusts me.

And I won’t ruin that.

I can’t ruin that.

Chapter 73

Tilda

“He had a whole box of them.”I tell Ethan about the Dolly Parton books I found in the cabinet above the fridge. “Pretty sure that… cookbook… was also in the… pile.” I put my hands on my hips and suck in a breath.

Why is it so hard to breathe?

“It’s the elevation.” Ethan reads my mind.

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