Page 128 of Mountain Grump
He scared off a mountain lion…
I look at his chiseled profile. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Ethan slowly turns his head to face me. “No. I have a wife.”
Oh.
Wow.
Heat that has nothing to do with muscle strain rolls through my body.
I look forward.
We walk in silence for a few more minutes. And then I see it.
The woods don’t thin out.
There isn’t a clearing.
And I suppose since they were trying to keep their secret cabin a secret, it makes sense.
Because there, just ahead, surrounded by towering pine trees, is a cabin.
A perfectly normal-looking cabin with glass windows and wood siding and a little outhouse a dozen yards away.
My steps slow.
There isn’t a porch, and the front door looks to be about a foot off the ground, but it all looks solid. Well cared for.
A couple yards in front of the house is a water spigot with a red-handled pump sticking out of the ground. And next to that is a circle of rocks designating a firepit. Four wide stumps, which have maybe seen better days but still look sturdy, are arranged around the firepit.
Ethan strides ahead of me. “Everything looks fine, but stay here while I check.”
I stop.
Check for what?
He reaches the front door and turns the handle.
There isn’t a lock. He just opens the door and steps inside.
Not liking my back to the woods as I stand by myself, I turn around so my back is to the cabin.
My eyes have adjusted to the dimming light, but I still squint, trying to look for any movement.
Then I lift my gaze to the trees, remembering how Ethan told me that mountain lions like to sit in trees.A fact that will surely give me nightmares for the rest of my life.
Footsteps crunch behind me, and I look over my shoulder. Ethan exits the cabin, then crosses over to the outhouse.
He pulls a flashlight out of his pocket and turns it on as he opens the door.
There are no windows in the little structure, so it’s completely dark inside. Which is creepy. But still… toilet seat.
Ethan steps out. “All good.”
“What were you checking for?”
He opens his mouth, then purses his lips. “Do you really want to know?”
