She felt his caress, though he didn’t touch her. “You’re right. We must wait. I owe her that much.” His gaze grew distant. “I wish I could help her…”
“I’m sorry, Kieran.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do. She’ll have to deal with this in her own way. At least her son seems all right. Children are pretty adaptable.”
He stroked her hair, sending shivers down her back. “I should stay away from her, then,” he said.
“I think that would be best. If you could find some safe place nearby to hide out until her sister comes, there would be less risk of Lori seeing you.”
He set her back, smiling crookedly. “There are miles of prairie here. I think I can find some out-of-the-way place.” Fire snapped in his eyes. “But if you came with me…”
“You know I can’t. Someone needs to stay here with Lori. But I admit the prospect is tempting.”
They indulged in a quick but thorough kiss. Last night had been no fantasy; it was the most real thing in the world.
“Well,” she said at last, catching her breath, “we’re running low on supplies, but you can take what’s left, and my pack.” She felt a sudden chill of foreboding. “I don’t like the delay because of the police, but it can’t be helped. At least I don’t think anyone else saw you come to the motel last night. If you’re careful, no one will see you leave. We’ll have to hope luck is on our side.” She grabbed his arms and shook him lightly. “For God’s sake, Kieran, keep out of sight. And don’t go too far. I don’t think I could stand the worry.”
Kieran said nothing. He didn’t need to; his eloquent eyes spoke for him.
“There’s still another problem,” she said. She let him go and walked across the room, arms folded, “If Lori goes to the police with what she saw—”
“Would they believe her?”
“No.” She turned again. “Not likely. I don’t see that we have any choice except to hope no one would believe. It’s possible she might hear that the police are after us, but—”
“It’s a chance we’ll have to take,” he said simply.
Yes. It really was that simple. “One more thing,” she said. “Do you remember when I mentioned a place called Lovell?”
He looked at her, one eyebrow lifted. “Yes. You asked me if it was familiar.”
“Julie mentioned it on the phone yesterday. Said she’d gotten another one of her feelings, though I think she was holding something back. She told me she thought we should make for this particular town in British Columbia. She didn’t say why.”
Kieran frowned. “It’s the right direction. And I trust Julie.”
“So do I. Next time I talk to her I’ll try to get more details about this feeling of hers.” She gave him a lopsided grin. “I guess I’m still not used to all these… paranormal things that aren’t so easily explained by science.”
“Like werewolves?” he said, but there was no self-mockery in his tone. “After me, Julie should be easy to understand.”
They gazed at each other until the slam of some other motel door snapped them out of it. Kieran glanced out the window one more time and let the curtain fall.
“I’ll go, then,” he said. He gathered up some small snacks and a few other items from the food box and filled her pack. “I’ll stay away until just before dawn, to make sure Lori has left.”
Alex wanted to argue, but maybe he was right. Better to avoid any potential complications.
“And I’ll keep my eyes and ears open here.” She thought quickly. “If you see a scrap of red material on the antenna of the truck, don’t come back. It’ll mean something’s happened here, and it’s not safe. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear.”
He smiled. “I do have very good hearing, Alexandra.”
She managed a chuckle, but her smile faded as she watched him edge around the building and lope out onto the prairie, across the highway and away from the road.