Page 82 of Hunter or Hunted

So that’s what I was counting on, but when Lizzie and I arrived at Gwen’s door, Simone answered. Despite the makeup and her typical attire—black skinny jeans, a laced black top, and knee-high black boots—something seemed off in her expression. A tiredness I couldn’t quite put into words.

“I gotta finish getting Junie dressed,” she said, “but we’ll be ready soon. Gwen took Honey for a quick walk though. She just left a few minutes ago, you could probably catch up to her.”

“Oh, this is actually perfect. You’re just the lady I was looking for,” Lizzie said, brushing past me into Gwen’s cabin. She leaned close to Simone and peeled her eye wide open with her thumb and forefinger. “Can you help me with my lash clusters? They keep poking me.”

A little light came back in Simone’s eyes. She laughed and spared me a glance. “I’m a liar. We’re not gonna be ready soon.”

Which I didn’t mind, because I wanted to talk to my partner in crime privately. “I’ll go find Gwen then.”

She was about a mile down the trail through the woods behind her cabin, walking Honey on her long lead.

As soon as I called out, “Gwen!” Honey spun around. She ran as fast as she could, as hard as she could. The leash caught and wrenched her back. She flopped backward into the snow, making my heart stop.

But she was back on all fours in milliseconds, butt up in the air, front paws crouched forward.

I dodged snow-doused branches and moved as quickly as I could, but ice shone in the snow-packed ground underfoot. It took me far longer than it should have to catch up.

“Hey, you.” Gwen’s smiling red lips popped against the white snow that gathered on her black scarf. She’d wrapped it around her head to protect her cheeks from the cold wind, but the apples of them stayed bright pink. “We were circling back, you didn’t have to come all the way down here.”

“I wanted to.” I bent down to greet Honey. Tongue flapping from her jaws, she rolled onto her back and soaked up all the attention I gave.

As I straightened, Gwen came in for a quick kiss. I wanted to stay there a moment longer, but she tugged back. “Might be too cold for a quickie in the woods.”

I choked on a laugh. “My ego couldn’t handle the shrinkage.” She chuckled, and so did I. “No, I wanted to talk to you about some stuff. Is there a nice seat-shaped rock around here somewhere?”

“There’s a bench a little while down the path.” She took my hand and gestured ahead. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Her gloved fingers warmed my icy palms. “How’s Honey adjusting to Samson?”

“Oh, Honey’s an angel. She loves cats. But cats hate Honey. Samson especially hates Honey.”

“Aww.” I laughed. “Is it that bad?”

“It’s pretty bad.” She rubbed her temples, watching Honey frolic in the snow a few yards ahead of us. “Maybe they’ll get used to each other?”

“Or maybe I could take him.”

She stopped and looked up at me. “What?”

“Well, if you’re okay with that.” I shrugged. “Lizzie’s been talking about wanting a cat. I’ve been trying to persuade her into a dog. But cats are easier anyway, and I get my puppy fix with Honey. Plus, the poor little guy’s been through enough. If he hates dogs, it’d suck for him to be stuck in a tiny cabin with one for the rest of his life.”

Eyes a little glassy, she blinked at me through snow dusted lashes. “You’re so sweet.”

I waved her off. “Just give me a definitive so I don’t get Lizzie’s hopes up.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “Then I still get to see him, and I know he’ll be in good hands.”

“It’s a plan then.” I lifted our held hands to my lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her gloved knuckles. “You’re gonna make Lizzie’s day.”

“Where is she anyway?” Gwen glanced over her shoulder. “She’s coming, right?”

“Up at your cabin. She kicked me out. Something about lashes poking her? She needed Simone’s help.”

“Ah.” Gwen gave an understanding nod. “She went to the right person.”

“What’s going on there? Why’s Edwards my date now?”

A long sigh followed by the explanation. By the end of it, we were sitting on the old wooden bench, surrounded by the silent forest, and I was sighing too. “If Rhiannon’s freaked out, we should be too.”