He lay in bed, enjoying Eva’s warmth and wishing they had somewhere else to go. He would not relish the reunion that was coming today and wondered whether they would even let him onto the property. He’d called ahead, but no one had answered the phone and he’d left a message on the machine. He knew they would welcome Eva, if only as a victim of his irresponsibility. And hospitality was one of the binding rules of the South and Kentucky in particular. She’d be safe there, even if he was sent packing, probably safer than with him. But he wasn’t sure he was capable of leaving her and he doubted she would want to stay alone. Well, no sense worrying about it. Worry wouldn’t change his reception. He nudged Eva. “Time to wake up.” She yawned and stretched and smiled at him and the day immediately improved. * * * * * Eva watched the hills spread out below them as Stone drove up the narrow road. Apart from the cabin where Stone first took her, she had never been anywhere so rural, even when she’d been hiking in the mountains, small towns full of boutiques and art galleries had dotted the New England landscape.
