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lying if I said I liked you staying out here alone.”
    “I thought there was a caretaker.”
    “Amos lives in his own cabin.” He pointed across what used to be the back lawn. “It’s somewhere in that mess. Even if he heard or saw anything from his cabin, age and physical conditioning are working against him. He wouldn’t be much help.”
    She leaned over the balcony and was relieved to see a stone walkway below that led around to the front of the house. It was a bit overgrown with vines but still visible.
    “No worries,” she said as she straightened back up. “If things get hairy, I’ll go right over the balcony and run for my SUV.”
    Carter glanced over the balcony and raised his eyebrows. “You’re going to jump from the second floor then run?”
    “I went to college on a track-and-field scholarship. Almost made the Olympic team. The drop from the railing is no worse than the high jump, and trust me, if it’s a footrace with anything on two legs, I can take them.”
    His lips quivered for a moment, then broke into a slow smile. “That’s good to know, but if it’s all the same, I’m going to hope you don’t have to back up those words.”
    She smiled. “Me, too, but if it’s all the same, I may sleep with tennis shoes on.”
    “Well, then, it looks like we have a plan.” He stepped back toward the door to the bedroom and motioned her inside. He stood just outside the doorway, waiting for her to pass. As she stepped past him, her arm brushed across his chest and she felt a tingle deep inside. Even though it had been a tiny bit of contact, it had left no doubt that underneath the worn T-shirt and jeans contained a ripped body built for action.
    Maybe she needed to revise her earlier statement. She might not be able to take Carter in a footrace, but then, depending on the reason he was chasing her, she might not run.
    She shook her head to clear it from thoughts that had no business being there. Had it really been that long since she’d enjoyed the company of a man that she was fantasizing about the first eligible one she ran across? She’d ended a three-year relationship eight months before and hadn’t been interested in pursuing another. Or maybe her last relationship had left her so jaded about men—particularly good-looking ones—that she had been intentionally avoiding them.
    Funny how she’d managed to do just that in Baton Rouge, the capital of the state, but the second she set foot in a town with less population than her condominium complex, she came face-to-face with the only man who had piqued her interest since her ex.
    Carter closed and locked the French doors behind them. “Let me help you get your things up here.”
    “Oh, that’s okay. I brought only one suitcase of personal things. The rest goes to the kitchen. It will give me something to do.” She hoped he’d leave her to it. With her imagination in overdrive and her memory rapid-firing without warning and her obvious attraction to the sheriff, she felt too vulnerable. And she didn’t like that feeling.
    Carter nodded and they made their way back downstairs. He stood in the entryway next to the front door and scanned the area one last time. She could tell he was still uncomfortable with her staying here alone—and that made two of them—but she wasn’t about to admit it. The sooner she got started, the sooner her fourteen-day stint would be over. Besides, she couldn’t put her career on hold forever. A delay meeting the terms of the will would delay anything else she decided, as well.
    “Can I see your cell phone?” Carter asked.
    “What? Oh, sure.” She dug the phone out of her purse and handed it to him.
    He checked the display and frowned. “Only one bar. I figured as much. When the storm hits, you may lose service altogether.”
    He pressed the phone’s screen for a minute, then handed it back to her. “I loaded my cell number in favorites along with the number for dispatch. As soon as you get a chance,