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to see him come back, his arms loaded with firewood.
    “How did you learn to start a fire like that?” she asked.
    “My older brother taught me.”
    She was relieved that he’d answered her, and even more relieved that he didn’t seem angry with her anymore.
    “Are you two close?” she asked, scooting down the log to be closer to him.
    Staring into the fire, he replied, “We were.”
    It was a cryptic answer and Taylor wanted to ask him more, but she wasn’t in the habit of asking personal questions. Not sure how to broach the subject, she decided to offer up some information about herself.
    “I have a little sister. We can’t stand each other…” She trailed off as Alder reached over, picking up a dead frog. He speared it with a stick, offering it to her. “Uh, no thanks, I’ll pass.”
    Alder grabbed her hand, forcing her to grip the stick. “We have to clear the mountain tomorrow. You’re going to need your strength.”
    She reluctantly accepted the frog. It was fat and the stick was heavy in her hand.
    “Are these even edible?” she asked him, holding the frog over the fire.
    “The legs are good,” he said, spearing a frog of his own. “They taste similar to quail meat.”
    Taylor realized that he must have caught them when he was away gathering firewood, and couldn’t help but laugh.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I dunno. It’s just funny to think of you hunting for frogs. You look like the type of guy who would wrestle bears.”
    He grinned, a brief flash of teeth, but enough to give her hope that there wasn’t any lingering resentment between them.
    “I was going to bring you back a mountain lion, but I thought you’d object to cat meat.”
    She crinkled her nose at him. “I guess given the options, frog legs aren’t so bad.”
    They sat in silence for a few minutes, roasting their dinner. Taylor had to admit, the frog did smell surprisingly good. Either that or she was just too hungry to tell the difference.
    “There’s a cabin near the lake, where I live,” Alder said, abruptly breaking the silence. “You can stay there until you’re ready.”
    She twirled her stick. “I’ll probably only need a few days. I just need to figure out where I am and where I’m gonna go next.”
    “No,” he said, turning to face her. His eyes seemed to blaze in the firelight. “You can stay there until you’re ready to be with me.”
    Her throat felt tight and when she parted her lips to respond, she couldn’t find any words.
    Alder went on to say, “You’re right. I understand why you think we can’t be together. But I also know that I can keep you safe, if you’ll trust me. I can take care of you and we can get to know one another.”
    Taylor suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Sick with dread, apprehension, longing, and hope. She wanted to believe that he was making idle promises, but she could tell from his intense gaze that he was dead serious.
    “What if you decide that you don’t like me?”
    She couldn’t believe she was even entertaining the thought of being with him, despite everything that had happened. But maybe it was because of everything she’d been through in the past few days that she wanted so badly to cast aside her inhibitions.
    “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said, pressing his lips together. Taking in her hard look, he added, “But if it does, we’ll have a Plan B.”
    She nodded, but said, “I don’t get it. You look like you could date any girl you want. What do you have some sort of hero complex?”
    His lips quirked. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know. I’m not the man you think I am, and when you do get to know me—the real me—you may be the one deciding to leave.”
    The words should have made her nervous, but instead she felt more secure than she had before. Knowing that Alder wasn’t perfect, or at least that he didn’t think he was perfect, was somewhat of a relief.
    She placed a hand on his leg,