“You’ll see.”

I raised my brows as he headed straight for the dense tree line. “We’re going in there?”

Hayden chuckled. “Yes.”

“Why?” I hurried to catch up with him.

“We need somewhere private, where we don’t have to worry about anyone walking in on us.”

My stomach went all fluttery. “There’s, like, a hundred rooms in that house.”

“There aren’t a hundred rooms, and I don’t want someone busting in on us.”

The fluttering went up a notch. “We aren’t going to get caught out here?” I shivered in my sweater while Hayden, in only a thin shirt, seemed unfazed by the brisk air. “Or attacked by Bigfoot?”

He laughed. “We aren’t staying in the woods, Ember. We’re going to the hunting cabin.”

“Hunting cabin?”

“Yep. Some of the others use it, but I’ve pretty much taken it over. It’s a good place to get away from stuff.”

“Oh, well that—shit!” Not paying attention to where I was walking, I stumbled, my foot getting snagged in a gnarled tree root.

Hayden spun around and caught my shoulders before I ate dirt. He got me standing on my feet again, an uneven grin on his face.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“You’ve got to be careful. There are a lot of holes and upturned roots in the ground.”

“Now you tell me.”

His grin spread, and I noticed then that Hayden was still holding me. And we stood so close my sneakers brushed his shoes. I lifted my head, bewildered by the sudden desire for him to pull me against him again. Our eyes met. There was a long stretch of silence as we stared at each other. What was I thinking?

And why wasn’t I moving away?

A wild sort of smile appeared for a moment before he dropped his hands and backed off. “Come on. We just have a little bit more to go. I think you’ll like it. No one but us knows it’s even out here.”

I shoved my hands in my hoodie, my fingers immediately finding the odd coin. I clenched it and ignored how fast my heart pounded. A good twenty minutes later, a cozy-looking log cabin came into view. Surrounded by tall trees and thick brushes, the cabin was even more isolated than the house.

Grinning, Hayden dug his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. A musty smell that reminded me of family camping trips and the aroma of coffee beans greeted me as I followed him in. He dropped the keys on a small table and started lighting candles with a lighter he pulled from his pocket.

“The cabin hasn’t had electricity for a while.” Hayden explained as the flame danced across his face. “I use the pellet stove if I’m here in the winter.”

“Do you come here a lot?”

“Not that much lately, but I used to. It’s quiet out here.” He paused. “Anyway, what do you think of it?”

When he was done, soft light ate away at the darkness and revealed a rather large room outfitted with a small kitchen, an antique-looking couch, and a… a bed. Nervously, I turned away and folded my arms. The place reminded me more of a love-nest than anything else. Then again, the stockpile of rifles hanging on the wall kind of ruined the cozy feel.