She started to tell him so, but he reached out suddenly to grab her arm. “What—?”
“Look—over that way.”
Frowning in bewilderment, she followed the direction of his pointing finger. “I don’t—oh, my God. Is that—?”
“Yes. Come on.”
He hadn’t let go of her arm. Half supporting her, half dragging her, he led them off the road and across a rocky clearing toward the small, battered-lo
oking mobile home they had spotted.
Her heart pounded against her chest, and her breath caught in excited half gasps, half sobs. Rescue, she thought. Only now did she admit that she had begun to wonder if it would ever happen.
It took them a good fifteen minutes to make their way across the rough clearing to the trailer. There were no lights on in the windows, and Chloe had the distinct feeling that no one was inside. The feeling was confirmed when Donovan pounded on the front door and no one answered.
“Now what?” she asked wearily.
“We break in,” he answered, as if it should have been obvious to her.
“Just—break in?”
“Under the circumstances, I don’t think anyone would blame us. And if I cause any damage, I’ll pay for it. I just hope there’s a phone in there. At the very least, we can get dry and warm.”
Because dry and warm sounded so appealing at the moment—not to mention the prospect of a telephone—she stood aside without further comment and watched him efficiently break into the locked trailer.
She no longer even questioned where he’d learned the skills he’d displayed during the past few days. She was just glad he’d picked them up somewhere in his undoubtedly colorful adventures.
Motioning for her to wait a minute, Donovan stepped inside first. “Hello?” he called out.
Silence was his only answer. He groped at the wall near the door, and a moment later light flooded the main room of the trailer. “We have electricity,” he announced with satisfaction.
Her knees almost went weak in relief. She moved in behind him. The room was furnished in a style she could only think of as “early garage sale”—but it was warm and dry.
“I would speculate that this is someone’s hunting and fishing retreat,” Donovan said, glancing around the sparsely decorated trailer. “We must be close to a river—probably the one that stream empties into. And I’d guess we aren’t very far from other people.”
“Thank God. Is there a phone?”
“Not that I’ve seen yet. I’ll check the back rooms, you look in the kitchen.”
“I’m dripping all over the carpet.”
Donovan glanced down at the ragged green shag carpeting beneath their feet. “I’m sure it’s not the first time it’s been dripped on. Don’t worry about it.”
“I know. You’ll buy him new carpet, right?”
“Hell, I’ll buy him a new trailer,” he answered rashly. “Check the kitchen.”
It felt so good to flip a switch and have lights come on as a result. She didn’t see a telephone, but there was a sink, an old electric range and a small refrigerator/freezer combination. The fridge hummed; she opened the door and cool air brushed her wet skin, making her shiver and smile at the same time.
Closing the refrigerator door, she moved to the sink and twisted the left knob. After a moment, warm water cascaded over her hand. She could have a hot bath, she realized in delight. The prospect made her almost giddy.
A thick quilt was draped suddenly over her shoulders. Clutching it around her, she turned to find Donovan standing behind her. “Did you find a phone?”
“No. But there are some men’s clothes in one of the bedrooms. Jeans, flannel shirts, a couple pair of shoes. No shower, but a bathtub with hot water. And I found a real treasure under the sink—bars of soap, packages of disposable razors, several new toothbrushes still in the packaging. Why don’t you take a hot bath and put on some dry clothes while I look around for clues about where we are.”
Toothbrushes. If her feet hadn’t hurt so badly, she might have bounced in anticipation. She settled for a smile. “I feel a little odd about raiding someone’s closet without permission—but I’m sure you’ll buy him a whole new wardrobe when we get back to civilization.”
He almost smiled. “Absolutely.”