After the Storm (KGI #8)(31)

Cammie nodded vigorously.

“Trav, make sure you eat plenty,” Eve reminded. “Don’t waste it, and you need to eat good.”

He grinned. “Don’t have to persuade me. I’m starving!”

Eve sat back, savoring the brief moment of normalcy. It was easy to pretend that they weren’t in a run-down trailer living hand to mouth or in constant fear of discovery. For the space of a few stolen minutes, they could be a typical family enjoying something as simple as a meal together.

Eve committed the moment to memory, knowing that the coming days would bring them uncertainty and upheaval. And she prayed for the strength not only to survive but to be strong for her siblings. They needed her. She was the only constant in their lives and they were the only constants in hers.

CHAPTER 11

EVE roused from sleep and panicked as she realized that they’d all fallen asleep on the couch after eating. Travis was leaned over against the arm, his head lolled to the side. Cammie was nestled in Eve’s arms and draped across Eve’s body.

She lifted her watch but couldn’t see the time in the darkness. At least it was still dark and they hadn’t slept through the night. She strained to listen for the sounds of rain, but quiet had descended. It was almost eerily quiet. No sounds of frogs or crickets that usually permeated the night.

The air was thick, the humidity so thick it was hard to breathe. She shifted, trying to get a better look at her watch. Cammie stirred in her arms and Eve carefully laid her to the side before reaching for Travis’s arm.

“Trav. Trav,” she said a little louder. “We have to get up and get moving. It’s stopped raining and I don’t know how long we slept.”

After eating their meal, they’d relaxed, listening to the rain beat against the tin roof and the wind rattling the windows in the trailer. Realizing the storm wasn’t just a brief cloudburst of rain, Eve had suggested they try to get in a little sleep. She hadn’t intended to drift off, though. She’d wanted Cammie and Travis to rest for the trip ahead and the long days of walking, but she’d wanted to limit it to an hour at the most.

Travis stirred and then immediately sat up, his hand going to Eve’s.

“Sorry, Evie. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that,” he said in a regretful tone.

“Shhh, you needed it,” she said. “But if you can help me with Cammie, we can be on our way. She needs her shoes and the shorts and T-shirt you laid out for her.”

Travis got up and reached for Cammie, who was still half asleep. She muttered a drowsy protest but clung to Travis’s neck as he carried her to the bedroom to get her ready.

Eve stood, pushing away the heavy veil of fatigue as she mentally prepared herself for what lay ahead. No matter that they’d led this life for the past several months, she still wasn’t used to it. She still couldn’t shake the fear that uncertainty brought. She was in way over her head. She wasn’t qualified for this, but then who was?

She stretched and then did a quick check to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything important. Her mother’s jewelry was secure in the suitcase. Eve’s wallet with their precious hoard of cash was on the counter, and she shoved it into the backpack, where she’d also put drinks for Cammie and a few of the individually packaged snacks that Donovan had brought.

Donovan’s face flashed in her mind, making her pause. Indecision flickered and she shoved it away. She couldn’t afford to second-guess herself. Not now.

But what if he truly only wanted to help? Was she doing Cammie and Travis a huge disservice by not staying and allowing Donovan to bring a doctor in for Cammie?

Those intense green eyes. Eyes that saw far too much. That probed the very inside of her mind. He was a man who made Eve feel safe, and perhaps that was what scared her the most. Because one mistake, just one, and Cammie and Travis would pay the price for her stupidity. It was better to trust no one, a mantra she’d embraced when they’d fled California, than to risk trusting the wrong person.

But still, she couldn’t shake Donovan Kelly from her mind. He clung tenaciously, refusing to budge. He was handsome, no doubt about that. But it wasn’t his physical attractiveness that intrigued her. Though he definitely had no shortage of physical beauty. The man was built solid from the feet up.

He wasn’t overly tall. Certainly taller than her petite frame, but he didn’t loom over her either. But what he lacked in height, he certainly made up for in other areas. His chest was massive and his upper arms bulged with muscles. It was evident that he stayed physically fit.

But perhaps what had caught her attention the most was simply the way he looked at her. Like he . . . cared. As though somehow their connection was more personal than one of someone helping another human being in need.

Maybe that was fanciful of her. Okay, so it totally was and it made her a flaming moron to even dwell on that possibility. But once it had taken hold, she couldn’t rid herself of that feeling. It was a nice sensation. Warm and soothing. Like he was.

And he’d been wonderful with Cammie. It would have been easy for a man like him to scare the bejeebus out of Cammie, and yet he’d taken great pains not to frighten her. He’d been extremely gentle with her—and Eve for that matter.

In another life, Eve would have had the confidence—and the freedom—to act on such an attraction. She wasn’t overly bold, but neither was she a shy woman afraid to speak her mind. She’d never been one to adhere to outdated societal mores. Such as the man being the one to ask out the woman. If she met a man she was interested in, she’d never hesitated to take the initiative. Some men liked that. Others? Not so much. Their loss.