“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “I have all my shampoo and stuff.”
“Then how about some dinner?”
A few hours ago, she would have said she never wanted to eat again. Now, though, her stomach was telling her that it needed something to keep going. She wouldn’t be much use to Danica and Roslyn if she was so faint from hunger that she couldn’t concentrate.
“Sounds great,” Caitlin replied, and Alex smiled.
“Then let’s get that going.”
She trailed after him as he headed down the hall and then back into the huge space that seemed to be a combination living room/dining room/kitchen. Down a short hallway off to one side, she spied what seemed to be the family room, as one wall was dominated by a large flat-screen TV.
How much had this place cost? She was the first to admit she didn’t know anything about real estate, beyond what she could afford for half-rent on a dumpy two-bedroom apartment, but she guessed it had to be a lot. Did managing a grocery store really pay that well?
Not that she would ever ask such a rude question. No, she waited off to one side, near the enormous granite-topped breakfast bar, and watched as Alex pulled a paper-wrapped package of meat from the refrigerator. “We’ll go outside to grill this,” he told her, then seemed to give the lightweight cotton top she was wearing a second look. “It gets cold pretty fast once the sun goes down. Do you have something to put over that?”
Despite how hungry and tired she was, and the way the ever-present worry for Danica and Roslyn kept pushing at the back of her mind, Caitlin couldn’t help smiling. “I’ve been living in Flagstaff. Anything above sixty is going to feel downright balmy.”
Alex didn’t argue, but only grinned in return. “If you say so.”
They went outside, to an enormous covered patio with ceiling fans and spot lighting built right into the roof. It was furnished out here, too, with an outdoor sofa and chairs and cocktail table, and a little ways from that, a round table with four chairs. A pool glimmered blue-green in the dusk, and the whole place looked like something out of a magazine.
Ignoring all that inviting furniture, Alex headed straight for a big stainless-steel barbecue and popped open the lid. “The carne asada cooks pretty fast, so we won’t have to wait too long.”
That sounded good. In fact, it sounded so good that her stomach growled. Chagrined, she clapped her hands over her belly — as if that would shut it up — even as Alex chuckled.
“Not a moment too soon, I guess.” His expression sobered, though, as he asked, “Do you want to sit outside, or should we eat indoors?”
“Eat out here,” she said. To her, the air wasn’t chilly at all, but gently cool, soothing on her skin. And if it did get too cold, well, she could always run back inside and grab the denim jacket she currently had folded up inside her suitcase. “You have a gorgeous view.”
And it was gorgeous — the faintest glimmer of dying sunlight still etched the very edge of the horizon, while above big, bright stars were beginning to glitter in the velvety dark blue sky. The faint outlines of jagged mountains were a deep black against navy, giving structure to the night.
“Okay.” He paused, then asked, “Can you keep an eye on the meat while I run inside for a few things? Just flip ’em after a few minutes.”
That sounded easy enough. Anyway, she’d babysat plenty of burgers at McAllister Fourth of July gatherings in past years. “Got it,” she said, picking up the tongs Alex had left sitting on the slate counter to the right of the built-in barbecue.
He gave her a thumbs-up and went back inside. Was it strange that she felt this easy around him? Her surroundings were like nothing she’d ever experienced before, or even imagined, but despite that, she wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt good to stand here and smell the unfamiliar spices rising from the sizzling meat, to have the mild air flow over her bare arms. She could almost forget what had happened to her earlier that day.
Almost.
Even though she knew she was safe here, her entire body tensed as she recalled the way Matías’ black eyes had mocked her, the way he had held her. She had gotten away, true, but what was he doing now to Danica, to Roslyn?
No way of knowing, if the visions chose not to come. And she’d already discovered that they would only appear on their own timetable, and not hers.
Scowling, she flipped the meat over. It did look close to being done, probably because it was cut so thin. She’d had carne asada before, in quesadillas and burritos and whatnot, but never like this, plain.
Or almost plain. She saw Alex coming out through the sliding glass door, his hands full with a tray that held not just plates and napkins and flatware, but also bowls of what looked like cut-up cooked peppers, rice, some kind of cheese…and a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. Thank the Goddess.