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would be, so the fire is a nice surprise.
    I dive into the hammock without thinking twice and Ethan, after putting his jacket on the floor, isn’t far behind me. It takes some moving around and a little readjusting before we’re all cuddled up just right.
    “How did you know this is exactly what I needed?” I say.
    “Because this is what I needed, too.”
    And then he kisses me. We’re close, very close, since our bodies have settled into the center. The blankets and fire have made it warm and toasty and the slight sway of the hammock mimics the rhythm of our bodies moving against each other.
    His hands slip under the edge of my T-shirt and his calloused fingertips burn a trail up my back.
    Ethan buries his head in the crook of my neck and mumbles something I can’t understand, then he’s back to kissing me in my favorite spot just behind my ear.
    He moves over me until I’m pinned beneath him, his forearms framing my face and bracing his weight. The hammock closes in around us and it’s like we’re in our own safe little cocoon.
    “I would give anything to stay just like this for the foreseeable future,” he says with that dimpled grin.
    “Me, too.” I feel desperate. And anxious. But hopeful. And that is a new and wonderful feeling. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a really long time.”
    We stay in the hammock for longer than we probably should and only move to get out when Ethan mentions he doesn’t want our dads, armed with shotguns, to find us here like this.
    We hold hands walking back to the cabin and I hate to think how miserable it would have been to leave Natchitoches without him.
    “Well, there you are. I was about to send out a search party.” Mrs. Landry gives Ethan an arched eyebrow and a look that means they will be discussing this later. “Don’t forget why we’re here.”
    I can feel the blush that races across my cheeks.
    “We didn’t leave the campground,” Ethan answers back, his tone a little stronger than I’ve ever heard him use to his mother.
    “Just the same. Don’t leave without telling someone where you are going and taking some protection with you.”
    Oh God! My face is on fire.
    Ethan pulls a handgun out of his coat pocket and drops it on the table. “I know better than to walk around without a gun.”
    Guns. She was talking about a gun…not the other kind of protection. I hope it isn’t obvious my mind went straight to the gutter. It didn’t occur to me to take a gun. Ethan is definitely more prepared for this than I am. And now that I think about it, even when the men chop wood, they’re armed. And I’ve noticed that Dad and Mr. Landry took turns staying up last night. When Teeny started screaming in her sleep, Dad was in our room, armed and dressed, before I was fully awake. It’s so quiet here, it’s hard to remember that we may be in danger.
    Mrs. Landry gives Ethan some chores and scoots him out of the kitchen. I turn to the sink and realize all the dishes are clean and drying on the rack. Guilt swallows me up instantly.
    “It’s okay. I knocked them out.”
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Landry. We didn’t want anyone to worry.”
    She puts an arm around me and pulls me in close. “I’d be worried about you even if you were sitting right in front of me and I had a shotgun pointed at the door. I just hate that this is happening to you. And Ethan.” She moves a stray piece of hair out of my face. “I understand the need to spend some time alone. Just be smart about it, okay?”
    I duck my head so she won’t see the tears forming in my eyes. It’s been so long since a mother figure has worried about me. Or hugged me so tight. Pearl’s done a good job filling in the holes, but she likes to come off gruff. I miss my mother.
    By morning of day three, Agent Williams calls the satellite phone with some great news. They’ve found Daniel Sanders and he’s in custody. He warns us that we’ll be here a little longer since they are hoping to catch