Page 6

"I thought we were going inside," I say.

"We are inside."

"This is a hallway."

"It's a very good hallway."

Her hands slide under the hem of my flannel and then my T-shirt, flatten against my stomach. I pull in a breath through my teeth.

"You're warm."

"You're freezing."

"I walked through an orchard."

"You walked through it with me." I catch both her wrists and hold them against my ribs. Her palms are cold and I don't mind. "Give me ten seconds. I want to see you."

"Don't make a speech."

"No speech."

I reach sideways, find the lamp on the table by feel, and turn the brass knob.

Yellow light fills the hall. There's a coat tree hung with an old canvas jacket, a long runner rug with one rolled corner, and a staircase with a worn spot in the middle of every tread. Carolina stands in front of me with her hair coming out of its clip on one side, chestnut waves loose against her cheek. Her mouth is swollen. The flush on her face runs down under the neck of her sweater and across a scatter of freckles over her collarbones. Her eyes are hazel, green around the edges in this light.

The sweater has ridden up on one side where I held her. The curve of her hip shows between the hem and her waistband.

I forget the ten seconds are mine.

"You're doing it again," she says.

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me like you're reading something."

"I'm reading something." I let go of her wrists. "It's very good."

The dimple shows on her left cheek. "Second door on the left upstairs. I made the bed this afternoon. I knew if I didn't, I'd be too tired to sleep anywhere but the couch."

"Foresight."

"Pessimism."

She goes up ahead of me. I follow with one hand on the banister and my eyes at the level of her hips. Halfway up I give up pretending I'm doing anything else. I put both hands on her hips from behind. She stops with one boot on the step above. I feel her breathe in.

"Third step from the top," she says, a little rough. "Skip it."

"Why?"

"It creaks. Nell said that step kept the house honest. Nobody ever sneaked in or out without it telling on them."

I glance down at the front door. "Good to know."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not for me."

I kiss the back of her neck, just under the hair. She shivers and says my name. I step over the third stair slowly. So does she.