By the time he was handed a fifth, he stared at the fruit like it had betrayed him. “I can’t eat this much. And I don’t even like apples that much.”
Eloise didn’t skip a beat. “Eat, or you won’t have strength.”
Ainsley blinked. “Strength for what? Are we fighting a bear later?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she rose and walked toward the bedroom door without another word. A strange emptiness crept into Ainsley’s chest. He watched her back as she walked away, wanting to call her name but not knowing what to say. His heart ached, the weight of everything pressing down like stone. He didn’t understand why she’d come now. Why was she doing this?
Then he heard it….the soft, deliberate click of the door locking.
Moments later, she returned.
Eloise stood at the foot of the bed, her
