“I met this woman a couple of weeks ago.” I think about it for a minute. “Not even that long—twelve days or so—right before the storm hit. She tried to hitch a lift to Yellowknife, but got dumped on the side of the road.”
“Dumped?”
“Yeah. Two asshole tourists. They don’t matter.” I take a deep breath. “She was unconscious when I found her, so I took her back to my cabin. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?”
Margot raises an eyebrow at me.
“It wasn’t like that,” I say quickly. I feel my cheeks burning, and I realize from the look on Margot’s face that she already knows. “Not at first, anyway.”
“Uh huh. Is she still there?”
“Yeah,” I say, “but she got sick. Amanda checked her out and says it’s a parasite. She gave me the right meds, and I was about to head back to the cabin when I met this guy. He was asking questions and showing her picture around. He’s looking for her.”
“Who is he?”
“I didn’t get a name, but he said her family was looking for her.”
“Did you tell him where she was?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Something just didn’t feel right. I don’t think he wants to help her. I think maybe she’s running away from him.”
“You think he’s going to hurt her?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Whatever he’s doing here, I don’t think he has her best interests in mind. She, um…she said something about someone looking for her, but I don’t know any details.”
“She kept this from you.”
“Maybe.” I bite my lip for a moment before I look back at Margot. “It’s not really that simple. She might not know someone is looking for her.”
“Might not know?” Margot narrows her eyes. “Who do you think this guy is?”
“Not sure. Maybe an ex-boyfriend. He’s not someone she’s told me about, I’m pretty sure of that.”
“Feeling jealous?” Margot smirks. “And to think I was convinced you couldn’t feel anything.”
A brief image of punching Margot in the face flashes through my mind, but I keep it at bay.
“Stop it, Margot.” I don’t mean to snap at her, but she’s making light of it, and I need her to understand. “I’m serious.”
“Sorry.” She leans forward and studies my face closely. “I can see you’re upset. Explain it to me.”
“There’s more.” I don’t know if I should tell Margot about this, but I also don’t have anyone else to ask. “Seri is a little…different.”
“Different? How so?”
“I didn’t understand it all at first,” I say. “Initially, she was just Seri. She was perfectly normal and liked learning how to cook on the fire and playing with Solo.”
“Solo?”
“Oh, uh…I have a cat.”
“You have a cat?” Margot’s eyes go wide. She reaches over and grabs me by the chin. “Are you sure you’re Bishop Harp?”
“Stop that.” I pull away from her. “He’s just a kitten. Found him in the barn.”
“Uh huh.” She grins. “You have to admit, this whole conversation is very un-Bishop-like. In fact, this may prove to be the longest conversation we have ever had.”
“Will you just listen? The cat’s not important right now!”