Free Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle Page B

walked back out into the almost-empty parking lot, she shivered. The wind chased eddies of powdery snow across the icy surface. Besides her car, the only other vehicle was an older van parked in the shadows on the far side of the lot. Ellie walked a little faster.
    Once she was in the driver’s seat, she entered the address George had given her into her navigation system. Below George’s scribbles, Lou had sketched another rough map, just in case her car’s GPS failed. The darkness made Ellie worried about missing turns, even with the GPS’s prompting, so she drove slowly. The highway was mostly empty, although she saw headlights in her rearview mirror a few times, so she wasn’t the only one awake—it only felt that way. Despite her concerns about getting lost, the sign for the county road was clear, and reflectors bracketed both sides of the road, making the turn easy to find.
    As the GPS counted down the feet remaining to the address, Ellie’s hand crept toward her mouth. She caught it before her teeth could do any more damage, and she gripped the wheel tightly with both hands. When she saw an unmarked driveway on her left just as the GPS announced that she’d arrived at her destination, she swallowed hard and turned.
    The driveway was longer than her headlights’ reach, eventually disappearing into a cluster of pine trees. It wasn’t too badly rutted, which was a relief in her low-clearance vehicle, but it was narrow, twisting and turning as she entered the trees. The coating of packed snow made her worry about her car’s traction, and she slowed to a crawl. By the time a cabin came into view, she felt as if she’d been driving down the lane forever.
    The house looked fairly small, although not as small as Willard Gray’s former place. There was a good-sized outbuilding next to the cabin, and the large overhead doors suggested that it might contain a vehicle or two. The roof of the garage held an array of solar panels, and a wind turbine whirred on a tall pole next to the building. Ellie realized that she hadn’t seen any electric poles or lines since she’d turned off the highway. She wasn’t surprised George lived off-grid. It fit what she knew about him so far. The driveway widened as she approached the house, and she was able to park on the edge of the clearing so she wasn’t blocking either of the garage doors.
    Ellie glanced at the clock. Despite her inchworm-like speed, she was still almost a half hour early. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel again, and she peeled off her clinging hands. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open her door and got out of the car.
    As she approached the covered front porch, a light flickered on next to the door. It startled her at first, but when George didn’t poke out his head, she assumed it was motion-activated. Feeling guilty for her early arrival, she walked up the porch steps, her boots thumping against the wooden risers.
    By the time she reached the top, the front door opened. Interior lights silhouetted George’s large form, and she hesitated for a second before taking the last few steps to meet him. Silent as usual, he stepped back, and she took that as an invitation to enter his house.
    â€œHi.” The word sounded loud in the predawn silence. “Sorry I’m so early. It was hard to sleep, so I figured I’d give myself plenty of time in case I managed to get lost. Your place was easy to find, though, so…here I am. Early.”
    He shrugged off her apology as she stripped off her coat, hat, and boots. Once she was down to a more reasonable number of layers, he led the way into a good-sized kitchen. The smell of bacon made her mouth water, and her stomach grumbled as if she hadn’t packed it full of barbecue the previous evening. A round table with four chairs held a plate full of food and a coffee mug.
    â€œOh, I’m sorry!” she apologized again. “I