Throwaway by Heather Huffman

a few side glances her way that said
he wasn’t amused before a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
She giggled even harder and after a moment his rich laughter joined
hers. It washed over and through her, warming her from the top of
her head to the tips of her toes and reminding her why she placed
herself in this precarious position in the first place.
    Her laughter stopped abruptly when she read
the sign posted at the edge of the property he appeared to be
turning onto.
    Honey Branch Cave. Outdoor Weddings. Outdoor
Picnics. Hosta Gardens. Hosta Sales.
    “It sure is a long way to drive for a
picnic,” she teased nervously.
    “I didn’t bring a picnic… I’m sorry, should I
have?”
    “Are we buying hostas?” she asked
hopefully.
    “No, we’re not buying hostas,” he was
smiling, obviously enjoying her discomfort.
    Her mind raced. It was ludicrous to think
he’d brought her here to marry her. Did he think that would
convince her to leave Spence? Was this some weird act of chivalry?
She wanted to climb the door like a feral cat.
    “You can relax. I didn’t bring you here to
spring a wedding on you, either.”
    “Oh thank God,” she breathed a sigh of
relief.
    “That hurt.”
    Jessie didn’t answer; she was too taken with
their surroundings. At the end of the bumpy gravel road they
emerged in an empty parking lot surrounded by wooded gardens.
    “It’s beautiful,” she breathed the words.
    “You haven’t seen the best part,” he assured
her as he turned the Jeep up a path Jessie wasn’t entirely sure he
was supposed to be driving on. “I think you’ll like this.”
    He parked in front of an honest-to-God log
cabin before hopping out to grab their bags. It was small with a
sharply-angled tin roof, and it looked like it had been built at
least a hundred years before. It had a covered porch with a swing
hanging from it and a lone window on the front of the house.
    With a boyish grin, he led her through the
door. The interior was as tiny as it appeared from the outside.
There was a bed to the left and a fireplace to the right and not
much else.
    “The kitchen back there is new. It was added
on after the cabin was moved to this spot.”
    “The cabin was moved?” Jessie had never seen
such a tiny kitchen. She was relieved to see running water,
though.
    “It used to stand by itself further back in
the woods. You know, the last family to live here had 11 kids?”
    “Did they stack them on top of each other?”
Jessie couldn’t envision 13 people sleeping in such a tiny space,
let alone functioning.
    “It was a very different way of life,” he
acknowledged.
    “Wow. No television.”
    “Sorry, no T.V.,” he agreed.
    “I wish I’d known that before I agreed to
this no sex thing.”
     
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Jessie could tell by Gabe’s expression he
wasn’t sure if he was supposed to laugh or not. She certainly
wasn’t going to help him figure it out. She buried her nose in the
bouquet of wildflowers sitting on the kitchen counter.
    “They’re beautiful.”
    “I’m glad you like them,” he seemed to want
to cross the distance between them but instead leaned against the
doorframe.
    She wanted to go to him but smiled and folded
her arms across her chest.
    “Right,” he rubbed the back of his neck with
a rueful grin.
    “This is a neat place,” she looked for a way
to break the awkward moment. “How’d you hear about it?”
    “It’s kind of a convoluted story,” he either
didn’t know where to start or was hesitant to head into that
territory.
    Jessie realized her head was bobbing and she
couldn’t really say why. She had no idea what they were supposed to
do next.
    “Come on,” he grabbed a flashlight and tossed
it to Jessie.
    “Stop throwing things at me,” she held her
arms up defensively, causing the flashlight to bounce off her and
fall to the floor.
    “Generally people catch things tossed at
them.”
    “Do I look athletic?”
    Gabe opened his mouth to answer but