Even with the heat turned up there was a morning chill in the air. She shivered, wondered briefly if her suit jacket would be warm enough—considered wearing something else. But her wardrobe was limited so she decided to stick with the suit…she needed to appear professional for her meeting at the bank. She was anxious about going. Anxious about the retreat—it seemed to have come up on her so quickly. Where had the time gone? Fall had come fast and winter was close behind. She wondered what another month would bring besides the snows…

She chanced one last look at Ellis—noticed the covers had slipped off his shoulders.

He hadn't wanted to answer her question about why he'd been avoiding her and when he finally did start to talk, she'd stopped him. At that moment it had been enough to be held and loved for a little while—she hadn't wanted to spoil it. She knew now that that had been a mistake…he was keeping something from her. She was certain of it. And that could only mean one of two things—either he no longer trusted her or he had lost confidence in her ability to handle anything beyond the everyday workings of the Lodge. The only thing she knew for sure was that it involved ecampelos and there was only one way to get to the bottom of it…come Monday, after the retreat, she'd do what she had to do to find out—even if it meant going back to the campgrounds on her own.