by Holly Jaymes
“Like clothing designs?”
She nodded. “Not fancy dresses and other clothes seen on the catwalk. I’m talking about everyday clothes and activewear. It took me a long time to find exercise pants that could hold my phone.”
“Why not become a designer then?” It seemed like she had an in for that since she’d been a model.
“Maybe, I will. I don’t know. That’s why I’m here.”
After we ate, I did the dishes letting her go off to her room to settle in. I didn’t see her again that night, and so I walked through the house, checked the outside, and locked up everything. Instead of sleeping in the guest room, I took the couch. I figured from there I’d have a better chance of hearing anything suspicious outside.
I woke early, made coffee, and took a quick shower. I made myself a fried egg on toast sandwich and stood looking out the window over the lake. The day looked crisp and cold.
I heard movement behind me and turned to see Lily entering the living area. She wore yoga pants and a sweat jacket. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked young and vulnerable and yet very sexy too.
“There’s coffee,” I said, nodding to the kitchen.
“Great.” She poured herself a cup. “I was thinking I’d go to the yoga class Allie is teaching. Victoria said she’s really good at relieving stress.”
I nodded. “She is.”
She jerked her head back, looking at me over her mug. “You take yoga too?”
“Allie teaches a first responder class. Josh and I got roped into it by Mason McLean.”
“Is your brother a deputy too?”
“Fireman. I think he kept going because of Allie, although I always felt she didn’t like him. Turns out I was wrong.”
“The heart is a strange thing.”
I studied her. “Did you love the actor?”
Her expression morphed into distaste. “No. I was thinking of my parents, who I think are each other’s love of their lives, and yet, couldn’t make it work.”
“Josh and Allie work.” Although I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t had some doubts early on. Josh was a bit of a ladies’ man, and I wasn’t sure he had it in him to stick. But it didn’t take long for me to see that she was it for him.
“Do you still take the class?” Lily asked me.
“I do. But I won’t today. I’ll walk you over, though. Do you have a warmer coat? The sun is out, but it’s still probably only thirty-five degrees out.”
She shivered. “I’m not used to the cold.”
“Have you been in the snow?”
“I’ve been in places with snow, but I’ve never enjoyed the snow. I’ve never skied or anything.”
That was a damn shame, especially if she enjoyed physical activity. “If you’re here when it snows, I’ll make arrangements for you to learn.”
She smiled, and my dick twitched. Damn him.
I walked her over to the main lodge. Several cabins around it had been renovated into a variety of activity rooms for art and yoga.
“Are you joining us, Wyatt?” Allie asked as she rolled out a mat.
“Not today.” I looked over at Lily. “I’m going to check in with the Minors and your father. I’ll also take a look around the area to make sure there aren’t any uninvited guests. You stay here. Don’t go wandering off.”
She pursed her lips. “Where would I go?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But I don’t want to tell your father you wandered off and got lost on my watch.”
“Go away, Wyatt. You’re ruining the vibe in the room,” Allie said.
I left the ladies to their downward-facing dogs and tree poses. I called Sheriff Maddox and gave him a quick update then I walked over to the lodge where the Minor’s lived.
“Wyatt, come in. Brrr, it’s cold. Snow will be here soon,” Mrs. Minor said, opening the door to let me in.
“I think so too. Good morning, Mr. Minor.”
“Good morning Wyatt. Coffee?”
“I wouldn’t say no to a cup.”
“How’s things with the Sheriff’s daughter?” Mrs. Minor asked. I’d gotten the feeling she wasn’t sold on her.
“Everything seems alright. I haven’t seen anything suspicious, but I wanted to check with you. Have you seen anything?”
“No. It’s been quiet.”
“Any new bookings?” I couldn’t put it past the paparazzi to pretend to be here on vacation.
“No. We’ve got some people coming in next weekend, but they booked months ago,” Mr. Minor handed me a cup of coffee and motioned for me to sit at their dining room table.
“How long will she be here, do you think?” Mrs. Minor asked. “The Sheriff booked two weeks, but said it could be longer.”
I shrugged. “He told me a couple of weeks too. I think she just needs to have quiet time to figure out her next steps.”
Mrs. Minor’s face squished into disdain. “That’s what you get for going after a married man. Especially a famous one.”
“Now Mary, we don’t know all the details,” Mr. Minor patted her hand.
“You saw that picture. Tell me that didn’t look like a lover’s embrace.”
“He definitely had his hands on her,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean she wanted them there.”
I frowned. When I looked at the picture, I’d seen what Mrs. Minor had, but Mr. Minor seemed to see something different. I’d have to look at it again.
“She didn’t look like she was fending him off.”
“Either way, a woman shouldn’t have to lose her career over something like that.”
Mrs. Minor’s head see-sawed. “It doesn’t seem right that he’s coming out smelling like a rose. Aria King should send him packing.”
None of this was any of my business or care.
“What is she like?” Mrs. Minor asked me.
“She seems normal. A bit lost and unsure. She loved your lasagna.”
Mrs. Minor smiled. “Well, of course, she did. I make the best lasagna.”
I laughed. “True. But it’s a no-no food for models. She ate it. She ate a lot of it and loved it.”
Mrs. Minor had a self-satisfied smile. “Maybe she’s alright, after all.”
Chapter 5: Stir Crazy
Lily
The yoga class did a lot to loosen up my tight muscles and help me breathe, at least for a short time. As I walked with Wyatt back to my cabin, all the worries came whirling back, and tension mounted again.
We arrived at the back of the cabin, to enter from the deck. He went inside, but I stood on the deck, practicing the deep breaths and taking in the view to try and relax me again.
“Are you okay?” he asked from the sliding door.
“I don’t know.”
He didn’t say anything at first. I thought he might just leave me to my thoughts, but then I felt him standing next to me. His heat radiated out around me, and I welcomed it. I realized that I felt alone, but with him standing there, even though I wasn’t sure he was on my side, I felt less alone.
“Nature has a way of cleaning out the cobwebs and helping you put things in perspective,” he said.
“You say that like you’ve had troubles.”
He put his hands in his coat pocket. “Everyone has had troubles or things that weigh on them.”
I wondered what his troubles had been. A difficult arrest? A woman?
“I bet this was a nice place to grow up in,” I said.
“I can’t complain.” He was quiet for a moment. “Let’s go for a ride.”
“Where are we going?”
“A little change of scenery.”
I followed him to his S.U.V. and got in. He drove out of Pine Rest and turned left, taking us further away from town.
“Do you know anything about Eden Lake?” he asked as he drove.
“Just that it’s a resort town.” I looked out the window at the trees towering above us. They’d been here for centuries. Me? I was just a blip in history. Someday, I’d be forgotten. It wa
s a morbid thought and, at the same, a relief. Eventually, this whole issue with Trask would be forgotten.
“It didn’t start that way,” Wyatt said, glancing over at me.
“Oh. How did it start?”
He turned onto another dirt road that headed up the mountain. “Two friends, Henry Haynesville and Jeb McLean, came out west to make their fortune.”
“McLean. So are Tucker and Mason, his descendants?”
“Yes. Mason’s wife, Willa, is a Haynesville.”
“Huh.” There was something sweet about that.
“Anyway, they did find their fortune, sort of.” Wyatt pulled over and parked. He pointed out the window. “There’s the mine they found gold in.”
Across on another ridge, I could make out a mine.
“It’s a tourist spot now, so I can’t take you. Even this time of year, they tend to have visitors. But they discovered gold and should have lived happily ever after.”
“But they didn’t?” I asked.
“Well, the story goes that old Henry shafted Jeb leading to a feud that lasted until Mason and Willa got married.”
“Really? Like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s?”
“Yep. Over there.” He pointed across the lake to an area that was scarred by fire. “That’s Haynesville Ridge. At one point, the Haynesville’s owned most of the area. Henry named the town Eden Lake and made his fortune along with his descendants through real estate, business, and eventually, the growing leisure industry.”
The view was beautiful, and I could see why Henry chose the name of Eden Lake for the area.
“Over there.” Wyatt pointed to another area in between the fire-scarred ridge and the mine. “That was all owned by the McLean’s until they had to sell. The Haynesville’s took that feud between Henry and Jeb and really stuck it to the McLeans for a long time.”
“So how did Mason and Willa end up together?”
“I don’t know the specifics. About ten years ago, when we’d graduated from high school, Mason went off to the military and Willa to college. Her folks were having financial issues, and the rumor was that her father asked Mason’s father for help, but he refused. Hard to blame him considering a century of torment. Anyway, her folks left. Mason moved back into his childhood home as his folks had left too. To be honest, it was nice to have that Haynesville-McLean feud just be folklore. Anyway, she came back to check on her parents’ house, which burned down, and they got together.”
“Were their parents okay with that?”
“No. Well, her parents weren’t.”
“But she loved Mason too much.” I sighed, thinking how romantic that was. “Like Romeo and Juliette.”
“They died.”
“I know, but still. It’s nice to know love exists.”
“I guess it is.” His voice had a far-off sound to it.
“You don’t have a wife or girlfriend that will be bothered by you spending time with me?”
He glanced at me. “No.” Then he turned to look out the window again.
“But you believe in love. Your brother found it.”
“I know it exists.”
“But not for you?” I asked because his tone suggested he didn’t believe in love for himself.
He shrugged and put the S.U.V. in reverse. “Maybe in the future.”
I wondered what that meant. But I didn’t ask as he drove us back down the mountain.
The next few days, we stayed around Pine Rest. I took Allie’s yoga class until she and Willa returned back to their regular lives with their husbands. Tucker got home from his game in Minnesota. While I met him briefly, Willa was right in that they seemed absorbed in each other, and after a day, they headed to Los Angeles where they had a penthouse and would be staying through his next game.
There was only so long I could sit and think before going stir crazy. The exact time was three days. I had to get out. My chance came when Wyatt told me he had to go into town to pick up some items and meet with my dad.
With him gone, I saw my chance to get out without being babysat. I knew from the entertainment news stream on my phone that the elaborate escape plan had worked. The paparazzi thought I’d flown out of L.A.X. and traveled back east or to Europe. My mother was being hounded by the press who were asking about where I was. Fortunately, she was well-versed in saying “no comment.” I was glad that Paxton decided to take a stage name before he became famous. It turned out keeping our relationship secret was a benefit in this situation. I’d talked to him before I left Los Angeles, and he’d said he’d heard about the incident, but no one had tried to contact him about it.
Wyatt gave me strict instructions to stay put, but ten minutes after he left, I was in my car and heading into town. I wore a wool 20’s style hat that had a little brim that hid my face. I tucked my hair up and didn’t put any makeup on. I had on jeans tucked into brown leather boots and a turtleneck under a large cable-knit sweater. I put on my wool coat and wrapped a scarf around me, and settled large sunglasses on my nose. Surely no one would know who I was.
I drove around town for a bit to get the lay of the land and see what was there. There were several cute little shops and boutiques that I knew my mother would enjoy perusing. There was a large park near the lake with a gazebo. I came across a coffee café and decided a hot mocha would take away the cold morning’s chill.
I parked in the first spot I could find, and with my glasses on, hat pulled low, and scarf wrapped high, I entered the café.
Several people were sitting in chairs with coffee and a baked good. Initially, I had a pang of disappointment as the baked items smelled delicious, and I knew I couldn’t have one. But then I remembered I wasn’t modeling. Maybe I’d have two. I ordered a blueberry muffin and a lavender vanilla scone.
“Welcome to Paradise Java. What can I get you?” the young woman asked.
I realized it would be rude to keep my sunglasses on so I took them off, but worked to keep my eyes down.
“A mocha with whipped cream and a lavender vanilla scone. And a blueberry muffin.” God, I was in heaven.
“Is that it?”
“That’s it. Thank you.”
The woman studied me for a moment, and I had an uh-oh feeling, but then she smiled, took my money, and got my order.
I sat in the corner of the café, savoring my treats. Seriously, I should have left modeling earlier, I thought as I dipped my scone into the whipped cream.
I took my time. I had nowhere to be and nowhere to go. So I just sat and watched as people walked by the window. Some came into the café. Others kept going. When anyone entered, I kept my head down.
I was just finishing up my mocha when the bell on the door rang, and Wyatt walked in. His head scanned the restaurant. When his gaze landed on me, his eyes told me he wasn’t happy.
Even so, he had a forced smile on his face as he marched over to me. He sat next to me.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
It wasn’t the first time someone had spoken to me like that. But it was the first time someone sounded so angry while having a smile on their face.
“Having coffee.”
With that forced smile, he set his phone on the table and poked it until a picture came on someone’s social media feed.
“I thought you wanted to avoid people knowing you were here.”
My stomach clenched and tears came to my eyes, which pissed me off. I hated that this situation could make me cry.
His eyes looked out the window and narrowed.
“Your father wants to fucking kill me.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“The fact that you can’t be trusted to stay home suggests that you do.” His gaze again flitted out the window. “Fuck.”
He looked at me, smiled, and put his hand at the back of my neck. “Don’t you slap me.”
I didn’t have time to figure out what he meant when his lips pressed against mine. Shock, followed by a flame coursed through me. His lips were firm, a
nd he tasted like coffee. I felt his frustration in the kiss, and yet, a few seconds in, there was a low moan, and his grip on me softened, and his lips parted slightly.
I blamed my accepting of the kiss on the fact that it had been a long time since I’d been kissed. Trask had tried but failed.
When he pulled away, he looked at me, and his eyes had the same surprise as I felt. It was that the kiss shouldn’t have been as good as it was. Then his gaze flicked out the window again, and when his attention returned, so did the heat in his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
I pulled the glasses out of my purse and let him take my hand as he led me out of the café.
“You don’t want anything, Wyatt?” the woman at the counter called.
“Not today, thanks.”
Out on the street, he had his arm around me like we were lovers. “Where’s your car?”
I pointed across the street. He led me in a different direction. “We’ll go back in mine. I’ll have someone get your car for you.”
“I don’t need all this—”
He stopped short. “Do you want peace and quiet? Or do you deep down want to be in the media? Even bad press is good, right.”
I wanted to slap him. “So, one person thinks they saw me. That’s not the press.”
“That picture was taken by Regina. She’s the girl who served you. The guy outside, pacing across the street, looking into the window, could have been paparazzi. The point is, we don’t know. But with Regina’s picture, how long before they figure out that your dad is Sheriff here? And what better place to hide than at daddy’s?”
He was right, and I felt guilty that I could be bringing trouble to my father. I looked down. “I’m sorry.”
Wyatt put his arm around me. “Let’s get back to Pine Rest before anyone else gets an idea that you’re here.”
He helped me into his S.U.V., and we drove off.
“Why did you kiss me?” I asked as I leaned my head against the window of the vehicle.
He didn’t say anything at first. I looked over at him, and his jaw was tight. He glanced at me. “I wanted them to think it wasn’t you.”
“Kissing me would do that?”
“I’m a small-town sheriff’s Deputy. I’m the last person that Lily Maddox would be kissing.”