“I’m James. I work for the Bryants when they stay here at the cabin. If there is anything I can do for you, here is my card. You are welcome to call me anytime.”
Jackson followed the young man to a black sedan and jumped into the passenger seat, throwing his bag into the back as he sat down.
“How long a drive is it to the cabin?” Jackson asked as he slumped into the seat and tipped his cap over his eyes. It was dark out, but the lights from oncoming cars would hit him directly in the eyes. To avoid the pain and forthcoming nausea that might ensue from the trip, he opted to cover his eyes. Better safe than sorry. Vomiting in this nice ass Mercedes was not an option. Andrew would probably kick his ass then charge Jackson to have the car detailed. He already struggled for cash, so paying for detailing on a Mercedes was not his idea of saving or spending his money wisely.
“It will only be about twenty minutes to the cabin as it is just outside of Evergreen, Colorado. I think you will love our little town, lots of stuff to do so if you need recommendations just let me know.” James continued to talk about the town, but Jackson soon drifted off as it was almost midnight and he was looking forward to a nice cozy bed.
Andrew had told him to sleep in the room to the left once he got into the cabin. That was Andrew’s room and had a private bath, wet bar, balcony with a hot tub and an enormous sixty-inch television. Everything a man could want, except female company—that part Jackson would have to find on his own. Jackson was pretty confident he would be able to find that kind of comfort for at least some of the days he was going to be in Evergreen. Andrew had told him the local bar had a wide array of female company that he could choose from.
A squeal from the Mercedes tires jolted Jackson awake. He immediately grabbed for his weapon, which was not in his posession; it was just a gut reaction, a trained reflex they all gained in training.
“I am sorry, Mr. Jackson, I didn’t mean to startle you. We have arrived at the cabin. Let me help you with your bag, and I will unlock the door and help you get settled,” James said as he reached for Jackson’s bag.
“Naw, Jimmy, I got this. You go ahead and go home. Andrew told me which room to take, and I think I can unlock the door. Thanks for getting me up here. I will see you tomorrow. I think I will do some sleeping in if you don’t mind. Can you swing by with the car around noon?” Jackson grabbed his bag and shook James’ hand as he grabbed the keys from him. “Thanks again, man,” Jackson said as he stumbled up the stairs.
To Jackson, unlocking the door and feeling his way around in a room when he had no idea where anything was a sort of a game. As he waved his hands around, he almost knocked down a lamp, but with surprisingly quick reflexes even in his current state of drunkenness, he caught it before it hit the floor, placed it back on the table, and switched it on for some light.
The cabin was like nothing he had ever seen and the smell of burning wood still radiated throughout the cabin. He did love the smell of a fireplace, and he could tell the cabin had a woman's touch. The cabin was decorated in the typical rustic fashion, an elk head above the fireplace and lots of flannel blankets and leather furniture. His eye caught a glimpse of the biggest leather recliner he had ever seen, and he quickly sat down, sinking almost through to the floor as the chair engulfed him. “Damn, I could die in this chair, and they would never locate my body!” Jackson observed as he laughed to himself.
Scanning the room for the bathroom, he found the door to the room where Andrew had told him to stay. Grabbing his bag, he leaned forward enough to give himself momentum to spring from the chair and make his way to the bedroom. He wanted to get settled into the room he would call home for the next few weeks.
Tossing his bag on the bed and flipping on the light he found the bathroom and dropped his clothes onto the floor. He stood in the mirror a moment and looked at the figure staring back at him. At times he no longer knew that man; that guy was broken and bitter and not at all what he had planned to be. He was not just broken on the outside, but he was broken on the inside. The ambush still repeated in his head over and over and the feel of the bullet as it ripped through his body still left imprints on his mind and body. That was apparent each time he downed another pain killer and washed it down with whiskey. Which reminded him it was time to take another. Was it a good idea to mix his already drunken state with pain killers? Probably not but it helped him forget the psychological pain as well, so it was worth it.
Grabbing a glass from the counter, he filled it from the tap. Pulling a couple pills from a bottle in his pocket, Jackson tossed them into his mouth, following up with a swig of the water. Then he made his way to the bed, tossing himself onto the fluffy mattress and grabbing the blanket as he closed his eyes.
Chapter 4
Annabelle
As the sun peeked thru the curtains of Annabelle’s room, she began to stir and stretch to wake herself. She perched herself onto her pillows and grabbed her tablet to look at what she had on her calendar. Yea, no business, just pleasure. She smiled as she viewed the spa treatment she set up with Stephanie Bronson at the Aveda Spa in Evergreen for nine am. At noon was lunch with Stephanie then shopping downtown and a nail appointment at four. Dinner was at eight p.m. at Willow Creek with both Stephanie and Jake Bronson. It was Girl’s Time, something she hadn’t done in way too long.
It was already eight-thirty am so she would just grab her bag and shower at the spa. She should have enough time between her nail appointment and dinner to come back to the cabin and change for dinner.
She couldn’t wait to see Stephanie and Jake. She hadn’t seen them since their wedding last summer, so they had some serious catching up to do. Girl Time today with Stephanie was just what she needed.
The honk of the car horn outside snapped her back into reality and Annabelle got up, ran to the bathroom, pulled her hair back in a bun and squeezed her tennis shoes on. Grabbing her bag, keys and cell phone off the table, she started to jet out the door. Halting in her tracks, she stepped back and ran to the fridge for a Starbucks vanilla frappuccino, knocking one to the floor and causing her to pause.
“Damn it!” she half-shouted. “I will have to get it cleaned up when I get back, no time now. No one here to step on it anyway.”
Annabelle turned back towards the door slamming it shut and bolted out the door. Stewart sat waiting in his BMW to give Annabelle a ride. First, they would swing by to drop Stewart at his house then she would head over to meet Stephanie at the spa. She would have the car for the duration of her stay.
Annabelle bounced out the door and into the BMW, greeting Stewart with a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Stewart was close to her age and like a brother to Annabelle, especially after Andrew left and joined the Army. When Stewart’s father died, he took over as caretaker to the Bryant property. Stewart’s dad had taken care of the Bryants’ holdings for many years, and before him, it was Stewart’s grandfather. Their two families were intertwined, and Stewart and Annabelle were best of friends.
“So, give me the scoop Anna? What gives? You are up here all alone with no ‘Stanwick.’ Where is Mr. Stuffy Pants anyway?” Stewart asked, grilling Annabelle.
“Well, that is an interesting story. Stanwick is probably with the housekeeper Lucy. You know, the little redhead that Andrew goes on about.” Annabelle looked down at the floorboard of the BMW as she told Stewart the whole sordid affair. Stewart hung on every word as Annabelle described how she found him that night in his office with Lucy.
“Wait? What? One of those red balls was stuck in his mouth? In the office? With the maid? And you didn’t get a picture for Forbes March issue? It sounds like a great game of Clue Porno Edition.” Stewart laughed as he patted Annabelle on the back.
“It will be ok, you were way too good a person to be stuck with the likes of him. Besides, your brother hates him and who would you rather make happy—your parents? Or Andrew?” Stewart asked, already knowing the answer.
“Andrew, of course,” Annabelle replied.
A
s Stewart weaved the BMW through the sparse traffic on Main Street, Annabelle watched snow begin to fall. She always loved the snow; it was probably why they lived in Milwaukee. There was tons of snow every year, sometimes way more than she wanted. She saw a few residents she knew and waved at them as they pulled in front of Stewart’s house.
“I see now why you wanted a spa day with Stephanie. After seeing the sight of Stanwick and Lucy, I would suppose you need to try and erase that vision from your mind. I would’ve bleached my eyeballs,” Stewart said with a laugh as he jumped out of the car and headed toward his door. Annabelle laughed too as she came around the front of the car and squeezed into the driver’s seat.
“Anna,” Stewart said as he opened his door and turned to face her.
“Yeah?”
“Have fun and forget about Mr. Stuffy Pants. There are a million men in this world that would die to have you. Heck, I remember that one last year, what was his name? The one that is buddies with Andrew? You know, the one you kissed at the going away party for Andrew’s unit before they deployed? What was his name?”
“Uh, not sure, I don’t remember,” she quickly replied, glancing down toward the road.
“Oh yes, you do. I know that look. You always do that when you are lying. Give it up, what’s the guy’s name, Anna?” Stewart teased.
“Jackson…” Annabelle paused for a moment, “…Jackson Tolliver is his name.” Her voice seemed to trail off in a manner that seemed to show some embarrassment on her part as she kicked at the rocks under her feet.
“Oh girl, you had it bad for him before Stanwick came into the picture. So glad he is gone by the way.” Stewart grinned sheepishly. “You should call Jackson. He got your motor running.”
Annabelle’s face turned a bright pink, and she replied, “Go home. I hear your wife calling your phone. I will talk to you later.”
Annabelle could feel her face getting warmer as she thought about Jackson. The warmth between her thighs and the wetness that followed gave away her true feelings. It was a good thing he wasn’t there in Evergreen or she might make him hers, at least for the night she thought as she pulled into the parking area of the spa and walked in.
She had been looking forward to this spa day since she called Stephanie and made the arrangements a couple of nights ago. As she walked in, she saw Stephanie, a tall, lanky, flat-chested brunette in their teen years, but now with breasts the size of small melons and curves that would make a young man bust a nut.
Annabelle always felt like an ugly duckling in comparison to Stephanie. Even though Annabelle had plenty of attention in her own right in their teen years, she still felt inadequate next to Stephanie. Maybe it was because when they were teenagers, Annabelle was more of a flat chested, tall, lanky, four-eyed glasses, and brace wearing girl of the group.
It wasn’t until college that she finally made peace with her body and got the courage to get plastic surgery on her breasts. Once the girls arrived, though, so did the attention of the college men. Both cases had a positive effect on her self-esteem.
Stephanie was talking to the young woman behind the counter when Annabelle opened the door. The young lady greeted Annabelle, and when Stephanie turned and realized who it was, she bolted toward her, almost knocking her on her ass.
“Annie!” Stephanie’s scream echoed throughout the spa.
“Whoa girl, damn,” Annabelle said, laughing and trying to regain her footing.
“I’m sorry it just feels like I haven’t seen you in forever. You look beautiful as always, Annie. I don’t know how you do it. You always look like you walked right off the cover of Cosmo,” Stephanie said as she put her hands on her hips. “But let's get this party started!”
The young lady behind the counter grabbed some robes from the shelf behind her then a couple of fluffy white towels and placed them on the rolling cart in front of the desk.
“Please follow me, ladies. I will get you to the dressing room and call in your hosts for the day.”
The two women grabbed their bags and followed the young woman through the door and into a dressing room. Motioning for the two women to sit down, the young lady handed Stephanie and Annabelle each a towel and a robe and explained to them that they would take a shower first then change into the robe. When they were changed, they could proceed through the double doors, where their hosts would be waiting for them.
***
Jackson
The sound of the alarm on Jackson’s phone sprung him from his slumber; he slapped the phone to shut off the alarm.
Damn it, it’s too fuckin’ early.
Jackson rolled onto his side and grabbed the water bottle on the bedside table, quickly chugging down its contents and feeling around for the Tylenol he had laid there the night before.
I’m gonna need these today. He tossed the four pills into his mouth and washed them down with water as he sat up in the bed. He flipped on the television and turned the channel to Cartoon Network, watching as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Scanning his surroundings, he noticed the wall next to him was entirely made of windows. He had realized the night before that the remote control operated the surround sound, but apparently it also controlled the curtains. “Bonus!” he said, grabbing the remote and opening the curtains.
The curtains also hid the door to the deck with the hot tub. The falling snow was a beautiful sight as he watched from the comfort of the huge king size bed.
“What to do today?” Jackson exclaimed.
“Your list is extremely long today Jackson, my man,” Jackson said.
“Who are you talking to man?” Jackson asked himself.
“Well, I’m sane as long as I don’t answer myself.” Jackson laughed.
“Coffee…must have coffee.” Jackson crawled out of the huge bed and shivered when his bare feet hit the cold floor, but he was a badass Army Green Beret, so nothing phased him.
The cabin was impressive. Jackson had never experienced this kind of lavish lifestyle, but he thought he just might be able to be talked into it. He had spent enough time around Andrew, who definitely one who took advantage of his parent's money. Jackson was surprised that Andrew’s parents didn’t cut him off from the family fortune when he joined the Army.
Some families would have, but the Bryants were huge supporters of the military. Andrew was still responsible for running the part of the company that donated to various veteran and military charities. Jackson was lucky enough to join him at a few of the auctions where he was also able to see Annabelle, Andrew’s little sister.
It just took that one kiss between them at the unit’s deployment party that made Jackson fall head over heels for Annabelle. Well, ok, it was a lot of heavy petting and kissing, but the point was it changed Jackson. If they had been alone, they might have taken it all the way, but Jackson was also a bit of an old soul, and with Annabelle he wanted it to be special. To Jackson, she was not just some one-night stand. She wasn’t just his best friend’s little sister, she was a whole lot more. He just hadn’t completely figured out what it was before he was injured in the ambush.
Navigating the cabin was a whole lot easier in the daytime than in the dark. He had tried to find the fridge when he came in from the airport, but he had no luck finding the light switch. So it made no sense to him that a broken bottle of Starbucks Frappuccino lay on the floor.
“Weird.” He thought maybe James left it on the counter when he brought the groceries in for him and didn’t realize he had knocked it down. Jackson went to the closet near the fridge and grabbed the broom and dustpan, then he bent down to grab some of the larger pieces of glass and put them in the garbage.
“Uh…still feels cold, weird, but okay.” Jackson continued to pick up the larger pieces, swept up the smaller pieces, and finally finished mopping up the mess before starting the coffee. As the coffee maker worked its magic, Jackson headed over to the fireplace, filled it with the split firewood that sat nearby and lit it. He stood back and watched as the flames gained streng
th then found the huge leather chair which soon engulfed him. It felt good to just relax, look at the snowfall, and hear the sound of the fire crackle.
Coffee, shower, then a hike, hopefully before the snow hits too hard. The noise of the coffee maker buzzed and alerted him it was time to get up off his ass. He poured the coffee and watched the snow began to fall harder and with even bigger flakes.
Might come quicker than I think. Might have to rethink the hike, and do the hot tub and watch the football game. The nice thing about this place is I can do both at the same time. I fucking love the Bryant’s—a damn TV that pops up out of the hot tub. Must be fuckin’ nice to have money to burn.
Chapter 5
Annabelle
Annabelle and Stephanie were seated in the café discussing the next item on their agenda when Stephanie’s phone rang. Stephanie excused herself for a few minutes then returned to the table. “Annie, so tell me what happened with Stanwick.”
Annabelle sat for a moment then proceeded to tell Stephanie the whole sordid affair. As she told the story she noticed one distinct issue—she wasn’t upset in the slightest, not even a little bit. She felt relief. She knew in her heart she didn’t love Stanwick, and that she was only with him to make her parents happy. Stanwick’s family owned a box company, and Andrew Sr. viewed the match as a corporate merger, not a real relationship.
She had to admit that Stewart was right—she did have feelings for Jackson Tolliver, but it didn’t matter. He was God knows where and certainly not around Evergreen. She would have to make a plan to visit her big brother in North Carolina and possibly run into Jackson there. She had done it in the past when Andrew Jr. had his charity auctions, and Annabelle always made it a point to go even when she had to drag Stanwick with her.
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