by Holly Rayner
By the time it dawned on me that if this was the wrong way I was screwed, it was too late. There was no turning back. While a pickup truck or larger vehicle could have easily carved its own path through this thick underbrush to turn around, for my little sedan it would have been near impossible. To have gotten out of there, I probably would have had to back up all the way.
The path seemed endless. A constant stream of tall grass, leaning-over arms of wildflowers, and terrifyingly close branches of trees mashed at my closed windows, all as eager to get in as I was to get away.
Far-off buildings suggested an abandoned village, though I was more worried about the fact that I was now on an incline, the “road” as overgrown with vegetation as ever. Higher and higher my little car went, while overhead it grew darker and darker due to increasing number of trees.
Finally, however, the path came out to a wide surface of dirt, at the end of which, standing small and unmistakable, was a cabin. I stopped the car but kept it running as I peered at the rough-hewn log structure. It looked well-kept yet empty. There was a maroon pickup truck parked off to the side. After turning off the car, I was just getting out when the front door of the cabin opened.
“Can I help you?” a bearded man said gruffly.
I paused, taking him in, wishing I could look at the photo I’d left crumpled up in my passenger seat to be sure.
As I walked up to the door, the more certain I became.
It looked like Brock Anderson, and yet, in the picture, he hadn’t looked so…handsome. This man was tall and tan with shaggy brown hair and—yes—that unmistakable scar on his left eyebrow. Yes, this handsome man was Brock Anderson. I had found him.
Chapter Five
“Are you lost?” Brock asked me.
I shook my head, holding back the victorious smile I could feel working its way onto my face.
“I…” I held up my now ridiculous-looking bakery bag. “I’m your new neighbor.”
As he regarded me with increasingly suspicious lowered brows, I gave the bag a shake and continued. “I brought cookies!”
Now his scowl reached his mouth. Narrowing his eyes and shaking his head, he said, “The closest town or house is miles off.”
I nodded, speechless. The fact was so obvious. How had it not occurred to me before? I’d been too busy trying to avoid hitting a tree that I had hardly noticed I was driving to a remote hideout.
“So what exactly are you doing here then?” he asked, and this time his voice was cold.
“I…I’m…” I stared at the log cabin behind him—the one that would have the evidence I needed. I had made it here, and now I was messing it up.
“I saw you in town,” I blurted out. “I thought you were cute and wanted to bring these to see if you’d—I don’t know—want to go on a date sometime?”
Once the stupidity was done escaping my lips, I lowered my gaze in horror, unable to believe what idiocy had just come out of my mouth.
There was a long silence, during which I stared at his scuffed-up boots, the brown creased with dirt and slashes. If he found out who I was, this would all be over.
“Oh.”
He didn’t sound angry, only surprised. I chanced a look up to see a tinge of a blush visible through his beard.
His maple, wide-set eyes were scanning me distrustfully.
“Okay, well, do you want to come in for some tea or something?”
This time his voice was guarded, and when I managed a shy nod and stepped up to the door, he stepped in front of me.
He put his hand on my coat zipper. “Do you mind? Way out in the woods like this, every once in a while I get some crazies.”
I nodded dumbly, and he unzipped my jacket, pulling away one side and then the other while I kept my embarrassed gaze on those same boots that were pointed in my direction. Then, after peering into my bakery bag, Brock stepped back, opened the door, and gestured inside.
“I’m Brock, by the way.”
“Alexa,” I said as I walked in, glad he couldn’t make out my face.
I had never been a good liar, and while “Alexa” was the littlest of lies there were, I wouldn’t have put it past him to see right through it regardless.
Behind me, Brock flicked on the light, revealing an interior I had to take a minute to fully absorb. Though sparsely furnished, each piece of furniture was so pleasing that I had to give myself time to enjoy each. The floor, walls, and ceiling were the same gleaming oak. The stove was a pale yellow, antique wonder, while his fridge was wooden and also intricately carved. The stack of books in the corner was something of a well-worn Leaning Tower of Pisa. Just visible at the top of a ladder was a loft with cozy-looking swaths of blankets.
Yet the highlight of the cabin was the paintings that lined the walls: exquisitely rendered pine trees and birches, sprigs of bluebells and forget-me-nots, a curious, alert chickadee.
“Living here, I forget how lucky I have it,” Brock said with a soft chuckle, walking by me to the one cupboard.
He opened it to reveal two plates, two cups, a handful of cutlery, and a kettle, which he took down and placed on the stove.
“It really is something,” I said.
“Yeah. I don’t have visitors much,” he said softly, picking up the kettle and then putting it down again. “Actually, I don’t have visitors at all.”
He turned around, and I found my gaze once again irresistibly drawn to his boots.
“I know what I did, following you here, seems crazy,” I said. “It even seems crazy to me. It’s just that once I got started, once I got halfway up that arduous path, after I’d gone that far, it seemed too late to turn back. You know what I mean?”
My quiet appeal was made to Brock’s worn boots; I still wouldn’t look up.
“Yes. Yes, I do actually,” he said softly.
When I did look up, there was something in his eyes that told me he was just as serious as he had sounded.
Turning back to the stove, he turned a creaky dial and then kicked off his boots.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just had a crazy past few months. I’m not much used to people; that’s all.”
I nodded and took off my own boots.
“Nice socks,” he said.
I laughed, glancing down at the navy, periwinkle and cyan swooshes of water with the little splashes of white flowers.
“Forgot I wore my water lily ones.”
“So you like Monet?”
“Like isn’t the right word exactly. I’d say love is more like it.”
“So you’re into art then?”
His eyes were scanning me once more, this time with excitement more than anything.
“Yeah,” I said. “I took a course in high school, and the rest is history. Though I have pretty dated tastes, I like the pretty things, the Romanticism, the Impressionists, the Realism, like…”
My gaze went to the chickadee painting on his wall.
“Like the paintings on my walls?”
“Yeah, actually. They’re beautiful. Where’d you get them?”
“I made them,” he said, and now it was my turn to gape at him.
“You…made them?”
“Yeah. I—”
At the kettle’s screeching, he hurried over to the stove.
“One minute.”
He poured us two mugs and then gestured to a mahogany-colored couch. I sat down, and he handed me a china cup with little red flowers on the edge.
After blowing on his tea, he said, “I’ve been into art since I was a kid. I was always drawing, painting, making stuff with whatever I could get my hands on. Being an artist has always been my dream. It’s just…life got in the way.”
His gaze was on an old-looking chest with concentric boxes and twining lines carved into its wooden exterior. Something told me that this “life” that got in the way was a lot worse than Brock was letting on, no matter how nice he seemed.
“Well, you certainly have more than enough talent,” I said. “These are fantast
ic.”
He nodded and said “thanks” without looking over at me, his gaze still on the chest.
I blew on my tea and then took a sip, the burning heat searing my mouth immediately.
I spat it out.
“You okay?” he asked, and I nodded, glaring at the light brown liquid sitting innocuously in the little flower teacup.
After a minute, my glare shifted to the man who had sipped the lava-like tea easily. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to be burned by this job much worse than that.
“So what about you?” he said after another easy sip of his tea. “What do you do? You live here?”
“Yes,” I said, then paused, trying to figure out the next lie that would be easiest to tell.
“I…run my own business,” I said.
At this, he once again looked at me with interest.
“Oh yeah? How do you like that?”
“I love it. I have my dream job. It’s just that…it’s hard too. Everything’s up to me—I mean, success, failure, paying the bills. If I don’t work hard, I’m the only one who suffers. And it’s scary not knowing what the future holds.”
As I ventured another sip of my tea, Brock nodded, smiling ruefully.
“I know what you mean. Every upside has its downside. People always make out that working for yourself, being your own boss, means never having to worry again, when the reality is the opposite. It’s incredibly stressful and hard. Worth it, but hard.”
“It’s weird,” I murmured. “Hearing you talk, it’s almost like…”
“Hearing myself,” Brock said.
Our gazes met. I was hyperaware of his position next to me, his knee pressing against mine, the slight drooping of his eyelids, his parted lips.
If he tried what I thought he was going to do, would I let him?
“I have to go,” he said, rising. “Need to get wood. For the fireplace. There’s a storm coming in.”
I took another sip of my tea, finally able to enjoy the flavor.
“Great. Want help?”
But Brock was already halfway out the door, tossing a “no, no, it’s fine” over his shoulder.
Putting the teacup down, my gaze was drawn to where he had been sitting on the couch. This job hadn’t stopped surprising me. Brock wasn’t anything like I had expected, certainly not anything like an “unhinged criminal.”
I stood up and stretched. I thought of the picture in my car of the sinister-looking man I had come to nab, the Brock I had pegged wrong from the start. Now wasn’t the time to get sentimental about a target. It didn’t matter how handsome or kind he seemed; I had a job to do. After one step toward the chest, I hurried over to the front door to make sure I was in the clear. I opened it a crack and found myself face-to-face with Brock.
Chapter Six
He opened the door fully, regarding me with an unconcerned sort of curiosity.
“I…I was just…”
“Sorry. I’ve kept you quite a bit. We could meet in town some other time,” he said, coming in past me without looking at me.
I watched him dump his armful of logs into the fireplace with dismay.
“No. No, I…”
“The storm could be here soon, and then you’d be stuck here,” he said with a gentle firmness, still addressing the strewn-about logs.
“Okay,” I said.
He turned to face me and nodded.
We stood there eyeing each other for a moment.
My mind slid ideas around uselessly, forming nothing I could do now, no excuse I could give to stay.
“You know where to find me,” Brock said finally.
I nodded again.
“Great meeting you,” I said. Then walked away, my face burning, back to my car.
Though I grabbed the handle, I stopped at the door for a minute.
Somehow, I couldn’t bear getting in, stepping into the stuffy car and sinking into the worn seats, into the full realization of my failure.
The click of the cabin door behind me indicated that it was finished now. I had left, and there was no going back. I had failed. My hand gripped the car handle tighter. Had I failed though? I was still here, wasn’t I? There must have been something I could do. My gaze ran over my car once more. Right under the window was the scratch from when Charlie had driven it.
Charlie.
Hadn’t he stayed over one night by faking that his car wouldn’t start?
The next morning, when I’d been draped in his T-shirt and his lies, he’d even taken me out to it, shown me the little cylinder he’d called the fuel pump. We had lain down on my cracked, mossy driveway tiles, and he’d put it back in right in front of me. We’d laughed about it, like it was this silly, charming thing, the way there was no lie too small for him to tell to get what he wanted. Love did that to you. But now, on my own, with a screwdriver that might or might not have been in my glove compartment, would I still be able to find the fuel pump? I inserted my key in the door and turned. The only way to find out was to try.
Once I had gotten the screwdriver that was in my glove compartment and quickly unscrewed the bottom of my car, it didn’t take long for me to locate the fuel pump. I quickly took it out and screwed the bottom of my car back on before I scrambled out from under my car.
Now standing there innocently, I cast a wary glance toward the front cabin door, sure that Brock must have seen me, must have suspected something after hearing no car sounds for what had to have been at least five minutes. But the door was closed, the window curtains shut; there was no sign of activity in the little place.
Good. If Brock hadn’t seen what I’d just done, I might have a chance. After one last look at my car and with a deep breath, I headed toward the cabin.
Who would’ve ever thought that Charlie and his numerous and various lies would have had any practical use in my life? And yet here I was, fuel pump tucked in my pocket, striding back to the criminal I was going to nab with evidence I was going to find tonight.
Here went nothing.
I knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, it opened. Brock looked surprised to see me and—was I imagining it?—a bit pleased.
“My car won’t start. I have no idea what’s going on,” I said, with what I hoped was a convincing pout.
His face grew concerned.
“Let me have a look,” he said, walking past me.
By now the snow was coming down in big wispy fluffs, while the wind had grown into an icy slap.
Stopping at my car in much the same position I had been, Brock turned to me.
“I think the storm’s hit.”
As if eager to confirm him, a huge gust of wind flung a swoop of snow into his face.
Striding past me, he said, “I’ll have to check it later.”
I followed Brock inside, where there was a painting laid out on the table. It was only a wispy outline, but at my glance, he grabbed it and stowed it in the cupboard.
“Looks like you may be stuck here after all,” he said, a strange tone to his voice.
I nodded, standing awkwardly at the door until he gestured to the couch.
“Are you hungry? I could make something.”
As I sat down, I shook my head.
“No. I…actually, why don’t we have those cookies I brought?”
He sat down beside me, noticeably farther away than last time.
“Okay. Why not?”
And so I placed the bag between us, reached in, and grabbed one. He waited until my arm was completely out before he reached in and grabbed one himself.
After a few bites, he voiced my thoughts. “They’re…really good.”
“After I had one, I knew I needed more,” I said.
Another rueful smile slunk onto his face as he cast me a sidelong glance.
“So really, you just got these for yourself.”
We laughed.
“Not exactly. I mean…if you had sent me away at the start, I certainly wouldn’t have not eaten them, though.”
; “So this whole coming out here thing was an excuse for you to buy cookies. It was a win-win. If I said yes, we shared the cookies. If I said no, you got all the cookies for yourself.”
More laughing, and then I snatched the bag away.
“I can still take them away, you know.”
His eyes dancing, Brock grabbed the bag, his fingers closing over mine. Again our eyes met. Again he pulled back, then stood up.
“Looks like the storm is getting worse. I should get more wood while I have a chance.”
And then he was out the door before I could ask him if he would have liked any help.
Which was good, really.
My glance at the five logs in the fireplace confirmed my suspicions: Brock was going to be gone a good while finding more wood. Now was my best chance to snoop and find the evidence of criminal activity that I needed. I took one long look around the cabin before I got to work. The place was small, but there were still numerous places to hide things if you were clever, which Brock clearly was.
Still, my search went slower than I had even feared. First I checked the loft, careful not to disturb the swaths of Aztec-patterned blankets or the smooth slats of wood, none of which moved or concealed any hidden compartments. Then I checked the bathroom, felt under the bathtub, even peered behind the toilet. Back in the main room, I checked the cupboard, the kettle, the pot, the fridge. Still nothing, and Brock could be back any minute. I slipped my hand behind every painting frame, craned my head under the couch, and finally lay back on the floor and stared at the ceiling dismally.
What if there was nothing? If Russell Snow had been so sure there had been evidence, wouldn’t he have known what it would be? Then my gaze fell on the chest, and suddenly it was so obvious that I almost laughed at myself for missing it.
Sure enough, inside the chest were several guns, all with the serial numbers scratched off.
Just then footsteps sounded around the house. I ripped my phone out of my pocket, snapped a picture of the chest’s contents, and then slammed the lid shut just as the front door opened.
I scrambled back to the couch and then rose as Brock staggered in, his arms overflowing with logs.