“You talk too much,” I hissed.
“Funny…if I had a dollar for every time someone told me that, I’d be rich.”
“Then why aren’t you?” I shot back. “Oh wait, I know. You’re a lousy wannabe cheapskate.”
“Oh, ho, hoo…good one!” He slapped the steering wheel hard and chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. Peter was such a class act, trying to be funny but looking like a straight asshole. How could I have ever thought he was funny and charming? I knew instantly why his brother could barely stand him. His stupid jokes weren’t as funny anymore, not when I was the source of them.
"I know that's what you want. A nice husband. Two point five kids. A two-story brick house with a yard full of flowers. Isn't that what you told me all those years ago when we went out?"
“The things I want in life are none of your business,” I fired back. “And for the record, I never told you that. You must have me confused with some other bonehead you begged to go out with your lame ass.”
“You still need to keep up your end of the bargain,” he said with an air of malice laced in his voice.
I sagged my shoulders against the back of the seat. It was no use ever arguing with Peter. He was like a broken record and a brick wall, all in one atrocious, devious human.
“Did you hear me?” he demanded. “I paid you.”
“And you got what you wanted. I found your brother. That’s your problem if you couldn’t wait until I got back with you,” I said in a flat voice. The truth was, after getting to know Saul and falling in love with him, I hadn’t planned on reporting back to Peter. I would’ve eventually made up some story about having the wrong guy, but something told me that I would have been in an even worse predicament.
Peter slammed on the brakes and my body jerked into the dashboard. I had to protectively shield my head against a forceful impact.
“What the hell, Peter?” I wailed.
“I don’t care how sprung you are for my little brother,” Peter hissed. “You have buried yourself in a little hole taking on big girl responsibilities and writing checks that your ass can’t cash and I trust you want to climb out of it.”
“You can have your money back!” I stared at his cold, calculating and lifeless dark eyes.
“What if I don’t want my money? What would you say if we made a deal…just you and I?”
“No. I’m done with you. You can drop me off somewhere in town and go on about your dreary little life,” I stated.
“Oh, come on, this will be a piece of cake. You’re already one step in the door. You need to go back there and convince my brother to marry you,” he demanded. “He is soft. He’ll crack.”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” I pointed to the side of the road. “Pull over!”
“Alright, alright. That was a bad idea,” he said. “Just forget about it. I already know that you used the money I gave you to pay for your father’s medical bills, anyway. But just don’t expect me to pay you the rest of it since you did a half-assed job. That wasn’t part of the deal…”
I drowned Peter out and stared straight at the road, because the more I egged him on, the more he talked. I was done talking to him.
My heart was beyond heavy with grief and all I could think about was how Saul felt. I had betrayed him. From the moment I stepped foot on his property, I was his enemy. But when he unselfishly invited me into his home and sheltered me from the storm, I saw a part of him that I fell in love with.
It was too late for us, for that future we talked about. I didn’t deserve a man like Saul Krewe.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Saul
I stood outside in the pouring rain and lifted my chin to the gray sky. I didn't care that the rain was pouring down like a waterfall. I didn't care that the water droplets blurred my vision. The shower soaked me from head to toe, yet still, I didn't give a shit.
I was passionately furious and enraged. I roared with frustration up to the trees, the only living things left surrounding me. I’d been betrayed and shunned before in my life. Why should this time be any different?
It was almost as if I were an animal, wild, mighty and full of potential to destroy anything that was unfortunate enough to cross my path. I wondered why the wolves out here often ran off whenever I spotted one. They didn’t even trust humans anymore.
After letting waves of fury roll off of me and drain into the soil with the rain, I ran back onto the porch, almost busting my ass when I tripped over one of the steps. I regained my balance and yelled again, pounding my fist against the wall. Luckily, the cabin was made of wooden beams. It was an impossibility for me to punch a hole in solid wood, but I could have.
Out of sheer luck or some kind of cruel fate, I saw a pink post-it note nestled behind one of the potted plants. I hadn’t noticed it sitting there before, but it was plain as day now.
When I saw the writing on the note, I closed my eyes and Tyra’s voice came back to me suddenly.
‘I left a note on the first day I came to talk to you.’
‘I’m doing a story on mountainside and homestead living. My name is Tyra. I want to ask you a few questions.’
The visions started flooded back. I didn’t care how much it pained me. I missed the sound of her voice already.
‘That felt so good, Saul. You’re an expert at this.’
‘…let’s make a baby.’
I looked down at the post-it paper and tried to make out the words on the note. Most of the letters were smudged by water, but I was sane enough to decipher some of what she’d written.
Came by to talk ……business and homestead living. …… for a news article. Compensat…… Please call me.
Unfortunately, her phone number was so watered out, I could only make out a few digits. I pounded my fist on the door frame and cursed at my awful luck.
I went into the house, set the note on the console table, peeled my soaked clothes off my body and retreated to the bathroom. She'd left a bunch of her stuff on the sink and the whole room smelled like her fruity strawberry scent. I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror until the steam from the hot water had created a blanket of mist and fog that made my resentful face disappear.
My mind became numb as I stood there under the water, surrendering to my own racing thoughts. The water was so hot that it practically scalded my reddening skin. I didn't care about that either. I wanted the water to wash away the pain and suffering that threatened to damage my mind far more than some steamy shower.
My soul was lost without Tyra. My mind disconnected from everything around me. I tried not to jump off the edge of being distraught, but the spiral of my temperament was hurtling out of control no matter how fast I struggled to chase after sanity.
I scrubbed my body with the bar of soap so vigorously that my skin became raw. I hadn’t even been paying attention. I was absentmindedly going through the motions. A few moments later, I climbed out of the shower and patted myself dry.
I sat on the edge of my chair, listening to the rain as I stared off into space. The cabin was too quiet without Tyra. I missed the chime of her laughter floating through the room. I missed the way she helped me prepare dinner as we quipped back and forth with inside jokes. I needed her, but she had been erased from my life as quickly as she'd arrived, just like a cannonball fired out of a cannon.
I was tired of being the one everybody else took advantage of. The fact that everyone seemed to want something from me had stemmed from a long history that began when I started the MMA fighting and silencing men for the syndicate, thinking that I would matter to someone one day.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen…
I was fine until Peter dared to look for me. Maybe now that he knew I wasn’t going to cave to his bullshit, he’d leave me alone. I wasn’t going to marry some poor chick so he could turn around and make a greedy dash for trust fund money. I had foolishly fallen for Peter’s bait, in the form of Tyra.
Noooo, that wasn’t true.
Tyra wasn’t bait. She was the love of my life. But she was gone…
I guess this was it for me. I’d be alone, but grieving with heartbreak. At least I could say that I fell in love once in my life. The thing was…I was still in love with Tyra.
I groaned and stood up, fretfully pacing the room. I needed a real distraction, but the rain was really howling now, and I’d already had a shower. A run or a hike would have been soothing to my soul, but that was out of the question.
I marched down into the basement, geared up, and started punching at the bags.
A fresh batch of anger surged through my veins with each hit. I’d silence these demons floating around in my head telling me that I’d never amount to nothing or have anyone love me. I’d silence them until my knuckles bled.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tyra
Two weeks later
I couldn’t believe it had already been two weeks since I left Saul’s cabin. It seemed like only yesterday when he learned why I really showed up on his property.
I understood the root of his anger and frustration, and I couldn't blame him for feeling like I'd betrayed him and never wanting to see me again. I made some bad judgment calls, and I deserved all the consequences of my actions.
The entire time I was there, I was in a struggle over whether to breach client confidentiality, break the contract, or spill every last detail to Saul. As soon as I began developing feelings for him, I should’ve made the call—especially with the way his brother was pushing for a premature resolution.
I wanted to call Saul to reconnect and to hear his voice. With all of my connections in the PI world, I could’ve gotten his phone number easily. I had wanted to call him so many times, but my guilt would paralyze me and I’d end up convincing myself that he wouldn’t want to listen to a word I had to say. He was better off without me. The man had been living out in that cabin alone for years. I had no doubt that he’d survive without me.
Something good had come out of this ordeal. I decided that this private investigation business wasn't for me. I was done snooping, snitching, and ratting people out. I was done dealing with nasty disgruntled significant others, jealous lovers and cheating spouses, and crooks looking to cheat the worker's compensation system. I thought I was doing some good trying to find a long-lost family member for a friend, but it hadn't turned out the way I imagined. My meeting with Saul turned into so much more.
I wasn’t sad about my decision to let this business go. There was no shortage of PIs in the Traverse City area and I hadn’t been one of the highly recommended investigators anyway. I had only kept the firm alive because I couldn’t bear to let go of a business that my father built from the ground up. He had loved it so much and had even talked me into taking up the reins before he died. I had a good eye for detail, he said. But I knew when to fold and there was no way my father would force me to do something I wasn’t truly happy doing.
I found a new passion—photography. Next week, I would complete my third of many upcoming gigs using my skills to capture beautiful moments. This time, it was as the main photographer at a friend’s wedding. I had another gig coming up this weekend for a baby shower. I was ecstatic about my new career. I could hardly wait to fill up my book of clientele again. Only this time, it wouldn’t be for the PI firm, it would be for my new photography venture—Moments and Memories Photography.
After capturing a few shots of some ducks wading in the pond, I lay back on my blanket and snapped some photos of the sky above me and trees surrounding me.
I still couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in a matter of weeks. Less than nine months from now, I’d welcome the biggest change of my life.
When I took a pregnancy test a few days ago after feeling extra nauseous several days in a row and saw that it’d been positive, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A surge of emotions flooded me, and for that entire day, I was a mess. I’d break out in tears because I was terrified of how I would manage to raise a kid. I had never faced anything like this before. Then in the next moment, I’d be dancing with joy because I would finally have a baby of my own after seeing so many of my childhood friends move on to get married and have their own kids.
I lay my camera beside me on the blanket and put my hand on my belly. The baby was undoubtedly Saul’s. Aside from one ex-boyfriend over a year ago, he’d been the only man I’d ever slept with. Saul Krewe was the father of the child currently budding in my womb. I smiled, imagining if my baby would be a boy or girl and what they’d look like. This wasn’t exactly the way I’d imagined starting a family, but I would love this baby unconditionally.
If I was going to be a parent, I knew from life experience what choices to make and how to do things differently in the future. I wanted to give this sweet, innocent baby growing inside of me the world on a silver platter. I would stop at nothing to make sure his or her life was filled with nothing but love and happiness. I’d never make him or her feel as if they’d never amount to anything.
What would Saul think if he knew I was pregnant with his baby? Would he still shun me for what I had done? Would he want the child? Would he try to take it away from me?
I was disturbed at the notion of him trying to take someone away from me who was just as much a part of me as they were a part of him. I couldn’t let anyone take my baby. Plenty of single women raised babies alone. I was strong and independent. Nothing would stop me.
The ducks waddled out of the pond, quacking loudly and shaking their feathers dry. I rolled over onto my belly and began capturing the ducks going about their daily routine. I even took a photo of three ducklings racing behind their mother. It was a sweet reminder of what I had to look forward to.
I smiled. We were going to be just fine.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Saul
One week later
My brother’s business office was in the heart of downtown Traverse City. Word on the street was that he still worked as a personal financial advisor. Evidently, he was just better at managing other people’s money and not his own.
I was quite shocked when I discovered it. He was a hypocrite, sending an innocent woman out to find me with one goal in mind—to get at a trust fund.
In either case, I’d never been a man to leave my scores unsettled. I never gave up on people I considered family, even when they gave up on me. That’s where Peter was dead wrong. I might have left Traverse City for the seclusion of the mountains, but I never left things unfinished.
I walked off the elevator and slowly down the corridor to the office suite. Peter's door was at the far end of the hallway. As I continued down the hall, I glanced out of the sky-view windows at the tall buildings and cityscape of downtown Traverse. I didn't miss any of it. The fast-paced lifestyle. The booze. The women. The fighting. I even got a little nauseous looking down at the rows of cars that filled the parking lot.
Once I was done, I needed to get the hell away from here and back to my mountain. I missed the woods. I’d come for one purpose and one purpose only.
I stood in front of the door labeled as Suite 13 for a moment before banging on it. I knew someone was inside. I’d heard the shuffling earlier. Unsurprisingly, things had gone eerily quiet after I knocked.
I lifted my fist to knock again, but someone swung the door open. I came face to face with my brother, Peter Krewe.
“Saul?” He stepped back and frowned.
“Who did you expect?”
“Not you.” He left the door and walked back into the office.
It was the first time in a long time that my brother didn’t have some stupid joke despite the severity of the situation.
I followed him inside. The office was a mess. There were moving boxes with paperwork and other things thrown inside.
“Did you come to get on me again about sending that PI chick up there to spy on you?” he mumbled.
“She’s not just a chick.”
Peter shrugged. “Whatever.” He snatched a plug from the wall. �
�I see that you’ve trimmed that beard of yours real good. I could hardly recognize you when I came out to your cabin in Arrow Lake.”
I shrugged. “Well, I had to take a plane here and I didn’t want to walk around the city looking like I hadn’t shaved in months.”
“Dude…” He chuckled lightly. “It literally looks like you haven’t shaved in decades.”
I forced myself to keep a straight face. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Well, you did good. I see my brother now,” he said.
“Are you moving in or something?” I asked, looking at his empty desk.
“No, actually, I’m moving out. Rent was due last month for this month and the month before, and I couldn’t afford it.”
“What happened to you?” I asked, taking a seat in a big brown leather chair.
“What do you care?” he grumbled.
“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be asking,” I shot back.
He glanced up. “Business in this city for financial advisors like me isn’t what it used to be. I lost a big client and a few smaller clients. Money’s tight.”
I scratched my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
“You’re a pretty smart guy, so could you not see this coming?” I asked. “Big Client number one left and then you just sat around and did nothing to fix the situation?”
“Look who’s talking.” He gathered up some file folders and chucked them in a box.
"I mean, hear me out. We might not have been tight as brothers, but I've seen your work. You've been in many different industries and when business starts to go south, you're already on the next venture. So, what happened?"
“It wasn’t just the lack of clients, alright,” he stated, throwing some framed certificates into a box.
Kept by the Woodsman: An ex-MMA Fighter Mountain Man Romance Page 11