I froze at the voice behind me but didn’t turn.
“Thanks, Ben.”
“So, are you free Saturday night? There’s this new French Bistro that just opened downtown, and I thought you could accompany me.”
My eyes squeezed closed, and I took a steadying breath before facing him. “Sorry, Ben, but I have plans.”
His eyes narrowed, and his lips tightened. “Is that right?”
“Afraid so. I’ve rented a cabin out in Asheville. I’ll be away all weekend.”
“Who are you going with?” His voice had a touch of belligerence.
I straightened my spine and sent him a withering look. “Nobody. This is a solo trip. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get on the road.”
Ben was one of those guys that thought, since I was single, I was fair game. I was not. I didn’t have time to date, and if I did, it wouldn’t be with someone who gave me the creeps like Ben did.
I swiped the rest of what I thought I’d need into my briefcase and stood. Ben still hadn’t moved from his spot, so I had to walk around him to leave my cubicle.
My brisk pace took me through the office, and as I reached out a finger to call an elevator, I heard my name being bellowed from the corner office on my right. I slowly retracted my pointer finger and curled it into a fist. With a deep breath, I spun around and made my way to where my name had been called.
Mr. Hildebrandt was a hefty old man with only small tufts of white hair left on his shiny head, and liver spots on his hands. He looked up when I walked in, and a rare smile graced his withered face.
“Good work on the Walker case, Montgomery. That’s what we like to see around here.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Hildebrandt.”
“I know you’re heading out for the long weekend, but I expect you in my office Tuesday morning for an important meeting. Eight a.m. sharp, got it?”
My palms began to sweat, and my stomach erupted in butterflies. This was it, I would finally make senior associate.
I nodded again. “I’ll be here.”
“Good, good. Now get out of here. Have a good weekend, Ms. Montgomery.”
He’d put the “Ms.” in front of my name. That was a good sign.
“Thanks, Mr. Hildebrandt. You too.”
I closed his office door before practically sprinting to the elevators. I needed to get out of here before someone else called my name or needed something from me.
When I finally stepped back into the bright Carolina sunlight, I let my lips stretch into what felt like the first genuine smile all day. With the windows down and my music blaring, I drove the fifteen minutes to my apartment on the other side of Raleigh.
The dash clock showed I had about half an hour to get changed, take care of Charlie, and get out of the city before hitting rush hour. I was up the stairs and in the cool darkness of my apartment in record time.
My briefcase was abandoned at the door as I called out, “Where’s my handsome man?”
The black and brown striped tabby cat poked his head out of a bright purple flower-shaped cat tree in the corner. He let loose a joyful meow before stepping onto a giant furry petal and leaping to the floor. Charlie came barreling toward me, smashing into my shins when he couldn’t stop himself in time on the smooth hardwood floor.
I picked him up and scratched his head as I walked toward my bedroom in the back of the apartment. “Boy, I swear, you are the clumsiest cat I’ve ever met.” He responded by rubbing his furry face against my jaw.
“Now while I’m away, I’m countin’ on you to watch this place, all right?”
I walked through the multi-colored strings of beads that hung in the hallway, and into my bedroom. He leapt out of my arms, and onto the rainbow zebra-striped bedspread, making himself comfortable in the center of my pillow.
“I’ll only be gone three nights, but I have this nice lady comin’ by every day to check on you. So, you’ll have to get along with her, Charlie.”
Turning to my white and turquoise painted dresser, I took off my everyday formal clothes, and traded them for a white polo shirt and khaki colored capris. I tugged on a pair of sneakers and faced Charlie.
“I know how you feel about strangers, boy, but this lady’s your meal ticket for the next few days. It would be in your best interest to make friends.” With a glance towards the feline, I saw that I was being ignored and let out a sigh.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”
My bag was packed, so I shooed Charlie off the bed and out of my room, closing the door behind me. In the kitchen, I made sure he had enough food and water for the day and took a quick look around the apartment. Everything looked neat, and tidy, and colorful, and interesting. Just the way I like it.
“All right, bubba, I’m leavin’.”
Charlie rubbed the length of his body against my leg, and I relented by giving him one more head scratch. With my apartment locked up tight, I got back in the car, and pulled up my GPS app. As I typed in the address of the cabin I’d rented, I was interrupted by an incoming phone call. I recognized the area code as being from North Carolina, but not local.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Elizabeth Montgomery? It’s Mabel, with the house rental.”
“Ah, yes, of course. I was just heading your way now.”
“Oh, perfect! I’m fixin’ to head over there and drop off the key. It’ll be in the box on the doorknob. We could leave the key there all the time, but sometimes we go weeks without a renter, and I just don’t like the thought of leavin’ the key just sittin’ there. I know you need the code to open the box, but they got all kinds of gadgets these days to steal just about anything, don’t they? I don’t trust it. Besides, I can take a look around while I’m there and make sure nothin’s gone wrong. Most of the folks we get are good people, but there’s always a rotten one in the bunch every now and again. Ya’ know, one time we had a man leave a bunch of needles in the kitchen trash?” She sounded scandalized.
“Maybe he was a diabetic?” I offered.
“Ya’ know what, honey? That could be true. The man did look... well fed. Ya’ know, I had a girlfriend who had a diabetes spell, and it took her foot! Poor thing’s hobblin’ around now–”
“Ma’am? What did you say the code was? I want to write it down.” I knew she hadn’t offered it yet, but I needed to get her to stop talking without being rude. There was no surer way to make an enemy in the south than by forgetting your manners.
“Oh, sure, baby. You ready now?”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I’m ready.”
“It’s 0-8-1-3-8-7. Ya’ got that, now?”
“Yes, ma’am. I got it.”
“Okay, sweetie. You need anything, you call me, ya’ got it?”
“Yes, ma’am, I got it,” I repeated. In situations like this, it paid to keep it simple. Taciturn.
“Okay, honey. Take care. I’ll talk to ya’ later.”
“All right, thanks. You too,” I responded and quickly ended the call.
Dang, that woman could talk.
I typed in the address and headed toward the highway while the directions finished loading. I had a three hour and forty-three-minute drive ahead of me. At a red light, I plugged the aux cord into my phone, and selected the new Nicholas Sparks novel I was listening to.
The narration sounded through the speakers, and I dug out my sunglasses with a smile. This long-fought-for weekend away was just what I needed. The pressure to work harder, be smarter, stay longer than all my male counterparts wore on me. I didn’t let it show, but I felt what the stress was doing to me.
I’d lost a few unnecessary pounds for that reason. Between working through lunch and being so tired after work I sometimes fall asleep before dinner, it was no wonder my clothes were loose. I’d always relished being a curvy girl, and unlike most women, wasn’t happy losing those few pounds. Even my honey blonde hair was looking duller.
This weekend, I’d promised myself no work, and I though
t that was exactly what I needed. A few days to read, nap, hike, and take pictures. All the things I used to love doing before work consumed my life.
Wish I’d known then how much I should have appreciated my blissfully simple life. Wish I could have somehow prepared myself for how that weekend would change everything.
Acknowledgements
Like always, I first need to thank my husband. No one’s prouder of me than he is, and if you sit still long enough, he’ll have no problem telling you.
Next, my son. L.J., you are literally the brightest star in my sky. You made me a mom and I’ll never be able to tell you how grateful I am for that. Stay perfect.
Now, I need to thank my betas!
Sarah, you were quick and to the point and I’m so glad this book lived up to your expectations! Thank you for helping to keep me sane. Thank you for all the voice clips. And most of all, thank you for making Daisy say “Hello, Heather” in her ADORABLE accent.
Brianna, I really wasn’t sure you’d be able to find time for this with you currently incubating a whole person, but you pulled through for me. I wasn’t kidding when I said I couldn’t publish this book without your input. Thank you so much for your help!
Charlee, you sped through my books in basically a weekend just so you could help me out with this one. You are truly amazing and I’m so glad I met you.
Amanda, our working relationship is still so new but I’m not sure what I did before you. Thanks for everything!
I also had a ton of people read my book at the last minute. Thanks so much to Melissa, Dannah, Narelle, Annie, Tiffany, Karrie, Kayleigh, Taylor, Jenn, Maddie, Hannah, and Megan! You ladies were amazing. Thank you so much for helping me out in the eleventh hour!
I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank my editor, Kyra. Thank you for making me sound much smarter than I really am.
And as always, I need to thank my readers. I hope you were able to escape for a few hours while you read this. Thank you so much for reading, and I promise, there’s more to come!
About the Author
Heather MacKinnon is a romance author living in North Carolina with her husband, adorable son, and two trouble making dogs. She grew up on Long Island and spent her young adult years in various states in New England. This led to her subsequent addiction to Dunkin’ Donuts lattes and her gratuitous use of the word “wicked”. After a lifetime of enjoying other people’s words, she decided to write down some of her own. You can get up-to-date information about Heather MacKinnon’s books at www.heathermackinnonauthor.com.
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Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 34