FIVE
Tiana couldn't believe her eyes. She expected some little shack in the woods. What she got was a beautiful log cabin home. This wasn't some cheap model home copy. This was a gorgeous, unique cabin she couldn't take her eyes off.
“Holy shit,” she whispered. She'd known Ker had money. He was a Drachen. That was another reason she was wary of getting too comfortable talking to him about her personal business. She didn't need him to rescue her with all his money. She was fine.
The cabin was amazing. She jumped out of her jeep and rushed to the front door.
There was another car parked outside. Must be that caretaker Ker told her about.
Ker. Ugh. She had some serious mental problems when it came to him. She didn't even know him that well and he was making butterflies in her belly.
How would he kiss? Would he be harsh and demanding or would he be careful and gentle? Great, that's exactly what she didn't need to think about. Ker and his kisses. He was not a typical guy. She knew that. He was a bazillionaire who could probably buy the entire state. She didn't like rich guys. They tended to think they owned people. People and things.
A middle-aged couple came out of the cabin just as she was going up the porch steps.
“Hi!” she said to them, glad they were smiling widely and waving at her.
“Hello, I'm Jason and this is my wife Ava. We're the caretakers. We were just stocking up the place and making sure it's clean for you,” Jason said.
“I'm Tiana. Thank you both so much. I know it's last minute and I really do appreciate it.”
Ava shook her head and waved a hand of dismissal. “Nonsense. Ker is a great guy. When he told us you were a good friend and needed things urgently, we got our asses moving.”
“Oh, I'm sorry. Did it take you both out of your way?”
Jason chuckled and Ava giggled.
Jason wrapped an arm around Ava and squeezed her. “We work for Ker full time. All we do is take care of this cabin. Trust me, you did not take us out of our way. We come here every other day and clean and check on things. He won't let us do too much, but we sneak in here and do extra work every once in a while.”
“Besides, with as much as he pays us, we feel like we need to make sure we do the work. Not that he is pushy or anything, but for our own peace of mind.”
“Have you two been married long?” The question left Tiana's lips and she winced. Damn, that was nosy. For all she knew, they weren't married to each other and having some kind of torrid affair. She so needed to stop watching Cheaters.
Ava leaned into his body. It was one of the sweetest moments. “Thirty years. We were high school sweethearts.”
Tiana gasped. “Really?”
Jason nodded and kissed the top of Ava's head. “That's right. All it took was one look and I knew this beauty was mine for life.”
“One look, huh?” Ava grinned up at her husband. “We didn't meet until we were practically engaged.”
“What?” Tiana was a lot more interested in their story than even she wanted to admit. How was that possible?
“Jason was in the military. He was in the same unit as my cousin.”
Jason cleared his throat. “She used to write letters and send packages to her cousin, Bill, so one day, I wrote her a letter asking for just a letter or two to keep me going.” His voice got serious. “It was a rough time in those days. My family had been against my going to the service, so they refused to support me.”
“So, I started writing him. Just notes at first. Encouraging stuff, you know? To cheer him up. After all, he was battling for our country. For me and my family.”
Tiana nodded, her chest tight with emotion for Jason. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for him to be at war and have no one giving him any support.
“Then she started sending me stuff. Candy, cookies, sexy lingerie,” Jason waggled his brows.
“Jason!” Ava gasped, slapping him in the chest. She shook her head vehemently and gave Tiana a horror-filled look. “I never sent lingerie. Sexy or otherwise.”
“Lingerie aside,” Jason grinned. “She took really good care of connecting with me. In those letters, we told each other things we didn't tell anyone else. Her cousin asked me if I wanted to see what she looked like. That I could ask her for a photo, but I said no. I'd fallen for the woman in the letters. I didn't care what she looked like.”
Tiana placed a hand on her chest and sighed. “Wow. You two need to write a book.”
“No way. We're good the way we are. Anyway, now that we've bored you with our life story, there is a landline inside. There's solar electricity and hot water. And I don't know how he did it, but Ker has cable and internet as well. I tell you, this is the most futuristic cabin I've seen.”
“Our numbers are on the fridge and so is Ker's. If you have anything you need, just call us. We're only ten minutes away.”
Jason handed her a set of keys. “It's usually pretty safe around here, but don't leave the doors unlocked if you go out. Even if it's for a walk.”
She nodded. The last thing she'd do was leave doors unlocked. She wasn't inviting danger into the cabin. “Thank you very much.”
“I'll get your bag from your car,” Jason offered, leaving as he spoke and not giving her a chance to stop him.
“Don't bother,” Ava said. “He's a gentleman, my Jason. Let him bring your bag in. I left you dinner in the oven. It's still warm. There's a banana cream pie in the fridge along with everything I could think to get. It might be too much food, but just eat whatever you want. Don't feel bad about not liking something. Everything is in packaging and ready to be heated. It's enough for two,” Ava said and gave her a look. “In case you have company.”
Tiana chose not to answer the implication. “Thank you.”
Once Jason carried her bag inside, she watched them leave.
They got into their pickup truck and were gone. She went into the cabin, made sure to lock the door and stared awestruck at the palace she'd been allowed to stay in for free for the next week. Holy shit.
It was every person's dream when you thought of a cabin in the woods. And not the scary movie version Shae would probably expect. Speaking of Shae.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her friend.
“I made it and I'm alive,” she joked.
“And Ker wasn't waiting for you naked inside with chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of Crystal?”
“Um, no. And if he were, I might freak out. That's not the best way to meet a woman.”
Shae snorted. “Girl, please. Speak foh yo'self.”
“Your Bronx is showing,” she laughed.
“I never claimed to be from anywhere but the Boogie Down. Now, tell me about this cabin. Is it nice? Is it a tiny shack falling apart that could have come from the movie Mama? Do you think it's haunted?”
“God, no!” At least, she hoped not. A cold chill swept over her. Man, she really hoped not.
“So?”
“It's huge. A mansion in the woods is a more apt description. I feel kind of strange being here. What if I dirty something?”
“Clean it. Duh. Seriously, Tiana. You needed this break.” Shae cleared her throat. “Speaking of breaks. I spoke to the detective in charge of your break-in, James Randall. He says the worst appeared to be your kitchen with all that blood.”
She sat on one of the sofas that were clearly made for the cabin. The wood matched that of the walls. “When I packed, I noticed the bedroom was a mess, but I tried not to focus on it.”
“They can't figure out what the blood is about. But he thinks the break-in might have been two people and that maybe they had a fight while they were there. Someone got hurt and they both fled before you got home.”
“Does he think it was Oliver still?”
“He said he was going to check on Oliver and his whereabouts and that he would get back to me and you and let us know what he found. He said Oliver would need a solid alibi before they could move on to trying to figure out who else it could be.”
“What about the blood? Isn't that a clue?”
“He said that it would be a while before their lab could analyze and see if it was anyone in their system.”
“It was so much blood. Like someone just opened their veins and left it all on my kitchen floor.”
“I know, babe. It's weird as hell. But don't worry about this. Nobody knows you're at the cabin. So you just relax and rest and take a bubble bath and watch TV. Do something for you for once in your life.”
“All right, all right. Stop badgering me,” she joked. “I will take that bubble bath in your name.”
“Good. Now go and have fun. I gotta deal with this man child trying to tell me that I promised him a back rub the last time he gave me oral. A back rub. He ain't never given me oral good enough for those kind of promises. Anyway, I'll talk to you tomorrow.”
Tiana laughed at Shae's words and hung up. Suddenly, being away from home and the break in was not so bad. Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Ker. He told her his room was at the top of the stairs to the left and she could have any of the others.
Curiosity grew inside her. She wondered what his room looked like. She carried her bag up the stairs and opened the door she assumed was his room.
Good god. The man had impeccable taste. His room was amazing. Like being in a ski lodge. There was a distinct scent of forest in the room. An outdoorsy clean air smell. But beneath it, she could smell something else. She knew that was Ker she scented. How? She didn't know.
She walked over to his chest of drawers and opened one. His T-shirts were folded neatly in the drawer. She pulled one out, taking note of the large size and brought it to her nose. Ker. It smelled fresh, woodsy, with a hint of something she couldn't put her finger on. It was the best thing she'd ever smelled.
She glanced around the bedroom and smiled. This would make a nice room for her to stay in. Not like he was coming over while she was there.
God, she had problems. Was she really thinking of staying in the one room he told her was off-limits? Not that he'd said off-limits, just that it was his room.
Fuck!
Shit!
Fuck!
Ah, what the hell. She dumped her bag next to what appeared to be bigger than a king-size bed and sighed. Ker was a big guy. From the couple of articles she'd seen, he had a big body with lots of muscles and a clean shaven look. Though grainy, the photos made him look young. The idea of this big man in the same bed with her didn't scare her. It should have. It excited her.
She was a virgin.