Taylor peeled off her wet clothes, secured her hair onto the top of her head with a band she kept in her handbag, and stepped into the tub. She could just as easily have been in a five-star hotel as a remote cabin in the woods. Maybe she should write her story about this lodge with its hidden luxury. But she had to be careful about how the owners would feel about the sudden exposure. Perhaps they were one of those exclusive places that had all the business they wanted and preferred their privacy. This would require some research.

She leaned her head against the back of the tub and sighed at the warmth of the water. Her thoughts led back to her host. He’d said he could stay with his brother. Maybe his brother had a cabin also, or perhaps he had a room in the lodge. She found it curious that they hadn’t shared a room. These rooms, no doubt, were rather costly. Brayden or maybe his brother must be wealthy.

She wondered if Brayden’s brother had a girlfriend or a wife and maybe that’s why they weren’t staying together. It was fortunate for her, but she felt bad about imposing.

When the water started to cool, she toweled off and put on Brayden’s clothes. Fortunately, her underwear hadn’t gotten soaked. She had to roll the waist of his pants several times over to keep them up at the waist.

She located a hair dryer and blew the dampness out of her hair. Either Brayden had brought an unusually large number of personal items with him or the lodge supplied a lot of male personal hygiene items.

This was a most unusual place. She shrugged off her thoughts. She’d never stayed in a cabin before, so she didn’t really have a frame of reference. Maybe this was like one of those Air BNB houses, where someone lived there and rented it out when they weren’t home.

Satisfied that she’d figured out why the place had so many male personal items, she gathered up her clothes and went out through the bedroom to find Brayden sitting on the sofa writing something with his iPad pencil. Trying not to be envious, she noticed his bags on the sofa next to him.

He looked up and smiled. Her heart did a little flip. Her gaze was drawn to his lips, curved at the corners, and the smile that spread to his eyes.

“Feel better?”

“It was wonderful. I feel really bad about you giving up your place. I can pay you back for the night.” Hopefully. She bit her lip. This place could run several thousand a night for all she knew.

Much to her relief, he waved her off. “Don’t even think about that.” He handed her a Post-it note. “If you need anything, you can call my cell phone or this other number which is the lodge. They’ll know how to get in touch with me.”

She took the paper and smiled at him. “Thank you. You’re very kind.”

He shrugged. “It’s the least I can do for our local weather girl.”

She winced. “I was hoping that was about to change.”

He leaned back. “Change how?”

She dropped onto the couch next to him. “I was hoping to get promoted to news anchor.”

“You don’t like being the weather girl?”

“It’s not real news. Everyone thinks it’s a joke.”

“Around here, the weather is taken very seriously, I can assure you.”

“Yeah, but anyone can look at a Doppler and give a weather report.”

“Then explain to me why-” He stopped to answer his phone. “It’s my brother.”