I’d like to do something to pay you back for letting me impose on you like this. I make a mean Denver omelet if you’re interested. I usually go for my run first thing in the morning and should be back and ready by no later than nine. I hope to see you then.
You were a lifesaver!
–Kat
She placed the note on the end table next to where she’d been sitting. On the mantle, she spotted a picture of a young boy and a man in a police uniform in a silver frame. She picked it up. The little boy looked like Luke, as did the man in uniform. It must be his father.
With a sigh, Kat traced the little boy’s face with her fingertip, smiling a little at the thought of Luke ever being a child. Then she put the picture frame down and reluctantly left.
* * *
Luke lay on the big bed with his arms folded behind his head watching Kat on the screen of his tablet as she walked from his cabin to hers. Once again, he marveled at how beautiful she was. More than that, she continued to surprise him with how down to earth she was. How comfortable he was with her. How damn much he wanted to get to know her better.
If she could see him now, she’d say he’d been getting to know her far too well and under devious circumstances at that. Well, she’d scream it, more likely.
And he’d have to agree with her. He was doing what he had to do in order to ensure her safety, but it didn’t come without guilt. At least he and his men had only set up cameras outside their cabins—invading her privacy inside her cabin without her consent wasn’t a line he’d been willing to cross. He doubted she’d give him too many points for that, if any.
He watched her until she made it to her cabin, waited a few minutes to make sure she was actually settled in for the night then picked up his phone and pushed number one.
Craig answered. “She’s safely inside.”
“Yeah, I have my eyes on her, too. Anything to report?”
“Brandon is on the phone with Cole right now. He’s got an update on the hit-and-run.”
Luke’s brows shot up. “Was there any activity at all around her cabin while she was out?”
“No. Quiet as a church.”
“Okay, good. I’ll be right there.” He disconnected the call, slipped on his jacket, then checked the tablet one more time to make sure Kat hadn’t come back out. Making his way quietly outside, he crossed the yard of the empty cabin on his left, stopping at the cabin just beyond that. He tapped on the door twice and Brandon, a solidly-built redhead with a buzz cut, opened the door.
“Hi, Luke.”
“Hey, Brandon.” Luke stepped in and Brandon closed the door quickly behind him. Luke glanced around. “Craig doing recon of the perimeter of the cabin?”
“Just left.”
Luke went over and looked at one of the monitors. The camera was pointed at the back of Kat’s cabin. He clicked the mouse and checked all four angles. It was still quiet. He glanced at a different monitor, connected to the camera set up in a tree at the end of the road. It was positioned so they could see anyone approaching the cabins from the main road. The one next to that showed the small service road to the north that came from where the campsites were. He couldn’t even get a glimpse of Craig moving around, that’s how good he was.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?”
At Brandon’s question, Luke glanced over at the state of the art Keurig and cocked a brow.
Brandon laughed. “The company didn’t pay for it. I brought it from home. It’s the one comfort I can’t really live without.”
Luke smiled. “No thanks. Already had some. You know back in the day we had to grind our own beans and boil the grounds over an open flame to make our coffee.”
“Yeah, well, I knew you were old, but…”
“Did Cole tell you anything?”
“Just said he had some news on the hit-and-run and needed to talk to you. Oh, and he did give me crap about my Giants. I don’t know how you managed to partner up with a Dodger’s fan.”
Luke pulled out his phone. “Yeah well, he looks like one of those shirtless guys on the front of a romance novel, he drives a motorcycle and he’s pretty smart. I guess he has to have one flaw to even it all out.”
“I think that flaw puts him over the top.”
Cole picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Luke.”
“I hear you have news for me.”
“I have news on the car that swiped Kat Bailey.”
“You got an alert?” As soon as they’d heard about the incident, they’d put an alert on any reports to law enforcement about car accidents occurring last Saturday within a ten-mile radius of where Kat had almost been run off the road.
“Yesterday.”
“Why are you just telling me now?”
“I figured I’d chase the lead first so I could give you all the information. The sheriff got a report from a woman who takes care of her elderly father. He’s ninety-two and he’s not supposed to be driving. She checked in on him yesterday morning. Her dad seemed fine. She didn’t realize anything happened until she took the trash out around two and saw the front left fender of his car was pretty scratched up. This morning I sent some techs to look at the car to see if the damage and paint residue could be linked to Kat’s car. It’s a match.”
“So it wasn’t an attempt on her life. What about additional threats?”
“None have been reported. According to Charlie, even her social media accounts have been free of disparaging comments. Maybe because she’s disappeared?”
“Maybe,” Luke said. He stared at the monitor screen that showed the exterior of Kat’s cabin.
“Hmm, I thought you’d be more relieved. You don’t even sound happy. What’s going on?”
Luke looked over at Brandon who was watching one of the monitors. Luke jerked his head indicating he was going to step outside and Brandon saluted him.
Once outside, Luke said, “It’s not that I’m not relieved. I hope like hell no one’s specifically targeting her. It’s just…”
“It’s just what are you going to do if that’s the case. Now that you’ve met her, manipulated her, spied on her, and lied to her.”
Luke winced. “Nice way to sum it up. Thanks.”
“You’re doing your job, Luke.”
“No, I’m not. She never hired me, Cole.”
“So this is personal?” Cole asked quietly.
Luke hesitated, then sighed, “Yeah. It’s as personal as it can be when I only just met her. She’s not what I expected. She actually seems…sweet. But nothing’s happened and it probably never will. I mean, fuck, what’s the likelihood she’ll give me a chance in hell now?” He ran his hand through his hair again. “Shit,” he clipped out.
Cole sighed. “Seems love’s being a bitch to several of my friends lately.”
Luke froze. Love? He barely knew her. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I finally heard from Eric.”
His eyes widened. “What the fuck? And you’re just telling me now? Where is he?”
“He didn’t tell me where he is, just that he’s okay.”
“So why is he hiding out? Why did he take off on Brianne like that?”
“He told me why he broke it off with her but he’s sworn me to secrecy for now. I actually get why he did what he did, I just don’t agree with the how. It definitely wasn’t just a case of cold feet.”
“So are they going to try and work through whatever it is?”
“I don’t know, man,” Cole said quietly. “It’s complicated and I don’t envy them. But Eric says he’ll be back next week. He wants us all to get together, Ryan, Jamie, and Gabe included, and we’ll talk then.”
God, that was going to be some get together, Luke thought. Not only because Jamie was Brianne’s brother, and rightfully pissed, but because Gabe, who’d been Eric’s best man, was also Brianne’s friend. The last time they’d seen Gabe, he’d been ready to strangle Eric. “Well, I’m glad to know that he’s okay,” Luke said.
“I’m not sure ‘okay’ is the right word. I hope eventually he’ll get there. I hope they all will.”
“They?”
“Later,” Cole said. “What are you going to do next?”
Luke knew what he
couldn’t
do. Keep lying to Kat. Given the information Cole had passed on, there was no reason to keep Craig and Brandon here; their services were needed elsewhere. He felt sick at the idea of leaving Kat here without back up, but logically he knew that had more to do with his weirdly possessive feelings toward her, his desire to spend more time with her, and it being the anniversary of his father’s death tomorrow, a day that always left him feeling out of sorts.
“I can’t keep deceiving her,” he finally said to Cole. “She has the right to make her own decisions about this. I’m going to pull Craig and Brandon. Then I’ll sit her down and tell her what’s been going on. She’s gonna be pissed and she probably won’t want anything to do with me. I’ll have to accept that. But I’ll leave the cameras outside her cabin set up and leave her the tablet. That way, for as long as she’s here, she can rest a little easier.” And so can I.
“You’re assuming the tablet will still be working after your girl throws it at you.”
“Yeah, there is that,” Luke sighed.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Cole.”
He disconnected. Stared at his cell phone, then looked in the direction of Kat’s cabin. It was completely dark. She was probably lying in bed, asleep. He wished they were back reading by the fire again. He had so many questions he wanted to ask her. So many fantasies he wanted to make reality.
Bottom line, he wanted more time with her.
But he had to prepare himself for the very real possibility that he wasn’t going to get it.
Kat woke just as the sun began streaming in through her bedroom window. She looked at her phone, which she’d plugged in to charge when she’d gotten back home last night, and was surprised to see that she’d slept until six-thirty. For her, that was late. She was often up before the sun, but that was usually because she had a full day in front of her and couldn’t afford to lose an hour or two in the morning.
She got up, made a pot of coffee, and glanced over at Luke’s cabin, which was dark and still. She really hoped he took her up on her offer to make him breakfast. She’d go on her morning run first, and hope he’d stop by sometime after. She changed into her running clothes, pulled her long hair back into a ponytail, and stepped out on the front porch.
The air was crisp with a hint of chill to it. The smell of the lake wafted to her nose along with the scent of pine, and she smiled widely. She didn’t get this in LA, and she intended to enjoy every single minute of it.
She began to stretch, warming up her muscles slowly as her eyes scanned the paths. It looked like she’d be alone again this morning, which suited her just fine.
Her eyes went back to Luke’s cabin. An image of him in running gear, his broad chest bare and gleaming with sweat surfaced and lingered. She could almost see those muscles of his flexing and loosening as he ran, see the powerful lift and fall of his tight, firm ass.
Whoa, girl, back it up. He’s a nice guy and he was kind to you but he certainly didn’t offer any sign that he’s interested in you.
It just figured. The first man she’d met in a long time that she wanted to see her as sexy and desirable, and he sees her the way she wanted everyone else to. Likable and nice. Just a normal woman. Not an especially fuckable woman, just your average woman next door.
That knowledge left her feeling far too disappointed and confused.
Kat finished stretching and set off, running along the path that led into the woods. When she got deep into the trees, there were places where the sky vanished almost completely and only a few fragments of it remained like scattered pieces of a puzzle. The air was rich with the fragrance of wildflowers and leaves, and the dirt was still sodden from the rain that had fallen a few days before she’d arrived.
A light fog rose up in places, and Kat imagined tiny little forest sprites, rising up to protect their territory. She loved it here. Everything smelled so clean and the only sounds were the occasional squawk of a bird or the scampering sounds of squirrels as they gathered their nuts and climbed back up into the trees. Every so often she could hear the tinkling of water against rock as she got closer to the lake.
When she reached the part of the path that opened up to the lake and the campgrounds around it she immediately noticed a group of four young men standing about twenty feet in front of her next to a boat. Two of them already had a beer in their hands.
Damn it, she’d forgotten her pepper spray.
She continued on her path, hoping the men would simply ignore her.
She obviously didn’t have that kind of luck.
She was about halfway to them when the men began whistling and calling out to her. Instinctively, she came to a stop. She stood there, breathing heavily, trying to decide what to do. There were only two options. Continue on her way or turn around and leave. Maybe even run. But that would make her look weak, and she couldn’t help thinking that if she appeared weak, it would be playing right into their hands. No, she wouldn’t be scared. She was a grown woman. She had a right to be there, and truthfully the men didn’t look dangerous. Besides, she was used to people calling out to her, and more times than not people were too polite or intimidated to approach her. Chances were they’d leave her alone.
She began running again, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She’d just passed them and breathed a sigh of relief when she sensed movement out of the corner of her eye. She ran faster, but soon two of the men passed her and blocked her path. She turned around and there was another man standing behind her.
“Hey, sexy, wanna go on a boat ride with us?”
Her heart beat faster. “No, thanks. I’d appreciate it if you can get out of my way.”
“Sam, you were right! It is her. Kat Bailey.”
Great. They’d recognized her. But maybe they were fans. Maybe they just wanted her autograph, or a picture with her like those two teen boys outside Hang Tough Café. But these men didn’t have the good-natured bashfulness of those teens. One even had a sneer on his face, as if Kat being “her” wasn’t such a good thing.