Seeking Sanctuary

by Annie Anderson

  Isla, the tiny little slip of a thing she was, did not disappoint. She thrust out a hand for my dad to shake, which he took, treating her small hand like it was spun glass. Dad then wrapped her fingers around his bicep and escorted her to her own front door like the gentleman he was.

  “Pleased to meet you, Miss Young. Other than the obvious, how are you finding our little town?” Dad asked her, the charm in his voice something my brother got instead of me. Not that Orin used it except to get into a woman’s pants.

  “Oh, you know, other than Pippa, it hasn’t been too bad. Better than a lot of other places I’ve lived.”

  Then they were off like gangbusters, leaving me behind and heading into Isla’s home. I felt like an idiot for worrying about my father.

  I poked my head in the front door to see Isla popping my dad a beer and handing him the remote to the TV. I wanted to go and get this taken care of, but I couldn’t stop myself from crossing the threshold and getting into Isla’s space before I left.

  I didn’t really give a shit if my dad would give me crap for it later.

  “You rest, okay? Please?” I asked as I stared into those clear blue eyes of hers while I wrapped her in my arms. Why did that feel so good? Why did Isla being safe and warm in my arms mean so much?

  “Okay. But I have to eat first. Then rest,” she countered.

  “I’ll get you fixed up,” I offered, raiding her refrigerator for leftovers from last night and popping them in the microwave. In two minutes, she had shrimp and pasta in front of her, a brief kiss on the lips, and I was out the door.

  I was nearly to the door of my truck when my dad’s voice stopped me. He was closer than he should’ve been considering I was hauling ass.

  “All those bruises aren’t from Pippa, are they, son?”

  “No, sir.” And every day it was a struggle not to ask her about them – not to hunt a bastard down to make him pay for them.

  “And she’s pregnant, isn’t she?” he asked, but it wasn’t a question so much as an observation. One thing about my dad, he didn’t miss much.

  “Yep. I think so. She hasn’t said so, but I have a feeling.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out.”

  “You bring your shotgun?”

  “Damn straight, son. Why do you think I’m out here? I’m not waving it around for everyone to see.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad. I don’t think Isla frightens easily.”

  “I bet not.”

  At my father’s parting words, I jumped into my truck and backed out of my spot, pointing it toward the road and away from the place I wanted most to be. But I needed to talk to Hank before Pippa’s reign of terror got any worse.

  It took less time than I thought it would to get to Harmony Creek. The ski resort was in its offseason, but that didn’t stop the hotel from being nearly sold out or the resort to be teeming with tourists. I parked and made my way to the central offices located in the upper levels of the lodge, still going over what I could possibly say to Hank that wouldn’t be the most asshole remark ever to cross my lips.

  I still hadn’t come up with anything concrete when I hit the top of the grand staircase and made my way to his receptionist, Shelly.

  “Well, hi, Levi. What can I do for you?” Shelly’s saccharine sweet fake southern drawl hit my ears. I’d heard her in the bar once bragging to her girlfriends that her fake southern accent was the key to excellent customer service. I wasn’t sure if that was true, all I knew was it grated on my nerves. It sounded nothing like the way Isla’s voice curled around her words. In fact, pretty much everything about Shelly irritated me.

  Maybe it was the bleach blonde hair that was a shade or five too light, or the spray tan that was ten shades too dark. Either of those could be dismissed as personal style if she had the confidence to back them up, but there was something about her that screamed she didn’t like herself in her own skin. So, the hair and the spray tan and the too-tight, too-low cut clothes and an unwavering alliance to being Pippa’s little lap dog did her no favors with me.

  “I’d like to speak to Hank if he’s got a minute.”

  “Sure thing, darlin’. Go right on in. He’s been pretty quiet this afternoon. Maybe you can coax him to go to lunch?” she said coyly as she tugged on the collar of her already too-low top.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I said as politely as I could while averting my eyes and skirting past her to open Hank’s door.

  But I didn’t get to talk to him at all. Because Hank was slumped over his desk unconscious, and for the second time that day, I was yelling for someone to call 911.

  14

  ISLA

  “You want some of this?” I asked a reclining Otto as he flipped through the channels on the TV assumingly looking for a sports channel. He’d made a quick run to his Bronco for something – I guessed it was more to talk to Levi without me in earshot – but he was now settling in for the long haul of babysitting moi.

  “Why don’t you eat your fill and get cleaned up? No offense, little lady, but you look like an extra from a horror movie,” Otto replied without moving his eyes from the screen. His jaw clenched as he spoke and it dawned on me where Levi got his protective streak from.

  To his credit, he had a point. The paramedics wiped some of the blood away, but I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror on our way out of the bathroom and could qualify as a ‘Carrie’ stunt double.

  I shoveled the last bite in my mouth and mumbled through the food about a shower. I felt awkward, but it wasn’t Otto’s fault. I had never been around parents – especially not parents of a guy I was sort of dating. Cole didn’t count. I already knew his, and they despised me long before he and I ever got together.

  But Otto was different. He seemed to actually care about me the same way that Smitty did. I felt awkward and uncomfortable in my own skin. Maybe it was because I actually gave a crap what he thought about me. I cared about what he would think of me with his son.

  I hauled my bone-tired body up the staircase. I still couldn’t believe that this little house was mine for the time being. Sure, it was a rental, but it was the first time I had fallen in love with a home.

  The only downside to my lavish bathroom was the fact that it didn’t have a tub. What I did have was a glass-enclosed shower bigger than a horse stall. It was the kind of shower 70’s orgies we’re made of. The rough stone tiles made it look like it was carved from the Rocky Mountains. I loved it.

  Because I had a guest, I hurried through the showering process. I probably should have relaxed and got my bearings. But I wasn’t prepared for the urgency I would feel knowing that Pippa was out there. Sure, she was in a cell now, but what would happen if Levi couldn’t get her father on our side? What if she did this again?

  It was worse than the dread I felt not knowing for sure if Cole was actually dead. I should’ve checked his body. I should have made sure he was really gone. And now Pippa seemed to have it out for me. In all honesty, it made sense. She knew before I did that Levi was worth having. She knew before I did that he was someone I could easily fall in love with.

  One kiss was enough to tell me that.

  What I didn’t know was how visceral it would be to kiss him. I didn’t know how much I needed Levi already. It scared me, and at the same time, it really didn’t. I could feel the difference between Cole and Levi in my skin. Cole’s mere presence grated on me. I could feel him in the room – pressing into me, caging me. Levi didn’t do that. He was like air, like safety, like warmth.

  There are people in this world that just soothe – down to the skin and marrow, they ooze a safeness that someone like me craves. Someone who has never had a day of safety in her life.

  Levi was safe harbor. The rom-coms told us that safe is the worst. That we shouldn’t look at the safe one, but goddammit, I’ve lived with unsafe, and the opposite is a commodity I’d fight to keep.

  I was the girl who didn’t need anyone. I’d survived on my own my whole life. Was I weaker now?
/>   I hoped not.

  I gave up on making myself presentable and threw on a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. Towel drying my hair I raked a brush through it and went back downstairs to keep Otto company. Otto was right where I left him, sitting on my new-to-me couch and watching what looked to be a superhero movie on cable.

  I was a huge fan of both DC and Marvel, so I yanked the throw blanket off the back of the couch and settled into a corner of the sectional.

  That lasted approximately five seconds before I felt terrible. I was disrupting his day – and now he was stuck with me.

  “Are you sure I can’t make you anything?” I blurted, unable to help from being a semi-respectable hostess. I have no idea where the urge came from. I wasn’t exactly raised with manners.

  “No, darling girl, you do not need to make me anything,” Otto declined, shaking his head with a smile.

  But I just couldn’t let it go. “Do you need a refill on your beer?”

  “No, darling girl, I do not need a refill on my beer. You’re the one who got hurt. I’m supposed to be watching over and catering to you.”

  “Yeah, but I’m no good at being catered to.”

  “I gathered. You remind me of my Sarah. Couldn’t sit still for the life of her,” Otto grumbled, his smile bittersweet. He had a touch of sorrow in his eyes, but I couldn’t help myself from pressing.

  “Who’s Sarah?”

  “Levi’s mom. We divorced some years back, and she moved out of town. I don’t think Levi’s seen her in almost twenty years.”

  “That must be tough,” was all I could say. It wasn’t like I could admit to this man – Levi’s father – how I’d grown up. Murderer father, murdered mother – no relation. Foster care and then a group home? Yeah. My pedigree was a complete shit show.

  “What did Pippa have against you, anyway?” Otto’s voice broke through my self-deprecating thoughts.

  “She doesn’t want me dating your son. Not that we’re dating or anything. Or maybe we’re sort of dating, I don’t know. She sees me on her territory, I guess.”

  “Makes sense. Pippa Stillman has never been one to share. That girl would stab a granny for a parking spot.”

  “But even when I wasn’t seeing your son she was still pretty hostile to me.”

  “I’ve been telling Hank for the last two years his daughter has a little bit of a screw loose. I don’t know if she needs medication or an ass whooping. I’ll feel really shitty if it turns out she just needs medication, but even when she wasn’t doing completely batshit stuff – like moving herself into my son’s house – she was still mean little thing. Sure, she could charm Hank, but to everyone else, she was a snake.”

  “What do you mean?’

  “Just the way she acted. Like she was above everything and above everyone. But I don’t understand it because Hank isn’t that way at all. Hank is true salt-of-the-earth, and I couldn’t figure out how he could raise a daughter like that.”

  I knew it before, but Pippa was so much like Cole it freaked me the fuck out.

  We settled into the couch and watch the rest of the movie in silence, but I couldn’t get Pippa and her motives out of my head.

  * * *

  It took an age for Levi to get back, and when he stomped through the door, his face didn’t say things went well. Otto took one look at his son’s face and passed him his unopen beer.

  “What happened, son?”

  Levi snatched the bottle opener off the counter and flicked the cap off, taking a long pull off his beer before carefully setting it back down. His moves were deliberate as if he had to force himself not to smash the bottle against the counter.

  “Hank is in the hospital.”

  What the…

  “Jesus, what happened?” Otto blurted in shock.

  Levi just blinked, leaning on the counter for a second, gathering himself. “I went to go talk to him, and he was unconscious at his desk. We called the paramedics, but he was completely unresponsive. He… he wasn’t breathing.” Levi covered his mouth with his hand before taking another pull off his beer.

  “My god, are you okay? Is he okay?” I asked.

  “No, he’s not. Hank was a friend. I mean, sure, I didn’t get along with Pippa, and we had our issues, but I’ve known Hank for five years.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from hugging him.

  “I’m so sorry. Do they know why he was unconscious?” I asked.

  “They have no idea. I’m pretty sure they’re going to run all the tests, but I have no idea who to call. I’m almost positive Pippa is his only living relative.”

  “Do you think maybe she had something to do with it?” Otto interjected, and I was glad it wasn’t just me who thought it was mighty convenient that as soon as Levi wanted to talk to Hank, he turned up hurt.

  “I hope not, but after what she did to Isla I don’t know anymore. She’s been acting more erratic than usual. I really hope she didn’t do anything, but right now I have no idea.”

  * * *

  Levi’s words kept playing in my head as I brushed my teeth at the bathroom vanity, carefully avoiding my reflection in the mirror. I had no urge to see Pippa’s handiwork. After Levi recounted his time at the hospital, Otto left us to our own devices, choosing to eat at Connie’s instead of with us. I had a feeling he might be sweet on Constance – or at least, I hoped that was the reason – so I didn’t give him too much shit for declining my meal. No matter that I was supposed to be the patient, I couldn’t let Levi anywhere near my cookware for fear he’d burn the whole house down.

  I could tell Hank’s health was still worrying him, but as superficial as it was, I had bigger problems than Pippa and her family. Levi refused to leave me except for a five-minute stretch to collect his pajamas, deciding he would rather sleep on my couch than leave me alone for the night.

  The company I didn’t mind. It was the couch thing that was my problem. As much as I feared what we were, I still didn’t want him there. Maybe it was the nagging sense that I would always be looking over my shoulder. Maybe it was Pippa and her bullshit. Maybe it was just Levi and the fact that his presence just made me feel calm.

  Maybe it was all of it, and him bedding down on that couch just wasn’t going to cut it.

  I spat out the remaining toothpaste, rinsed my mouth, and made probably another fool decision in a long line of equally idiotic choices in my life. I padded through my bedroom, down the hall, and down the stairs, stopping at the back of the couch. The house was dark, only the dim light above the oven cast a pale yellow glow across the wooden floor.

  My steps were quiet, but Levi still knew I was coming, how I’m not sure. Maybe he could feel me just like I could feel him.

  I didn’t want him on the couch. I wanted him in my bed with me.

  “I don’t like you here,” I whispered in the dim, just catching the shadow of Levi’s lips as he smiled. I tried to keep my eyes on the outline of his face instead of drifting down to the hard planes of his shirtless chest. I didn’t think I’d ever been so pissed that I didn’t have enough light.

  “In this house, or on this couch?” he asked, and it took a second for my words to filter through my brain. Smooth, I am not.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do.” I could just hear the grin on his face even though I couldn’t really see it. Irritated with myself and even a little at him, I skirted the couch and grabbed his hand, tugging it until he got the damn message.

  Levi hauled himself off the couch, but as he stood, he didn’t follow me. Instead, he tugged me to him until my back was plastered to his front. The warmth of his skin filtered into my brain, and a spike of heat ricocheted through me. But it was his whispered words that caused gooseflesh to erupt all over my skin.

  “You want something, Sugar, all you gotta do is ask me, and I’ll give it to you. Whatever you want, anything you want. But this train moves when you make it move, and not a second before. You get me?”

  Oh, I got
him alright.

  Whether or not I could ask for everything I wanted was another story altogether.

  15

  LEVI

  All you gotta do is ask.

  I couldn’t believe I let those words slip out of my mouth, but fuck it. I wanted this woman more than anything or anyone, and she had to know it. She needed to know without a doubt that I was here and I wasn’t going anywhere, and I wanted her. I wanted the taste of her on my tongue. I wanted the scent of her skin on mine. I wanted all of it.

  She shivered, pushing back into me, the lush curve of her ass pressed into my dick, and my willpower nearly crumbled to dust.

  I told her she had to ask. Don’t break your word thirty seconds after you give it, dipshit.

  The smell of her skin, though, was enough to drive me insane. Wildflowers and woman and something so distinctly Isla that it took everything I had not to pick her up and sprint to the bedroom.

  Hell, the couch would do. The floor. The wall. Maybe next time. This time, I was responsible for letting her drive.

  Before I could calm myself down, Isla had turned herself in my arms, the outline of her face just visible in the dim. Her shoulders seemed to fold in on themselves before she straightened as she tipped her head back to meet my eyes. I couldn’t quite seem to make them out, but I felt the steel in them – the hardness tempered with her innate softness that seemed to only make me want her more.

  “I don’t want you on that couch. I want you in my bed. I want your mouth on mine. I want your hands on me,” she paused, her voice the faintest of murmurs. She didn’t need to shout. Her whispers were like a bomb – shaking the foundations of everything I thought I could feel for someone else. But she wasn’t done. She needed to push me one step further. “I want to feel you – in every possible way I can. Is that clear enough for you?”