A Cautious Heart (The Heart's Temptation Series Book 1)

by Genevieve Matthews

  We throw our heads back and laugh. It’s important to focus on the good things. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that we’ll find Brian and he’ll be locked away and never bother us again. But until that happens, I’m going to take care of my girl and start building our life together. And the first step is finishing up this coffee shop. Now that the mood has been considerably lightened, we can joke around and laugh together as we finish our work. And the faster we finish, the faster I can have Bree in my arms.

  Abbey and I walk across the grass toward the carnival. The huge Ferris wheel is turning in the distance, the gondolas swinging as they circle around. There are lights flashing everywhere from the rides and booths set up at the park. It’s quite the sight, set against the orange and pink skyline in the distance. The sun is setting and it’ll be dark soon. Heath has to work a little longer tonight but he’ll be meeting me here as soon as he can get away. The bar shouldn’t be busy tonight considering the entire town will most likely be coming to the spring carnival.

  “What rides are your favorite?” Abbey asks.

  “I don’t really know that I have a favorite ride,” I say. “I’ve never been to a carnival before, or anything with rides like this for that matter.”

  “Really? Well we’ll have to give everything a try and then you can decide what your favorite is.”

  “Maybe. I will definitely pass on anything that spins. I would probably throw up. And I don’t really like the feeling that you’re falling either. So, no big drops.”

  “Well, maybe they have a carousal that you could ride,” She says as she rubs my back and talks to me like I’m a small child.

  “Ha, ha. Very funny,” I reply. “I bet some of the games might be fun. I know people never win anything when they play them, but it would still be fun.”

  “Yeah, maybe you could win a goldfish!”

  “I was hoping for a huge stuffed animal, actually. I could put it in bed with me to take Heath’s place when he isn’t there.”

  “Ha, and when isn’t he there? You two are inseparable these days. I’m actually happy that he’s working tonight so I can get a little girl time.”

  “Oh, Abbey. We can have a lot of girl time tonight. You can pick one ride, even one of the crazy rides, and I’ll go on it with you. Other than that, I’m sticking to the kid rides. And games.”

  “And beer tent! Don’t forget the beer tent.”

  “Hopefully they have music or something in the beer tent as well.”

  “Yeah, there will be music and beer tonight. They also have food carts with some pretty awesome food. The grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon are my favorite! Wash it down with a cold beer, now we’re talking.”

  “I am going to need to get some cotton candy. I remember having that when I was little.”

  “I’m sure they have cotton candy. And many other sweets that can get you all sugared up.”

  “Alright then, let’s do this!”

  “That was crazy! I’m shaking from the adrenaline shooting through my body right now,” I yell to Abbey as we get off of the ride she chose for me to go on with her. Something called the Kamikaze. She actually chose a ride that throws us through the air in big loops at a very fast speed. Not cool. “That is the first and last ride I’ll be going on tonight. And, we’re in a fight right now.”

  “I’m sorry.” I don’t know if her uncontrollable laughter is making me angry or lightening my mood. “I honestly didn’t think it was going to be that bad! We don’t have to do any more rides like that, let’s not be in a fight, okay?”

  “I was joking about being in a fight. But I did not enjoy that ride. I might still throw up, you’ve been warned.”

  “We can take it easy now. Let’s play some of the games, get drinks or eat. There’ll be a band starting around seven, I think.”

  “Why don’t we find something to eat? I’m starving.”

  We link arms as we walk away and head over to the food carts. The list of fried foods that they offer is endless. Fried pickles, fried cheese curds, fried Twinkies and more. They have carts that offer mouth watering sandwiches, like the grilled cheese with bacon, burgers with any topping imaginable, corn dogs, hot dogs and even fish tacos. Of course there is a cart that serves funnel cakes, a classic fair food.

  “Lets take our food over by the stage; we can listen to the bands while we eat,” Abbey says as we meet back up after ordering our food. “We’ll need to come back and try the funnel cakes when we’re done.”

  “Yes, they look delicious.” I carry my corn dog and drink and we find an open grassy area to sit while we eat.

  “So what do you still want to do?” Abbey asks.

  “I’d like to try some of the games. There’s one where you can win prizes if you make some shots with a basketball. And the one where you toss the bean bags at the wall and try to pop the balloons looks like fun too. I’d be a happy woman if I could take home a stuffed animal tonight.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. They don’t make the games easy to win. We’ll give it a try though. There are some tamer rides we can try too. There’s a maze of mirrors that might be fun. And I’ll humor you and go on the carousel with you.”

  “Awww. That’s so sweet of you. You’re just trying to butter me up after taking me on that crazy ass ride before. Maybe when Heath gets here he’ll go on some of the wilder rides with you. We’ve never talked about it but he seems like the type of guy that would like a good roller coaster.”

  “He does seem like that type, doesn’t he?” Abbey pops the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth and takes a long drink, sucking until she’s slurping the last bit of soda out of the ice cubes. “Why don’t we try out the maze of mirrors next?”

  “That sounds like fun! I’ve never done a maze of mirrors before. It sounds slightly creepy for some reason. Do things jump out at you or anything?”

  “No, it isn’t a haunted house. You’re too funny! There are just mirrors everywhere and it’s a maze so you have to try to find your way out. Sometimes there are mirrors that distort how you look as you walk through. It’s fun, you’ll like it.”

  “Alright, let’s give it a try. I’m ready.”

  Brushing off my pants, we get up and head back toward all of the lights, noise and activity. I check my phone to see if Heath has texted me yet, letting me know he’s on his way, but no message. All of the games and booths are set up in a large horse shoe shape. The rides are in their own section, set up in the large grassy area of the park. The maze of mirrors is set up between the two areas. We walk up to the entrance and give the man our tickets to enter.

  “It looks kind of creepy in there,” I say as I hesitate at the entrance.

  “You’ll be fine, Bree. There are lights so you’ll be able to see where you’re going. Now, the last one through buys the other one a beer!” And with that, Abbey takes off into the maze.

  “Abbey!” I shout after her. I didn’t want to race, I wanted to hold her hand as we maneuvered our way through. Determined to find her and make her stay with me, I step inside. It’s a really bizarre feeling. I walk with my hands out in front of me because when you think you have a clear path, all of the sudden you end up walking into a mirror. I don’t see Abbey at all and to be honest I’m really kind of pissed at her right now. If I had my way, I’d just sit by the stage and listen to music all night while enjoying the fried food and treats. Abbey’s the one that wants to do all of these stupid attractions.

  With my mind made up to text Heath to hurry up and get his ass over here as soon as I get out of this maze, I slowly step my way through. I am really starting to hate how these mirrors play tricks with your eyes. When I turn the corner I finally see what looks like light at the end of a tunnel. There’s a person standing at the entrance as well and I’m relieved to have finally found Abbey. In my excitement, I pick up the pace and walk straight into a mirror. What the hell? I put my hands on the glass and realize that the person I see in the mirror must not be in front of me, but behind me.


  I turn around as the person comes into focus. I open my mouth to scream, but before a sound can come out a damp cloth envelops my nose and mouth. My vision quickly starts to blur at the same time my legs seem to stop working. As I fall to the ground everything around me goes to black.

  When I wake up my head is killing me. I try to move my hands to rub my head but I can’t seem to make them work. I try to swallow but I have something in my mouth. My eyes fly open and slowly things come back into focus. I’m looking down at my hands that are duct taped to a chair. I can’t speak because I have duct tape holding something in my mouth.

  Slowly I will myself to look around the room even though I’m afraid what I will find. I’m sitting in a motel room. There’s one double bed in the middle of the room, a dresser over by the door and a television that looks like an antique. From what I can tell I’m alone in the room right now but I see a door to my left and there is a sliver of light showing through. I’m guessing that’s the bathroom.

  Minutes later my thoughts are confirmed when the door opens and Brian walks out wet from a shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. His eyes immediately find mine.

  “Oh, hey honey. Glad you’re awake. I was just freshening up for you.” He drops his towel and stands naked in front of me. “I’ve missed you so much.” He hands reach for my face and I quickly turn away to try to keep from letting him touch me. “Okay, so you need a few minutes. I’ll get dressed and get us something to eat. How does that sound?”

  He stares at me like he expects me to answer. Perhaps he has forgotten that he has me gagged. The way he’s acting right now is totally freaking me out. Instead of being mad that I walked out on him, he’s pretending that it never happened? I feel my heart start to beat faster. I look down at my jeans to see if my cell phone is still in my pocket or if he took it. Nothing. Looking over at the dresser, I see my cell phone sitting next to his phone and wallet.

  Brian is almost dressed, thank God. He said he was going to get us something to eat. Hopefully that means he’ll leave to go somewhere? If that’s the case maybe I can get to my phone and call Heath or the police. I mean, Heath would have gone to the carnival to meet me and as soon as he realized I wasn’t there I’m sure he would start searching for me. Abbey would hopefully have realized right away that I never got out of that stupid maze. I’m trying not to panic. Closing my eyes I concentrate on taking slow breaths in and out through my nose. I don’t have any idea how long it has been since he took me from the carnival.

  My hope plummets when he goes to the closet and pulls out a cooler. Apparently he planned ahead.

  “I have some drinks and sandwiches. These will hold us over until the morning. It’s late now, nothing’s open. We have a long drive tomorrow and we’ll be able to stop for a hot meal along the way. Things will be so great once we get home, you’ll see. It’ll be so good to be back together again.”

  It’s killing me that I can’t ask him really important questions like, “where are we going?” and “what do you plan to do with me?” He can’t honestly think I’m going to willingly leave with him. I guess he’s even more delusional that I thought.

  My head snaps up when I hear the knock at the door. My heart starts pounding when I see Brian walk over to his duffel bag and pull out a gun.

  “Who the hell is it?” he yells.

  “It’s Harry from the front desk. I’m so sorry to bother you, sir, but I forgot to have you sign your credit card statement. My boss will have my head if you leave in the morning before I can get your signature.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he says as he sets the gun back in his bag and walks over to unlock the door. “This is fucking ridiculous, it’s almost midnight.”

  I’m too far back from the door for this guy to see me when Brian opens it. I panic that he’s going to be here and gone and never know that I was sitting here tied to a chair. I just see his hand reach in holding a piece of paper. The next thing I know, the front door slams against the wall and I see a blur as Brian goes flying backward.

  As soon as the manager steps out of the way, I’m on that fucker. This isn’t the first time I’ve walked into a room only to see my girlfriend in a situation that I really didn’t want to see. Only this time, when I looked through the crack in the curtains, I saw Bree tied to a fucking chair with a gag in her mouth. The animal inside of me that has been dormant until now explodes. My body is shaking with rage or adrenaline, or both. It doesn’t even matter which, it’s just spurring me into action. I can’t believe he would tie up my girl and gag her after thinking he could just walk into our lives and take her away from me. No fucking way.

  I launch myself into the room, slamming into his stomach with a flying tackle. I hit him so hard his feet leave the ground before we both fall back into the dresser. I have the element of surprise, which is what I wanted. He recovers quickly, though, and manages to hit me in the face with a nice right hook. I’ll give him that one.

  I start laying into him. He’s a big guy, no question about it. But nothing I can’t handle. I have him pinned on the ground and I’m hitting him wherever I can. I’m like a man possessed. I need to hurt this son of a bitch so he knows better than to ever even think about Bree again.

  He surprises me when he flips his hips up and bucks me off of him. I flip over and hit the end of the bed, knocking my head on the wood frame. My reflexes kick in and I move my head as his fist approaches and he connects with the wood board instead of me. He howls in pain, gripping his hand.

  I’m about to lay into him again when I hear the sirens outside. The cavalry is here. Brian is already down on his knees when the first officer enters the room with his gun drawn. I’m still down on the ground but I put my hands up for good measure. His partner enters on his heels and I feel myself breathe for what seems like the first time since I showed up at the carnival to find Bree MIA tonight. Oh hell, Bree.

  I jump up and run over to where she’s still duct taped to the chair. I slowly pull the duct tape off her mouth and pull out the handkerchief that Brian stuffed in there. My lips immediately find hers, even before I free her hands from the tape. I lose myself in kissing her until she pulls away.

  “Free my hands so I can touch you.” She sounds desperate and I feel like an ass for making her wait.

  Again I go slow and am as careful as possible as I peel the tape off of her skin. Once I free her first wrist, I slowly kiss the angry red marks on her skin. When I get the second wrist free she falls into my lap, wrapping her arms around me. I hold her close and wait for the tears to come, but they never do. She just holds onto me as if her life depends on it.

  “Can we go home?” she whispers into my neck. She sounds breakable and I feel the overwhelming need to protect her. I look behind us just in time to see the police officers leading Brian out of the room in handcuffs. It’ll be a very long time before either of us will need to worry about him again.

  “Soon, baby. Let me talk to the officer outside and see what else he needs from us.” I move to get up and she quickly grabs onto my arm.

  “Don’t leave me here by myself. I’ll come with you.”

  “Okay, we’ll go together. I didn’t want you to have to see Brian again. I don’t know if he’s still outside.”

  “It’s okay, I’m fine. I just want to go home as soon as we can.”

  Taking her hand in mine, we walk out of the motel room to try to figure this mess out, together.

  The next morning, we sleep in late. It was well into the early hours of the morning when we finally walked through the doors to Bree’s cabin. We both dropped our shoes by the door and fell into bed. Bree slept like the dead. It is probably the first good night’s sleep she has had since she found out Brian was in Winterhaven. I know I slept better last night knowing he won’t bother us again.

  Sitting at the kitchen table together closer to noon, we ate from an impressive spread of breakfast items. We both needed something in our stomachs before we were ready to talk about what had happen
ed last night.

  “So how did you find me?” Bree asked once she was half way through her pancakes. I expected her to be a hot mess today but she isn’t. She was quieter than usual, but she still hadn’t shed a tear. Not when I found her last night, not on the car ride home, not at all this morning.

  “The desk manager at the hotel.” He was my new favorite person. I was going to find some way to thank him, I just didn’t know how yet. “He thought Brian was acting strange when he checked into the motel so he kept an eye on him after he took the key and drove down to the room. He called the police when he saw him carry you out of the car into the room. He told police it looked like he had an unconscious woman in the room. Jack still has his connections at the police station so his buddy called him once they figured out who it was. Jack called me and I booked it to the hotel. I was already in my truck driving around town when I got the call.”

  “So is that how you beat the police there?”

  “They were actually already there when I showed up. No one knew if Brian had a gun or what and I didn’t want to risk him pulling a gun on you. So I suggested having Harry knock and tell him he needed to sign some paperwork as a way to get him to open the door. I was standing to the side of the door where he wouldn’t see me if he looked out and as soon as I had the chance, I acted.”

  “I’m so glad you found me,” she says quietly. She has stopped eating at this point and is just sitting at the table listening to me with her eyes wide.

  “I can’t even tell you how scared I was when I showed up to the carnival and Abbey was frantic, looking all over for you. She said you guys went into the maze of mirrors and you never came out. She said she went back in to get you but she couldn’t find you. At first she thought maybe you just decided you didn’t want to go in and you found somewhere else to go and wait for her. We couldn’t find you anywhere, though, and I had a sick feeling in my gut. Brian must have just been hanging around waiting for the perfect moment to grab you.” I’m shaking my head and I can’t seem to look her in the eyes when I say the last bit. I feel guilty for not being there when she really needed me. It’s like I let her down and I never want to do that. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”