by Kaylea Cross
“Okay,” Ann asked after eating baked salmon and fresh vegetables, “who did you have to rescue to use this?”
He just chuckled and shook his head. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” He leaned over and kissed her nose as she pouted.
This flight seemed to go a lot faster than the one they’d taken a few days ago. Maybe because this time they actually talked and enjoyed each other’s company, which always seemed to make the time fly by. He just couldn’t keep his eyes from her face as she talked about her life and family.
Her eyes seemed to sparkle when she talked about her little brother, who was almost half her age. He did see some hesitation when she talked about her stepmother, Coleen. She didn’t go into detail about the woman, but Ethan had met her once already. He remembered a very tan, toned, young woman who had hugged him excessively to thank him for returning her son. Her jet black hair had matched that of the young boy’s. It hadn’t escaped Ethan’s noticed that the young boy had held onto his father longer than his mother.
Ann seemed to enjoy talking about her life and career choices. Ethan thought she was making up for lost time in getting to know each other, or maybe it was just nervous chatter. He knew he felt a little nervous about bringing her to meet his family. After all, he’d never brought someone home before, ever.
He was pretty sure at one point his father had just assumed he was gay. He’d laughed about it then, but it had made him start to wonder if he’d ever find someone he’d actually want to bring home.
Looking over at Ann, again, he realized there was no doubt in his mind that she was the one. He knew his parents would accept her immediately. After all, they had taken Roberta in with open arms after she’d visited them for the first time a few years back. It was the first time his mother had seen her daughter since she was a few days old. Meeting your son’s girlfriend seemed like a much smaller step than finding your long-lost daughter.
He felt the plane slowing and starting its descent.
“I haven’t been to Portland before. I’ve been to Seattle, but never to Oregon,” Ann said, sounding eager as she leaned to get a better look out the window. “Oh my God!” she said and turned so her shoulders were facing the window. Her hands went to either side of the small window. “Is that Mt. Hood? It’s so close and big.”
He chuckled. Most people flying into Portland for the first time had the same thought. He looked out his window and seeing the large, white peak hovering over the city made him feel like he was home. He missed it. He missed his family. He missed just relaxing and not being on the run. Looking over at Ann, he realized she was the reason.
“Yes, it’s over eleven thousand feet. Isn’t it beautiful?”
She turned and smiled at him. “Where is it you’re from again?”
“Cathlamet, Washington. It’s a very small town about an hour and a half from Portland. We’ll spend the night at my sister Roberta’s place in town tonight. Then we’ll drive over tomorrow to visit my folks and my grandma.”
When the plane finished taxiing, the doors were opened and he smiled as the cool air hit him in the face. The smell of home made him want to close his eyes and take it all in.
After getting their luggage, they grabbed a taxi and less than thirty minutes later were walking up to his sister’s front door. The newer stone home was in an older part of town, and he knew they’d just finished renovating the whole thing. It was where they stayed while they were in town, but their larger full-time home was in a small town called Pride almost two hours away.
As they approached, the blue front door swung open and a small girl with dark hair came running towards them.
“Efan, Efan,” she said over and over again. He laughed and pulled her up into a tight hug. She’d grown so much since he’d seen her four months ago. Her little chubby cheeks were still as kissable. But when she started talking, he noticed a few more teeth in her mouth.
“How’s my Rose-petal?” He swung her in a circle and kissed her all over her face, causing her to giggle.
He looked over and saw his sister and brother-in-law, Ric, standing in the front doorway.
His sister walked up and gave him a hug. He kissed the top of her dark head while still holding Rose. Rose was lucky enough to have gotten the best of both of her parents. Her big blue eyes she’d gotten from her dad. Her long dark hair and cute button nose she’d gotten from her mother.
“Ann, this is my sister Roberta and her husband Ric. And this,” he tickled the little girl in his arms, “is my Rose-petal.” The girl giggled and he watched Ann smile and shake his sister’s hand, then Ric’s.
* * *
Ann felt a little overwhelmed. Ethan had told her about his sister, that she was an ex-detective. But the thing that really loomed over Ann’s mind was the fact that Roberta had been stolen as a child and raised by a thief. She didn’t know exactly what had turned her life around, but she knew that Roberta had become a cop early on. After retiring young she’d become head of security for her husband who owned one of the largest growing franchises of art galleries in the US.
The couple was nothing like she had imagined. They were both fit and very tan, almost like they spent more time outside than inside. Gauging the amount of clouds she’d seen on the short taxi ride over here, she doubted they got so tan from the sun around here.
She could see some similarity between Roberta and Ethan. They had matching eyes and hair. But Roberta was very petite and a whole lot shorter. Ric was tall and blonde, and his smile was almost infectious as he chatted with Ethan.
Their townhouse was gorgeous. Its tall ceilings and light tan walls made her feel almost at home. Ethan carried their luggage up to the room they’d be staying in while Ann excused herself and freshened up in the small powder bathroom.
She’d never had a problem talking with people before, but for some reason, it really mattered to her what this couple thought of her. She tried to be smooth around them, but her nerves were showing. Finally, Roberta pulled her aside and asked for her help in the kitchen.
Ann looked around the large kitchen as the men talked in the living room area. Roberta was just putting the finishing touches on a big pan of lasagna while Ann finished fixing the salad.
“You know, I didn’t meet my brother until a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him.”
Ann looked over at Roberta. The woman was leaning against the countertop, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched her finishing the salad.
“I understand. I have a half brother that’s half my age. I can’t stand his mother, but the kid just gets to me.” She smiled, thinking of Blake’s face.
Roberta smiled. “You know, Ann, I think I like you. It was hard to tell at first. There’s just something about reporters that gets under my skin. But you…” Roberta nodded her head. “There’s this realness underneath it all that I’ve never seen in one of your kind before.”
Ann laughed. “One of my kind. I like that. I’ve never been associated as a “Kind” before.”
Roberta laughed. “You know, when I worked the force, I thought of your kind as a bunch of zombies, sucking the stories from the humans by any means possible.”
They both laughed as they carried the food into the dining room.
Ann couldn’t get over how comfortable Ethan was around Rose. The little two-year-old hung on him and when her little head started nodding off after dinner, he gently carried her upstairs and was gone for a while. After their talk in the kitchen, Ann had relaxed around Ric and Roberta, so the conversations flowed at a comfortable pace.
She learned all about his sister’s childhood, how she’d grown up in a gang, how she’d become a detective. The way Roberta told the story, Ann could just imagine it all happening and felt even more respect for the woman sitting in front of her.
She loved hearing the adventure Ric and Roberta had gone through together a few years back. How it had all been caused because of Ric’s friend Mitchell, when he’d asked Ethan to bring
Sandi to America.
“Actually,” Ethan said looking at his sister, “the first day I saw you in Portland, I was at the hospital that day because of that case. I’d just brought Sandi into the US. How we got here—that’s another story—but I’d just dropped her off at the safe point when Javan, who was working the case with me, got sick. Appendicitis.” He chuckled remembering how the big man had been taken down so quickly by the pains.
“You know, in a roundabout way, if it wasn’t for you, Rob and I would have never met.” Ric smiled at his wife.
“Yeah, thanks little brother. You do remember I was shot near the end there.”
“I know,” Ethan looked sad. “You scared us all.”
“Was it worth it?” Ann asked over her glass of wine.
“Yes, I did get my man.” She smiled and snuggled closer to her husband’s side on the couch.
When Ann was lying next to Ethan a few hours later, she rolled over and looked at him, resting her chin in her hands on his chest.
“I like your sister and her family. I can’t believe everything she’s gone through in her life.”
He smiled at her and continued to run his hand down her hair. “I can tell she likes you, too.”
“Really?” She sat up a little more, looking into his face.
He nodded and smiled. “She didn’t kick you out of her house. Rob is a really simple person. If she likes you, you’re in. If she doesn’t, there would have been no doubt about her feelings and you would have found yourself sleeping in the alley.”
She smiled, she couldn’t help it. Roberta was her kind of girl.
* * *
Where was she? He’d been told that she was heading straight home, days ago. He was usually a patient man, but waiting this long for something was wearing him thin.
He tried to get more information from her family, but no one was talking. He’d even sent his man into her work to see if someone would tell them where she’d disappeared to.
His boss was getting agitated. His plans kept changing and he had to justify all his moves. Reasoning everything out was just a waste of his time.
He thought of Ann and remembered the first time he’d been introduced to her. Her long blond hair had caught his attention right away. She was as tall as he was and he found that very attractive. Her legs were skinny and he knew he’d enjoy running his hands up them. He felt himself hardening thinking of her.
“Are you coming back to bed?” A rich female voice broke into his thoughts. Looking up he saw the brunette standing naked across his small office in the rented house. Her long dark legs were crossed as she leaned against the door frame. She still wore her black heels and stockings. Her perky breast peaked upwards and he knew they tasted just like the name she went by, Cinnamon.
He didn’t mind paying for a good time and tonight’s treat had been one he’d enjoyed many times over the last few months. But his mind was now running to a certain blond. Maybe he could use the energy he had pent up for Ann and enjoy one last night with Cinnamon before his job was done here.
Standing up, he walked over and grabbed her by the waist and bent her over the desk so that her face lay on the cool surface. He dropped his pants and plunged into her in one quick motion. Closing his eyes, he dreamed of seeing the blond hair pooling around the wood of his desk as he pounded her until he felt his release explode.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, after eating a huge breakfast and saying goodbye to Rob, Ric, and Rose, Ann and Ethan settled in their rental car for the hour-and-half journey to see his parents.
She watched the scenery change outside of town and the houses started getting further apart and smaller. Green fields covered most of the landscape and the trees were thicker.
By the time they turned off and drove through the town of Longview, she could feel her nerves building again. But shortly after they’d made it through the town, she lost herself in the drive again. The road narrowed to a small two lane and she couldn’t remember seeing a drive more peaceful or relaxing. Several times she would get a peek at the large river, the Columbia, which sat just beside the winding road.
The drive seemed to go on and she realized that they had hadn’t even passed any towns for a while.
“Here we are,” Ethan said as they pulled into a small side road which led down towards the small town. She could see the small cottages that lined the streets. The river was right there, and she could see a small dock area that housed a few dozen boats of all shapes and sizes.
“My parents live in the house just up there, and my house is up that way as well, but we’re heading over to my grandmother’s place first. She’s lived there her whole life. My grandpa died when I was seventeen in an accident at the mill. He would have liked you.” He smiled at her as he drove up a steep hill and stopped in front of a small wood framed house with a red roof.
Potted plants hung on the quaint front porch, and large pots of bright flowers sat everywhere. An older woman sat on the porch and when their car stopped, she stood up and waved.
“My grandma, Eliza. She’ll like you, too. I suppose my folks are running late. My dad never could be on time for anything.”
Ann watched as Ethan engulfed his grandmother in a hug. She could see the love between the two instantly, making her wish she’d had more time with her own grandmother before she’d passed away.
“You must be Ann. It’s such a pleasure to meet you, dear.” The woman hugged her lightly and smiled at Ethan. “Please, I have some tea ready, would you like to sit?”
Just as they made it to the front porch, a white truck pulled up and honked.
“Oh good, your parents are finally here.”
Ann watched as a man roughly the size of Ethan exited the truck and walked over to open the door for a woman who was the spitting image of her daughter, Roberta. When they approached she could see small differences, but there was no doubt left in Ann’s mind as to how Ethan knew who Roberta was that day at the hospital.
Ethan, on the other hand, took after his father more. Their builds were identical and Ann was impressed with the amount of muscle on his father. She wondered if they ever bragged about whose were bigger.
Smiling, she shook their hands after Ethan introduced them. Of course they’d both come in and given her hugs, making her feel very welcomed.
An hour later, Ann couldn’t imagine laughing any harder. His mother was telling her all kinds of stories about Ethan when he was a child. Ethan, for his part, sat there and just laughed or smiled back. She couldn’t imagine him coming from this kind of family and doing what he did for a living.
She’d always thought that mercenaries were hardened, raised in rough families. Like they were searching for an out and found it by doing what they did. It made him a bigger puzzle than she’d thought.
She’d never really asked him why he did what he did, if there had been any one reason he’d chosen his career. She could tell that he kept most of the stuff he did away from his family. From what she could gather, they thought of him as kind of a security guard.
After dinner, they finally headed out to his place. He’d mentioned he had a house in town near his parents’ place, but what he hadn’t mentioned is that he had built it himself.
They drove up the long driveway as a light, steady rain fell. She’d made a comment about how beautiful it was, and he’d confided that it had taken him and his father a whole year to finish it.
The wood cabin look was stunning. The large front porch wrapped around the entire place and there were at least two swings hanging from the porch. When he pulled the car around back, she noticed the large three-car carport attached to the garage.
“My father stores his tractor in the garage. They watch the place while I’m away. Their house is just there.” He pointed across a huge field. “You can see the lights.” She looked and, indeed, about a mile across the field she could see house lights. “Actually, they own all the land. I bought this small chunk from them. Well, he wouldn’t a
ctually let me pay for it.” He smiled.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Wait till you see inside.” He grabbed her hand and walked her in the door. She noticed it wasn’t locked and stopped.
“Ann, this is small-town Washington. No one locks their doors. The worst we have to deal with is deer eating our crops, and raccoons or bears getting into our trash.”
She looked around quickly for lurking bears as he laughed.
They walked in the back door which led them straight into a large kitchen. The steel stove sat in the middle on an island with a large steel vent hood over it. Large pots hung by a rack on either side of the vent. The marble counter-tops were a cream color matching the light oak cabinets.
The tile floor in olive green and beige gave it all a warm feeling. There was a small kitchen table and chairs off to the left near a large glass window which overlooked the fields.
As they walked through the place, Ethan talked about the construction and how he and his father had worked together. It was the most he’d said since she’d met him. She enjoyed hearing every detail.
The living room was off to the left and as she took the two steps into the sunken space, she marveled at the large two-story stone fireplace. The massive moose head that hung over it was just as impressive.
“My uncle got him in Alaska. He gave it to me as a birthday gift. I’ve been hunting with him a few times. Got myself a black bear once.” He smiled. “But fishing is more to my taste. I know the perfect spot to get some great salmon. Maybe next year…” he broke off and took her hand. “Well, how about I finish showing you around?”
She nodded her head. She didn’t know what else to say. He’d hinted at their relationship continuing. Did that mean she wasn’t just a job? But he’d broken his statement off. Did that mean he’d regretted saying it? Ugh! She hated having doubts.
They climbed a twisted staircase with shiny wood railings up to a landing. There she stopped and looked down at the living space. She could really enjoy the view of the large fireplace from here. There were large windows on either side and she could just make out the river in the distance.
