Drawing Hearts

by J. M. Jeffries

  “So what can I help you with?” she asked. “Trying to impress someone?”

  “Actually, I’m hoping you’ll help me kidnap you,” he replied with a wicked grin.

  Now that sounded interesting and unplanned. “Kidnap me?”

  He glanced at his watch. “You said to do the unexpected. I don’t think you woke up this morning thinking you were going to be kidnapped.”

  She held up a hand. “No, not on my to-do list. Why are you kidnapping me?”

  “Why does anybody kidnap someone?”

  “To do them bodily harm and get a large ransom.”

  “I’m a semi-Buddhist and have my own money, so bodily harm and ransom are not in my wheel house.”

  She frowned at him. “What’s a semi-Buddhist?”

  “More of a cafeteria Buddhist. I choose what I like and don’t bother with what I don’t want.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  “Go where?”

  “I already told you. I’m kidnapping you. Part of the scenario is that you’re not supposed to know where I’m taking you while waiting for the ransom.”

  She stood. “I’m in, as long as it doesn’t involve duct tape.”

  He tapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Damn, I’ll have to scratch that off my list.”

  He’d taken her advice to heart, to do the unexpected. And she was intrigued by what he had in mind. He picked up the duffel bag.

  “What’s in the bag?” she asked.

  “Tools of the trade.”

  “I hope that’s not a saw with plastic bags, chloroform or things like that.”

  “If I told you that, there’d be no surprises.”

  She studied him and he half pulled her through the boutique to the hotel lobby. “Can you at least give me a hint so I’m not totally surprised?” She glanced down at her cream dress and red wedge shoes.

  “It’s cool stuff.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Not much of a hint.”

  He held up his head. “I’m winging it.”

  A limousine waited at the front doors. Her grandmother’s new chauffeur waited for them. He tipped his visor at her and opened the door.

  “My grandmother is part of this, isn’t she?” Kenzie asked as she sat down.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He whipped a scarf out of the pocket of his jacket and started to wrap it around her eyes.

  “What are you doing?” She pushed the scarf up to study him.

  “No good kidnapping works unless the victim is blindfolded.”

  She settled back against the cushions. “You are a planner.”

  “Yes, I am.” He put a glass of wine in her hand. “Sit back and relax. Trust me.”

  “Do you know what it’s called when a victim trusts their kidnapper?”

  “What?”

  “Stockholm Syndrome. Which means when I testify against you in court, I’ll have romanticized our relationship.”

  “I haven’t planned your testimony yet.”

  “You better start now. I’m already thinking about my outfit and the right facial expressions.” The limousine slid smoothly into traffic. Kenzie did as Reed told her. She sat back, prepared to be amazed.

  * * *

  The drive was long, but pleasant. Kenzie wanted to ask questions, but knew Reed wouldn’t answer them. She’d leaned her head back against the headrest and allowed the drive to lull her into peaceful serenity. Soft music filled the cab of the limo.

  The limousine rolled to a stop after what seemed like a much longer trip than Nina thought. The door opened and Reed helped her out. She raised her hand to remove the blindfold, but he stopped her.

  “Not yet.” He led her down a graveled path that turned into wood. She could hear birds chirping and calling and the sound of waves hitting against sand.

  With a flourish, Reed removed the blindfold and Kenzie stood enchanted. In front of her the majesty of Lake Tahoe spread out to reach the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The sparkling clear water shone like diamonds in the sunlight. She stood on a pier with a yacht tied up at the end. Four men in white sailor-type clothing stood at attention on either side of a ramp leading up to the side of the yacht.

  “What?” she asked turning to Reed.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her down the length of the pier.

  One of the men came forward. “Welcome aboard the Lady Nevada, Miss Russell, Mr. Watson. I’m Captain Nathan Pierce.” He introduced the crew.

  She didn’t think anything could surprise her anymore, but Reed had. “What’s going on?”

  Reed practically quivered with excitement. “We’re going to cruise the lake and Fannette Island. After that, a sunset dinner.”

  “I’m impressed.” She walked up the gangplank to the boat. Reed held her hand as she stepped onto the boat. “I’m hardly dressed for a cruise.”

  He held up the duffel bag. “All taken care of courtesy of Nina and your grandmother.”

  “Your co-conspirators. I can’t believe Nina was able to keep your secret.” Nina had never kept a secret in her life. She wasn’t surprised about Miss E. Her grandmother could keep secrets with the best of them.

  “Amazing, what the threat of ruining someone’s digital life will do.” He grinned.

  “That would be enough. She’s never without her phone or iPad.”

  The yacht rocked slightly as the crew prepared to cast off from the pier. She followed Reed into the interior of the boat. A dining table had been set in the main salon. He led her to a stateroom and handed her the bag. “Go change. Put the hiking gear on.”

  “And what are we hiking?”

  “We’re hiking Fannette Island. It’s not too big, but it is rocky according to Captain Pierce.”

  She took the duffel and closed the door. She unzipped it and pulled out jeans, a T-shirt and hoodie along with hiking boots. As she changed she thought about Miss E. Obviously both Miss E. and Nina liked Reed and they wanted to give him a chance with her.

  Sam had wanted to possess her and not in a good way. She had been an accessory for him. Reed was so different. He wanted to make her happy, to be a team, the way Lydia and Hunter were a team along with Nina and Scott and Donovan and Hendrix. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be a team yet, but she liked the potential. She smiled as she changed and wondered what was going to happen next.

  * * *

  Fannette Island was the only island in Lake Tahoe. Situated in Emerald Bay, the island was a small, rocky place containing pine trees, shrubs and a building that looked like a tiny castle. The roof on the little structure was long gone and the interior was filled with shrubs, but it had charm. Kenzie perched herself on a boulder to look around. The water surrounding the island was dotted with boats and tourists. She could hear laughter from a group of kids jumping from rock to rock.

  Landing on the island had been an experience. It had no beaches, just rocks. The island was so peaceful, she could stay for hours just sitting and gazing at the bay. She turned to study Reed. She liked the way his pants fit him. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and a windbreaker. Even though the day was warm, the light breeze had a cold edge to it, a signal that winter was on its way.

  “What is this tiny house that sort of looks like a castle?” Kenzie asked, pointing at the building.

  “It was a teahouse,” Reed said, consulting the brochure the captain of the yacht had given him. “Built by Lora Josephine Knight. She brought her guests here to have tea. She also built Vikingsholm Castle, which was her summer home.” He pointed to a building partially hidden by the trees on the opposite shore. Visitors hiked around the stone house.

  “I could have tea here,” Kenzie said. She stood on the boulder and looked out over the crystal-clear water of Emerald Bay.
“Though it is a hike.” Practically straight up.

  “Still can’t peg you as a nature girl.” Reed sat down on the rock next to her and gazed around him. His face and body were relaxed. A boyish look on his face told her he was enjoying himself.

  “I like that I can surprise you.” Miss E. had always been frugal, with her eyes firmly planted on seeing everyone go to college. Vacations had been camping trips to Yosemite or the Grand Canyon. Kenzie had asked Nina once if she wanted to go camping and the look of horror on Nina’s face had been priceless.

  A few tourists explored the island with them. Boats anchored offshore contained more tourists, cameras hanging around their necks as they snapped photos.

  Reed chuckled. “That’s funny. You volunteered for this. I was forced.”

  “Forced in what way?” Kenzie asked. She studied the shoreline of the bay. Mountains rose in the distance with snow-capped peaks.

  “I was perfectly happy being home with my video games and my computer parts, but my dad had this strange notion that fresh air was healthy.”

  “The horror.” Kenzie shaded her eyes. On the far shore a small herd of deer picked their way delicately through the trees. Overhead, an eagle circled lazily, drifting on the air currents.

  “I know. Who knew learning to build a fire or a shelter, or finding your way out of the woods would ever come in handy.”

  “Did it?”

  “One time I rented a cabin and took my company to Colorado for a ski bonding weekend.”

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” She loved to ski. She could hardly wait for the first snowfall at Mammoth so she could break out her snow gear.

  “It was cold,” he said. “A storm moved in. The electricity went out and we had no internet. Fortunately I knew how to build a fire to keep everyone warm. Or we would have been in trouble. Had we had access to the internet we all would have been fine because we could have searched for how to build a fire, but we didn’t. So I built the fire, and set out the game of Monopoly to keep everyone entertained, and I did send a thank-you to my dad for making me learn.”

  She found herself laughing, imagining him hunched over a fire, coaxing it to burn. That was in conflict with the way he presented himself. “Did you get any skiing in?”

  “We got on a plane the day the storm broke and decided our next team-building weekend would be in Cancun.”

  “There are hurricanes in Mexico.”

  “My dad taught me hurricane survival, too.” His eyes twinkled as he laughed.

  Kenzie liked how his blue eyes sparkled when he was making fun of himself and the way his smile appeared when he was talking to her. He was such a handsome man. In the real way, not too fussy, but someone who seemed comfortable with himself. “That’s pretty cool.”

  “I’m covered for hurricanes, tsunamis, avalanches, and the zombie apocalypse.”

  “The zombie apocalypse, now that’s a worry. Having you around for one will be handy.”

  “I’ll save your brain, unless you’re one of the people turned into a zombie—then I’ll be putting one between your eyes. My dad made sure I could shoot at marksman level.”

  She loved how he looked so serious. “Scott taught me to shoot.” She didn’t particularly like guns, but understood why he wanted her to know how to use one. “He’d also taught me how to defend myself, as one of my high school boyfriends found out...the hard way.” She could still see the look on Michael Craft’s face when she tossed him on his butt. He’d never asked her out again, which was fine with Kenzie. In fact, most of the guys who wanted to ask her out had to think twice about doing so.

  “I can do you one better,” Reed said with a mischievous grin. “My dad was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu just before it became Naval Base Ventura County. I was on the sharp-shooting team in high school. One day, I was walking home from school and decided to practice and accidentally shot out one of the electrical transformers that supplied the base with electricity. I got home from school to find the base on high alert.”

  “I’ll bet your dad had something to say to you.”

  “Actually, I just cleaned my rifle, put it away and never said anything to anybody.”

  She gasped. “Love that. And now I have blackmail.”

  He just grinned at her. “I did eventually confess, but I waited ten years. There was a big contribution to the Wounded Warriors project after that.”

  She found it difficult to picture him as a teenager. He had such an air of seriousness about him that she felt he’d always been an adult even when he’d been a child. Scott had that same air about him. Meeting Nina had changed him, though. Nina was good for her brother.

  Reed stood next to her on the boulder. She could feel the heat radiating off his body. Her heart raced and she was surprised she wasn’t all tongue-tied. She pointed out the deer across the water on the other shore and he smiled as he watched them with her.

  Reed was a comfortable man to be around. He was amusing company. She could be herself with him. She didn’t have to be on her best behavior. For the first time in a long time, she felt relaxed and carefree. She thought about Sam and knew he would never tell her a story about himself that would make him look like a dork. Reed thought his dorkiness was a learning experience. He was an innovator and knew that every accomplishment came with a million failures. That was not only attractive to her, but exciting.

  A light breeze caressed his face and ruffled his blond hair and she wanted to run her fingers through it. She suspected he would let her. Below her the yacht bobbed in the water next to another chartered yacht. Captain Pierce stood on the deck talking to a man in the neighboring boat. A couple speedboats roared by, the rippling waves causing all the other boats to bob even more.

  “Lake Tahoe has its own Loch Ness monster.” Reed held up the brochure. “Called Tahoe Tessie.”

  “Did you say Taco Tessie?”

  “No. Taa-hoe Tessie.” He snickered for a second. “Here I was having a vision of a huge taco swimming in the Lake.”

  Kenzie laughed. “When my grandmother first asked me to come to Reno, I wondered what I was going to do. Living in New York City, you get spoiled with the variety. There’s a new restaurant, a new play, a new night club or a new boutique to go to every day. The things to do in the city seemed as if they were designed to distract a person. But here, I have to engage with things. In New York, I felt like a viewer. Here, I can think and enjoy the quiet.”

  “Some people say peace and quiet is overrated.”

  She jumped off the boulder and leaned against it. “I used to be one of those people.”

  He slid down next to her. “What do you think changed you?”

  She thought for a moment. “Whether it’s 2 a.m. or 2 p.m., Manhattan is never quiet. Here, I can hear myself think.” A couple of teenagers approached the old teahouse. Their laughter rang through the stillness. “When I was a kid my brothers and I had to make our own fun even though we lived in Las Vegas. I feel like I don’t take my life for granted here.”

  “I don’t picture you taking anything for granted.”

  She could feel his steady gaze on her and a heated flush climbed up her cheeks. “I take a lot of things for granted. In an odd way, I took my ex for granted. He would always be there to entertain me and keep me up to date on all the latest gossip, the latest trends.” She sighed. “I was shallow.”

  “What’s different now?”

  “My family is expanding. My brothers are all in love. I have a nephew and a niece. Every day I see my best friend who is soon to be my sister-in-law. Before, when we got together we would pack so much into so little time. Like we were missing each other because we had things we needed to do. I forgot how much I just enjoy their company, how smart and witty my grandmother is. My world has slowed down to the point where I can actually enjoy it.”

&nb
sp; “What can I say? I’m semi-retired.”

  “You work.” From what she could see, he worked hard.

  “My work is now so much more fun and so much less stressful I feel like I have a hobby I do every day now. My father thought he was going to die after he retired. Instead he fishes, plays golf, romances some really hot babes his own age and works on his old Chevy Malibu. He donates time to a youth program and his church. When he was sick, I got to spend time with him and discover him as a man and a human being. I had no idea how much I liked him.”

  “I forgot how awesome my brothers are,” Kenzie said, “and how much we like each other. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I get to be independent and yet still dependent on them in a way.”

  “Until I met your family, I didn’t miss having siblings. I wondered what it would be like, but I didn’t miss it.”

  “For the most part it’s great until you have a house with only one bathroom. Being the only girl, I always felt I should get the bathroom first.”

  Reed laughed. “Duly noted. Let’s seal the bargain.” He leaned toward her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  His breath was sweet and fresh and his lips soft. Kenzie wanted more than just a light kiss. Every inch of her body strained toward him. But laughter from behind them stopped her. She glanced back at the teenagers who watched her and Reed avidly. She blushed.

  Reed jumped to his feet, pulled her erect and started down toward the yacht.

  * * *

  From the back of the deck, they watched the sunset. The sun, a brilliant orange, sank behind the mountains. She’d changed out of her hiking clothes into a revealing black dress with a neckline that dipped daintily between her breasts. He’d been pursued by some beautiful women. He’d indulged in them because he was a man, but Kenzie was different.