“So you think I’m charming?”
She shook her head in exasperation as she got into her car, slamming the door. She didn’t spare him another look as she pulled off into the night, leaving nothing but dust in her wake.
Hunter sniffed a few times, eyes narrowing. She’d also left the scent of fear in the air, despite her brave words.
Kelly was definitely running from something, afraid of something, and Hunter was going to find out what that something was.
He’d just found a reason to stay in Silver Lake after all.
As Kelly walked up the steps to the cabin that would be her new home, she could see why Mina was concerned.
The stairs creaked and made ominous little cracking noises, and there appeared to be loose beams up by the roof. Maybe the inspector was blind, but Kelly was kind of glad the house had passed inspection.
It was the only home in her price range, and as long as she was careful with it, she should be fine.
She tried to shake thoughts of the handsome man who’d followed her out of the bar, looking concerned for her.
Mina had seemed to like him, if that meant anything.
Former Kelly would have taken him up on his flirting, bantering the night away with him and enjoying his company.
But her life now had no room for romance.
Once she was inside the living room, she set down her luggage and put her hands on her hips, surveying the damage.
Truthfully, the place didn’t look too bad, and she could have someone out here to fix it, once her painting picked up again.
As long as a certain bear didn’t show up.
She made sure the front door was locked and took her night bag up to her bedroom to unpack and get some rest.
As she walked up the creaking stairs, the upper floor came into view, with a living room area and several doors leading to bedrooms.
She opened the one that led to the master suite, where she would sleep.
There was a bed and a dresser and nightstand and a huge window looking out at all the beautiful trees.
If she had to be away from everyone, it might as well be here, where it was so beautiful the painter in her felt inspired.
And there was no way a bear could follow her on a plane, right?
She began to unpack, putting her stuff in the dresser, and stopped when she heard her phone ring.
She picked it up and saw her mom’s caller ID.
Shoot, forgot.
“Hi, Mom,” she said, holding the phone to her ear so she could continue to unpack. “Sorry I didn’t call sooner. I just got in after a stop in town.”
“Phew,” her mom said. “I know I shouldn’t worry so much. You’re a grown woman, but after the year you’ve had—”
“Yeah,” Kelly said, cutting her off. Her mom had never believed her about what was happening, had thought she was merely having a mental breakdown and seeing things.
Pretty much what everyone else thought.
“Anyway, it’s late here. I’m going to bed,” Kelly said.
“What do you think of the town there? Any nice men?”
Kelly pinched the bridge of her nose, praying for patience. “I told you I’m not dating right now. The bear—”
“Don’t you say anything about that bear! I can’t stand to hear it.” Her mom’s tone was histrionic, and Kelly knew there was no point going further on the topic.
“Look, I just want to focus on my painting and…” She trailed off, realizing she didn’t owe her mom an explanation anyway. “How are things at home?”
“Fine, except your father and I are worried about our only daughter on the other side of the country, all alone.”
“I like being alone,” she said softly. It was true to a point. She preferred being alone to being with a prying family who clearly thought her insane. She preferred being alone to being with a man who thought she was crazy or a man who finally believed her but ran off at the first sign things were real.
Compared to all that, alone was just fine.
“Don’t be afraid to reach out to people,” her mom said eagerly. “I’m sure no one has read the article there, and no one will know about—”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it.” Kelly drummed her fingertips on the dresser, impatient to end the call. Her mom always wanted things on her terms, and right now, Kelly just wanted some rest.
“Well, we aren’t, but… you need to think about your future. Grandkids. This move is a great opportunity for you to finally move on. You know what I mean. Forget about—”
“We aren’t talking about it,” Kelly said firmly, more than exasperated by this point. How could she forget about something that still might be a danger? That no one, including her, really understood?
But there was no point telling her mom that.
“Anyway, I’m safe, and I’m going to bed. I’ll probably be out of reach for a while since I need some time to myself.”
“But we’re your family,” her mom whined. “And after what we’ve been through with all your crazy stories, don’t you think we deserve to—”
Kelly hung up the phone and took a deep breath as she silenced it.
She was used to her mom making everything about herself, but she didn’t want that energy now. Not when she was exhausted from traveling cross country to make a new, safer place for herself.
She crossed to the bay window and looked out at the trees lit by moonlight and stretching out in all directions. It was beautiful here, and she didn’t have any feeling of being watched.
But the bear had followed her before, even if not this far a distance. So a part of her was always nervous, waiting for things to go wrong.
She opened the door that led out onto the upper deck and stepped out warily, enjoying the cool night air on her skin and the feeling that she was the only being for miles.
She didn’t have to think of the article, the bear, or her mother as she simply enjoyed the rustling trees around her, the cool, pine-scented breeze.
For a second, her brain thought of the handsome man at the bar again. Hunter.
She wrapped her arms around her as she remembered his face. Why she thought about him now, she wasn’t certain.
Perhaps because the romantic in her wasn’t dead. Of course she still wanted to find someone. Maybe, if the bear stayed away this time, she could.
Maybe she’d finally escaped him. Maybe this stupid, unbelievable nightmare that left her haunted and alone was finally over.
But maybe not.
Chapter 2
The next morning, Hunter wasn’t exactly sure why he was out wandering in the woods at the far edge of Silver Lake. Sure, he liked taking long walks in his cougar form, feeling the soft earth beneath his paws, smelling the piney scent that seemed to permeate everything, but he didn’t have to come this far to have that.
It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with checking out the cabin that Kelly had moved into.
He paced around, keeping low in the underbrush, not wanting to be seen by her or anyone right now. The soft pads on his feet absorbed almost all sound, and he kept his ears perked to the sound of even the smallest bird moving around. Not far from him, a hare skittered off, fearful of the large predator’s presence. But Hunter didn’t chase it.
His cat was much more curious about something else.
For some reason, he wanted to get an eye on the home, see why Kelly had been acting so standoffish last night.
There was definitely something about her. Something that drew him to Kelly. If nothing else, he liked her scent, the memory of it still in the back of his mind, vanilla and wildflowers, as if she spent a lot of time outside.
She also had an amazing body, but that was neither here nor there right now.
The forest around her cabin really was beautiful. Aged pines were evenly spaced out to allow a thick undergrowth of ferns and saplings, interrupted by old fallen logs and patches of bark. Which was why the cabin itself was such an eyesore to loo
k at.
More than an eyesore. Downright dumpy.
The decades-old logs hadn’t been treated perhaps since the home had first been built, causing large cracks to split them down the center as they ran in horizontal lines. The windows were from long before a time when the words “double-paned” were in existence. The roof, or the scattered array of worn, sun-bleached shingles that was supposed to count for a roof, looked like it would leak at the sign of a single raindrop. And the little deck on the back seemed about as stable as a pair of uneven stilts.
Speaking of the deck, Hunter spotted Kelly out on the back. Instinctively, he ducked lower into the brush, tucking his ears and crouching. Thankfully, she was facing the other direction and seemed to be preoccupied with setting up a wooden easel with splotches of paint dried in random spots. Next to her, on a little table, he could spot other various painting supplies and a blank canvas.
So she was a painter.
For a few moments, she busied herself with setting things up, looking distracted as she moved back and forth. It reminded him of last night, of how she’d been so closed off, like her mind was somewhere else.
What was she really like?
But even though he wanted to sit and watch Kelly work, the last thing Hunter needed was to be spotted. So he snuck his way around the corner of the house, continuing his “research.”
The view from the side was almost worse. He could see cracks in the foundation, if the poor excuse for an understructure the house sat on could be called that. More of the roof on this side was cracked, broken, or missing, probably from the southern sun exposure. And the front door looked like it was ready to fall off its own hinges.
He frowned in dismay at the wreck that was Kelly’s lodgings. Aside from a million cosmetic improvements that needed to be made to help prolong the life of the home in general, there were some serious immediate fixes that needed to be done before something major happened.
Like a roof collapsing. Or the pillars propping up the back deck giving out. Or the house freezing in winter due to lack of insulation. Or an electrical socket shorting and the place catching fire.
Hunter shook his head, trying to not get too worried about all the myriad ways someone could meet an untimely end in this place. He reminded himself that people had, in fact, been living here plenty long and hadn’t yet died.
But as he made his way back down the mountain, heading toward town and his hotel room, Hunter began formulating a plan in his head.
Because something needed to be done immediately.
And he was going to be the one to do it.
Kelly was sitting, staring at the blank canvas on her easel, sipping on a bottled iced tea, when she heard a knock at the door. It wasn’t particularly loud, and for a moment, she thought maybe she’d just been hearing something else.
After all, the cabin was full of creaks and pops. Sometimes they were so loud it made her jump. But such an old place would have issues like that. Not a problem.
There were three more knocks, though, louder this time, and Kelly got out of her chair.
At least it wouldn’t be the bear. It couldn’t be. She’d never known it to come close enough to knock on a door. And how exactly would it knock anyway?
Still, she would usually ignore any human on her doorstep, since she liked her privacy. Needed to have space to herself as an artist. But out here in the tiny town of Silver Lake, with no friends, no connections, it was probably best to at least try to be neighborly.
After all, she wasn’t trying to make enemies.
She reached the door and glanced through the small peephole. It was so dusty she could barely see through it, but when she adjusted her angle, she could make out the face of the handsome man she’d met at the bar last night.
Hunter.
He was wearing a Stetson today that covered his gorgeous, naturally blond hair, but his sparkling blue eyes and hard jaw were still unmistakable. Plus, that build. Those long, hard legs encased in jeans that probably wouldn’t be too hard to pull off of him.
Though, she shouldn’t be thinking about that.
She opened the door halfway, squinting a little as sun poured from behind him, making him look even more angelic, despite his blue jeans and fitted flannel shirt.
“Oh, hey,” she said, not sure where to start. Last night’s conversation hadn’t gone particularly smoothly.
“Hey, it’s good to see you—”
“It was nice of you to stop by, but sorry, I can’t chat right now.” She needed to close the door before this guy’s perfection blinded her. She needed to go back and paint. But as she started to swing the door slowly closed, his hand was on it, stopping her.
“Actually, I’m not giving you a choice on that,” he said, looking past her and then into the house. “We need to talk.”
When she turned over her shoulder to try to see what he was looking for, she felt the door swing open. To her surprise, Hunter strode into the house past her, surprisingly agile for someone so tall.
“Wait, you can’t just barge in. I’m working!” She shut the front door behind her and trailed after Hunter, still shocked he’d had the audacity to just walk in.
So much for small-town manners.
He made his way into the living room, glancing around and stopping in the middle. He folded his arms, seemingly lost in thought, nodding to himself.
“Are you listening to me? I said you need to leave.” Somehow, even though he’d barged in uninvited, she was more angry than frightened. Something about his aura just gave her the impression that he didn’t mean her any harm.
But that didn’t mean she had to like his misbehavior.
He was silent for a moment. “It looks nice in here. I like what you’ve done so far with the place.”
“I… Thanks. But that’s not the point. You weren’t invited in. Is this how you treat all your neighbors?”
“I need to show you something.” For some reason, her words seemed to deflect off of him.
Walking around like he owned the place, Hunter made his way up the stairs, the wood creaking under his heavy weight.
Kelly threw her hands in the air with a groan and then followed him, her curiosity greater than her fear of any real danger at this point.
Besides, Hunter seemed much more focused on looking for something inside the house than even engaging her as he had last night. Which seemed odd since, as far as she knew, this was just a regular old cabin like any other.
She made her way up the steps, hurrying before Hunter disappeared out of sight. He made a right into a small guest bedroom she hadn’t yet checked, and she turned in after him.
“You see this?” Hunter asked, pointing up at something. When Kelly looked, she saw several small holes, letting light peek through from the morning sun. Around the area, the old wood roof was starting to rot, cracking and splitting in a number of places from years of wear.
“Yes. It’s a little… pre-loved. So what?” What business was it of his if her place was a bit shoddy?
“If you don’t do something about this before winter, you’re screwed,” he said solemnly. There was a slight scowl on his face, but Kelly got the feeling his scowl was directed at the general disrepair the roof was in, not her.
He was certainly right, if she had any intention of remaining here long enough for the fall rain and winter storms to kick in.
But she didn’t.
“It’s fine. I don’t plan on staying that long.” Unless for some reason the bear didn’t find her, in which case she would still probably be making new plans with the freedom she finally had.
Hunter made a confused expression, then began to examine the room again.
“Well, there’s these, too.” He pointed out a couple of old electrical outlets. She could see exposed wiring and a little corrosion on them. “These are probably a few decades old. Definitely not up to code right now.”
“Are they dangerous?”
“Well, the breaker would short if there was a pro
blem, so not incredibly. But it’s not ideal.” He walked to the side of the room. “But these windows here need replacing, as well as the one out in the hallway.” He strode back into the hall connecting the rooms on the upper floor, pointing out things as he went along.
Half amused by odd obsession with her cabin and its obvious state of disrepair, Kelly followed him around, coming back down to the first floor.
“And also, your front and back doors need to be replaced. Or at least have reinforced hinges drilled in and a good sanding.”
“They lock, don’t they?” The more he paced around, the more amusing he was to her.
Something about a big, handsome guy like him going ape shit over a few problems in a home she was planning on staying in only temporarily was a bit adorable.
Especially since there was absolutely no reason he should even be in her home.
“It’s not safe. The doors could fail at any moment. And there’s wolves out in these woods. I don’t like it.” He shook his head gravely.
“Well, luckily, it’s not your problem,” she said sharply.
She had enough issues with trying to escape a bear that was stalking her across the nation and didn’t need more things to be afraid of.
Her fear of that… thing had affected her work, her passion, for too long. Not only was she broke, but there seemed to be no way out of this mess unless she could get back on her own two feet.
She was just so tired.
“It’s my problem because I don’t want to see something happen to you. After seeing this place, I’d be a jerk if I just walked away.”
He sounded oddly insistent, despite barely knowing her. Maybe he was just an overprotective guy. Maybe he’d had sisters. But either way, this wasn’t his problem, and she just wanted him gone.
“I was the one who decided to move into this cabin in the first place,” she said. Her frustration, not at Hunter’s presence, but at her own realization of her predicament, was gradually tightening her chest.
She’d thought she’d finally found something safe here, and she didn’t have money to do a bunch of repairs. Not yet.
Built Fur Love Box Set Page 31
