“Sure. That would be great. So, um... Mr. ...” I paused. “I can’t think of his name. The guy who lives a few cabins down.”
“Gregory.”
“Yes, Gregory. How’s he doing? Have you been checking up on him too?”
“He’s good. Yeah, I like to get out of my cabin once in a while. A blizzard like this doesn’t slow me down. Even if it’s five minutes, at least I can get out and get in a little exercise. He’s doing well. I was going to check on him next to make sure he’s doing good after last night. There was a lot of ice that fell, and the snow was heavy. We’re due for another band of that heavy snow tonight. Wouldn’t doubt they wait to fix the power until a day or two has passed.”
“That long. Wow.” Okay.
“Most of us up here have backup generators. You might want to look into getting one of those for next winter. Or if you’re lucky, get one installed as soon as you can here. These storms like to show up out of nowhere.”
“What’s going on?”
I spun around, almost losing my balance. Easton reached out to steady me. “Jesus! Brooks! You scared the-you-know-what out of me!”
Easton laughed. “He got you good.”
Brooks didn’t smile but stared at Easton and me.
Easton noticed the demeanor Brooks displayed and took it upon himself to break the tension. “So, Brooks, how long are you staying for?”
“Do I have a deadline I have to be out by?”
I glanced at Brooks.
“No. Not at all,” Easton replied. “Just nice to have another handy-person up here during this season.”
Books nodded once and continued staring at both of us, expressionless.
“You guys doing fine on wood for your fireplace?”
“We’re doing fine. We have everything covered.”
“That’s good. You two are a few steps ahead of all the other newcomers that have tried to weather out the winter up here,” Easton said. “Well, I was thinking, if you two are free this evening...”
“We’re busy,” Brooks shot out before Easton could finish.
Stunned, I turned to look at him.
“Right, Erika. You didn’t already forget, did you?”
I looked back at Easton, who just stared at me.
“Well, we should get back to our list of things,” Brooks began. “As always, thank you for stopping by, Easton.”
“I’ll call them when I get back to my place,” Easton said as he pulled his hood over his head and reached for the door handle. “You two have a good day, and if you get everything done, maybe head on over. We can play some cards or cribbage of some sort. It’s always nice to have something fun to do when time permits.”
“Absolutely,” I said as he walked out the door. “And thank you very much for contacting them.” I closed the door and spun around to face Brooks. “What the hell was that?” I questioned him.
“What the hell was what? I should ask you that. I come down here after an amazing time with you to see you chalking it up with the neighbor.”
“Really? Is that what you think was happening?”
“That’s what I think was happening.”
“Well, you’re so wrong in that. And how you treated him was uncalled for. He was checking in to see if we were also without power. He was hoping it wasn’t just his house.”
Brooks just stood straighter and stretched his arms above his head. He walked towards the front door and locked it. “He doesn’t need to be coming over here like that. There’s something off with him.”
I wanted to shout out and tell Brooks he had something wrong with himself, that Easton was fine, but I couldn’t. Something was bothering him, and I couldn’t put my finger on just what it was. I knew he wasn’t fond of Easton, but there had to be a reason. Brooks always got along with anyone.
“What is it you think is off about him?” I asked Brooks. “Seriously. What do you see? Because I don’t see it, and maybe I’m blind to whatever it is. So please, tell me what you see.”
Brooks stared at me. “He’s not coming over here to just check up on you. He’s wanting more than that. I’m a guy. I can see this stuff from a mile away. Men are like that, and women just don’t see it as quick.”
“Okay.”
“How old is he? Late forties? We’re in our mid-forties, so he’s right in our age bracket. It’s not like you’re decades older or younger than him. He’s probably a lonely man wanting to get...”
“We don’t know his full story. For all we know, he could be married, have a wife and kids.” I shrugged. “We don’t know.”
“Well, there’s something off about him. I’m just going to say that. It’s almost like he’s lurking around here and knows just the right time to pop on over for an uninvited visit. Hell, I wouldn’t put the power outage past him. It happened right about the same moment as his visits.”
I had to give Brooks credit for that. Easton seemed to show up at the inopportune moments between Brooks and me.
“Now that you point that out, I see it.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “And the way he looks at you when he’s here—don’t forget to add that in there.”
“See, I don’t notice any of this. I feel he’s just being nice.”
“He is being nice,” Brooks confirmed. “A little too nice.”
“You can be nice and not interested in someone.”
“Coming from a woman, that’s true. But you have to view it from a man’s perspective. Men want one thing. And look at the entire picture. You’re up here in this new cabin. Your first winter. He knows you live alone. He’s, what we assume to be, living alone. A blizzard is looming and lo and behold, it’s the worst of the season so far. So, what does a lonely man have on his mind, but to make sure the new single neighbor isn’t lonely. And you know exactly what I’m getting at.”
I shook my head. “I never even thought about it that way.”
“It just doesn’t look good,” Brooks said. “It feels off. I mean, eleven o’clock to about six o’clock visits from your neighbor are standard. But you go outside of those time frames and showing up at almost midnight or before nine in the morning. I mean, c’mon.”
I nodded.
“So, now you understand why I think his visits have a different intention than what you think?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“Erika, what if he has some other vendetta on his mind too? We know little about him. You already told me you don’t even know his last name. For all we know, he might not even be the owner of that cabin, but a squatter up here for the winter. Then he packs up and leaves just in time for the owner to arrive. The owner arrives and doesn’t suspect a thing. It’s perfect, too. You’re the new neighbor. How would you know if he is the actual owner or not?”
“Now you’re scaring me.”
“Well? It’s not too far from the truth? A truth,” Brooks continued. “And he mentioned some other neighbor who stays here year-round. There are how many cabins here, and only three of you are here year-round. Seems kind of strange to me.”
“So, what do we do? Go check out this other neighbor and see if he exists?”
“No. We just keep everything locked and don’t let him back in your house.”
“I mean, he invited us to dinner at his place.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Do we go? Maybe then we could see if he’s the legit owner or not.”
“Erika, I don’t even trust the guy. I don’t know if I’d eat anything he cooks. What would happen if you get sick, or one of us needs to go to the ER? We’re stranded up here.”
“Geez, Brooks. Where were you when I bought this place? I didn’t think about any of this. None of it. I just wanted to get out of that town so fast, I took the first place I could get. And this one seemed like the perfect fit.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but this is the ideal place for you,” he declared. “This place is all you. It’s practically like they built it just for you. Funny, when I turned up to the driveway, I notic
ed the statues and from reading your books, I knew this was your place. I could just tell. So you chose an excellent cabin. But maybe it’s just that—a cabin. Maybe you come here during the late spring and stick around until the start of the snowfall or leave when everybody else leaves.”
“Well, thank you. I do like this place. The previous owner designed and built it to be a four-season house. He lived here all year long.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to stick around here for all four seasons. So back to the neighbor, we don’t even know his actual name. So for our safety, maybe we just pretend we’re not here when he comes knocking.”
“But Brooks... where would we go? We can’t go anywhere. He knows we’re home and stuck in here.”
“Just don’t answer the door. Or at least let me be the one to answer it from now on. At least if he tries something, you’ll have time to get out.”
I agreed. I hadn’t thought about half the stuff he suggested. No wonder he was so off when Easton showed up uninvited at the awkward hours. I got it now.
“Thank you,” I said as I stood and wrapped my arms around him.
“For what?”
“Telling me what you feel and everything.”
“I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
I grinned at him, and he leaned down to kiss me. “Want a cold pop tart for breakfast?”
Brooks laughed. “Sure. Why not?”
After breakfast, Brooks went up to take a shower and since I had previously taken one, I just went to my room to change into a cleaner pair of leggings and a different top. I had a tendency to wear the same pants and top for a few days in a row. It wasn’t like I went places, or did a lot of physical work, so I could get away with it. Plus, I was here alone. Who else would care if I wore the same clothes every day?
I made my bed, straightened up both nightstands, and peered out the window towards Easton’s house. I squinted as I noticed movement in the woods between our cabins. Was he on his way back over? I couldn’t tell what he was doing, but now, after Brooks telling me his observations and concerns, I was worried that maybe I didn’t know who my neighbor was.
I rushed downstairs, through the kitchen, and down to the basement. There were boxes I had packed with rarely used items. One of them had binoculars—I just didn’t know which one. In opening the first box, I smiled to see them siting right on top.
How convenient, I thought to myself. What are the odds they’re in the very first box I open?
I hurried back to my bedroom and struggled to get the binoculars to fixate on Easton. He looked highly engaged in whatever he was doing, and I had a hard time trying to keep an eye on him. Once I could catch him in focus and watch him, I paid attention to him the entire time Brooks was in the shower. When the water turned off, I watched Easton a few more seconds. Then, I watched as he stopped what he was doing and shifted his head to stare at me, or at least in my direction. He maintained his gaze on me like he knew he was being watched. I dropped the binoculars and moved my hand to my mouth to hold in my screams. When I heard Brooks open his bedroom door, I kicked the binoculars under my bed and dashed out of my room, meeting him halfway in the loft.
“What’s wrong?” Brooks asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost?”
Chapter Seven
The next few days were a blur. The snow arrived like they had predicted, and the wind was awful. Brooks attempted to shovel the front porch as best he could. We maintained a part of the patio until the drifts became exceptionally steep. The power turned back on later Sunday evening.
“Good morning,” Brooks said as he strolled downstairs.
“Good morning.” I smiled back at him.
“Getting some work done, are ya?”
“Yes. The book is due next week. I must’ve typed and retyped these last few chapters over a dozen times. I just can’t get it to jibe with the ending.”
He smiled. “I’ll leave you to your work today. Have you been able to get in touch with your editor?”
“No. The power came back on, but the internet is still out.”
“Well, hopefully you can get in touch with her soon before she gets worried and issues out an army to search for you.”
“There’s that too,” I chuckled.
“It looks like the storm has somewhat died down right now,” he added as he topped off his glass of ice water. “If you had a TV, I could check the weather.”
“Well, on your nightstand, I have an alarm clock with a radio.”
“I’m going to head up there and see what I can find out. I’ll leave you to your work. And I won’t disturb you.” He smirked. “Promise.”
I watched him go upstairs. It had been nice having him here. I waited so many years to see him again. Everything seemed perfect, and it was easy to pick up right where we left off.
I had been writing for a few hours and just ending a scene, when I thought I heard Brooks talking. Who would he be talking to? Does his cell phone work up here? Mine worked, but I had to stand out by my garage to pick up any sort of service. And I wasn’t heading out there in this weather.
I closed my laptop and went upstairs. When I came to the loft, I hesitated and listened. He wasn’t speaking on the phone. He didn’t have the radio on, but was he crying? I stepped closer to the door. Yes. He was crying.
I walked inside, lay on the bed next to him, and draped my arm over his back. He seemed to sob harder.
“You miss Jaden?”
No reply. Just him struggling to quiet his cries.
“I’m so sorry you got snowed in here and can’t go see him. I wish the cell service were better so you could at least call him.”
“Stop. Just stop,” he snarled.
Stunned, I held my breath. Okay, I thought to myself. Stop. Change the topic or be silent.
His cries lessened when he dried his eyes and turned to face away from me. I didn’t know if I should stay or leave to give him some time alone. I had only seen him cry one other time in my life. That was when he was first getting separated, and his soon-to-be ex-wife took Jaden to her hometown two states away. It took Brooks close to six months to get Jaden back, and then he still had to share custody with her. She got a pat on the wrist after all was said and done. I held him until his cries stopped. There wasn’t much more I could do. I wasn’t sure what to even talk to him about. It felt like he didn’t want to talk at all.
“Thanks,” he mumbled after an hour of us lying there in silence.
“You know I’m here for you,” I replied. “I just want everything to be okay. I don’t like to see you like this.”
Silence.
“Do you want to talk about anything?”
Silence.
I kept quiet for a little longer until I had to move because my side was hurting from lying in one position for too long. He turned his face towards me and smirked.
“I don’t like to see you hurting,” I said with a smile as I kissed him on the forehead.
He quickly got up out of bed, which caught me off guard.
“You don’t want to see me hurting? You of all people don’t want to see me hurting?”
I nodded in disbelief. It was like his demeanor changed on the flip of a switch.
“I will always hurt!” he shot back at me with piercing eyes.
I perched up in bed and stared at him, wanting to leave the room but too afraid to move.
“You have no idea what hurt is!” he continued. “NO IDEA! None. Your petty divorce hurt you, yes, but you have no idea what hurt is!” He raised his voice as he paced the room.
I despised his ex-wife with my entire being at that moment. Look what she’d done to him. Look what she’d put him through. She had no idea, or maybe she did. Maybe this was her goal—to make him so furious, he created an unstable environment for Jaden, and then she got awarded full custody like she had demanded from the beginning. In fact, I didn’t think she loved Jaden as much as Brooks did. She more wanted Jaden, for a pawn, a dagger to hurt Brooks more for n
ot loving her. Well, I couldn’t blame him. Who would love her? Who would deign so low to appreciate someone like her?
I wanted to cry for Brooks as he continued yelling and pacing, but the more he yelled, the more furious I became with her for hurting him on purpose. She would verbally abuse him in public. So I didn’t have to imagine what went on behind closed doors. If she was that comfortable to degrade him in public, it was worse at home when they were alone. And she wasn’t afraid to take her rage out on others. I made her vengeance list, probably somewhere at the top. She had no problems degrading me and provoking a performance in public, over her lack of affection for her own husband. I was sorry for falling in love with a married man, but evidently, she didn’t appreciate her own husband. He wasn’t the person she created him to be. And now, sitting here, seeing him in his fit of hatred and rage, I saw her.
“Brooks, please!” I yelled for him to hear me. “Stop.” I rose from the bed and started towards the door. He flew towards me, slammed the door, and forced me back on the bed.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing! You wanted to talk, so we’re talking, and now you just decide the conversation is over? Just like that, you’re done. You just want to hear enough until it suits you, and suddenly you call it quits.”
“No, that’s not it at all,” I threw back.
“Then what is it, Erika? Enlighten me please. What is it? Just a few minutes ago, you were reassuring me and asking me if I wanted to talk about it. You know what? I don’t want to talk about anything right now. Sometimes, we just need to cry. Men can grieve too, you know!”
“I never said once that men can’t cry. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like this,” I pointed at him. “Why are you pacing and screaming at me? What did I do to you?”
“You left me, Erika...”
“Oh. My. God.” I glared at him. “Are we really going to have this conversation again, Brooks? Really. We agreed the past is the past, and we’re starting over, forgetting all that had happened!”
The Stranger In the Guest Room Page 4
