CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lucia felt something warm on her cheek and blinked sleepy eyes open to discover Eddie softly kissing her forehead. He drew back a little and smiled.
“Hey there, sleepyhead.” He stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek. “We’re here.”
She sat up, smoothed her hair back from her face, and took in the area.
Through the front window of the SUV, about twenty-five feet away, was an honest-to-goodness log cabin with a wide front porch, a small second story, and a stacked stone chimney.
Beyond that, sandstone cliffs built from layers of reds, golds, and browns were anchored by clusters of green trees at their base and rose skyward like nature’s sentinels. Off to the right, the sun was beginning to set and glowed off the cliff face like fire.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She let loose a massive yawn. “Oh, my gosh. Sorry ’bout that, too.”
“Don’t apologize. You have a right to be tired.” He tilted his head toward the back seat. “Besides, you weren’t the only one who dozed off.”
She unclipped her seat belt and shifted to look in the back. Her daughter was crashed out in her booster seat, her head leaning to one side, using her bunny as a pillow.
“You both nodded off shortly after we left the market.” He leaned in and gave her a soft, prolonged kiss. “Why don’t you get her, and I’ll start unloading our stuff.”
They’d stopped at a little market to pick up some food and other basic supplies for the cabin. He’d also bought a round floatie for Isabella that looked like a doughnut with sprinkles on it.
Lucia had questioned him about the need for a pool floatie, and he’d given her a you’re kidding, right? kind of look and said, “Isabella will need something to float on in the river.”
She wished she possessed even half of his ability to compartmentalize. Of course, it was probably a prerequisite for his job. Her brain had been a mass of scattered thoughts since the day he arrived back in town. Some good thoughts—great thoughts, actually—and some not-so-great ones.
One thing she was thankful for in all of the chaos was that she and Eddie had found their way back to each other again.
Isabella began to move around, then she opened her eyes. She looked at them, yawned and stretched her arms way up high. She looked out the window and was suddenly wide awake.
“We’re here! We’re here!” Her little fingers unclipped her shoulder restraints with the finesse of a magician doing card tricks. She used her foot to push the door open and hopped out.
“WOOOW!” Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “It’s a real-life cabin!”
Eddie climbed out and came around to open Lucia’s door, but she was already stepping out.
Isabella reached back into the car to grab her bunny, then ran toward the cabin and clomped up the wood steps to the porch.
“I can see the river!” She pointed, dashed back down the steps, and ran past them on her way toward the water.
“Don’t get too close,” Eddie called out.
“She’s regressed.” Lucia swung her legs out and hopped down from the SUV.
“What do you mean?” He focused his concerned gaze on the little girl. “She seems happy to be here.”
“It’s not that … it’s the bunny.” She gave him a quick sideways glance, then turned back to her daughter.
“When she first started going to day care, she decided all on her own that she was a big girl and big girls didn’t take their bunnies to school.
” Lucia watched her throw a rock into the water.
“But now, if she isn’t holding the bunny, she’s very careful to make sure it’s close by. ”
“Is that a bad thing?” Eddie continued to watch the little girl.
“Not necessarily, but it’s a good indicator for how she’s feeling on the inside.”
“Scared.” His chin dropped, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Asking her to give it up right now would deprive her of the comfort and security it provides.” Lucia couldn’t do that to her. “Once things settle down and she’s back to her routine, I think she’ll give it up again. For now, I’m not going to worry too much about it.”
“I hate that you’re both caught up in this. Especially since it’s because of me.” Eddie curved his hand around the back of her neck, drew her close, and looked her square in the eyes. “I promise on my life—I will not let anything happen to either one of you.”
He pulled her into his arms while keeping an eye on Isabella.
She wrapped her arms around him, and the strong, steady beat of his heart against her chest calmed her nerves and made her feel safe. But he was human—flesh, blood, and bone—and she hated the idea of him being hurt or, God forbid, killed protecting them.
Isabella’s squeals of delight lightened the heaviness of the moment.
“Why don’t we get our stuff put away.” He levered back to press a kiss to her forehead. “Then, if you’re okay with it, we can let her have a quick float before dinner.”
Lucia looked out over the river.
The greenish-white water splashed and churned as it tumbled and spilled over rocks smoothed by eons of constant flow. On the far bank, a large tree branch had fallen across the river, and all types of natural debris had piled up against it, creating random pools of swirling water.
“Is it safe? It seems to be running pretty swiftly.” Her daughter had only ever swum in a pool. “And I’ve heard parts of the river can be high in bacteria.”
“That’s usually a problem in the sections of the river that are downstream from populated urban areas or industrial centers.
Fortunately, this section of the river is very remote, so we’ve never had any issues with bacteria.
Trust me, I wouldn’t let her go anywhere near it if there were.
Also, we have life vests inside, and here, let me show you something.
” He took her hand and led her past where Isabella was still chucking rocks into the water.
He pointed at a wooden dock that extended out over the water about ten feet.
“I’ll tie her floatie to the end of the dock, and she can sit in it without having to worry about being carried away by the current.
And, of course, I’ll be in the water with her at all times. ”
What an amazing man. He’d shown more genuine care and concern for Isabella during this nightmare than her own father.
Hope you’re having a good time on your cruise, asshole.
“Isn’t the water kinda cold?” She walked over and stood next to her daughter.
“Well, it’s not warm,” he joked. “But you get used to it.”
Lucia squatted down, dipped her fingers in the water and just as quickly, yanked them out. “Brrr, that’s way too cold for me.”
Isabella stood with the toes of her new sneakers right at the edge of the river. She spread her little fingers wide, patted her palm against the surface, then dunked her arm in the water all the way up to her elbow. But only for a few seconds. She was careful to hold the bunny away from the water.
“I don’t think it’s cold.” She dragged her arm across the front of her shirt to dry it.
Lucia rolled her eyes. Of course, she would say that—she was already committed to the novel idea of swimming in a river.
“I think I’ll just leave the swimming to you guys.” Lucia pressed her hands to her knees and pushed up to stand.
“Darn.” Eddie leaned close and whispered in her ear, “I was really looking forward to seeing you in a bikini.”
“I—” She swallowed, and his warm breath skimmed across her ear, sending the kind of shivers through her that weren’t caused by cold water. “I don’t wear a bikini.”
“Shame.” The wicked man winked, knowing exactly the powerful effect he had on her. “But you’d look good in a burlap bag.”
But when he started back toward the SUV, she noticed him shaking his head and adjusting the front of his jeans as he muttered something she couldn’t understand.
She smiled and gained a great deal of satisfaction knowing she affected him, too.
Fair is fair, after all.
“Eddie, can I go inside the cabin?” Isabella ran after him, completely unaware of the sexual tension between the two adults.
“Sure, let me grab a couple of things from the car, and I’ll unlock the front door.” He pressed the key fob, and the tailgate slowly rose. The first thing he took out was the rifle case.
The site of the long, black case served as a stark reminder that they weren’t here for a relaxing vacation or to enjoy the scenery. They were there because a dangerous man wanted to destroy Eddie and everyone he cared about.
“I can carry my suitcase all by myself.” Her daughter stood on her tippy-toes and tried to grab it but couldn’t reach.
“Here ya go.” He easily lifted it out and set it on the ground.
“Thank you.” Isabella extended the handle until it locked in place and dragged it across the sparse grass and up the wood steps to the wide porch.
Ca-clunk. Ca-clunk. Ca-clunk.
Eddie grabbed his duffle bag, swung it onto his shoulder, and walked toward the cabin.
Lucia dragged her suitcase from the back and schlepped it across the small yard to join them at the front door.
He turned back to her as she walked up the steps and glanced down at her suitcase. “I would’ve brought that in for you.”
“I know.” She set the suitcase down and rolled it across the floor, careful to avoid the gaps between the planks of wood. “I guess I’m just used to doing things for myself.”
“Well … get un-used to it,” he grumbled, “because there are some things that I’m just going to do for you.”
Lucia dismissed his bossiness, because it wasn’t about male chauvinism or thinking women were weaker; it was about chivalry and cherishing the specialness of women.
Even when they were younger, he’d opened the door for her.
He always made sure to put himself between her and the road if they were walking down the sidewalk, and he would never even consider not walking her to her door at the end of a date.
Had he just dropped her off and his mom and dad got word of it, they would’ve been so disappointed. And Eddie respected his parents far too much to ever disappoint them.