Chapter 5 #2
I smile again. “That sounds perfect.” Maybe it will ease my nerves because Lord knows I could use calming.
“Sit, princess.” He points toward the loveseat in front of the fire.
I shuffle that way and crawl into the corner, pulling his sweatshirt down over my knees. There’s a soft blanket resting over the back of the sofa, and I pull it down to cover my bottom half. It’s weird that I’m roaming around this stranger’s house wearing absolutely nothing but his own sweatshirt.
Granted, he’s not really a stranger anymore. I know him better than most men I’ve dated for several weeks. I like him more than any of them, too. Interesting.
Adrian hands me a glass of red wine before sitting next to me on the other cushion. He bends his knee and angles his body so he’s facing me. Only a few inches separate us.
I take a sip of the wine and purr. “Oh wow. That’s delicious.”
“Thank goodness. I was worried. I figured you might know your wines. I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t think it would meet your standards.
” He’s teasing. But also, he’s not. He has a way of pointing out my wealth without being condescending.
After all, he’s probably richer than I am, so it would be ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
“I don’t have wine standards, per se,” I counter. “But I do enjoy a good red.”
He swirls it around and takes another sip. He’s not a stranger to wine. “It’s been a while since I’ve opened a bottle. I don’t usually sit around drinking by myself.”
I pull my knees under me. I’m warm now that I’m by the fire. Finally fully thawed. “You were going to tell me about your parents,” I nudge.
“They died in a fire over a decade ago. Here on this property. The house burned down one night.”
I wince. “I heard about that fire.”
“By coincidence? Or you looked it up?”
“I was actually doing an internet search about crime in this area after the realtor assured me it was low. She told me herself about the big events from the past two decades. One of them was the fire.”
“Ah. I’m glad you did your homework. What other crimes did she mention?”
“It wasn’t all criminal offenses, just major events. Was your parents’ death a crime?”
“Yes. It was arson.”
I gasp. “Holy fuck.”
He chuckles, probably at my use of profanity.
“That’s awful. Did they catch the guy?”
“Well…what other events did you learn about?”
“Some guy killed himself with his own ammunition.”
“That was my parents’ killer.”
My breath hitches. “Jesus.”
“Yeah. After my parents’ death, my brothers and I left this mountain for a number of years.
We were still working for the family business, which we took over after our parents died.
A few years ago, we decided to move back and reclaim our land.
We rebuilt the main house and six surrounding cabins. One for each of us.”
“It’s amazing. And you’ve thought of everything, including a cell tower and safe rooms.”
“Yes. No one is dying on this mountain in a fire again. Nor will they get ambushed by any fucker with a gun. Nor will they get killed in a storm. The safe rooms in each cabin and the main house are reinforced and stocked. We’ve even added bathrooms.”
“So you all live far away from society, but you have every modern convenience.”
“Yes. It’s perfect for us.” He reaches over and nudges my knee. “What about you? What brings you to these mountains?”
I take another drink of wine and inhale deeply. “It’s a long story.”
“I don’t think this storm is going to let up anytime soon, so I bet you can tell it before it stops raining.
” He dips his head and leans closer. “And, by the way, I doubt you’ll be traipsing back to your land in the morning as you envision.
It’s going to be muddy and unsafe. You’ll have to wait for one of us to clear the road and check on your SUV. ”
My shoulders drop. “That sucks.”
“Are you tired of me already?” he teases.
“Not at all. I just don’t want to be a burden. I’m already sorry for troubling you. I can’t thank you enough, Adrian.”
He reaches over and takes my free hand. “Blair, it’s my pleasure. I’m glad you’re here. If you weren’t, think how bored I would be for the next few days.”
“Well, I appreciate your kindness.”
“Now, before you tell me your story, fill me in on why you aren’t in your car or why you didn’t drive here.”
I sigh. “Well, if you want to gloat, the house collapsed just as you said it would.”
He gasps, eyes wide. “Fuck. Please tell me you weren’t inside.”
I shake my head. “No. I was on the porch, futilely holding on to that post you nearly knocked over with one hand. When the house caved in, I literally held that post up as if it were the other way around. As soon as I let go of it, it fell into the pile of rubble.”
He covers his mouth and chuckles. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny. I’m really glad you weren’t hurt, though.”
I laugh. “Oh, it really is funny. You can laugh.”
His smile lights up the entire room. Again, I feel like the word to describe him is genuine. He’s not faking anything. This man is real.
Remembering the rest of my tale, I wince. “And my SUV…”
He squeezes my hand.
“It was swept away a bit in the mud.”
His eyes bug out. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. It kept inching away from me until it finally slid into a tree. A branch fell on it. I assume it’s trapped. I didn’t even risk approaching it to retrieve a coat or better shoes. Instead, I started walking toward your property.”
Adrian lifts my hand to his face and absently rubs my knuckles against his cheek and then his lips. “I’m so sorry. That must have been fucking scary.”
“Yeah. It really was.” No sense in lying.
“I’m glad you made it here. Normally, I would have seen you on the cameras.
We have them placed all over the property, but they’re useless in a storm like this.
I had to turn off the sensors because they were constantly beeping every time a branch or the heavy rain tricked them into thinking someone walked by. ”
“Damn, you really do have every form of security known to mankind.”
He nods. “We started working on that before we were even done building. We didn’t want to run the risk of anyone being able to sneak up on us ever again. The necessity was reinforced twice before we got the system up and running.”
“Shit. What happened?”
“One of our brothers, Asher, is more reclusive than the rest of us. He’s actually been here living on the land for longer than us. He found a woman snooping around one day, snuck up on her, grabbed her, and tied her to a chair in the kitchen of the main house.”
Stunned, my jaw drops. “What happened to her?”
He laughs. “My brother Adam married her.”
I slowly relax and grin. “I guess she wasn’t all bad then.”
“Not at all. Rebekah is a sweetheart. She and her sister, Hannah, were raised on the property you just bought.”
“In that house?”
“Yeah. They had a rough upbringing.”
“And Hannah? Where is she?”
“Married to my brother, Aaric.”
“Ah.”
“So… You’re stuck here. Your SUV is probably out of commission.
It will take some manpower to dig it out.
It could have been damaged. There’s no home left standing on your property.
You don’t have an RV. You have no room reserved in town or in the city.
I’d say you’re staying here for the time being. ”
I purse my lips. Shit. He’s right. But I feel like such a mooch. “You don’t mind?”
“Hell no. I’m enjoying your company. Now, tell me why you’re not in New York, helping run the family business.”