Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Keifer
Keifer had gotten turned around one too many times; now all he wanted to do was call it a night. Still, he couldn’t sleep. In a strange town, many thoughts skittering across his brain, he wasn’t ready.
Insomnia had plagued him his entire life.
Sleep was not often his friend; the ebb and flow of many nights lacking he’d grown accustomed.
Checking into the hotel for the night more for safety than sleep, he was relieved to learn from the front desk that the hotel was pretty much empty except for one other guest.
A quick trip to the lobby to grab a soda and something to snack on, his belly always reminding him when it's time to eat, on the hour. He looked at the brochures for nearby attractions, not that he’d have time.
That’s when he saw her, sparkles around her, a vision of every man’s angel walking back into his life, the woman he’d seen going into a house back in Wilmington. She frowned no less when she walked in, a police officer with her.
He kept his back to her after their eyes met, curious and cautious; he could sense something was up. She was breathtaking, hair a mess, makeup slightly smeared from the late hour; he couldn’t help but wonder what the deal was with her.
As if fate had interjected itself into his life, he had to wonder if the God above was giving him a clue about his last case and Wyatt or his future. He wanted love; there was no two ways about it, but finding it again would be hard. Still, seeing her made him hope for things unlikely to happen.
The officer stood in the corner, surveying the situation, and Kiefer had to wonder if she was a criminal or a witness to something. Their eyes met again as she tried in vain to get a soda from the machine, banging it with her hand, yet nothing came out.
If not for the officer with her, Kiefer would have jumped at the chance to help her say hello and figure her out. As they chatted with the Front Office Management, Kiefer took his leave, wondering.
A quick shower to freshen up, and more caffeine in the form of soda, he wanted to play some music. Calling the front desk, he realized the management neither worried nor cared what he did in the neck of the woods.
The woman temporarily forgot; he smiled, satisfied he could play his tunes in peace, blasting out the rock music that soothed his soul at a reasonable level so as not to scare Mother Nature.
First on the agenda, a personal favorite hair band, he cranked up the tunes and played air guitar while staring at a silent TV screen.
He smiled at the assumptions so many people he’d known over the years had made when first meeting him. “Aren’t you too old to be doing that?”
To their surprise, he’d laugh and rock out a little harder. “Not at all, it's a mindset, not a number. If you think you're old, you are; if you think you shouldn’t, you won’t. I don’t think about those kinds of things most of the time, and never about my music.”
If the walls shook a little, if the windows hummed with the thump of the heavy drums, who cared?
It was just him and one other guest, or so the front desk man had told.
They were probably conked out sleeping in their bed, and if he happened to wake them, he’d apologize and quickly turn things down to be respectful.
A city guy most of his life, being this far out in the limits of nature, the quiet of a small town, he was out of his element.
Thoughts of the enchanting woman with the miserable frown that was somewhere around here; she’d haunted him since leaving Wilmington.
He wondered what could have made her so miserable wearing such a flashy, gorgeous dress.
He wondered if she was here for a reason, or possibly just passing through.
If not for the musings over how pretty she was and how he missed kissing, he’d not have given her a second thought.
There was no need to worry; whoever she was, wherever she was, she was most certainly taken and the kind of woman that spelled trouble for a man, any man, judging by the officer who’d been with her.
As the image of her standing in her gorgeous angel dress swept away by the guitar riff blasting, he thought of Wyatt, wondering where he’d find this child and in what condition.
It was possible, as he knew from experience, that the family might have changed his name to something else to keep him hidden away, undiscovered.
“I’ll find you. This is the first lead I’ve had in a long time, and I’m not letting it slip through my fingers. Before I retire, I will find you and make sure you are safe. A pledge, a promise, whatever it was, he could still see the last child he’d saved in his mind's eye.
His name had been Mark, and he’d been back and forth from one family member to another, unkempt and not taken proper care of; chance upon him had saved that boy's life and kept him from ever having to face that hardship again.
Keifer smiled, thankful that a wonderful couple who’d always wanted to adopt had one day been found, and it was a comfort to know that Mark would grow up happy, content, and thriving, as many didn’t.
Burning out that memory, he turned up the tunes a notch more, hoping the office manager a good distance away couldn’t hear him until he heard the slamming of a car door in between the guitar riffs he’d turned back down a notch to listen.
“I guess that’s a new guest, so much for just me and another person. Now it makes three.” Poking his head out the window, he was gifted to see the police car leaving the parking lot, only the police officer inside. “Hmmm interesting.”
Iris
She’d heard it the moment she got out of the police car, the sound of music at a late hour. Nerves bristling, she slammed the door of the hotel room, hoping to make a statement that set the tone, and collapsed on the bed, dress still itching.
“I’m coming.” She thought of the Willy Worm Festival she and Isaac visited every year, and all the apples they used to pick. A comfort to her fatigued, worried soul. The last thing on her mind as she tried with much irritation to ignore the thumping, loud music was kisses of all things.
The front desk officer had mentioned two other folks were in the house staying the night. She’d doubted the man she’d recognized from Wilmington would be the one blasting the music, as the hour was late for a man like him.
There’d been something about him, the quiet assessment, the way she’d felt him more than noticed. His presence, a calm, peaceful presence quiet the contrast from the first impression she’d got in town when she’d heard his car passing by.
Green eyes, she’d always loved a man with green eyes, and the soft smile that touched his lips when their eyes met.
It melted something inside her. Not her usual type of man, he was handsome to be sure.
She could have easily seen herself falling into his arms for tender kisses and the pleasure of that connection, if not for the reality that he wasn’t her type otherwise.
Still, it suited him, the calm of his green eyes, the warmth of a heady, endearing smile that she knew he was admiring more than just her face. She smiled at that, a quick change of thought about how odd it would seem a man like that would play such hard-edged, noisy music at his age.
Turning her head to bury the noise drowning her eardrum, she buried it in the pillow. “For the love of heaven, there is no way I’m going to sleep like this.”
She thought of Connor, wrinkled her nose at his memory as thoughts of falling in love bloomed in her head along with music that grew louder by the second. “I can not!”
Fury settled in her belly as she looked at the clock on the nightstand, her bed shaking with the beat of heavy drums she could only assume were coming from next door. She closed her eyes again, catching a few glimmers of sleep.
It felt like she woke every ten minutes, the thud of a drum beat waking her as she tried in vain to respect the person next door even if they weren’t respecting her or anyone else. This went on, over and over again as the time on the clock ticked by.
Eventually, when she could take no more of it, bones aching and the sun rising to poke its head out for the day. Her mouth parched, her hair a curled mess of chaos atop her head, she realized she’d never removed the high heels she’d worn last night.
Pushing up from her bed, the hour was way too early; she was in need of a car and still no call back from Isaac or Wyatt. She was about to break.
A gulp of soda, she debated her options as fatigue threatened to take her down on her high-heeled feet. “Walk away and maybe an Uber.”
She frowned at the thought of that, knowing Uber in these parts of North Carolina at this hour was unlikely. “Not a good idea.”
Conclusion reached, she adjusted the scratchy material and fussed with her messy curls, hoping to find peace within herself so she would not scream and rant at the person next door for their rudeness.
All would have been going smoothly if she’d not tripped in her high heels on the end of the dress and her face had not planted in the sidewalk on her way from her room to theirs. A stop, a harsh deep breath close to a groan, and she knocked, heavily.
She could hear someone talking to themselves or someone else in hushed tones beneath the crazy rock music that shook her bones. Annoyance flared as she knocked again and again. Soon she’d be calling the police or seeking help from the front desk if no one answered.
Anger at an all-time high as everything came crashing at her at once with wakefulness, she slammed her sore fist into the door one last time. “Open Up!” The door swung wide, and there he stood, the man she’d seen in his car earlier and in the lobby, music still blasting.
His eyes, quietly assessing, took her off guard; the gentle assessment leaning more towards outward appreciation made her heartbeat quicken the slightest bit as she felt it in her toes.
Opening her mouth to say something, hands balled into fists at her sides, she wanted to slug him for keeping her awake most of the night now that the sun was shining down on them.
“Turn that noise down; people don’t deserve to be kept awake and have their morning.”
In one instant she’s barking out her anger, the next she’s being swallowed up by strong, powerful arms wrapped around her and the most surprising, mind-blowing kiss touching her lips. Fireworks exploded; the pulse of heat and fire burned through her as her legs melted beneath her.
Thankful for his strength, she clung to him, fists balled between them at his chest; her body sank hard into the touch, surrendering. And just as quickly as it began, the kiss was over.
So stunned from it, she could barely keep from falling as he let her go on wobbly legs. There they stood, staring at each other, her mind racing to find balance.
“Good morning to you too. Seems like the sun is up, and rock music is acceptable at this hour. I’m sorry if the music kept you awake. You know how it is, strange hotels, strange towns, a touch of insomnia and I can’t sleep. I hope you can…”
Iris had heard enough; her hand made contact with his cheek before she stumbled backward.
Anger rushed out in a huff, and embarrassment soon to follow, she reached down, uncaring of who was watching, grabbed her high heels and threw them behind her to the parking lot.
“Stupid shoes. Listen, buddy, don’t complain to me about your troubles; I don’t want to hear them.
I've got bigger things going on. Heed my words, don't be so rude next time. Now I’ve got to drive with hardly any sleep. And stop looking at me like that!”
One last glance for added effect, Iris wasn’t sure she’d made her point as he again opened his mouth to say something, hand to his pink cheek, not at all stunned. Raising her hand to silence him, she turned on her heels and left, knowing it was best before she did something awful.
The kiss stayed with her long after she’d returned to her hotel room, burning an impression where Connor's kisses had once been. Not long after, she’d heard the sound of a door slamming and the Black SUV she’d seen in the parking lot, knowing it was his, was gone.
A quick shower and bagel from the front lobby did nothing to soothe the fatigue looming inside her, but that was nothing when compared to the worry that had escalated to full-blown panic for her brother and nephew as she hopped in yet another rental car.
“Thank goodness for the rental insurance; hitting that deer isn’t going to burn my bank account out.”
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea, Iris. Two accidents going from Wilmington to Elk Danner and you're not even there yet, can’t be good.”
“Maybe not, but that’s where I’m going. Can you believe that weird guy kissed me?”
“You looked stunning, but I’m glad you picked up some clothing before heading out again. Sorry the dress was so scratchy; I bet you're going to burn it once you get home.”
“Bonfire… me, Isaac, and Wyatt with some marshmallows. I’m worried, Claire. What if something happened? I can’t even think straight; that’s why I didn’t take the time to pack anything. Something just doesn’t feel right. Even if Wyatt buried the phone somewhere, he’d have told his dad by now.”