Page 9 of Guarded By the Lumberjack
Before I can unwind my arms from around her, Penny lifts her chocolate eyes up to me. Her lips are parted slightly and there's little doubt in my mind that I could kiss her now. That maybe that's what she wants, even.
"Grab your things, Clint's got the bike waiting for us."
Now's not the time.
I can't bear the disappointment that clouds her pretty features, so I don't look. I just step away and head for the safe.
Chapter Five
Penny
Calvin guards me closely. Too closely. The past few days with the ex-military lumberjack have me remembering what it feels like to be a woman again.
Even worse, as if it's not enough that my body yearns for his touch, I have feelings for the rugged, older man. Feelings that I never expected to have for another man after my husband was killed in action overseas.
After speaking with his friend on the phone, Calvin and I packed a few things and he did his best to bring me up to speed on our situation as he drove me up the mountain to his brother, Clinton's house.
I know my tormentor's name is Keith. That he's thirty-one. He lives in a house he inherited from his mother, he has a history of extremist views, and criminal record full of petty crimes and minor assault charges.
I'm not the first woman he's harassed online, but I am the first one that he's physically stalked.
Calvin suspects the man's mental instability probably reached a tipping point and I'm just the unlikely person he was fixated on when it happened.
After filling his brother in on what's happening, Calvin brought me to a small but extremely well-appointed cabin located in the forested outskirts of a place called Paradise Point.
We had to borrow a motorcycle to get here; a heavy duty type of dirt bike that Calvin strapped our things to before showing me how to climb onto the back part of the seat. Then he made sure my helmet was properly fastened and took off on the most terrifying ride I've ever been on in my life.
Thank God the rain stopped, but the trail he took us on was still muddy, starting with a steep hill that he later explained leads to his timber company's current job site. But it was the dark forest with trees growing so close together that I didn't think we'd make it between them that had me clutching his waist with my eyes closed, nothing to do but pray and trust Calvin to make sure we'd be all right.
He didn't let off the throttle until we got past the woods.
The cabin is small, with just one bedroom-- but not in a way that's likely to lead to any excuses for Calvin to share a bed with me.
"Frost-- um, Harlan-- he was one of the guys who got home and didn't know what to do with himself," Calvin explains as he builds a fire in the cabin's wood burner. "So he got into private security. Now he runs an outfit that deals primarily with relocating high risk individuals."
He must sense the confusion in my silence, because he turns to look up at me and clarifies.
"Mostly women escaping abusive situations at home. The place is set up so you'll feel safe in the bedroom. The front room--" he nods around us as he gets the tinder to start, "is designed for the security detail."
There are two couches on opposite sides of the room. On closer inspection, I see they flatten into twin beds. The windowsin the cabin are placed high, making it hard to see out of them, but I guess that also makes them hard to see into.
"Separate bathrooms," Cal points out that the door leading to the bathroom from the front room, and I've already seen the private bathroom from the bedroom.
"Most of Harlan's men are men. When his business went in this direction, he built places with the victims in mind. Having armed mercenaries hovering around doesn't make everyone feel safe, even if that's the point."
It's not something I'd thought of, but it makes sense when he points it out to me.
I wonder if I'll ever meet this Harlan guy.
"So, you're going to sleep out here?" I motion toward one of the couches, embarrassed at the obvious disappointment in my voice.
Cal doesn't miss it. He doesn't seem to miss anything.
Right now, I'm thinking maybe I wish he would.
There's a darkness clouding his eyes as he stands and glances at the small beds in the front room.
I'm sure he's caught on that I prefer the idea of him sharing the bedroom with me-- and not just because having him close would make me feel safer.
