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ONE
Frankie
“I should head home.Davis will be home soon,” my best friend, Cameron, says as she pushes to her feet.
“I didn’t realize how late it had gotten,” I comment as I stand and walk her to the front door.
“Are you sure that you’re okay here? You could always come and stay with Davis and me. Our cabin is pretty secluded. I doubt that your father or his friends would be able to find you there.”
“No, I’m fine here. Besides, I don’t want to intrude on you and Davis. I know that you’re in that honeymoon phase.”
Cameron smiles dreamily at the mention of her boyfriend. She’s been doing that since she met him two weeks ago. I have to admit that they are adorable together. Davis would do anything for Cameron. When she left to come back home and help me with my father’s friends, he hopped on the next flight and followed her to Los Angeles.
Davis and his friends have all made me feel welcome here, but Gunner is the one that I feel closest to. Probably because he’sthe one that I’m staying with. His cabin is the most remote and is supposed to be the safest. I have to agree. As soon as I stepped foot off of the airplane and locked eyes with Gunner, I knew that I was going to be okay here.
That shocked me. Normally, I’m pretty skittish around men, especially new, unknown guys. With Gunner, though, a sense of ease had come over me. I felt safe and protected when I was around him.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Cameron says as she waves and heads out.
“See you.”
I watch her climb onto the snowmobile and take off before I close the door and head into the kitchen.
I’ve been in Aspen Ridge, Alaska for a week now, and Gunner and I already have our own routine. Gunner goes to work in the morning, or if he’s off, he works outside or around the cabin. Today, he’s at work, so Cameron came over to keep me company. He should be home in a little bit, though, so I head to the kitchen to get started on our dinner.
It’s moments like this, when I’m alone that I remember what brought me to Alaska in the first place.
I haven’t heard from my dad or his friends since I came here and got a new number. I know that won’t stop him for long, though. My father and his creepy friends seem to have a lot of connections.
I never felt safe growing up. It was like there were always eyes on me. When I got older, I realized that there were. My dad had the whole house wired with cameras, and every time his friends were over, there was always someone coming by my room and looking in on me.
It was when Cameron was visiting that I overheard my dad talking about selling me to one of his friends, and I knew that I had to get out of there. We went to the airport straightaway and flew to Alaska. Cameron and I bought some clothes and essentials for me while Davis talked to Gunner and made arrangements for me to stay with him. The whole time, I could barely keep my eyes off of him.
At first, I thought that maybe it was his size. I mean, Gunner is huge. He’s tall, probably a foot taller than me and just as wide. Normally, that would intimidate me, but not with him. With him, it just made me feel safe. I was so scared when we were traveling. I kept looking to see if we were being followed. Then I met Gunner and I started to relax.
I think that Cameron was expecting to have to convince me to go with him, but when I found out that I would be staying with Gunner is his cabin, I was actually kind of excited. I wanted to explore how I felt about him. He’s the first man that has ever made me feel anything except scared or bored and I wanted to know why.
Feeling safe is such a foreign feeling for me. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I wasn’t anxious or stressed out.
I had thought that Cameron was kind of crazy when she talked about settling down in this place, but now that I’ve been here, I get it. There’s something magical about Aspen Ridge.
I add some pasta to a pot of boiling water and smile as I pull the chicken out of the oven. I hear Gunner’s heavy footsteps as he comes up the front porch, and I smooth out my clothes.
This crush on Gunner is getting out of hand. I mean, the guy is just being nice and helping out me and his friend by letting me stay here. He doesn’t like me like that. Nothing is ever going to happen between us.
“Smells good,” Gunner grunts as he comes into the kitchen.
“Thanks. Are you hungry?”
“Always.”
I grin as I stir the pasta.
“It will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
He nods and then heads to his room to clean up. I strain the pasta and set two plates out. Gunner comes back in as I’m plating all the food up.
“Where did you learn to cook like this?” He asks me as he takes a seat.
