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“I stay here a week or two every year.”
“You must be an inbred mountain weirdo, then! I thought your family was RICH!”
I frowned. “We do just fine – ”
“Then WHY would you stay here?! Why not just find a CAVE somewhere?! It’d probably be NICER!”
“I told your grandmother I would keep you safe, princess – not get you five-star sleeping accommodations.”
“This is negative five stars! This is negative TEN stars!”
I’d had enough.
“Come on,” I said as I got out of the car.
“NO,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “You’re going to take me back to whatever that little town was we just passed, and we can find a hotel and stay there.”
I leaned over so I could peer through the open window. “We’re staying here tonight.”
“The hell we are.”
“Can you drive a car?” I asked.
She looked at me like I was crazy. “No.”
“Then you’ll have to walk about 10 kilometers to get back there… through the dark and the cold. Better start now if you want to reach it by 4 AM.”
If looks could kill, hers would have disemboweled me. “You son of a bitch.”
I smiled sweetly. “Welcome to my home away from home.”
I turned, walked up the steps to the porch, and started searching for the spare key. I always wedged it in a crack in the wood siding above the door. The hiding spot was seven feet above the ground – so not exactly something most people would be able to find unless they knew where to look.
“I’m sleeping in the car!” she shouted from the passenger seat.
“You’re welcome to,” I called out as I found the key. “Just know there are wolves and bears up here, and they could probably get through that busted-out window. Especially if they were hungry enough.”
There actually weren’t many wild wolves in Italy anymore. The ones still left had to be carefully maintained through conservation efforts.
And the brown bears up here were far more interested in people’s trash cans than the people themselves.
But still, it was fun to say… and it provoked an immediate reaction.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a car door open faster –
Or slam as loudly.
“I fucking HATE you,” she snarled as she tottered unsteadily towards me on her fancy stilettos.
“Yeah, I figured,” I said as I unlocked the door, flicked on the light, and walked in.
The interior was much nicer than the exterior. I’d kept the outside looking rundown because I liked the natural charm. Plus, it discouraged people from breaking in if they thought it was a shack.
But I’d put tens of thousands of euros into renovating the inside and was pleased with the result.
The floors were hardwood and polished to a sheen.
To the right of the door was a kitchen with a modern electric stove and cooking range. There was also a small refrigerator, though it wasn’t plugged in at the moment, and the door was open so it wouldn’t get musty.
