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“Woot, woot. I found it first try,” I said, pulling onto the bridge and heading up the small, graveled road. The navigation’s voice said I had another half a mile to go before reaching my destination.
I did it.Go me!
It was a little after nine, and my stomach bubbled with nervousness. Edwin said Hudson lived in a huge cabin—all fancy and shit. My brother’s words, not mine. When I arrived and saw the place, I muttered, “Holy shit.”
Itwasall fancy and shit.
Cabins were always beautiful. No matter how big or small. But that two-story was beyond anything I’d be able to afford in my lifetime. Not that I was sad about being unable to live in a home like that. What would make me miserable was being unable to achieve the things I wanted in life. A nice, comfy home to go along with my dream would be nice, but I didn’t need it to be so big.
The cabin was perfect, though. I opened the door and whistled. From the looks of it, the porch wrapped around the entire house. There seemed to be another rooftop, but the wooden fence was obscuring my view of what it was. The light on the power pole behind the house illuminated the place enough for me to see the looming trees and hills in the distance.
The clinking of what sounded like windchimes had me looking at the porch again. The porchlight was on, and the chimes slapped together, dinging more as the wind picked up. Thank God the bottom floor was lit up. Hudson was still awake. Edwin said he told him I was coming.
I inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “You got this.”
I hopped out of my car. As I was shutting the door, I heard the crunch of what sounded like someone stepping on gravel and went completely still. I squinted my eyes as if that would help me pinpoint where the sound came from. When I saw the animal, I screamed. Clearly, I knew it was a dog, the lights made it easy to spot him, but my brain said, “Polar bear.”
The dog was a massive ball of white fur, and reality hadn’t mattered for a moment. My brain tried to convince me a bear was coming for me. The dog’s head came up to my hips. Clearly, it was overgrown!
“Ah,” I said as I pressed myself against my car as the beast stalked closer. “I hope you’re nice. Please don’t eat me.” I held out my hand. A wet nose pressed against my palm, followed by a bunch of slobbery licks. His tail wagged, and I sagged against the vehicle. “So nice of you not to eat me, Bear.”
“Max!”
I screamed again and clutched my chest at the thundering voice. The dog stopped licking me and took off running. Glancing toward the porch, I saw a man descending the steps. Oh, shit. Hudson was a big dude. He had to be well over six feet. The man wore black pj’s and house slippers. He walked holding a coffee mug. His strides, posture, and the way he stared at me screamed unfriendly. I was intimidated. I gulped and peeled myself off my car to greet him.
“I just let him out to use the bathroom before you arrived. Max isn’t used to guests, but he’s harmless. You don’t have to be afraid of him,” Hudson said in a husky voice. At least, I hope that was Hudson, and I didn’t pull into the wrong place.
“I thought he was a polar bear.” When I realized how ridiculous I sounded, I blurted, “I mean, of course I know he’s not a polar bear. This is Kentucky. But he’s so big, and it’s dark out…”
The place was lit up by the giant light on the power pole, so I knew my blabbering about it being dark out wasn’t helping my case. I couldn’t help it, though. He made me more nervous than the sheriff ever did.
“Are you Edwin’s sister, Genie?” Hudson asked as he stopped at the front of my vehicle.
I couldn’t be sure, but his hair looked blond or light brown. It hung over his forehead slightly. I tried not to stare too much because his jaw was hardened and…Oh shit,I was really going to kill my brother. Hudson didn’t want me there. I gathered that much from his severe scowl.
“Uh, yeah. Hudson, right?”
He nodded. “I didn’t think you were going to show since it was getting so late.”
I fought the urge to touch my hair or face. He was staring awfully hard at me. “It was a four-hour drive, which became five hours for me since I suck at directions.” I laughed, but it only made it more awkward when he didn’t smile or anything. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay here this week?”
“I told your brother you could.” The words dripped out of his mouth like they were acid. “I can help with your bag. Is it in the back?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I popped the trunk and waited while he grabbed a bag for me. I retrieved the one with my toiletry items and followed him to the porch. “Your place is beautiful,” I said to ease into a conversation with him.
“Yeah,” he said.
I frowned at his back.
Handsome men were always boring. He wasn’t dark-haired with dreamy eyes, making him a failure as a book boyfriend. Still, in terms of height and stature, he passed with flying colors. I snickered and didn’t notice he’d stopped at the top of the stairs. A gasp escaped my lips as I collided with him. I looked up at his scowling face and smiled.
“Oops. Sorry.”
One of his brows was arched. “Why are you laughing?”
My face and neck heated. “I don’t know.”
