I bury my head in my hands. “I don’t understand what they want. Why are they doing this and not making any demands?”
“I don’t know. But Wyatt is on it now. He’s not going to leave until he has something.” A kiss is placed on the top of my head before I’m pulled tight to his chest.
We sit here in silence, just listening to each other’s breaths in the quiet space.
“What do you think about moving back into a cabin for a bit?” he finally asks.
“They’re totally booked for the wedding this weekend.”
“There’s one left.”
I raise my eyebrow. “There’s not. Emma and I just worked on that.”
“It’s not part of the inn. It’s my house.”
My eyes have to be wide as a bug’s. “What do you mean? You’re renting the cabin behind us.”
“I am. The cabin is in rough shape. It was my grandparents’. They left it to me. It’s not near the rest of the inn. When Granddad retired he didn’t want people on his property. I spent many of my summers working with him to build it from the foundation to the roof. When he passed away he left it to me. It needed to be renovated, but I was gone so much I never got to it. We shut off the water but it should turn back on. And just needs a propane delivery. It might be like living in a 1960’stime capsule right now but no one else knows where it is but my family.”
My mouth drops open. “No one has ever mentioned it.”
“They honestly probably forgot about it. Or I bet Emma would have tried to convince me to turn it into something for the inn.”
“It sounds really special. I don’t want to make you do that if you aren’t ready. I don’t want them to take anything else from us.”
“You and Lily are special to me. I’d love to share it with you. But it’s not much right now. Lily would have to be in the same room as us for the moment. But if you want, I’ll get Hunt to go over there now with me.”
“Do you think we really need to? You think they’ll come back?” I clearly can’t trust myself to make decisions anymore because I ended up here.
“I think it’s safest for both of you. I don’t want you guys to be where that asshole was. It shouldn’t be long, just until Wyatt can get some information on who this is.”
“I know who this is. Why would they leave the private investigator’s report if it wasn’t the dealers? That was their way to let me know they still want the money, and what they’re capable of.”
“Still. I want proof before I let you out of my sight.”
“Okay, let’s move to the cabin. But I’m helping get it ready.”
He pulls out his phone and types quickly before pocketing it and packing up some tools from the barn.
“Hunter will be here in a minute with Liam, Violet, and Evelyn.” he announces while reaching for a hammer.
“Okay.” Back to wringing my hands, still sitting on the workbench, unsure of what to offer Cooper in the moment. Part of me loves the village I have now, but the other part, the fiercely independent part, hates relying on other people to keep my daughter safe.
I watch as he loads the tools onto the four-wheeler, tying everything down and opening the large barn doors. “Is this a long trip?”
“Not that long. But definitely bumpy. The road there hasn’t been maintained that well over the years. A little overgrown.” He takes his seat. “Come on. Sit in front of me.”
Sliding between him and the steering wheel, I settle back against his chest with my arms resting on his thighs. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” The engine roars to life in the quiet space.
With a lurch he pulls out of the garage and we follow a well worn path toward his parent’s house. Continuing on around their backyard, we go through an opening in the treeline where their driveway ends. The foliage is overgrown, but the path was worn enough to still exist. I can imagine how beautiful this was when it was first created. Large, tall pines line each edge of the dug in gravel, until they open to a small clearing with the most adorable cottage sitting in the middle.
Sure it looks like it could use some love, but the charm is there. I can see why Cooper loves this place. He comes to a stop as the sound of another four-wheeler comes behind us.
“This place is adorable.” I slide off the machine, taking in the property and walking around.
If I ever had to dream up my perfect property this would be it.
