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Shawna
I didn’t anticipate how nerve-racking driving would be, especially passing the exact spot Jarred forced me off the road this morning. I grip the steering wheel and take deep breaths, trying to steady my nerves. I’m glad it’s not raining like it was earlier, though it is sprinkling a bit.
When I arrive at The Pioneer, I park in the lot and look across the street at The Cellar. It’s still open, and it’s a surreal feeling that I never made it into work today. Unless it’s a scheduled day off for me, I’m always at work. Hopefully, everything went well for my employees without me there. I wonder if they even know what happened to me? Has word gotten out? I hadn’t considered this before. Do people know about Noah and me being abducted this morning, or will I have to explain it to everyone who asks?
Fuck. I don’t want to think about this right now.
I walk to The Pioneer’s entrance, but I find the door is locked. A sign on the door says to use your hotel key to enter after nine o’clock. I look at my phone for the time, and it’s after nine thirty. “Shit,” I mutter. I’ll have to call Nate and ask him to come let me in as opposed to surprising him at his door.
I look up, hoping someone is in the lobby. To my surprise, I see the top of someone’s head sitting behind the front desk. I knock on the window to get their attention, and it works. They stand, and as soon as I see who it is, I’m relieved it’s someone I know. Hopefully, they’ll let me in without a problem even though I’m not a registered guest at the hotel.
Patrick Dye, one of my former classmates from kindergarten all the way through high school, opens the door for me. “Hi, Shawna. What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Patrick. I have a friend staying here who I need to see.”
Patrick’s eyebrows rise. “Oh, okay. Come on in.”
“Thank you so much,” I reply as I walk into the lobby.
“No problem,” he says as he shuts and locks the door again. “By the way, I heard about what happened to you and your son this morning. Are you okay?”
Well, that answers my question. I suppose word has gotten around town. It’s an odd sense of relief. “Yeah,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “I mean, it was a scary ordeal, and I’m thankful it didn’t turn out worse. But Noah and I will be okay.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Patrick says.
“Thanks,” I reply, then turn toward the stairs. “I need to find my friend, so I’ll see you later.”
“Go ahead,” he says with a wave, and I head up to the second floor.
It’s been a while since I’ve been inside this hotel. In fact, I’ve only been here once, a long time ago with my parents, solely to show me that one of the rooms is named after Cordelia, one of my relatives. Although that was over ten years ago, I still remember its location. When I get to the top of the staircase, I turn right and head down the hall.
There it is. The room with Cordelia’s name on the sign. Nate’s in there, and I’m about to surprise him. I take a deep breath, then walk up to the door and knock.
No one answers. Has he fallen asleep already? Is he in the shower? Maybe he has earbuds in and can’t hear?
I knock again, a little louder this time. I hear footsteps approach the door, then a pause. He must be looking through the peephole. Suddenly, the door swings open.
“Shawna,” Nate says, stunned to see me here. He’s wearing a blue Navy T-shirt with gray sweatpants. My mouth goes dry at the sexy sight in front of me.
“I had to see you,” I say, unsure of what else to say at this moment.
“Come in,” he says, standing aside so I can enter.
I walk in and admire the beautiful room named after Cordelia. I don’t know a lot about her, but I do know she went through a lot of trials and tribulations in her life. She was a strong woman, and obviously, they named this room after her for a reason. Maybe I can channel some of her strength to get through my own trials and tribulations, as well as her courage to tell Nate everything I want to say to him now.
Nate shuts the door. “Why did you have to see me? I was just at your house,” he asks, walking toward me.
I set my purse on a table next to the window, then shrug my coat off and drape it over the back of a chair. “I couldn’t let you leave tomorrow without telling you something first.”
He’s standing less than a foot away from me. I want to jump into his arms and kiss him with all I’ve got, but I need to tell him what I came here to say.
“Do you want to sit down?” he asks.
“No,” I reply, then take a deep breath and dive right in. “Nate, I was so angry with you
before, but I also missed you when you left. I was kicking myself for blocking and deleting your number, and I never thought I’d see you again. This morning was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. It was like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. When Rob broke down the door of the shed and I came out and saw you holding Noah in your arms, comforting him after the horrific events we went through … I can’t describe the joy I felt in my heart. Don’t get me wrong, if it was anyone else holding Noah safely in their arms, I would’ve been just as grateful and relieved to see him safe and sound. But the fact it was you made it more … meaningful to me.” Nate swallows hard and wipes his nose as if he’s getting choked up. “It was you, Nate! You and Rob took Noah and me out of the nightmare we were living, and everything that happened between you and me before doesn’t matter anymore.”
Nate sniffs, then clears his throat. “I, uh … I’m glad I was there for you and Noah. It was killing me to know that Jarred abducted you.”
