Chapter 16
Kristen was tired, but she was nervous about their sleeping arrangements. She and Steel had already made love but for some reason she felt foolish asking him if they should share a room at the cabin. She knew a lot of guys liked their space and she didn’t want to crowd him. “Should we share a room so we can stay together?” she finally asked. The words sounded awkward coming out of her mouth but it was less embarrassing than coming right out and asking if he wanted to share her bed. She hoped Steel’s answer would give her a clue as to how he felt.
“That’s probably a good idea.” Steel was glad that Kristen had brought up the subject. He was also glad that they would be sharing a room. After going upstairs and checking out the rooms again, Steel suggested they take the room with one King bed in it. “It has the least windows, so it’ll provide more cover for us,” he explained. The truth was there were other rooms just as good, but he didn’t want to give Kristen the option of sleeping in separate beds.
Kristen felt like a teenage girl again as she got ready for bed in the bedroom’s adjoining bathroom. She wanted to make sure she looked and smelled her best and it had been a long day. She soaked in the tub as Steel brought up the bags and made sure everything was locked up and secured.
Steel was already in bed when Kristen emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a plush robe. She couldn’t help notice Steel’s bare and chiseled chest and arms as he sat in bed writing on a notepad. “How was the bath?” he asked as he looked up. Kristen could see the desire in his expression as he looked her up and down.
“It was good,” she answered and then turned away towards her suitcase. She didn’t want him to see her blushing. “I just needed to get some pajamas.”
When she got back into the bathroom to change into her sleeping clothes, Kristen was kicking herself. “Why did I mention my pajamas?” she whispered to herself knowing it didn’t exactly conjure up a sexy image.
Steel thought Kristen looked adorable as she emerged in her two piece pajamas, complete with colorful socks that even had separate toe holes for each of her petite digits. That didn’t mean, he wouldn’t have preferred her in her birthday suit, though.
Both Kristen and Steel were tired, so after sharing an awkward kiss, they turned out the lights and decided to just get to sleep. They needed the rest so they could be alert. Even so, Steel curled up behind Kristen and wrapped his arm around her. She liked the feel of his arm holding her and the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck.
The two new lovers woke to the ring of Steel’s cell phone. “I need to take this,” he said as he gently crawled out of bed.
By the time Kristen made it downstairs and into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee brewing, he was deep in conversation. It was still too early for her to comprehend what he was saying. She didn’t function very well without her morning cup of joe.
When her coffee was finished brewing, Kristen poured herself a mug and headed out to the front porch. In the light of day, the cabin and its surroundings looked quite different than it did on their arrival. She could see a stream nearby where she imagined rabbits and deer and all sorts of wildlife visiting to hydrate themselves. All of the trees surrounding the property were still in full bloom, but in a rainbow of colors. It was strange how much perspective and context could change how your views on things. The previous night, the cabin and woods and darkness make Kristen feel scared, as if she were entering a black abyss. But, as she sat drinking her coffee on the porch, she saw the cabin and its surroundings as a warm place where she could see herself spending the rest of her life.
Through the windows, Kristen could see that Steel was off the phone, so she went back inside to join him and offer him some coffee. As she poured, though, she could tell something about the phone call had disturbed him. “Bad news?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.
“I’m not sure,” Steel answered. “I had a buddy of mine with the force do some checking around and he discovered why your father had those papers with a different last name on them.”
“Why?” Kristen asked, relieved that she would finally be getting some answers. She wasn’t prepared for what Steel was about to tell her, though.
He explained that her father apparently had worked for the mafia at one time. Correction. He did some of their accounting. “I guess, to keep himself untraceable, he used a different name on the forms,” Steel continued to explain.
“So, you’re saying the people who maybe killed him, and ran us off the road…it’s the mafia?” Kristen didn’t know how to react. She thought she was safe with Steel but knowing the mafia was after them seemed daunting. How could just the two of them take on such a powerful organization? She didn’t want to cry, but felt the waterworks building up.
“All we know if that he worked for them. My buddy is going to do some more digging and call me back,” Steel answered as he pulled Kristen to him and held her in his embrace. He shared her concerns about the vastness of the mafia’s power, but he had to stay calm and at least appear in control, for her.
By dinnertime, Kristen had calmed down somewhat. Focusing on cooking a nice turkey dinner, complete with potatoes and gravy, fresh baked rolls, cornbread dressing and even cranberry sauce at least kept her mind occupied on something other than their current dilemma.
“Man, what smells so good?” Steel asked with a smile on his face as he stepped into the open and spacious kitchen. Kristen knew at least a part of his compliment was an act to put a smile on her face. After eating the food he had cooked, she knew he could likely do a better job in the kitchen. Still, she was no novice. Their turkey dinner would be delicious and homey…just the way she liked it.
“This is way too much food for just the two of us,” Kristen laughed as she set everything out on the large dining room table. She was sure they would eat it all, though, if they had to spend more than a couple of days there.
“This is so good!” Steel said as he filled his mouth with turkey and gravy. He wasn’t lying, either. It had been a long time since he had a home-cooked turkey dinner and everything tasted amazing. By the end of dinner, he had to unbutton his jeans just to breathe. “I’m so full,” he complained with a smile as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Well, you didn’t have to eat thirds of everything! It will keep ‘til tomorrow, you know,” Kristen teased as she began to clear the table.
In the kitchen, she found containers for all of the leftovers and made room for them in the fridge before carving all the remaining meat off the turkey carcass. Just as she was finishing up, Steel got another phone call from his buddy. She instantly tensed up and wondered if the new Steel was about to hear would be good or bad.