We drove off and after some time, we turned onto a dirt road in the woods.
“Nick? You’re not taking me out here to kill me and get rid of my body?”
“What the hell?”
“I mean, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“We are, Abbs. No one knows about this place. You’ll be safe here.”
“Wow! Is there electricity? Running water?”
Nick laughed, “Yes. And internet and cable. You’ll be fine.”
Nick pulled the car up to a huge, log cabin and into a garage and closed the door. The lights were automatic when we pulled in, so I was able to see how clean and spacious the garage was. I definitely didn’t expect that. There were some tools on a work bench and some storage bins. The floor was very clean, considering it was a garage floor. Nick was already out of the car and carrying some of my things into the house.
“Come on, Abby, don’t sit there all night!”
I slowly climbed out of the car and walked with my cane into the house. The inside was just as clean as the garage, and absolutely beautiful. It was definitely a man’s home, but still very comfortable and inviting.
“This is your place, Nick?”
“Yep, all mine,” he said, proudly. “You like?”
“Wow!” I looked around. “My place in Boston could fit in your kitchen.”
Nick laughed, “Come on and look around.”
The floors and walls were all bare wood and simply breath taking. The walls had very little in terms of decoration, with only wooden blinds on the windows. The lighting was soft and subtle. Of course, the main thing in the living room was a huge, flat screen tv and artfully hidden surround sound. I was pretty sure that Nick had all the big video game systems in the tv cabinet. There were large and small area rugs around the room, to make the room appear softer. The furniture in the living room was oversized and a brown suede.
This place probably cost more than four years of college!
“Nick, this place is amazing. Did you do all of this on your own?”
“Yes. I needed a place to hide out for a while after…”
“I understand,” I whispered.
“No one else has ever been in here.”
“I feel really special that you let me in, Nick.”
“Abby, I want you to be safe until I can get you out of here.”
“I trust you.”
“I’ll take your things upstairs and show you where you’ll be staying.”
“Do you need to lock the door?”
“Security system, generator back up,” he called behind him.
I limped up the stairs into a loft area where there was the master bedroom. It was completely open. You could look over the side and see the living area. There was a huge window with a view of the mountains in the distance. The king sized bed was covered with a dark blue comforter and several pillows. There tables on each side, both with lamps. There was another large tv hung on the wall.
“Nick,” I said, stunned. “It’s breathtaking.”
“You should see it in the winter. It’s amazing.”
“So, this isn’t your main house?”
“No, I use my place in Portland as my main house, but this is where I come when I want to get away.”
“I can see why.”
“Well, you can stay in here, make yourself comfortable.”
“Where is the bathroom?”
“Oh, through here.”
I followed Nick through the bedroom, into the master bathroom. Again, it was amazing. The hardwood continued into this room as well. There was a huge bath tub in one corner with huge windows on each side. There were his and hers sinks, a huge mirror, vanity lights, a ton of storage drawers and cabinets. I was even impressed by the toilet.
“Oh, my goodness, can I take a bath?” I said, completely in awe.
“Sure. I told you to make yourself comfortable. Are you allowed to? I mean, did the doctor say it’s ok?”
“Yeah. I have a waterproof cast, but I guess I’ll keep it up out of the water.”
“You can wrap it in plastic or something?”
“I guess, do you have a garbage bag?”
Nick held up one finger and ran out of the room. I turned on the water in the bathtub and let it fill while I searched through the cabinets for something to add to the bath. I had finally found some bubbles when Nick returned.
“Is it okay for me to use these?” I asked.
“Sure, they were part of some gift basket a client sent.”
“To your dry cleaner business?"
“Yes.”
I poured the bubbles into the tub and the bubbles came up. Nick handed me a garbage bag and helped me wrap my cast. Nick then stepped out of the room while I got undressed and lowered myself into the bath.