Double Play, page 27
He handed the mug to me, and the warmth was nice in my hands. I was naked from the waist up, but it was warm enough in the space that I didn’t really need anything else on. There was a fire going in the fireplace, which was crackling away just a few feet across from the sofa I was sleeping on. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of sweats, and by my guess, nothing underneath. I licked my lips, wanting to taste him, anticipating all the things we could get up to alone in the woods.
“Shit,” he said as he opened a tin. “Fucking ants.”
Opening the door, he stomped out and disappeared from my sight.
“Take that, fuckers,” I heard him shout, and then he was walking back into the cabin without the tin.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Tossed the whole fucking thing down the side of the mountain,” he said. “Sorry. No sugar until I can get to a store.”
“Aren’t we going back today?” I asked.
I knew we’d talked about it, about me not wanting to run away from whoever the fuck it was that thought it a good idea to threaten me, but now I doubted myself.
“We can,” he said, sitting next to me with his own cup of coffee. “But it might be nice to just not be anywhere for a while. Off grid, out of the limelight, away from the hustle and bustle of society. What do you say?”
“I mean,” I said, inhaling the aroma of the coffee in my mug. “I don’t want to run away. I’ve never run from a fight, and I don’t intend to start now.”
He dropped his head, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
“How about we spend today here,” he suggested. “We can head home tomorrow morning. You good with that?”
“I think I can live with that,” I said, and he smiled so big it looked like it hurt.
He leaned over, kissed my forehead, then took a drink of his coffee, only to spit it back in the cup.
“Gimme that,” he said, taking the cup from my hand.
“Hey,” I complained.
“Trust me,” he said, opening the door and tossing the liquid out of both mugs. “It was bitter. No, it was bad. Seriously bad.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I haven’t been up here in a while,” he said, setting the mugs on the counter. “Maybe a year or more.”
“You have this beautiful cabin and you don’t come up here?” I asked.
“It’s better in the summer,” he said. “And I’m usually working the whole summer. So, no cabin for me. Getting up here in the winter can be challenging, especially when it snows.”
“I mean,” I shrugged, not sure what else I could say.
“I know,” he said. “It’s stupid to have something you don’t use. But I loved it the first time I saw it, and I wanted to have a place to run away to when the city was giving me grief. Now, though, I’m glad I have it.”
“Me, too,” I said. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For rescuing me,” I said. “I usually like to take care of myself, but I was actually afraid. Seriously afraid. The shit he was saying was bad, and I didn’t know how he knew about you and Billy, but it pissed me off, too.”
“I thought you said you were gonna go away for a week,” he said. “Did that change somehow overnight?”
“I don’t want to run away from a fight,” I said. “I hate being afraid, but I hate backing down more.”
“There’s a little shop down the way,” he said. “Glen and Tracy are good people. We can get a signal there and you can check in with your brother if you want while I pick up some staples.”
“Do they have coffee?” I asked.
“I’m sure I can talk them out of a cup for you,” he said. “Let’s get some clothes on and head down. Won’t take more than an hour to get there, get some stuff and head back.”
“Okay,” I said, shoving the blanket off me.
He sucked in a breath and stared at me, eyes wide with desire, and I really just wanted to have him hold me. But I had to pee, and that wasn’t exactly a good thing if you wanted intimacy. Not that it was bad, just something to take into consideration.
“Bathroom?” I asked.
“Outhouse,” he said.
“Shit,” I said. “I forgot.”
“You put clothes on,” he said. “I’ll go make sure all the bugs are gone.”
“Thank you,” I said.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Spencer…
I cleaned out the outhouse, then handed her a roll of toilet paper as she went out, reminding her to bring it back with her when she was done. While she was gone, I got myself dressed, banked the fire so it would die down some and not run the risk of burning the whole damn place down, and got everything else ready to go to the store. I hadn’t seen either Glen or Tracy in a bit, but I was sure that they were still at the store. I noticed it when we drove by on the way up and figured it would be good to see them again.
If we were only gonna be here for another day and night, I wasn’t gonna get anything perishable, just a couple of staples. Coffee was a must, but I’d be taking it with me when we left. I would also be taking the sugar, cause I fucking hate ants. Those little creepy things can get fucked.
“That was… Interesting,” she said when she came back in.
“You’ve never used an outhouse?” I asked.
“I’m a city girl,” she said. “With how quiet it is, it’s kinda freaking me out. Not gonna lie, it’s weird.”
“I love the quiet,” I said. “It feels like I’m the only person in the whole world.”
“Me, too,” she said. “The only person in the world thing. But I think that’s why it freaks me out. I like to have alone time, but I need to know I’m not too far from another person.”
“I get it,” I said. “Billy’s the same way.”
“So,” she said, scuffing her shoe on the floor. “Do you think it’s right that I go back?”
“That’s not something I can answer,” I said. “This is happening to you, not me, and I don’t live in your head, so don’t know how it’s affecting you. If you think it’s a good idea to go back, then we can do that. If you want to hang out longer up here, I’m down with that, too. Or,” I added, waiting for her to look at me. “I could take you on a trip somewhere out of state. We can go pretty much anywhere. Billy’s got a condo in Phoenix, and we can stay there. Or Hawaii, or anywhere else you want to go.”
Her smile grew with each destination I mentioned, and I was pretty sure she was gonna take me up on it, until she shivered and frowned.
“Hey,” I said, going to her and tipping her head up with my finger under her chin. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s like this fight is going on inside me,” she said. “One part of me wants to run away, let you whisk me off my feet to some unknown destination where I can hide from everything. But the other part is pissed that someone drove me from my home, called my brother, and said terrible things about me and my life. I’ve never run from a fight, and I don’t want to start now.”
“Let’s get some food,” I said. “And coffee. I’ll check in with Billy to make sure he knows we’re alive, then you can call your brother to see what’s going on there. After that, we’ll decide what we want to do. Sound good?”
She nodded, smiling at me, hopefully knowing that I would do anything for her. Just then, her stomach growled, and we both laughed.
“I guess I better take you to get some food,” I said. “Otherwise, the bears in the woods might want to run for cover. Your stomach sounded like it could give them a run for their money.”
“Pretty sure they’re hibernating,” she said.
“Never can be too careful,” I replied, pulling her against me to kiss her forehead.
“I could stay in your arms forever,” she sighed.
“I would hold you until you wanted me to let you go,” I replied.
We did stay there, just for a few minutes, but then her stomach rumbled again, and she pulled back.
“Let’s get food,” I said.
“Do they have a restaurant or something?” she asked as I locked up the cabin.
“They live above the store,” I said. “They always have something freshly made available, so we’ll see what’s what when we get there.”
The drive from the cabin down to the store was nice. We just sort of let the world around us rush by, holding hands, and enjoying the quiet. When I pulled into the little lot, she gave a sort of, “Oh,” sound, and I wasn’t sure whether it was a good sound or not.
“It’s so tiny,” she said as I put the car in park. “And they live here?”
“Yeah,” I said. “They’re a really nice couple. Not sure what they did before, but they told me when I first got the cabin that they wanted to get out of the rat race and do something simple with their retirement.”
“So, they’re older, then,” she said.
“Not really,” I replied as I opened my door.
I helped her out of the car, shutting the door behind her, then hooked my arm around her waist as I guided her into the store. The little bell above the door tinkled as we walked in, and Ari was mesmerized by the whole thing. Watching her see it just squeezed my chest tight. God, I wanted her to stay in my life for a long damn time, and I’d do whatever it took to make that happen.
“Welcome in,” Tracy said, then looked up to see me. “Spencer. It’s so nice to see you again. Hey, Glen. Spencer’s here.”
“Spencer,” I heard from the back of the room, and then I saw the man come forward. “Damn, man, it’s good to see you again. How’ve you been? I’ve been watching you.”
“Been good,” I said. “Still reaching for the playoffs, but we’ll get there.”
“Some of the guys you got this winter should help,” he said.
“Let’s hope so,” I replied. “I need just a few things, cause we’re only here for today and tonight.”
“Sure thing,” he said.
“This is my friend, Ariana,” I said, looking at her standing near me with eyes wide. “It’s her first time up to the cabin. Tried to make coffee, but it was bad. Ari, this is Glen and Tracy.”
“Hi,” she said, her voice somewhat quiet. “Nice to meet you.”
“I gotta go make a call,” I said. “I told her you might have something for breakfast. If not, no biggie, but if you do, I’ll need some, too.”
“We have all sorts of things,” Tracy said. “We’ll take good care of her.”
Ari looked at me, eyes wide, like she was terrified I was leaving her alone with them.
“I gotta call Billy,” I said. “Won’t be long. Promise.”
“Okay,” she said, but I knew I had to be really quick, so I stepped outside and turned my phone on, waiting for it to power up so I could make the call.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Ariana…
I didn’t want him to leave me alone, but I also didn’t want to be rude.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Spencer bring anyone up to the cabin with him,” Glen said, and that was actually a relief to me. “Have you?”
“Not that I remember,” Tracy said. “Ariana, is it?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry. I’m still tired. It was kind of a sudden trip, and we came up sort of in the middle of the night, so I’m a little out of my element right now.”
“Doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t plan ahead,” she said, a knowing smile on her face. “Sometimes men don’t think of all the things we might need. Now, he said you might be hungry.”
Just then, my stomach growled, and I mean growled. It was embarrassing, and I wanted to just run from the store, but she smiled at me and moved down the counter.
“I’ve got some orange and cranberry scones,” she said, stepping up to a little open counter thing. “I might have something more substantial upstairs, though, if you don’t mind waiting.”
“I think the scones would be fine,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.”
“Trust me,” she said, lowering her voice. “It would be no trouble at all. You and I can go upstairs and leave the guys to talk their sports and such.”
“So,” Glen said as he came back from wherever he had gone. “How long have you and Spencer been together? I haven’t seen anything about him finding someone.”
“Um…” I stammered.
“Glen,” Tracy said. “Knock it off. You don’t need to know everything about everything. Go find some coffee and sugar for them. Maybe some of that powdered creamer, too.”
“I just wanted to be polite and ask,” he said.
“Well, you’re being an ass,” Tracy said, shaking her head.
“Hey,” Spencer said as he came in. “Billy didn’t answer. My guess is he’s at the gym working out. I left him a message, though. You wanna call your brother?”
“I probably should,” I said. “He’s gonna want to know where I am.”
“You can tell him whatever you want,” he said. “Here,” he added, handing me the car key. “It’s cold out there, so feel free to get into the car to keep warm.”
“Thanks,” I said. “It was nice to meet you,” I called out to the couple.
“Pleasure to meet you, too,” Tracy said, but Glen wasn’t anywhere that I could see.
Spencer was right when he said it was cold, and I was glad he gave me the key. I climbed into the passenger seat, shutting the door to keep the cold at bay, and dialed my brother. I didn’t know if he’d answer, though, since the call was coming from someone else.
“Carrington Construction,” he said when he answered.
“Hey, Dee,” I said.
“Ari,” he replied, and I could hear the relief in his voice. “Thank God. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, confused. “I told you I was going off grid. What happened?”
“I got another call,” he said. “I answered it, though. Guy was telling me that he had taken you and was holding you for ransom. Said that he was gonna get your boyfriends to pay, since they were rich. I tried to get him to tell me something, anything that would indicate that he was telling the truth, or to figure out who he was, but he never let me get a word in.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Spencer has a cabin in the mountains. That’s all I want you to know, other than it is very rustic and there’s no signal up there. We’re coming back tomorrow.”
“You’re still with him?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll come to the office when we get back.”
“Why don’t you come to my place?” he said.
“Because your place is a mess,” I replied. “The office would be better.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m really glad to hear your voice. I was getting worried.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You figure out who it was?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I replied. “But I do have an idea.”
“Who?” he asked.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said.
“Okay,” he replied. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, ya goober,” I said, then disconnected the call.
I looked up and saw Spencer coming out of the store. I was actually glad he was, because the couple were nice, but I just didn’t want to meet new people at the moment. What I wanted was to get back up to the cabin and have Spencer blow my mind, get me out of my head, and help me forget about everything that was happening to me.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Billy…
The message Spencer left was short, basically saying they were at his cabin, and that they’d be back the next day. I knew when he went up there, there was no reaching him. Hell, I didn’t even know where it was, other than in the mountains somewhere. Didn’t matter, though. He had our girl, and she was safe. What was weird was that it came in now but showed that it was sent before I even left the house.
“Hey,” one of the new guys said as I was stuffing my phone into my pocket. “We’re heading out for food. Wanna come?”
“Where you guys going?” I asked.
He looked over at another new guy, and the other guy looked back.
“We’re not sure,” the first guy said. “I’m Dallas, and this is Ricky. We were kinda hoping you could suggest somewhere.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m sure we can find somewhere to get some good grub.”
The guy beamed, and I was glad to help them out. I offered to drive, and they gladly accepted, so we climbed into my Jeep and I pulled us out and into the light rain that had begun to fall.
“It rains a lot here, huh?” Dallas asked.
“Mostly cloudy,” I said. “I mean, we get plenty, don’t get me wrong. It’s why the roof is retractable. But there’s more in Boston as far as total inches.”
“No way,” Ricky said. “It’s gorgeous in Boston.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We get more clouds, but as for rain, it’s usually light, like this.”
I drove away from the stadium and headed north along First, heading toward the Market and where Huffman’s girlfriend had a shop. Finding parking on the weekend was usually hard, but with the rain it was easier. Regulars would come out, but tourists tended to not like being in the wet, which was nice for those of us who didn’t mind.
Parking in one of the paid lots, I went to the kiosk and paid for my space, dropping the ticket onto my dash.
“Let’s go,” I said, heading down the sidewalk toward Post Alley.
The guys looked around as we went, checking out all the sights as we went down the hill toward the waterfront.
“Are we going to the Pike’s Place Market?” Ricky asked.
“First of all, it’s Pike Place Market,” I said. “If you’re gonna live here, you need to know the right way to say it. And no, we’re going to a pub just a half block before we get there.”
“A pub?” Dallas asked. “As in, a bar?”
“It’s an Irish pub,” I said. “Good food, good beer, and not someplace that will draw attention to us.”
