Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

I tried to wrap my head around that information. Why wouldn’t Max have included Willow Lake Lodge in his will? And why had Max left everything to Ian and nothing to Ian’s sister. Or his brother, Ian’s father for that matter. Why only Ian?

“What do you say we go out for a drink tonight, Pepper?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re never going to stop asking me, are you?” I said, the thought irritating.

“You’re the only girl who ever rejected me in high school.”

“Really—high school—this goes back to high school?” I shook my head as I got to my feet.

“I don’t do well with rejection, Pepper.”

“Then if I went out with you, all would be well?”

He grinned.

“Not gonna happen, pal,” I said with a broad smile of my own.

“You’re cruel, Pepper,” Burke said with a twinkle in his eye.

Right there and then I realized he loved the chase and once he caught a woman it was over for him. I wondered what would happen when he found a woman he couldn’t stop chasing.

“Thanks for talking with me,” I said and headed for the door.

“I’ll tell my grandfather what you want done and he’ll be in touch.”

I turned when I reached the door. “Great, I look forward to talking with him.”

“And, Pepper,” —he grinned like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland— “I’m not going to give up.”

“Then get a therapist, since you’re doomed for repeated rejection.”

Burke’s laughter followed me out the door and I had to smile. He was a narcissistic jerk, but for some reason I always thought deep down inside he wasn’t a bad guy.

I wanted to hightail it over to Ian’s place and ask him about the discrepancy with Max’s will, but I thought it might be better to hold on to that tad bit of information. It might prove useful down the line. I also had work to do. I needed to get moving on my book. I also had to open and inspect some products various companies sent me that prepper enthusiasts would be interested in with hopes that I’d review them and post them on various social media. And I kept at least a month ahead on those, which was where I was now, but wouldn’t be next week if I didn’t get my butt moving.

I turned down my road to find a Lexus SUV parked in front of my house. I could hear my dad yelling in my head. Don’t get out of the car! Don’t get out of the car! The man had me paranoid.

Luckily, I could dismiss his warnings since a woman got out of the Lexus as I pulled up and I was sure she wasn’t there to do me harm. Tall, blonde, beautiful, and wearing a sweater dress that hugged every perfect curve of her perfect body. Her slim two-inch heels kept digging into to the grass, causing her to walk like a penguin as she approached me.

I kept the smile to myself. “Can I help you?”

“Oh dear, I think I may be lost,” she said sweetly, much too sweetly. “I’m looking for Willow Lake Lodge. I thought this was Ian’s private residence.”

That was a big, fat lie, though I got worried since the last person who showed up here thinking he was lost wound up dead.

“Didn’t you see the sign that read Skunk Hollow?” I asked.

She gave a nervous glance around as if all of a sudden, she’d be attacked by dozens of skunks. My Aunt Effie knew what she was doing naming this place Skunk Hollow, it kept people away. At least at one time it had.

“Willow Lake Lodge is the next entrance down on your right,” I said and though curious as to who she was, I held my tongue. Actually, I bit it to stop from asking. No doubt she was a model hired for a photo shoot.

“Have you met Ian,” the woman asked.

That was it. “Look, I’m not going to say anything about my neighbor when I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, forgive me. I should have introduced myself.” She held out her hand, displaying her perfectly manicured nails. “I’m Cerise Marsh of Mandrake Media. I’m Ian Macgregor’s publicist.”

Wow was my thought, but I didn’t let it show. Mandrake Media handled big names, which got me thinking about Ian and just how well-known he was. But why would his publicist drive all the way from New York City to Willow Lake?

“Hope you had a nice drive out here,” I said, wanting to see if I might get a hint of what she was doing here.

She looked me up and down and smiled. “It was uneventful, though the scenery is quite quaint. I don’t believe he’ll spend too much of his time here, since he has a gorgeous apartment in Manhattan.”

She didn’t like him living here so she was on a recon expedition, checking his new place out and checking me out. Which meant Ian must have mentioned me to her.