I settled back in the seat and wondered what I’d gotten myself into. We drove down the winding road for a few miles, then turned off onto a narrow lane that cut its way through a couple of miles of dense forest. The trees canopied above us, nearly blocking out the sun, making the road ahead look dark and ominous.
“It’s beautiful here,” he said. I glanced over to see him smiling at me. “You’re going to love this.”
After a few minutes, the trees parted above us and the sun shined through and I let go of the breath I’d been holding. The lane ended at a small cabin next to a lake. The place looked ancient and deserted.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“This is where the real Sean Donovan lives,” he said with a sigh. He shut off the truck and stared through the windshield at the rustic cabin and the calm lake beyond.
“I’ve never brought anyone here before,” he said quietly. “You’re my first visitor.”
“Why me?”
Sean turned to look into my eyes and smiled. “I don’t really know. There’s just this little voice in my head telling me that I can trust you with the truth.”
“There is? I mean, you can…”
He grinned and reached for the door handle.
“Come on, Katie Holmes, let me show you around.”
Sean
When I held out my hand and told Katie to come with me, I could see a look of fear and wonder in her eyes. Fear that this insane bad boy had brought her to the middle of nowhere, and wonder at what he might do to her. I gave her a reassuring smile to let her know that I was harmless, more or less. As to what I might do to her, well, that remained to be seen.
As we walked to the edge of the lake, I felt her fingers tighten around my hand. Her hand felt good in mine. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a woman’s hand without dragging her onto the dancefloor or into my bedroom. This was just sweet, innocent handholding. It felt… good.
“This was my dad’s cabin,” I said wistfully. “He used to bring me here when I was a boy. We’d fish all day or swim in the lake, then build a fire and sit around it all night just talking and looking at the stars.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said. I heard her sigh.
“It was.” I swept my hand through the air. “Some of the best fishing in Connecticut is right here in this lake.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “And you own all this?”
“Everything you see,” I said with a nod. “My dad owned this cabin, but I bought the rest of it with my signing bonus from the AFL draft. Two hundred acres, mostly covered in trees and vegetation. I still come here whenever I can, just to get away.” I tugged on her hand. “Please don’t write about its location. I don’t need the place overrun with nut jobs.”
She smiled at me. “Gotcha. No nut jobs allowed.”
I nodded at the cabin. “Come on, let me give you the grand tour. It’ll take all of two minutes.”
Kate
I stood back so Sean could open the cabin door. He waved away the cloud of dust that billowed from within. He looked back at me and smiled, as if he were about to share his greatest secret with me.
“Let me light a lantern,” he said, moving into the dark cabin while I waited in the doorway. I glanced up at the sky. I had lost all track of time. The sky was turning purple and I could see the moon rising above the lake.
“Okay, come on in,” Sean said. He was standing in the middle of the tiny cabin holding an old lantern. Dust particles rose in the air around him. He looked like a sexy railroad man from times gone by.
“It’s… lovely,” I said as I glanced around. The cabin was small, probably twenty-by-twenty, one room, with a makeshift kitchen on one side, a wood-burning stove in the corner, and a rickety-looking cot on the other side. At the center was a small table and two chairs.
“You’re unimpressed,” he said, making a pouty face. He set the lantern on the table and spread his hands. “You wanted to meet the real Sean Donovan? Well, Katie Holmes, here I am. This is me. I’m Sean Donovan.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said with a smile. I’m not sure what possessed me to do so, but I looked down to find
my fingers loosening the buttons on my blouse.
I pushed the blouse back from my shoulders and let it fall to the dusty floor.