Kane (Arizona Vengeance 8)

CHAPTER 2KaneI open the door to the guest bedroom, grateful for the apartment’s new construction so there aren’t any squeaky hinges. Still, as I gently push it open, Samson, who is curled up on the end of Mollie’s bed, raises his head. When he sees it is only me—as over the years, he recognizes me as a very close friend of his master’s—his head drops back onto his front paws and his eyes close.

It’s Mollie I’m concerned about, and my gaze moves to her. She’s on her side, legs tucked in, her head resting on a pillow and her arm curled around another in a spooning position.

I’m not going to lie… I’m worried about her. After she arrived at my apartment yesterday morning, I fed her breakfast, then she tumbled into bed and went to sleep. I woke her up once around noon to see if she needed anything, and her only request was that I take Samson out for a walk so he could go to the bathroom. I’d rummaged through one of her bags to find the leash, then took him on a nice walk around downtown Phoenix. I can say without a doubt that I did not enjoy picking up his shit.

Later that evening, Mollie stumbled out of her room for dinner. We made small talk, but I could tell there was something deep within her that required much more than mumbled, tired words over a meal. She looked exhausted. And after she ate, she went back to her room and slept all through the night. I took care of Samson for her by feeding him, making sure he could get into the room so he could sleep with her, then I listened for a scratch on the door should he need to go out to potty.

Now it’s the next day and close to noon again, and I don’t know what to do.

Is she sick? Is she here because she’s dying? It sounds like a made-for-TV movie, and I’m sure as fuck not ready to star in that role.

Not that I wouldn’t take care of Mollie if something were wrong with her. I would do anything for this woman. I’m just not ready to even consider losing her.

But it can’t be that. Mollie is too full of life, and there is no way she’s sick and dying. It’s stupid for me even to let my thoughts go there. I mean, this woman has traveled alone around the world in nothing but a tricked-out van with her trusty dog by her side. It is something I couldn’t have done myself. I don’t have the brains to plan out such an adventure, nor do I have the fortitude to live so meagerly for such a long time.

Backing out of Mollie’s room, I decide to let her sleep for a while longer. I head into my living room, pulling up my Instagram and navigating over to her account. She calls herself The Travel Hag, which is hilarious to me because she is about as far from a hag as you can get. Mollie says she came up with that name because she lives so frugally. She doesn’t wear makeup, cuts her own hair, and shops in thrift stores for her clothing. She doesn’t use expensive beauty products, either. If she’s not bathing in cold mountain streams, she’s taking quick showers at campgrounds. She doesn’t even own a hairdryer, preferring to let her long locks dry naturally come winter or summer.

She once told me her only real luxury is buying expensive women’s razors because while she’s a wanderer, she doesn’t believe in hairy legs and pits.

I flip through the IG photos she copies over from her website blog. She does lengthy written articles on her website, but her Instagram pages are filled with the most amazing and beautiful photos imaginable. She’s not only a fantastic wordsmith, but Mollie knows how to capture the perfect photograph just with the use of her iPhone.

I smile as I flip through them. I’ve seen them all before, and I’m sure I’ll look at them again after today. Many of the photos are just scenery—wondrous mountain ranges, stunning beaches, or fields filled with wildflowers. Some she takes using the timer so she’s in the picture with the view behind her. She loves to practice yoga, and often posts photos of herself in various positions with the gorgeous landscape behind her. While I try not to think of Mollie in a certain way, I cannot deny she has a fantastic body. Lithe but curvy in all the right places. Her muscles are toned and sleek. Her skin is golden-hued, her caramel-colored hair streaked from the sun. Many of her photos have Samson and her together, and it’s easy to see deep within their eyes they have an unbreakable bond. She adopted him from the shelter six years ago when she started traveling.