From the smooth ride, she was guessing the road was paved as opposed to the possible gravel or dirt. The woods they were passing were a mix of bare trees and evergreens. It made for a bare sort of beauty. A quarter of a mile wasn’t far, either. She could walk it if she took her time and wrapped her medical boot up with some plastic to keep it from getting dirty or wet.
“I’ve asked them to deliver a late breakfast in about thirty minutes.” Brandon put the SUV into park. “It’d be best if you don’t go up to the main house unless absolutely necessary. They’re very friendly people, but they like to talk up their clients a little too much. It could get awkward, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t be walking the path for pleasure. He left Haydn to guard the car again while he went into the cabin. She guessed he was going room to room, clearing the entire building before letting her enter. Which was fine so long as he did it quickly because she had to pee.
Brandon was there in minutes, though, opening the side door opposite her. “Ready?”
She gave him a relieved smile. “So ready.”
He tipped his head to one side. “You’d get inside and into your room faster if you let me carry you. If you walk, it’ll just take that much longer before you can pee.”
When he put it that way, she could hold it a few minutes more.
She set her jaw. “I can walk.”
Amusement sparkled in his hazel eyes. He’d been teasing her again. She needed to work on not being such an easy target.
She scooted her butt to the end of the seat and got out of the SUV carefully. It would’ve been worse if she’d tripped on her way out because he was still standing right there, ready to catch her. And he was justified; she’d done it in the past on two good ankles.
With that in mind, she did place her hand in his to steady herself. His palm was warm and ignited tiny sparks under her skin, waking up the proverbial butterflies in her stomach.
The air was still cold, but the humidity had the hint of lingering autumn in it. She smelled the faint aroma of apples baking mixed in with the rich tang of evergreen and the earthier scent of fallen leaves beginning to break down on the forest floor.
These weren’t Pennsylvania woods. They’d driven south for too many hours to still be in the same state, but the trees here weren’t too much different.
“This place is nice.” She wasn’t certain what Brandon was excited about, but he definitely had a smug look about him with a hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “You like cabins where there’s a clearing, right? So you can see what’s coming from far away?”
Brandon placed a hand on the small of her back and encouraged her to start moving into the cabin. His fingertips rested against the curve of her spine and triggered more tickling sparks up her back and down her tailbone. “Yeah. This cabin sits in the middle of this clearing, so there’s the same space all the way around. Makes it harder to sneak up on the building. I’ve got a few Bluetooth cameras with me from Cruz so I can set up some surveillance.”
As he’d been talking, he’d been herding her toward the front door without actually rushing her. She took it at her pace but she didn’t drag her feet, either, since he was so excited. The outside of the cabin was a lovely wood finish. From the windows, she’d guess it was more of a one-story rancher.
“I’ll bring in your cat once you’re settled. I want to set up a cat litter for her before I bring her in because she’s going to want to go somewhere.” Brandon continued to talk about unpacking the SUV, but Sophie was distracted from the minute she stepped inside.
The cabin or rancher or whatever it was called was huge on the inside, much roomier than the impression she’d gotten seeing the front. The foyer floor was set with cool, flat, walking stones leading in a curving path toward the back of the house and a large kitchen with an open layout. To her immediate right was a sitting area equipped with a settee and chairs arranged around a low coffee table. To her left was a living room with a couch and a pair of armchairs arranged facing a large stone fireplace. There was even a stack of real wood on the hearth, ready for a fire to be started in the fireplace.
“Rooms this way.” Brandon urged her forward and farther into the rancher, past the living room area and down a small hallway. There were four doors, and she sort of wanted to open each one individually. But he coaxed her past the first set of doors. “Half bath and a linen closet.”
Okay, fine, maybe not as interesting, but she still planned to come back and poke her head in when she had time to explore the place at her own pace. The last two doors were both open, looking into two rooms.
Their floor plans were mirrored in design, big enough to each have a king-size bed and…
“Do these rooms share a bathroom?”
Brandon sighed. “Yes, but you’ll have your private space.”
Because there were two bedrooms.
“Which one would you like?” Brandon asked.
He wasn’t planning to share a bedroom with her.
All that planning with Lyn and Elisa was going to be for nothing. Those kisses, the way he’d coaxed her into melting under his mouth; they were just supposed to be ignored.
Seriously?