On sale in February 2014
CHAPTER 1
Audra Lane strode with manufactured confidence to the vacation cabin rental’s main desk and faced the man she thought was the registration clerk. She curled her bare toes against the warm polished wood flooring and took a deep breath.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing this trash bag.”
“Yes.”
That was it. That single syllable delivered without inflection or emotion in a soft, bluesy baritone.
Audra’s swagger stalled.
Maybe that was his way. His manner wasn’t unwelcoming; it was just spare. He’d been the same when she’d checked into the cabin rentals in Where-the-Heck-Am-I, Ohio, less than an hour earlier.
In fact, the entire registration area was just as Spartan as the clerk. Despite the large picture windows, the room seemed dark and cheerless in the middle of this bright summer morning. There weren’t chairs inviting guests to relax or corner tables with engaging information about the nearby town. It didn’t even offer a coffee station. Nothing about the room said, “Welcome! We’re glad you’re here.” There were only bare oak walls, bare oak floors and a tight-lipped clerk.
What kind of vacation spot is this?
Audra pushed her questions about the room’s lack of ambience to the back of her mind and addressed her primary concern.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her black plastic makeshift minidress. “I’d left some of my toiletries in my rental car. I thought I could just step into the attached garage to get them, but the door shut behind me. Luckily, I found a box of trash bags on a shelf.”
She stopped. Her face flamed. If he hadn’t suspected before, he now knew beyond a doubt that she was butt naked under this bag.
Oh. My. God.
She’d ripped a large hole on the bottom and smaller ones on either side of the bag for a crude little black dress, which on her five-foot-seven-inch frame was very little.
Audra gave him a hard look, but his almond-shaped onyx eyes remained steady on hers. He didn’t offer even a flicker of reaction. His eyes were really quite striking, and the only part of his face she could make out. When he’d checked her into the rental, she’d been too tired from her flight from California to notice his deep sienna features were half hidden by a thick, unkempt beard. His dark brown hair was twisted into tattered, uneven braids. They hung above broad shoulders clothed in a short-sleeved dark blue T-shirt. But his eyes . . . they were so dark, so direct and so wounded. A poet’s eyes.
How could the cabins’ owner allow his staff to come to work looking so disheveled, especially an employee who worked the front desk? Did the clerk think he looked intimidating? Well, she had been born and raised in Los Angeles; he’d have to try harder.
Without a word, the clerk turned and unlocked the cabinet on the wall behind him. He chose a key from a multitude of options and pulled a document from the credenza.
“Sign this.” He handed the paper to her.
The form stated she acknowledged receipt of her cabin’s spare key and would return it promptly. Audra signed it with relief. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gave her the key.
A smile spread across her mouth and chased away her discomfort. Audra closed her hand around the key and raised her gaze to his. “I don’t know your name.”
“Jack.”
“Hi, Jack. I’m Au . . . Penny. Penny Lane.” She continued when he didn’t respond. “Thanks again for the spare key. I’ll bring it right back.”
“No rush.”
“Thank you.” Audra turned on her bare heels and hurried from the main cabin. That had been easy—relatively speaking. At times, she’d even forgotten she was wearing a garbage bag . . . and nothing else. It helped that Jack hadn’t looked at her with mockery or scorn. He’d been very professional. Bless him!
Jackson Sansbury waited until his guest disappeared behind the closed front door. Only then did he release the grin he’d been struggling against. It had taken every ounce of control not to burst into laughter as she’d marched toward him, the trash-bag dress rustling with her every step.
He shook his head. She’d been wearing a garbage bag! Oh, to have seen the look on her face when the breezeway door had shut behind her—while she’d been naked in the garage. Jackson gripped the registration desk and surrendered to a few rusty chuckles.
It had been so long since he’d found anything funny.
He wiped his eyes with his fingers, then lifted the replacement key form. A few extra chuckles escaped. She’d signed this form, as well as the registration form, “Penny Lane.” Jackson shook his head again. Did she really expect him to believe her parents had named her after a Beatles song?
Jackson lifted his gaze to the front door. She’d given a Los Angeles address when she’d registered. Who was she? And why would someone from Los Angeles spend a month at a cabin in Trinity Falls, Ohio, by herself and under a fake name?
“Benita, when you told me you’d made a reservation for me at a vacation cabin rental, I thought you meant one with other people.” Audra grumbled into her cellular phone to her business manager, Benita Hawkins.
Although still tired from the red-eye flight from California to Ohio, she felt much more human after she’d showered and dressed.
“There aren’t any people there?” Benita sounded vaguely intrigued.
“The only things here are trees, a lake and a taciturn registration clerk.” Audra’s lips tightened. Her manager wasn’t taking her irritation seriously.
“Hmmm. Even better.”
Audra glared at her phone before returning it to her ear. She could picture the other woman seated behind her cluttered desk, reviewing e-mails and mail while humoring her. “What do you mean, ‘even better’?”
“I told you that you needed a change to get over your writer’s block. You’re having trouble coming up with new songs because you’re in a rut. You see the same people. Go to the same places. There’s nothing new or exciting in your life.”
That’s harsh.
Audra stared out the window at the tree line. She’d noticed right away that none of the windows had curtains. The lack of privacy increased the rentals’ creepiness factor.
A modest lawn lay like an amnesty zone between her and a lush spread of evergreen and poplar trees that circled the cabin like a military strike force. In the distance, she could see sunlight dancing off the lake like diamonds on the water. But the area was isolated. Audra didn’t do isolated. She’d texted her parents after she’d checked into the resort to let them know she’d arrived safely. Maybe she should have waited.
“This place is like Mayberry’s version of the Bates Motel.” She turned from the window. “How is this supposed to cure my insomnia?”
“Writing will cure your insomnia.”
“Have you been to these cabins?”
“No. When I was growing up in Trinity Falls, Harmony Cabins went into bankruptcy and was abandoned. They’ve only recently been renovated.”
“I’m coming home.” But first, she’d take a nap. The red-eye flight was catching up with her.
The cabin itself was lovely. The great room’s walls, floors and ceiling were made of gleaming honey wood. The granite stone fireplace dominated the room. But a large flat-screen, cable-ready television reassured her she’d have something to do at night. The comfortable furnishings that were missing from the main cabin were scattered around this room: an overstuffed sofa and fat fabric chairs. The décor was decidedly masculine, though; it was black leather and dark plaids. That would explain the lack of curtains at the windows.
“You promised me you’d give it thirty days, Audra.” The clicking of Benita’s computer keyboard sounded just under her words. “I sent the rental a nonrefundable check for the full amount of your stay in advance.”
Audra frowned. Benita’s check had allowed her to register as Penny Lane. “It was your check, but my money. If I want to cancel this anti-vacation vacation, I will.”
They both recognized the empty threat. The cost of a monthlong stay at a cabin rental was too much to waste.
Benita’s exasperated sigh traveled almost twenty-five hundred miles and three time zones through the cell phone. “You owe the record producer three hit songs by the end of the month. How are they coming?”
Audra ground her teeth. Benita knew very well she hadn’t made any progress on the project. “How can you believe this place is the solution? You’ve never even been here.”
“Do you really think I’d send you someplace that wasn’t safe? I have family in Trinity Falls. If there were serial killers there, I’d know it.”
Audra tugged on her right earlobe. She was angry because she was scared, and scared because she was outside her comfort zone. “I don’t want to be here. It’s not what I’m used to.”
“That’s why you need to be there. And this is the best time. Trinity Falls is celebrating its sesquicentennial. The town’s hosting a Founders Day celebration at the beginning of August. I’ll be there.”
“One hundred and fifty years. Big deal.”
Benita chuckled. “I’ll see you in a month.”
Audra stared at her cell phone. Benita had ended their call. “I guess that means I’m staying.” She shoved her cell phone into the front pocket of her jeans shorts and turned back to the window. “In that case, I’ll need curtains.”
The chimes above the main cabin’s front door sang. With three keystrokes, Jackson locked his laptop and pushed away from his desk. The cabins had had more activity today than they’d ever had.
Jackson paused in his office doorway. It wasn’t a surprise to see that the chair of the Trinity Falls Sesquicentennial Steering Committee had returned to his front desk. Doreen Fever was a determined woman.
“Afternoon, Doreen.” He knew why she was there. She wanted every citizen to be involved in the festivities surrounding the town’s 150th birthday. The problem was, Jackson wasn’t a joiner.
“I’m still amazed by how much you’ve accomplished with the rentals in so little time.” Doreen gazed around the reception area.
“Thank you.”
Doreen was the town’s sole mayoral candidate. She also was the artist behind the bakery operation of Books & Bakery and the mother of a former schoolmate—though Doreen looked too young to have an only child who was just two years younger than Jackson. Her cinnamon brown skin was smooth and radiant. Her short, curly hair was dark brown. And her warm brown eyes were full of empathy. Jackson didn’t want anyone’s empathy. Not even someone as genuine and caring as Doreen.
“I hear you have a lodger.” Doreen folded her hands on the counter between them.
“Not by choice.” How did the residents of Trinity Falls learn everyone else’s business so fast? His guest hadn’t even been here a full day.
Confusion flickered across Doreen’s features before she masked it with a polite nod. “A young woman.”
“I noticed.”
“I’m glad to see the cabins’ renovations are going well and that you’re taking in customers.”
“Thank you.”
Doreen gave him a knowing smile. “The elementary school was grateful for your generous donation. I take it that was the check from your guest? Are you sure you don’t need that money to reinvest in the repairs?”
“The school needs the money more. I appreciate your stopping by, Doreen.” He turned to leave.
“Jack. You know why I’m here.” Doreen sounded exasperated.
Good. He could handle exasperation. Pity pissed him off.
He faced her again. “You know my answer.”
“The town will be one hundred and fifty years old in August. That’ll be a momentous occasion, and everyone wants you to be a part of it.”
Jackson shook his head. “You don’t need me.”
“Yes, we do.” Doreen’s tone was dogged determination. “This sesquicentennial is a chance for Trinity Falls to raise its profile in the county and across the state. You, of all people, must have a role in the Founders Day celebration.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Yes, it is.” Doreen leaned into the desk. “This event, if done well, will bring in extra revenue.”
“I know about the town’s budget concerns. I have an online subscription to The Trinity Falls Monitor.” Reading the paper online saved Jackson from having to go into town or deal with a newspaper delivery person.
Doreen continued as though Jackson hadn’t spoken. “If we host a large celebration with high-profile guests, we’ll attract more people. These tourists will stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and buy our souvenirs.”
“Great. Good luck with that.” He checked his watch for emphasis. It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon. “Anything else?”
She softened her voice. “I know that you’re still grieving Zoe’s death.”
“Don’t.” The air drained from the room.
“I can’t imagine how devastated you must feel at the loss of your daughter.”
“Doreen.” He choked out her name.
“We understand you need time to grieve. But, Jack, it’s not healthy to close yourself off from human contact. People care about you. We can help you.”
“Can you bring her back?” The words were harsh, rough and raw.
Doreen looked stricken. “I can no more bring back your daughter than I can resurrect my late husband.”
Paul Fever had died from cancer more than a year ago. He’d been sixty-seven. In contrast, leukemia had cut Jackson’s daughter’s life tragically short.
Jackson struggled to reel in his emotions. “People grieve in different ways.”
Pity reappeared in Doreen’s warm brown eyes. “I went through the same feelings. But, Jack, at some point, you have to rejoin society.”
“Not today.” Some days, he feared he’d never be ready.
The persistent ringing shattered Audra’s dream. She blinked her eyes open. Had she fallen asleep?
Her gaze dropped to the song stanzas scribbled across the notebook on her lap. Had it been the red-eye flight or her lyrics that lulled her to sleep?
She stretched forward to grab her cell phone. “Hello?”
“Did we wake you?” Her mother asked after a pause.
Audra heard the surprise in the question. “It was a long trip.” She refused to believe her writing had put her to sleep. “Is everything OK?”
Ellen Prince Lane sighed. “That’s what we’re calling to find out. We thought you were going to call us when you arrived at the resort.”
“I sent you a text when I landed.” Audra scrubbed a hand across her eyes, wiping away the last remnants of fatigue.
“A text is not a phone call.” Ellen spoke with exaggerated patience. “How do we know that someone didn’t kidnap you and send that text to delay our reporting you missing?”
Audra rolled her eyes. Her mother read too many true-crime novels. Her father wouldn’t have suspected foul play was behind a text from her.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“This whole idea worries me.” Her mother made fretting noises. “Why couldn’t you have stayed in Brentwood to write your songs? Why did you have to go to some resort in Ohio?”
Audra wanted to laugh. No one would mistake Harmony Cabins for a resort. But this probably wasn’t a good time to tell that to her mother.
“We discussed this, Mom. Benita thought a change of scenery would cure my writer’s block.” And even though she had her doubts, Audra didn’t want to add to her parents’ worries.
Ellen tsked. “How long will you be gone?”
They’d discussed that, too. “About a month.”
“You’ve never been away from home that long.”
“I know, Mom.”
“You don’t even know anything about that resort.”
“Benita’s friend owns the cabins. I’m sure I’ll be comfortable here.”
“How will you eat?”
“There’s a town nearby. I’ll pick up some groceries in the morning.”
“What do they eat there?”
Audra closed her eyes and prayed for patience. “I’m in Ohio, Mom. It’s not a foreign country. I’m sure I’ll find something familiar in the town’s grocery store.”
Ellen sniffed. “There’s no need to take that tone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your father’s very worried about you, Audra.”
Yet her mother was the one on the phone. “Tell Dad I’ll be fine. The cabin is clean and safe. There are locks on all the doors and windows. I’ll be home before you know it.” She hoped.
Audra looked toward the windows beside the front door. She needed curtains. She didn’t like the idea of the windows being uncovered, especially at night. She’d feel too exposed. She checked her wristwatch. It wasn’t quite three in the afternoon. It wouldn’t be dark until closer to nine P.M. She had a few hours to figure something out for tonight.
Her mother’s lengthy sigh interrupted her planning. “Your father wants to talk with you. Maybe he can get you to see reason.”
Audra rubbed her eyes with her thumb and two fingers. This experiment was hard enough without her mother’s overprotectiveness.
“My Grammy Award–winning daughter!” Randall Lane boomed his greeting into the telephone. He’d been calling her that since February when she’d been presented with the award for Song of the Year. Before that, she’d been his Grammy Award–nominated daughter.
Audra settled back into the overstuffed leather sofa. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Will you be home in time for my birthday?”
She frowned. Her father’s birthday was in October. It was only July. “Of course.”
“That’s all that matters.”
“Randall! Give me back that phone!” Ellen’s screech crossed state lines.
“Your mother wants to speak to you again. Have a nice time in Ohio, baby.”
Her mother was as breathless as though she’d chased her father across the room. “Aren’t there coyotes and bears in Ohio? And mountain lions?”
Audra’s heart stopped with her mother’s questions. She was a West Coast city woman in the wilds of the Midwest. Talk about being a fish out of water.
She swallowed to loosen the wad of fear lodged in her throat. “They don’t come near the cabins.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do,” she lied. “I’ll be fine.”
“I think you should come home, Audra. What does Benita know about writer’s block? She’s your business manager, not a writer. I’m your mother. I know what you need. You need rest.”
Her mother had a point. Audra hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since she’d taken the Grammy home.
She stood and paced past the front windows. “Benita may be right. Maybe I need to get completely out of my comfort zone to jump-start my songwriting.”
Ellen sniffed again. “Well, I disagree. And so does Wallace.”
Audra stilled at the mention of her treacherous ex-boyfriend. They’d broken up more than a month ago. Her mother knew that. “Why are you talking with him? What does he have to do with anything?”
“He wants to apologize to you. He wants your forgiveness.”
That made up her mind. She was definitely staying at the Harmony Cabins for at least a month. “Please don’t tell Wallace where I am. Even if I forgive him, we’re never getting back together.”
“You should give him another chance, Audra. He knows he’s made a mistake.”
“Wallace used me. I’m not giving him or anyone else the chance to do that again.”