Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (5 page)

"Welcome to Massachusetts. I hope you had a good trip, and I have started a warm fire for you."

For some reason
h
is
voice
seemed
much deeper in person
and
she
liked
it
.
His
kindness
surprised
her
and
she
thought it
was
a nice change.
Lana
graciously responded, but not really paying attention to him.
She
preferred looking at
her
more beautiful
surroundings. "Hi Mike and I'm sorry I'm late. The plane
landed
late and the rental car line
was
long, but what a beautiful home you have, especially at sunset. T
his
is far more
beautiful than I ever expected, and
I did time all t
his
perfectly,
a few minutes later and I
might
have missed all t
his
beauty."

"Thanks, it is pretty at sunset," he acknowledged
her
compliment.

As
she
heard
his
words
she
finally looked up, and t
his
time
she
took a good look at him.
She
was
taken aback by
his
height
.
He
was
every bit of six-foot-four
with
salt and pepper hair, more pepper.
His
eyes were a piercing blue, sky blue. And
his
smile
would
brighten any gloomy day. He
was
very much in shape and no chubby tummy on him.
His
five o'clock shadow showed he had a long day. He wore jeans and a blue oxford button up shirt
with
a black jacket. The shirt definitely brought out
his
blue eyes even at dusk.
She
noticed
his
crisp white t-shirt under
his
shirt and
she
thought i
t looked refreshing
.

His
rugged good looks caught
her
off guard and
she
was
at a loss for words.
She
fumbled
with
her
keys, and finally found the trunk key.
She
managed to walk to the trunk to get
her
two bags. In just a few quick steps Mike
moved in
close behind
her
reaching for
her
suitcases.
His
strong massive arm brushed hers, and for just a few seconds their eyes met.
Lana
turned away knowing
her
face
turned
bright red.
She
happily noticed
his
face turned a little red as well. He easily lifted the heavy bags, like lifting a feather.
She
noted how
she
struggled to put them in the trunk using
her
knee, the swing and lift motion. The same motion most women used.

She
scampered in the house and
noticed
how
it appeared
warm and inviting. At the front door
adorned
a small entrance
with
the living room straight ahead
and it had a
glowing fireplace to the right. On the left
was
the elegant kitchen
with
a small island
that
had
a bar
. Next to the bar
sat
a small by quant dinette
set
. Off
that
room
was
the
guest bedroom.
She
noticed the bed
covers were removed for the winter. To the right of the den
was
the master bedroom.

She
loved the kitchen. The cabinets were made of old stained wood
that
looked like driftwood and the countertops were granite. All the appliances were stainless
,
and the pantry door
was
definitely made of old driftwood. T
his
gorgeous kitchen
would
be one
only seen in magazines.
Definitely
a
kitchen
she
could picture Mike building. Or at least the captain Mike
she
first visualized.

The fire blazed leaving an orange glow echo across the room showing the dark painted walls. The darkness of the room looked more like a mountain cabin, rather than a beach house.

Mike had set on the bar some B
ella Casara cheese and crackers
with
a bottle of Pinot Noir wine. He certainly had good taste in wine and cheese.

He interrupted
her
thoughts. "I knew you probably didn't have time to shop so I bought a few things to get you through tomorrow. The wine is for you to enjoy your evening and relax."
She
knew he
tried
to be thought
ful
, but
she
didn't want any alcohol tonight.

She
looked up at him to thank him and
his
eyes
looked
squarely into
her
eyes
,
she
embarrassingly looked down and said. "Thank you."

Her
face turned red and
her
stomach flipped flopped as he walked past
her
and he mumbled the words. "You're welcome." When he reached the door he quickly told
her
where
he hung
the keys and where
he put
his
phone numbers
. T
his
time when
she
looked up he didn't look at
her
. Then he
left
, neither said a proper goodbye, and
she
was
too tired to think about it.

As she stepped onto the back porch t
he darkness didn't allow
her
to catch a glimpse of the ocean, b
ut
she
could hear it. The waves
roll
ed
in
with
a deafening roar.
She
closed
her
eyes and pictured the waves slamming the beach then rolling back out
into oblivion
.
She
remembered as a child laying in bed and listening to the ocean talk to
her
, and
she
could only hope tonight
th
at
same feeling
relax
ed
her
.

When
she
opened
her
eyes,
her
memory fast forward to today, the reason
she
was
here, to mourn. Then
an
overwhelming sorrow plagued
her
heart, and
her
eyes filled
with
tears.
Lana
wiped them away and
she
told herself no more tears today. Instead
she
got busy checking out the fridge.
She
found some smoked turkey breast lunch meat and decided on a sandwich
with
a glass of milk.
She
looked at the bottle of wine and decided to save it for
her
last night there. Once
she
cleaned
the kitchen,
she
sat in front of the fire and watched the flames.
The fire
relax
ed
her
soul,
and
she
needed
that
very much.

She
decided to sleep on the couch in front of the fire.
Exhaustion had
overwrit
t
e
n
her
sadness
, which
was
a nice alternative.
Her
last thoughts put a smile on
her
face
when
she
thought about Mike not fussing at
her
.
Then darkness fell.

Chapter 6

Day 2

October 16 7:20 a.m.

Lana
woke to rain slightly falling making a pitter patter sound. It sounded like a symphony orchestra playing Beethoven's Fur Elise. As much as
she
enjoyed
her
personal concert
she
had to get stirring
.
She
stretched and realized how cold it
was
in the house. Wrapping a brown patch work quilt around
her
shoulders,
she
hunted for the thermostat to turn on the heat. The fire died out, but a few small ambers
barely glowed
.
She
stirred them trying to coax them back to life then added a few logs, hoping the fire
would
start quickly.

Then
she
ran to the kitchen to make coffee, wishing
she
had
remembered
her
house shoes.
She
danced
around like a ballerina in Swan Lake, hoping if
she
jumped high enough
her
feet
would
n't touch the cold tiles. If
she
was
n't such an oaf,
she
could dance to the song Mother Nature
played for
her
. Acting silly caused
her
to trip and almost fall, but not before stepping on the blanket.
Lana
laughed at herself when
she
realized
she
could stand on the blanket and scoot.
Accidents happen for a reason
,
she
thought.

She
rummaged through the cabinet
she
found the Folgers,
her
favorite. Mike did a good job supplying
her
with
her
desper
ately needed morning java. Milk tasted
good in the coffee, but
she
would
have to remember to get some french vanilla cream. The fridge did have some raspberry pastries and
she
nuked one and turned on the television to catch the news while
she
ate, snuggled in the quilt.

The weather repor
t stated the bone chilling cold
was
predicted to
stay around for a couple more days. They also stated the temperature
might
drop twenty degrees when the low came down from Canada. Watching the Weather Channel reminded
her
of
her
grandmother visiting. Granny
always
watch
ed
the weather channel for ten hours straight.
She
point
ed
to the different parts of the country, pointing to wherever it
happened to be
raining. "Look, it's going to rain here any minute,"
she
would
say
, even thought there
wasn't a cloud in the sky.
L
ana
always smiled when
she
thought about Granny and
her
antics.