The Cabin on the Lake

A New Life

After a few weeks, Kane and I get into a routine. Every other night I work with him at the bar. In no time I have enough money for another bus ticket. I decide to stay and keep working to save money for a place to stay. I can't decide if I should stay here with Kane, or keep running. I can't imagine that my ex, Gene, would still be looking for me. It's not like he loved me.

I help John close up the diner and rush to Kane's place for his surprise. I have been working on fixing up the other bedrooms and en-suites. I also came up with a breakfast menu. He'll be home in a couple hours from the bar. I just need to add a few finishing touches before he comes home.

I hear the front door unlock and rush to the "front desk" I created. He pauses when he sees me and I go into my speech.

"Welcome to Pine Lake Bed and Breakfast. I'm Maggie and I'll be your hostess. Follow me to your room." I head to the stairs and Kane follows me wordlessly. I look back and see him smiling. That's a good sign. "Here we have suite A. This room has a king size bed and in the bathroom there's a large soaking tub." Kane walks into the room and his smile grows.

"Maggie... how did you do all of this? It looks like it did when my parents were here. He turns to look at me with unshed tears in his eyes. "I don't know what to say." I hand him the mock up menu.

"Breakfast starts at 7 am until 10:30 am. Here are the breakfast options." He takes the menu from me and and smiles.

"Ok. You win. This is your show. I will get everything set up and you can take it from there. You can be the manager." He looks up at me and shrugs. "I can tell you worked really hard on this. I even like the menu."

"Don't you want to run it with me?" I ask, surprised by his reaction. "I did this for both of us." He shakes his head.

"Nah, Maggie. I'm too busy with the bar. I trust you to run things here. If you need help with anything I want to be the first to know. I don't think you'll need me." Kane hands me the menu and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm very impressed." He walks down the hall to his room and closes the door.

"Pine Lake Bed and Breakfast, how can I help you?" Since we opened up the house we have had a steady stream of guests. I am finally happy with my life. Kane showed me how to do the books on the computer and we set up an account with a food supplier. So many details to running a B&B. I took an accounting course at the community college to help get me started. I think I may continue and get my associate degree. Turns out I'm really good at this. The guests have all been happy with their stay. I've added a soup and sandwich menu for lunch and snacks are available in cute baskets in the huge dining room. Kane has been a huge help and super supportive. On the nights we don't have guests, I help him at the bar. I don't know what I would have done without Kane. "We have two rooms availble next week. Do you have a view preference? There's a lovely view of the forest behind the house or a street view of the town." I can't wait until spring comes so I can start on the gardens.

"Can I have both rooms?" The male customer replied.

"Of course. What's the name for the reservation?" I ask, as I complete the reservation on my laptop.

"Oh uh..." I can hear shuffling on the other line. "We can reserve it under my friend's name and card. Jimmy Carpenter." I plug in the contact information and card number before disconnecting the call. I got a weird vibe from the caller and for some reason, his voice seemed familiar. I can't place it.

"Honey, I'm home." Kane calls out. I check the time and realize it's only 7. He walks into the kitchen with two bags of food from the local Mexican restaurant. "I got your favorite! Chicken Chimichanga with extra rice and sour cream." He starts pulling everything out of the bag to lay everything out on the kitchen island.

"I'm not complaining because Mexican food is my favorite. But... why are you home? I thought you had to work at the bar tonight." I grab the food container closest to me to see what's in there. I look up and see a big smile on Kane's face.

"I hired a manager to help me out. She has everything under control tonight." Kane opens another container and switches with me. "With business picking up here, I want to make myself more available to help you. What if an emergency came up? What if one of the guests became belligerent?" He takes a deep breath. "I can be the muscle." Kane flexes his arms to show off his biceps. A chuckle escapes before I can stop myself. Kane feigns a hurt look. "Not strong enough?" He asks.

"My hero." I say sarcastically and grab his bicep. "So big and strong. Thank you for being my protector." I bat my eyes at him. We both start laughing before digging into our meals. It was so nice to have some time with Kane tonight. I've missed him.

Friday has finally arrived and guests have been arriving all day. Kane has been a huge help all day today. I love having him around to help.

"Mr and Mrs Mathews, your room will be the 3rd room on the right. You can follow me and I'll show you around." Kane and I have settled into a routine to show the guests their suites before showing them around the house. We have a library, game room, a huge dining room and when it's nice out the guests can enjoy the gardens. While showing a couple around the house, Kane comes up to me with a question on his face.

"Do you know a Jimmy Carpenter?" He asks hesitantly.

"I don't know him personally. I booked two rooms under his name. Is there a problem?" Did I do something wrong?

"He says he knows you and requested to have you show him around." Kane looks concerned. Carpenter wasn't the name of anyone from foster care and my ex's last name was MacAdams. I have no clue as to who this person could be. I excuse myself from the tour and head to the front of the house. That's when I see him. In that moment panic sets in and I forget how to breathe, my hands are sweating and my feet are frozen in place. A tall man with black short hair turns my direction and smirks wickedly.

"No," I whisper to myself. This can't be happening. It's been months since I arrived here. Months of re-inventing myself. Creating a life I want. He slowly starts to slink his way towards me. I'm still frozen in place.

"Maggie, Maggie, Maggie..." He shakes his head. "You disappeared after a night I know I'll never forget. Right Jimmy?" That's when I see the man with him. One of the men that r***d me that night. "You've had your fun playing pretend here. Now it's time to come home." I hyperventilate, I can't take a deep breath. Fear has me completely stunned.

"Maggie!" I hear Kane but he sounds far away. "Is everything ok here?" My vision begins to blur around the edges and spots appear. I close my eyes and hear Kane calling my name, but I can't respond. I want to scream and run and hide... But I'm surrounded in darkness now. Kane... help me.