The next morning the sun was shining brightly. It was a perfect fall day, with a coffee in one hand and my last bag in the other, I shoved it into the back of my rental car. I slammed the trunk door closed and headed up to the driver's seat. It had been a while since I drove, I sold my car years ago and depended on the public transportation to get around. I was so excited to start the drive, I fired up the engine and headed towards the highway. I was heading to a small town called St. Regiant Falls. It was way upstate in the Adirondack Mountain region. If I calculated correctly, it should take me about 6 hours to get there.
After I got out of the city the landscape started to drastically change. The roads were lined with trees and everything was green. The sky seemed more vibrant and the rolling hills seemed to go on forever. I felt a sense of freedom, that I hadn't felt in a while. I rolled the windows down and felt the cool air rush into the car. It instantly gave me a rush of energy. I put my arm out the window and started doing the wave into the wind.
After a stop for gas and one stop for a soft drink, I was only about 45 minutes out. I could see the edge of the Adirondack mountains on the horizon. I planted my foot on the peddle and floored it with excitement, I just wanted to get there.
I approached a four-way stop on the outskirts of town. I tapped my brake for a second but kind of rolled through the empty intersection. After a quarter of a mile of a mile, I was pulling into Main street. Before I could take in the scenery I noticed some flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. They were almost hard to see in the bright sun. I thought, seriously? I pulled over and parked the car. A heard a light tap on my window.
"Please roll down your window miss."
"I'm sorry officer, what is the problem?"
"You ran through the stop sign at that intersection back there," he answered.
"I am so sorry, I thought I stopped. I was so in awe of the scenery. I'm from the city and haven't been here since I was young kid." I was hoping the officer would cut me a break. As I continued telling him my story, I couldn't help but notice this guy over by the general store looking in my direction. His eyes caught mine for a second and I got butterflies in my stomach. I quickly blinked and looked away nervously, focusing my attention back on the cop.
"Well Miss, today is your lucky day. I am going to give you a break since your new in town. Please take your time, at the next intersection. I will let you off with just a verbal warning. Do you need any directions, or do you know where you are going?"
"Thank you, I appreciate your warning I will drive careful the rest of my trip. I have directions but need to stop in for some groceries before I head to my cabin. Thank you again." I said with gratitude.
As the officer walked back to his car, I rolled up my window and turned left towards the general store. I found a spot right near the front and stepped out of the car.
I headed in the store and grabbed a cart. I started heading down the first aisle to grab some groceries. It was just me, so I didn't need much. I started grabbing some veggies, maybe for some stew. As I pushed my cart towards the fruit stand, I must have lost my grip on the handle. It kept rolling and before I could reach for it, the cart knocked into the stand and oranges started dropping off onto the floor.
I was so embarrassed and quickly bent over to start picking them up. I was down on my knees gathering up the fruit when I heard a man's voice.
"You need some help?" he asked. I looked up and froze for a second. It was the guy I saw earlier when the cop had pulled me over. When I stared into his eyes, those butterflies came rushing back into my stomach.
"No, I am fine, thank you for asking though," I said trying to sound confident and strong.
"Well, I am going to help you anyway. Seems like you're having a rough day, first, a cop pulls you over, now this?" he said somewhat jokingly.
"Great, you saw that. I'm just trying to get some groceries then heading up to my aunt's cabin." I was blushing with embarrassment now. As I stood up to set my handful of oranges back up in the bin, the guy reached up to hand me the last orange. At that moment, I reached for the orange, my fingers grazed his hand and it was like a bolt of lightning went through me. I paused for a second staring into his deep green eyes. His jawline was so rugged and strong and he had a dark five o'clock shadow shading his face. I couldn't help but feel my panties get a little wet. For sure blushing now, hoping he couldn't see it, I told him thanks for the help.
As he stood up and adjusted his shirt on his fit upper body, he spoke out, "My name is Ben. What is yours?"
"Brooke." I didn't realize it at first, but I gave a bit of a flirty smile as I spoke.
"Nice to meet you Brooke, fitting name for a pretty lady. Are you new in town?" he asked.
"Oh, I don't live here. I just inherited my aunt's cabin and I am spending a few weeks here just getting away from the city."
"I knew it. New York City girl, I could tell," he said with a somewhat flirty and smartass tone.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing," he said with a sexy melt my heart smile.
At this point, I didn't care if he was joking or not. Even though I wasn't looking for a guy, he was sure was ruffling my feathers a little.
"Well, Brooke. It was nice to meet you. Hopefully, I will see you around town. Make sure you keep an eye on the weather, you never know how quickly it can change this time of year." He his concern for my well being made me smile, it was sweet of him to care.
"Thanks. Hopefully, I will see you too…umm, I mean thanks again." I struggled to keep my composure and felt like a moron. I can't believe I just said that. With my face starting to turn red, I quickly grabbed my cart and started to walk towards the back of the store. As I walked away I could just sense that he was looking me up and down, studying my curves. I grabbed everything else that I needed and headed up towards the cashier. As I was placing my items on the belt I heard the cashier begin to speak.
"Hey, there is a chance of snow tonight, are you wanting to purchase any extra firewood?" I thought for a second before responding.
"Um, yeah why not."
"Ok, I will add it to your ticket, you can pull up by the front and grab a stack when you leave," explained the cashier.
I thought it couldn't hurt. I wasn't sure if there was any wood up at the cabin, better to be safe than sorry. I paid the cashier and headed out to the car. I packed the items into my truck and then hopped into the driver's seat. As I drove towards the front of the store I saw Ben again. He was out front talking to someone. I couldn't help but glance in his direction as I drove by. I didn't want him to see me so I made sure to put on my sunglasses and quickly got out of there.
I had the directions to the cabin in the cars GPS. Estimated arrival time 35 minutes. The closer I got the more anxious I was getting. I couldn't wait to settle in and just relax for the night.
After about 15 minutes of driving, I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. I remembered that the cabin was just past the bridge for Falls Creek Drive, and then up a long, winding hill. As I drove deeper into the woods I examined and observed everything so closely, taking it all in. It already seemed like the worries of the city were far away.
"In one-quarter of a mile turn left and the destination is up ahead on your right" The sound of the GPS, cut through the silence and startled me a bit. After a few minutes, I was pulling up to the cabin. I parked the car right out front and jumped out of the car.
I stared up in awe. It was still as charming and cozy as I remember. A little two-story cabin, with a big front porch. The walls were grey looking, and the front door was still a dull white. I had helped my aunt Maggie paint that door when I was 10.
I slowly walked up to the porch, continuing to look around and take it all in. I still couldn't believe my aunt left me her cabin. How did she know, that I needed to get away from the city for a while? She was right though, I was already feeling relaxed being away from the city.
I grabbed the key from my purse and stuck it directly into the lock. I gave it a twist and then pushed the door. It worked. I stepped inside and flipped the lights on. They flickered for a second but then lite up the cabin.
There was a cozy family room right up front, with a stone fireplace on the far wall. The kitchen was tiny but had everything you needed to cook up a good meal. The whole cabin had that vintage woodsy charm. There was loft that overlooked the main room and in the back was a bedroom and bathroom. I grabbed my bags and groceries from the car and started to unpack. With a few hours of sunlight left, I wanted to get settled in before dark.