Obsession (6 page)

Charlie flipped on the radio and searched for a local station, hoping for a clue as to how much snow Pinewood was supposed to get. A foot of snow had already accumulated on the ground, and Charlie was immediately grateful that he was still driving the beat up four-wheel-drive he’d bought after returning home from his mission.

He made his final turn, the rear wheels sliding as he did so. Then he looked down the narrow road and wondered if he was lost. The snow on the road was pristine, and there weren’t any vehicles parked outside the cabins that his map identified as belonging to the Blake family.

He edged his vehicle down the narrow road and parked near the cabin that he hoped was his temporary quarters. He climbed out of his SUV, trudged through the snow to the front door, and tried the key Elias had given him. The key turned smoothly, and Charlie narrowed his eyes.

If he was in the right place, then where was Kendra? He breathed in the smell of burning wood and turned to look at the cabin across the road. Then he saw it: the smoke coming from the chimney.

* * *

Kendra heard the knocking but didn’t bother to open her eyes. Dustin or her butler would answer the door. When the knocking continued, she forced her eyes open and looked around. It took her a few seconds to get her bearings, to remember where she was and why she was there.

Her heartbeat immediately quickened as questions raced through her mind. Had she been followed? Had that bomb backstage really been meant for her? And who would want to hurt her?

Fear pulsed through her, irrational and strong. She pushed herself out of the chair, her grandmother’s afghan pooling at her feet as she slipped on her shoes. She didn’t consider the snow on the ground or her lack of transportation as she started for the back door, already planning her escape.

Then she heard a man’s voice penetrate the closed door. “Kendra, are you in there? It’s Charlie Whitmore. I’m a friend of your grandfather’s.”

Kendra stopped and turned to look at the front door as though staring at it would explain everything. Then the rest of Charlie’s words sank in. Her grandfather had mentioned that a friend of his was staying in the little cabin.

Obviously, if Charlie had been in Phoenix yesterday getting the keys from her grandfather, he couldn’t have been involved in the incident at her concert. Not to mention, her grandfather must trust this guy or he never would have suggested Kendra come up here by herself, knowing that he was around.

Still cautious, she drew in a deep breath and slowly crossed the room. Pulling the curtains back, she peeked out the window beside the door. The man standing in the falling snow was younger than she’d expected, probably only a couple years older than she was. His hands were tucked into his ski jacket; his Georgetown University sweatshirt visible beneath it. He pulled a hand free of his pocket and brushed at the snow accumulating in his short blond hair.

Again, Kendra wondered what he could be doing here, debating for a moment if she should really open the door. He turned toward the window and saw her. The corners of his lips twitched as though he was fighting back a grin.

Suddenly feeling ridiculous for being so paranoid, Kendra stepped back, pushed her hair back from her face, and tried not to think about the fact that she still didn’t have any makeup on. Her curiosity humming, she forced herself to pull the door open.

“You must be Kendra,” Charlie said the moment she opened the door. “I’m Charlie Whitmore, a friend of your grandfather’s. I don’t know if he mentioned that he’s letting me stay in the cabin across the street.”

“Yes, he mentioned it.”

“Sorry to drop by on you unannounced,” Charlie continued, his tone more professional than friendly. He motioned inside. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Kendra hesitated. The manners her nannies had ingrained in her demanded that she let him in, but she didn’t know this man. She was also now acutely aware of how disconcerting it could feel to be without a bodyguard. When Charlie fought back a shiver, her manners won out over her trepidation. She let her confusion show on her face as he walked inside. She closed the door behind him. “How do you know my grandfather?”

“Actually, it’s my father who knows him. I guess they met in DC a few years ago.”

Her earlier conversation with her grandfather replayed in her mind, and she looked at him suspiciously. “Is your dad FBI too?”

“No.” Charlie shook his head, and a smile played on his lips. “Actually, he’s a U.S. senator.”

Kendra stared at him blankly.

“Senator James Whitmore from Virginia,” Charlie expanded.

“Sorry.” Kendra shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t really follow politics.”

“I guess outside of DC politicians aren’t quite as well known,” Charlie said wryly. “Maybe you’ve heard of my brother, Matt Whitmore. He’s a baseball player. Just got traded back to the Florida Marlins.”

“That name does sound familiar.”

Charlie chuckled softly. “Well, one thing’s for sure. If everyone in the West is like you, I definitely shouldn’t have to worry about the paparazzi anytime soon.”

“Seems to me that’s a good thing,” Kendra commented, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “I know how uncomfortable it is to be followed around because of who your family is instead of who you really are.”

Amusement lit his eyes. “I have a feeling you would have people following you around even if your dad wasn’t an actor.”

She gave him a tentative smile. “So what are you doing here in the middle of winter?”

“I actually just finished up a case and needed some time away. I saw the smoke coming from the chimney but didn’t see a car outside. I thought I’d stop by and make sure everything was okay.”

“Everything’s fine.” Kendra nodded. She glanced around the room and noticed the clothes strewn across the floor and her suitcase lying open, the contents spilling out of it. A prickle of irritation started to form that no one had cleaned up the mess. Then she realized that she was the only person here. Apparently, being alone meant she had to pick up after herself. Color rose to her cheeks as she bent down and gathered the wet clothes. “My car got stuck in the snow.”

“Really?” Surprise sounded in his voice. “I just got in a few minutes ago, and I didn’t notice any cars on the side of the road.”

“I tried coming in the back way. It didn’t work out so well.” She moved to the kitchen table and laid her wet clothes over the back of a chair.

“Were you planning on staying up here long?”

She turned back to face him. “Two or three weeks.”

Charlie seemed to consider her answer for a moment, his expression serious. Then he motioned outside. “I was just going to head down to the store. Do you need anything? It might be a few days before we can get back down the mountain for supplies.”

Kendra immediately glanced down at her feet and then looked back up at Charlie. Her grandfather obviously trusted this man, and he seemed honest enough. Deciding that she didn’t have much choice but to trust him, she nodded. “Actually, I would love a ride to the store. I came up here on the spur of the moment, and I definitely forgot a few things.”

Charlie’s gaze swept down to see her open-toed sandals and her pink nail polish. His serious expression melted away, and humor lit his eyes. “Like boots?”

“Yeah.” Kendra managed a laugh. “I’m sure Mrs. Burgess will harass me about this for the next five years.”

“Mrs. Burgess?”

“The woman who runs the general store,” Kendra explained. “If you want to know anything about anybody here in Pinewood, ask Mrs. Burgess. That woman has a memory like an elephant.”

Charlie grinned. “Sounds like she’s quite a character.”

“Oh yeah.” Kendra slipped her coat on, pleased that it was nearly dry. Then she glanced out the front window, suddenly realizing how long she must have been sleeping. Several more inches had fallen since she’d tracked her way into the cabin. She glanced over at Charlie, her voice wary when she asked, “Are you sure your car can drive in this?”

“It has four-wheel drive,” Charlie told her. “We shouldn’t have any trouble if we leave now, but I’m not sure how bad these roads will be by tonight.”

Kendra retrieved her purse from the couch. “In that case, let’s go.”

Charlie reached for the door. “Do you have your key?”

Kendra nodded. She started to follow him outside, but then Charlie turned to face her. He seemed to debate for a moment and then motioned down toward her sandals. “Your feet are going to be frozen if you try to walk through the snow. Do you want me to carry you?”

Kendra’s eyebrows winged up. “You aren’t serious.”

“Or I can give you a piggy-back ride.”

“Now I feel like I’m back in third grade.”

Humor filled his voice. “You used to wear sandals during snow storms when you were in third grade?”

“We didn’t get a lot of snow storms in Southern California,” Kendra said dryly.

“Come on,” Charlie said, squatting down in front of her so he could lift her onto his back. “I promise not to drop you.”

“This is silly,” Kendra shook her head even as a giggle escaped her.

“No sillier than walking through a foot of snow wearing sandals.” Charlie reached for her hand, his fingers engulfing hers as he pulled her closer.

Kendra considered how cold her feet had been after walking in the snow the last time and let logic win out. “Oh, all right.” She reached her arms around his neck and let Charlie support her weight as he stood up and grabbed her legs to hold her in place on his back.

She caught the subtle scent of his cologne and felt his damp hair brush against her cheek. Her heart knocked against her ribs, and a tremor shot through her. Then she looked down at the slippery path Charlie had to take to reach his car, and the unexpected spurt of attraction took a backseat to practicality. “Be careful on the stairs.”

“I’ll be careful,” Charlie promised as he boosted her up a little higher on his back. “You just hold on.”

Snow blew into her face, flakes catching on her lashes and in her hair. Kendra held on tight as Charlie carried her effortlessly to the rugged SUV he’d parked across the street. As soon as he reached the vehicle, he shifted so she could stand on the running board then pulled the door open and helped her inside.

A moment later, Charlie climbed in on the driver’s side, started the car, and cranked the heat. “What else do you need from the store besides shoes and socks?”

“The basics, I guess. Like I said, this trip was pretty spur-of-the-moment.”

“With your career, I’m surprised you can do anything spur-of-the-moment.”

“It isn’t easy,” Kendra muttered.

Charlie was feeling more than a little pleased with himself about his good fortune. Apparently, Elias had been right about using his family background as a starting point to get to know Kendra, although he had been somewhat humbled to find that, while he was something of a local celebrity in Washington DC, the rest of the country apparently didn’t know his name.

He’d felt like a name-dropper when he’d tried to find some common ground with her. He imagined that Lisa would have been quite indignant to find someone who didn’t know who he was, even if that someone was a famous singer. The familiar pang settled deep in his gut as he tried to focus on the present.

Undoubtedly, even a casual acquaintance with Kendra would make his job significantly easier. Charlie also didn’t discount the fact that the roads up the mountain were likely to be closed by tonight, if not sooner.

The fact that Kendra was planning on staying here for a few weeks was an added bonus. He knew that the Los Angeles Police Department was already chasing down some leads to try to determine who had set the explosive backstage at her concert. He wasn’t terribly optimistic that the culprit would be ferreted out in the next few weeks, but he could hope that Kendra would agree to protection before she decided to leave Pinewood.

A few weeks would certainly give the LAPD time to figure out how to proceed with the case before Kendra decided it was time to get back to her life in the fast lane. If he was right, she would be ready to leave the quiet, isolated cabin long before the snow melted.

Kendra had been quiet on the drive down, except for making a request that they stop by her car so she could get the rest of her things. Charlie had made the instant decision to dispense with that task first. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to have the extra hour of snowfall to cover up his tracks.

Taking pity on her lack of appropriate footwear, Charlie had insisted on getting her things out of her car for her. Her belongings had been thrown haphazardly into the trunk, and he could only guess that she had repacked some of her things before hiking the rest of the way to her cabin.

He spotted her cell phone nestled under a pair of jeans and wondered if she realized it was missing. He took the time to make sure the phone was off and then went with impulse and left it behind. He doubted anyone could track the GPS signal with the phone turned off, but he decided not to give Kendra the chance to turn it on and give away her location. After loading all her things into his SUV and starting down the road again, Charlie was relieved that she hadn’t seemed to notice its loss. Her focus, instead, had been on some of the more unexpected items he had gathered for her.

Charlie fought back a smile as he thought of the beat-up stuffed dog that had spilled out of a canvas bag, along with a few paperback novels. Color had flushed into her cheeks when he’d handed her the bag and she’d noticed his grin. He hadn’t expected that she would get embarrassed about something so trivial, and he found himself realigning his image of her.

He supposed he’d never bothered to wonder what Kendra was really like, previously content to believe that her public image was accurate. After living his own life in close proximity to the spotlight’s glare, he knew that public images were rarely much more than a two-dimensional snapshot of a three-dimensional person. He should have known better.

He certainly hadn’t ever read anything about her being an avid reader, yet she’d packed a tote weighed down with an eclectic variety of books. Besides a couple of popular bestsellers, he’d also noticed a copy of
Great Expectations
, a few Jane Austen novels, and a ragged copy of Booker T. Washington’s autobiography. Added all up, he figured her well-read and guessed that she was a bit of a romantic.