Chapter One: City Boy

Chapter Author: Sin

Elijah

This isn’t what I had in mind when my boss said that I was going to be working in New York. I’d pictured cities, high rise apartments, and claustrophobic, unwalkable streets that somehow, thousands of people managed to walk anyway.

The Big Apple.

But no.

Somehow, Mr. Jason Richards came up with the incredible plan to send me out to the middle of bum-fuck nowhere.

I can’t even see any civilization through all the trees when I see the sign boldly claiming that I am now entering Cain’s Hollow.

Calling Cain’s Hollow, New York a small-town would be a touch too generous, I think as my car cruises down the winding forest road. Never in my life have I seen a sign marked “Bear Crossing”, but I suppose it’s a matter of practicality when one’s path is in danger of being completely swallowed by the dense growth of woods.

Honestly, how Mr. Richards can picture our clientele making this journey is a mystery to me, unless he envisions building a direct flight hanger. Secluded country retreats are all the rage until the patrons actually have to drive to them. These people are used to city streets. All it would take is one downed tree, or an animal in the road, and suddenly they’ll think twice about coming out here in the first place.

The first building I see is an old barn, and I let out a weary sigh.

These are not going to be the kind of people eager to share their town with tourists, that’s for damn sure. And they certainly aren’t going to be thrilled that someone like me is driving my flashy rental car into town and trying to buy property.

My phone rings, disrupting the GPS display, and I huff as I tap the icon to put Mr. Richards on speaker phone.

“Jason, I swear to fucking god, if whatever toothless hillbilly you managed to get in touch with about selling this property tries to marry me off to his daughter, I’m turning right around, and the deal’s off.”

“Easy Eli, do you really think I’d send you across the country if I didn’t think this was a good business opportunity?”

His laughter on the other end of the line does nothing to ease my temper, but even so, I know he’s right. Even if Jason Richards can be a bit of an asshole sometimes, he doesn’t play around when it comes to his money and investments, so the cost of sending me out here to deal with the property owner in person isn’t something he’d bother with if he didn’t see the potential for profit in it.

“Yeah, maybe not,” I sigh. “But Christ—you could have warned me what a hick-town this place is. I’ve passed nothing but woods and acres of farmland so far.”

“Plenty of space for quiet contemplation,” he cuts in, and I can practically hear his smugness on the other end of the line. “It gets wild in the city, all the hustle and bustle… plenty of people just want to get away from it all.”

“So, what? You’re just gonna buy a plot of forest land and develop it?” There’s a healthy dose of skepticism in my tone—not too many people dare to tell Jason Richards how to spend his money, but we’ve been in business long enough not to bother with the pleasantries. “That’s a big financial hit if you don’t get much return on it.”

“See, that’s the beauty of it, my nitpicking friend. I’m not just buying a plot of land—the seller happens to be the proud owner of an old hotel, a few miles out of town. Used to be really popular back when this place was a tourist destination in the early 1900s.”

My stomach practically flips. “You mean to tell me that you’re buying some dilapidated old hotel, sight unseen—”

“Not ‘sight unseen’, ye of little faith,” he hastily assures me. “That’s what I’ve got you for.”

“Great,” I force out through gritted teeth. “Jason, I know you’re paying me a lot to do this, but I’m gonna be really fucking pissed if this turns out to be a—Fuck!”

As I round the next corner, a big black blur jumps out into the road, and I’m forced to swerve to avoid colliding with it head on. Shouting more obscenities as I’m tossed around, I try to protect my head as best I can until the car comes to a stop… lopsided in a fucking ditch.

“Eli! What the fuck was that?” I hear Jason shouting through the phone. “Are you okay?”

“No I’m not fucking okay,” I snap, waiting for the feeling that I’m about to lose my lunch to pass. “A whole damn bear jumped out into the road and I had to swerve to miss it.” Peeking out the window, I can see the creature meandering through the forest on the other side of the road—just great. “The rental car is in a fucking ditch, so I hope you’re paying for that—”

“Eli, breathe,” he insists, but to his credit, he does sound genuinely worried. “Look, let me call my contact. He’s got a truck—I can have him come give you a tow, and at least get you into town so you’re not sitting in the woods.”

“Yeah… that’d be great,” I sigh, trying to get comfortable in the now-awkwardly positioned seat.

He hangs up the call, and the first thing I try to do is scroll through my phone to kill some time, but with only a couple of bars of service, everything wants to load at a snail’s pace. Of course, out here in the middle of nowhere, I’m lucky I get enough service to call Jason, much less scroll through social media.

After about a half an hour, the silence outside is broken by the rumble of a truck, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Took him long enough.”

When the truck pulls up next to the rental car, the first thing I notice is how old and beat up the thing is—I don’t even know if it can tow this car without ripping the back bumper off of the truck. If this is the kind of vehicle Jason’s contact is driving, I’m definitely not excited for what that says about the hotel I’m supposed to be taking a look at.

The next thing I notice is that it’s not some old hillbilly that climbs out of the driver’s seat—it’s a woman. She’s not the kind of woman I’m used to seeing in the city. Her pale blonde hair is pulled into a long, loose braid, and she’s dressed modestly in a white, lace trimmed sundress, the color a little dingy with time.

When she smiles at me, the first thing I notice is her eyes. Such a pale gray that they’re almost white, with a sharpness that doesn’t quite match up with the sweet curve of her lips.

“You look like you’re in a bit of a jam,” she drawls when I roll the window down so I can speak with her. “I’ve never seen you around these parts before. Not used to country roads, I take it?”

“There was a bear,” I point off in the direction it had gone off in, but if it’s still nearby, I can’t see it anymore. “It just jumped out into the road. It was either swerve or hit it head on.”

She nods, like she understands, but if the patronizing look in her eye has anything to say about it, she probably thinks I’m some clueless city boy for winding up in this predicament.

And even if she is right about that, it burns being caught off my game like this.

“Well… my old truck’s not much good for towing, but if you’d like a ride into town I’d be happy to oblige,” she offers, running her fingers along the bed of her truck. “Not much out here but farms and forest, so I’d bet you’re going to the Hollow.”

“Meeting someone.” I nod, not wasting any time climbing out of the car, and head toward the trunk to grab my luggage. Between my wardrobe and laptop, my things are expensive, and I’m not about to leave them on the side of the road. “My boss says his contact is actually on his way down here to tow the car, but since I have no idea how long that’s going to take, I’ll take my chances hitching a ride with you.”

Her hum of amusement turns into an almost unnerving giggle as I load my things into the back of her truck. “Oh… I’m just a delicate little thing, what kind of danger could you be in with me?”

Alarm bells go off in my head at the way she says that, but I push them into the back of my mind as I climb into the passenger seat. After all, I’m not exactly a small man, so statistically speaking, she’s in a whole lot more danger picking me up than I am accepting her ride, especially since my GPS still shows that we’re going in the right direction.

Still… people are either really kind out here, or lack any sense of self-preservation, because inviting a total stranger into an enclosed space like this really isn’t the safest bet, especially this far from civilization.

“My name is Elijah, Elijah King,” I offer, hoping to at least assuage a little of my own unease by extending her some basic courtesy. “Thank you again for the ride.”

“I’m Adelaide Barlow—Addie, if you please—and it’s no trouble at all.” She pats my arm as she talks, before putting her hand back on the steering wheel. “So, Mister King… are you planning on staying in the Hollow long?”

I’m not used to strangers being so friendly right off the bat—women at clubs, sure, but not just random people I met literally on the side of the road—and her easy familiarity puts me at a social disadvantage.

There are different rules out here.

“That depends… see, I’m here on behalf of my boss to close a business deal,” I explain, careful not to tell this random stranger too much. Small-town folks can be extremely protective over their territory, and I don’t want to end up with a town-wide anti-tourism protest on my hands. “If it doesn’t go the way my boss is hoping, I’ll be driving right back to the airport and catching the first flight back home to Nevada.”

“And if it does go how your boss wants?”

“Well that… ” What is Jason going to want? Is he going to ask me to stay out here and oversee the renovations? That’s just what I need… “That’s a bridge I’ll just have to cross when I get there.”

Adelaide

“That’s a bridge I’ll just have to cross when I get there.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d think that Mister King here is hiding something from me. But it’s no matter—gossip travels fast in small towns like these, so I’m sure it won’t be long before I find out what he’s really up to.

After all, he’s wearing a suit that probably costs more than my truck, and men like him don’t come to places like this unless they’ve got irons in the fire, that’s for damn sure.

“Well… whether you’re here for just a few days, or a more… extended stay, I hope you find our little town hospitable.” The corners of my lips pull into a smile, and it seems to put him at ease.

“I hope so too,” he agrees. “I’d hate to have come all this way for nothing.”

“Oh, it’s not for nothing.” I pat his knee innocently, my hand lingering just a little too long, satisfied by the way his breath hitches. “There’s plenty of beauty here in the Hollow. I’m sure you’ll find something worth your valuable time.”

His tongue darts across the seam of his lips as he shifts in his seat. “I just might.”

It’s a good response, and I can tell by the way he not-so-subtly studies me from the corner of his dark eyes that my… friendly demeanor is a welcome surprise.

He’s a good looking man, with his dark hair, sun-kissed skin, and strong, rounded features. Certainly, he’s not from the Hollow.

And that’s just what I’m looking for in a man.

Whether or not Mister King is sticking around, I intend to sow my oats while I’ve got the chance.

He sits up a little straighter as we roll into the town proper, streetlights just starting to flicker on as the sun dips a little lower in the sky.

“So, there is a town out here.” He almost sounds shocked as his eyes remain glued to the windshield, getting his first look at the heart of Cain’s Hollow. “It’s… quaint.”

“Quaint,” I let out a laugh, startling him. “That’s city folks’ favorite word when they’re trying not to insult us hill-folk.”

“Was it that obvious?” He scoffs, but there’s a gleam of humor in his eyes, and his lips curve into a reluctant grin. “I promise, I was only trying to be polite.”

“And I thank you for it.” I squeeze his arm as we stop at the town’s one and only red-light, feeling the meat of his bicep. His eyes flick to my lips, before he forces himself to look back into my eyes. “I might feel some type of way about it if I gave you a lift, and you started openly badmouthing my town.”

“Your town?” He parrots, his voice just a little lower.

Men are too easy.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” I explain—but not too much. “Just like my father, and his father before him.”

He openly stares at me just a little longer before suddenly clearing his throat, turning his attention back to the road in front of us as the light turns green. “Yes, well… Jason—my boss—said I’m supposed to meet the contact at someplace called the Red Heron Inn and Tavern.” He speaks slowly, with just the barest hint of disdain as he recalls the name he’d been told. “Could you take me there?”

No doubt he’s used to five star hotels with the latest modern amenities… ain’t nothing like that around here. Other than the Heron, there’s only been one other hotel around these parts, and it hasn’t been open for business in a long time.

“Of course, it’s just around the corner from here.”

We ride the rest of the way in silence as I take him to his destination—a beautiful old building, emblazoned with a big wooden heron affixed to the exterior, freshly painted in a nice coat of red just last week.

“The Heron has always been a welcoming place for travelers,” I tell him as I park the truck in the lot around back. “We don’t get a lot of visitors, so their patronage is usually just locals having dinner or drinking downstairs.”

“Why bother keeping up the inn, then?” He asks, not-so-subtle scrutiny in his eyes.

“We do still get the odd tourist when the leaves turn in the Fall, and come holidays, people with family from out of town’ll put them up for the visit,” I explain. “It’s a real homey place.”

“Homey.” The word almost sounds like a curse on his tongue.

“Can’t imagine it’ll be what you’re used to,” I admit, the tension increasing as we sit together in the heavy silence of my truck’s cab. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to keep you entertained during your stay… one way or another.”

“Oh, I can imagine.” His voice has taken on a bit of a husky quality as his eyes linger on me, and I can’t help but smell the blood in the water. “You said your name was… Addie, right?”

“Addie Barlow, yes.” I nod, cracking open my door. “I should escort you in. Some of the folks ‘round here are… wary of outsiders. People will know to treat you right if you’re seen with me.”

There’s a sharpness to his eyes—the wheels turning in his mind, like he’s trying to figure out just how important I am in this town. He doesn’t know yet, I know that for certain. If he did, the name Barlow would have had more of an impact.

In any case, I doubt it will be long before he figures out on his own who I really am around these parts. I’ve got nothing to lose by keeping humble for now.

“How does the town usually handle outsiders?” His hand is on the passenger side door-handle, but he doesn’t open it, and his eyes narrow conspiratorially, like he thinks I might tell him some grim secret.

In time.

I doubt he’s ready for the extent of what the Hollow could offer him, not yet, anyway.

“Some folks just ain’t as polite as they could be.” Shrugging my shoulders, I hop out of the truck, and he follows. My eyes trail down his body, and back to his face, taking stock of just how out of place he is out in these parts. “And you… you stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he scoffs.

My lips curl into a demure grin. “Be careful who you say that around if you want a comfortable stay, Mister King.”