She smiled and tried to go with them, to join in their merriment, but something held her back. She didn't know what it was but she struggled against it. The call was too enticing, too comforting. She needed to go. They were calling her.
The harder she struggled, though, the harder the grip. Her eyes flew around wildly, looking to see what held her. She couldn't see anything. She felt her chest tighten. Her breath came out in hard, shallow gasps. There wasn't enough air. She was suffocating as she clawed at nothing.
Suddenly Stephanie's eyes shot open. She was laying on the bed in the lodge room. Sweat covered her entire body. She still felt the pressure on her arm, and she glanced to that side only to be surprised to find Chuck sitting on the bed.
He was at her side, and one of his hands was holding down her arm. His face wasn't turned toward her, however. They were staring at the large windows along the wall that faced the thick woods. He watched them without blinking.
"Chuck?" she whispered. Her voice startled him from his sentry, and he glanced down at her. "What's wrong?"
"I came in to find you trying to sleepwalk your way out of the room," he quietly informed her.
"Sleepwalking?" she repeated. She'd never sleepwalked in her entire life. "I never sleepwalk."
"You were a few minutes ago, and in a heavy sleep, too," he added. He wryly grinned. "I had a hard time getting you back into bed."
That explained the chaotic mess of covers kicked everywhere around the bed.
"Wow, I really roughed you up, didn't I?" she proudly proclaimed.
"Yeah, you were a real she-cat," he complimented. Then his face turned serious again. "But I don't think you want to be doing that very often. You had the door open when I caught you."
"Any idea where I was going?" she asked him.
"No clue, but you were muttering something about needed to follow a noise," he informed her. He looked at her questioningly. "Any idea what that could mean?"
"I heard some noise in my dream," she admitted. "It sounded like a howl, and I wanted to go check it out."
"Really?" he wondered. He mused on that for a moment. "I think I heard something outside a few minutes ago, maybe that's what you heard."
"Maybe," she half-heartedly admitted. She glanced down at her trapped arm. "You think you can let me go now?"
"Oh, sorry," he apologized. He quickly released her. "I had to keep you down to the bed. It was the softest thing in the room."
"Well, thanks for stopping me from doing something probably stupid," she sincerely thanked.
"It's not the first time," Chuck jokingly shot back.
"There you go trying to get fired again," she teasingly threatened.
"I'll take my chances," he willingly risked. He sighed and shook his head. "You know, Boss, you've been a lot of trouble this last day."
"Aren't I always?" she pointed out. She leaned over to grab some of the covers that were half over the bed. She cringed when she noticed his neat bed had been trampled and torn apart. "We did that, hunh?" she asked as she nodded at the mess.
"Yep, but I think I'll fix it now and get some sleep, too," he suggested. "It's almost midnight."
"Midnight?" Stephanie asked. She glanced at her watch on the nightstand and sure enough the time was that late. Then a sudden thought struck her, and she looked to her partner. "What were you doing wandering around this late?"
"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged. He slid off the bed and began rearranging his bed. "Besides, it's a nice moon outside. I didn't want to miss that."
"Oh, yeah, it is a nice moon," she quickly agreed. She didn't want to talk about that orb in the sky anymore, so she grabbed the covers and rolled over away from Chuck. "Well, guess I'll try to get some more sleep."
"And I'll be here on the floor in case you try to go walking around again," Chuck joked. "You have to walk over me to get to the door."
"I'm make sure to give you a couple of good kicks on the way by," she teased.
With an exchange of words of goodnight, the two companions settled into bed. This time, though, Stephanie's sleep wasn't punctuated with exercise and the morning came without trouble. She rose earlier than Chuck and was dressed before he finally slunk out of his bed of blankets.
"Come on, sleepy head," she teased. She felt much better than yesterday, though not quite like herself yet. "We've got a few hours of driving to take care of."
"Whatever you say, Boss," Chuck returned with a grin as he threw off the covers.
They gathered their luggage and checked out at the front desk. Chuck still had the car keys and still insisted on driving. Stephanie didn't object as she slid into the passenger seat. It was only a few hours left till home, and she wanted to enjoy the views of the mountains before they drove down into the valley they called home.
They pulled away from the business and were back on the road to civilization, but Stephanie glanced back once last time at the lodge. With all the strange goings ons there, she still felt a tinge of regret at leaving it. There was something wonderfully wild and untamed about the place. It made her feel almost at home.
HEART'S STRIFE (IN THE LOUP: BOOK #3)
Home was where they were in a few hours, and Stephanie was glad to see it as they crested the last little hill before the final dip. The mid-day view opened up to many numerous square clusters of homes grouped around an aspiring business sector. All sides were surrounded by the mountains save for the far corner. At that point a river fed by the wild creeks poured out of the valley and the main road out of town followed the watery path.
The small town nestled in the giant dip had been Stephanie's home her entire life. She'd grown up there, married there, and now worked there. That made her a small town girl with big ambitions about her business, but she didn't mind the driving to cities and back. It made the homecoming that much sweeter.
"Nice view, isn't it?" Chuck commented. He'd moved there about five years before, and the scenery still put him in awe.
"Yeah," she readily agreed. She solemnly nodded as they dipped down into the green valley. "I don't think any skyscraper could hold a candle to some of these trees."
"Well, skyscrapers definitely aren't as bushy," he joked as they entered the residential part of town.
They lived across town from one another, so he opted to let her off first and drive the car to the rental place. He steered the vehicle to a two story house with a large, immaculate front lawn. Stephanie's stay-at-home husband, Bob, managed all their home affairs pretty well. Chuck shut off the engine and stepped out with Stephanie as she retrieved her stuff from the trunk.
"Well, I'm not sure I can say it's been fun," Stephanie teased as they met at the front of the walk leading to the entrance. "But it's definitely been interesting."
"Yeah," he hesitantly agreed. He ruefully glanced at her. "You're still not going to go see a doctor, are you?"
"Nope," she stubbornly informed him. She glanced down at her arm. It didn't look too bad today. "Maybe it just needs some peroxide and a long afternoon nap."
"I think it's worse than that, but those things will help," he grudgingly agreed. He looked over to the quiet house. "Think Bob's got a great dinner planned for you two?"
"Maybe, but he usually just cooks me some food made out of leftovers," she laughed. She was especially amused when her partner grimaced. "It's not that bad, and at least he tries to cook."
"You sure he's not trying to poison you?" Chuck suggested. He'd been invited over to their house only once, and Bob had cooked for them. The food had been so bad he hadn't been able to stomach most of it.
"If he is, it's taking him a couple of years, and he's no worse than me," she pointed out. They'd been married almost lucky number seven. While they'd had their ups and downs with her traveling so much, it was a pretty happy marriage. "But I think I hear that nap calling me."
"Later, Boss," Chuck gave his farewell.
"See you tomorrow, bright and early," she playfully threatened.
Stephanie huffed her l
uggage to the door and waved goodbye to Chuck as he sped off. She sighed and stepped through the entrance. The home was a clean off-white throughout most of the rooms, and her husband was a germ freak, so the place was always immaculate. There was the open kitchen and dining room to her left, the living room in front of her, and a small office to her right. The stairs leading to the second story were also to her right, and up there were two more bedrooms with the bathroom. All in all, it wasn't such a bad house. She definitely liked the fact that the building didn't take up so much space that they didn't have any yard.
It was always nice coming back to a clean, inviting home and a loving husband. She just wished said spouse would at least get up off the couch and greet her when she came inside.
"I'm home, Bob," she loudly announced. "You got my message about the delay?"
"Oh, hey, honey," he called back as he glanced over his shoulder. He had a remote control in one hand and a bowl of snacks beside him. The tv was blaring some crazy movie. "Yeah, I got your message. How was the rest of trip?" he asked as he turned back to his show.
"Not bad, but I'm not sure if we got any new clients," she admitted. She dropped her luggage beside the door and walked over into the living room. "So anything happen while I was gone?" she wondered as she glanced between the tv and her husband. "You lose the ability in your legs?" she teased.
"No, just kinda tired," he absently admitted. "You know, cleaning this place up and balancing the checkbook for the month."
Stephanie let Chuck handle the finances at the business, and Bob handled the money in her private life. It worked out pretty well in both areas.
"It looks pretty good," she complimented. That's when her stomach loudly rumbled. She'd only grabbed a couple of donuts from the continental breakfast at the lodge. "You have anything I can eat around here?" she wondered.
"Maybe there's something in the fridge," he shrugged. He apparently wasn't interested in giving her a welcome home lunch, but there was always dinner.
Stephanie gathered together some various food stuff and took it to the table in the dining room. That room abutted the living room, and there was no dividing wall or even partition between them. That meant Bob could see what she was eating, and how she was eating it.
"Did you lose your manners while you were gone?" he asked as he watched her eagerly scarf down a plate leftover hamburgers.
"No, but it was a long trip," she pointed out between bites. In a matter of less than five minutes the food was gone and her hunger was satiated. Her husband, though, didn't take the ordeal with much patience.
"You sure you couldn't have done that some place else?" he snapped. He was really cranky now after watching her wolf the food down. "I just lost my appetite."
"Well, excuse me," Stephanie shot back as she put her dishes in the sink. She'd just gotten home from supporting their lifestyle, and he had the audacity to tell her to go some place else? "I didn't realize you were the only one paying all the bills here."
Stephanie didn't even wait for him to reply as she stormed out of the kitchen. She grabbed her bag on the way by the door and angrily marched upstairs. He watched her leave from his position on the couch, and when she was out of sight he turned back to the tv.
"What's her problem?" he muttered.
Stephanie didn't know herself what was her problem. All she knew was that she was tired from the long trip and just not up for dealing with anyone's bullshit, least of all her lazy husband. As she flung her luggage next to the unmade bed, she wondered how he kept the house so clean while she was gone. He never seemed to lift a finger when she was there, but every day when she was at work he'd get it all clean and shining before she got home.
"Wish he'd learn to cook," she grumbled. Those hamburgers she'd eaten were store bought patties, and that's the only reason she'd been able to scarf them down so willingly. She sighed and shook her head. "Man, do I need a nap."
With that being her focus, Stephanie flung open her bag and dumped the contents of dirty clothes into the hamper. She stepped into the master bath and started some hot water as she stripped off her old clothes. Their bathroom, too, had a window, even larger than the lodge's own, that looked out onto the bright, sunny sky. It would be a pretty moon tonight if the skies kept as clear as there were then.
Stephanie shuddered a little as she thought about that moon. It wasn't a shudder of abhorrence, but one filled with excitement. That feeling that had gone through her, that thrilling chill of heat, she just couldn't forget it. She didn't want to forget it. She hoped it would repeat itself just by her staring outside the bathroom window, but nothing came up. There was no tingling sensation or creeping feeling of erotic heat climbing up her body. There was only the steam from the hot water rising into the air and escaping out the window.
Stephanie sighed and got on with her normal shower. The new clothes she'd grabbed were her pajamas, because she wanted to be comfortable for her nap. She slipped those on and then gleefully dove beneath the covers on the bed. It was always nice to sleep in one's own bed after a few nights in a hotel, and she slept very well. So well, in fact, that the whole afternoon slipped by without her waking.
She didn't even stir when her husband quietly crept into the room. He silently stood over her slumbering form with a look that didn't convey spousal affection. His mouth was set in a firm line and his eyes were dark and narrow. He seemed to be pondering some great question, because he shook his head and turned away. Whatever plans he had for her, they wouldn't be put into action today. Then he left the room as quietly as he'd come in, and his wife was none the wiser.
Stephanie for her part felt very rested when she woke up at about six. It was dark outside now and she was hungry again. She sat up and stretched, and her mouth dropped open when she glanced out the large windows opposite the bed. They faced the road and looked far out into the town, which was both a constant privacy headache and wonder at the view.
She glanced at the clock, and sure enough the numbers read a little past six. More surprisingly, she didn't wake up with that after-nap hangover she usually had where her head ached like she'd been out drinking all night. She tossed aside the covers and dressed herself in some comfortable home clothes. Then she went downstairs, all the while wondering if Bob had prepared something special for her return home dinner. Maybe he'd made reservations at a fancy restaurant, or maybe there was something edible on the table tonight like takeout.
Any one of those scenarios would have made her happy, but the one she found downstairs just infuriated her. She found her husband still sitting on the couch watching one of his favorite television shows. There wasn't any smell of food cooking, or even anything laid out on the dining table in preparation for the coming takeout.
"What's for dinner?" she wondered aloud. She couldn't help but smirk when he jumped a mile in the air from surprise. He hadn't heard her come downstairs.
"Jesus, what the hell are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Bob accused.
"No, but it was funny seeing you jump that high," she playfully teased as she stepped over to the couch. "But seriously, what are we having for dinner?"
"I don't know," he grumpily conceded. "Probably whatever you can find," he absently noted as he waved his hand at the fridge. "Go at it."
That was not the answer Stephanie wanted to hear.
"What do you mean you don't know?" she angrily erupted in front of him. "You're supposed to be in charge of the food, remember?"
"That doesn't mean I have to think of every meal," he shot back. "How about you do something around here."
"Without me, there wouldn't be a here!" she argued. She gestured around at all the fine furniture and spacious living areas. "My business pays for all of this. Don't you remember anything?"
"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing," Bob argued. He was evidently trying hard not to lose his own temper. "So I don't have anything for dinner tonight. So what?"
"So I just got back from a really long drive at a confere
nce where I nearly got mauled to death by an animal!" she pointed out. "That's so what."
Bob's ears perked up at the mention of the attempted mauling. He finally turned his eyes away from the tv and looked her over.
"You don't look like you've been mauled," he dryly commented.
"Then what are these? Love scratches?" Stephanie countered as she shoved her arm into his face. They had slightly scabbed over again, but were still very visible.
Her husband firmly grabbed her arm and looked over the wounds. He frowned, but there was a strange glint in his eyes.
"You sure you don't need to have those looked at?" he wondered. Stephanie was almost relieved to hear that. It showed he cared a little. Then again, she didn't want to hear somebody else suggest a doctor.
"They're fine, just a little itchy," she pointed out as she pulled her arm back. "I keep cleaning them, so they should be healed in a few days."
"All right," he conceded. He sank back into the couch and picked up the remote control. "Just don't come crying to me when they get worse."
"I won't," she bluntly promised. She scowled as he started to flip through channels. "So you're not going to fix any food, are you?"
"Not tonight," he admitted. "Maybe I'll think of something tomorrow."
Stephanie was so mad her hands balled into fists and her whole body shook. For the first time in their marriage, she honestly wanted to knock his head off his shoulders. He evidently wasn't using it as he stared at the screen and flipped through the mindless, countless channels.
She didn't do anything, though, at least not to him. Instead she grabbed her wallet off the kitchen counter and stomped out to the garage. When she slammed the connecting door behind herself, then did Bob turn away from his tv and look at where she'd gone. There was a deep frown of worry, but not because she was mad.
Meanwhile Stephanie slid into the driver's seat of her red convertible jeep. She clasped the wheel and paused for a moment with a heavy sigh. She had no idea what had come over her just then. It wasn't like her to be so confrontational. She figured if she went back in there now, though, she'd probably just blow up on him again. Instead she opened the garage doors, started the car, and drove out onto the street. She didn't look back as she made straight for her destination.