Freedom's Treasure Read online

  Hunter’s favorite involved the ghost of Samuel Belvette returned from the South to wreak havoc on white men who thought they could live on his land. He snorted, shook off the thought and made his way to the ramshackle shed. He remembered seeing another mower in there and he wanted to get this done. Making a round trip to pick up his own would take too long considering he wanted to get this last chore finished sometime during this season.

  The next stiff breeze would probably knock the shed over and that would be one more task on his ever growing list. Hunter’s shoulders tightened and he made a mental note to go over the foundation of the shed and the A-frame one more time. It wouldn’t be a good thing to have someone move in and have the place promptly collapse. Liability issues were something he didn’t want to worry about.

  Hunter grabbed the door handle and put his back into pulling it open. It squealed and he looked for the oil he was sure was just inside the door. He squirted some on the hinges, realized the oil was probably 20 years old and added some more. That done, he looked through the shed and took an inventory of the detritus collected over the past 50 years.

  Old paint, different stains for the deck, canoe paddles, mouse eaten life jackets, a few garden tools, a couple of old metal gas cans he was afraid still had gas in them, and, oddly enough, one of those ancient metal ice cube trays. He really should clean this out before someone bought the place. Far in the back he saw what looked like lawn mower blades but, oh joy, there was no motor attached. It looked like he would be all the horse power available today.

  Hunter wrestled the mower out and took a detour to his truck to grab his i-pod. He might as well have some raging tunes to go along with this mood. He selected the mix he generally used for his morning workouts, put the buds in his ears, cranked the volume and considered himself good to go.

  By the time he’d done two stripes across the long grass he realized a couple of things. One, it was definitely hotter than the 65 degrees the thermometer read and two, using this contraption was going to take longer than if he’d run home to grab his powerful machine. Just outside the back door was a pump and he veered in that direction, leaving the mower where it sat, close to the other one. He’d have one heck of a collection going at this rate.

  Hunter stripped his shirt off and used it to wipe sweat from his brow and chest. Ducking his head under the faucet of the pump he turned the knob all the way and let the ice cold, spring fed water sluice across his upper body. He was well toned from his daily work outs and from his second business of running the local high school boys in a seasonal landscaping business. It kept the kids out of trouble in a small town with nothing to do. He’d chosen to be the boss to avoid exactly this situation but the kids were in school for another week and he’d have to make due. His mother had been adamant he do some work on the old Lucas place today. He wondered what she was up to.

  Hunter put the ear buds back into place, cranked up the volume and went back to mowing, lost in fantasies of garden gnomes coming from their hiding places and fixing the mower so he wouldn’t have to.

  Anna slowly pulled into the end of the driveway and stopped. She instantly fell in love with the A-frame. It would have fit perfectly in a fairy tale, or maybe a horror movie. The siding was cedar and the sloping roof was a few shades darker. The deck was stained to match the cottage and appeared to wrap around the entire structure and, right in the front yard, a large fire pit was set up with several large logs placed around it for seating. She could almost imagine the stories that had been told around the fires that must have burned there over the years. She noted someone had stocked the firewood and she silently blessed them.

  A woodpecker hammered away at a tree and hummingbirds buzzed around a small feeder on the corner of the deck. A small flight of stairs led up to the deck and the front door and she saw with glee there was a rocker exactly like the one Elisa had been wishing for placed near a corner where the sun beamed down.

  Anna pulled up even with the front deck and decided this would be a good place to stop and take a look around. It must have rained recently as there were a few puddles in the driveway and, as she peered toward the back, she worried she might get stuck. She really did not know how to use the 4 wheel drive on her truck so, for now, it might be best not to test it.

  She bent down and touched her toes a few times and wished she hadn’t sold her yoga mat along with the rest of her furniture when she planned her move. Pulling an ever present notebook from her pocket she added that to the list. She could use a good stretch or, better yet, a massage. She’d have to ask Elisa if there was a spa somewhere nearby.

  Locking the doors to her truck she gripped the key for the front door and made her way up. As she passed the rocker she nudged it with her toe to set it rocking. A quick picture formed in her mind of early mornings, hot cups of coffee and complete peace and quiet. She nearly sighed with the pleasure of it.

  Opening the door made her feel like a thief entering a stranger’s house. With the furnishings it looked like someone would be home any minute. Maybe it would be Goldilocks and the Three Bears. She let the screen door slap lightly shut behind her and saw a small wedge she could use to prop the larger door open. The place needed a good airing out but she wouldn’t worry about that right now.

  The layout was open, as Elisa had said. She entered the living room and saw plain hardwood floors and a butt ugly plaid couch that had to be a pull out bed. That would have to go. The main room was small enough that if she did a cartwheel she’d be in the kitchen.

  The appliances were old but well maintained. The refrigerator had to be from the 1950’s and was rather small but, as she was alone here, it would be perfect. Anna wasn’t much of a cook and when she did go crazy and start baking she preferred to buy her ingredients fresh. The electric stove had the standard four burners and a small oven. Two doors led off from the main room. Opening them she found a tiny bathroom with a – surprise - modern tub and shower and behind the other door a bedroom with a double sized bed with no blankets.

  Anna turned and looked at the curving wooden stairs that led to the sleeping loft. Surely someone handcrafted those steps as they were too beautiful to be modern construction. She wondered if Samuel had made them before he left on his ill-fated journey back to the South. Climbing the steps slowly she gasped in awe at the loft. A small dresser and a queen sized bed took up the entire space but it was the window that caught her attention.

  Outside she had a clear view toward the road. Doing her best calculations she figured out that was west. With the trees, the deep blue sky and lack of neighbors, she could only imagine what the sunsets would look like from here. It was at that moment she decided this was her place and she could forget renting; she wanted to own this and have it be hers for always.

  She would turn the bedroom into an office, put in a desk and a computer so she could write in there when she wasn’t using the laptop on that gorgeous deck. She’d have to check the direction from the lower window, though she thought it might face to the north. It was okay to be slightly distracted by the view but that room was for working, not daydreaming. Lost in her thoughts, Anna worked her way carefully down the steps to the main floor.

  In the kitchen she checked the cabinets for any form of food or mouse droppings, saw none and was sold. It would need a light cleaning but she could still smell the Pledge from the last person who had come through and dusted. She didn’t see a coffeemaker and added that to the pad in her pocket under the heading “Immediate Necessities”.

  Looking at the paper in her hand she saw the note Elisa had included about turning the power on. Anna followed the directions carefully and was thrilled there were no burnt out bulbs or other piddling details she’d have to worry about before she could sleep. She flipped the lights back off and, making her way back to the truck she started hauling luggage inside.

  Having only five bags to encase her entire life it did not take long to get everything and Anna chose to get completely unpacked before doing any more exploring. She would definitely need to get some groceries and basic necessities before she could finish settling in. She sat at the little table in the kitchen and made yet another list. Sometimes she felt like her entire life was lists and perhaps that was what drove her from Grand Rapids. Impulsively she slapped the notebook shut and tossed it in the conveniently located trash. She’d need liners for that, she thought, and went to add it to the list she had just thrown away.

  On that note, she collapsed on the ugly couch and let herself take a fifteen minute catnap. Experience told her if she slept longer than that she would be in an ugly mood for the rest of the day.

  Hunter shoved the manual mower back into the shed. He was covered with sweat and dirt and wished his shower were nearby. The last thing he wanted to do was get the grime onto the seats of his new truck. He’d just bought the Ford two weeks ago and he was enjoying the aggravation of keeping it clean. He checked his watch and figured he had another hour before the boys showed up after school to be given their assignments. He had time to run home but there was a shower right inside. Better that than putting plastic bags over the seat to save it.

  He scrounged in the back of the cab and came up with half of a bar of soap and a questionably clean towel. Checking his pocket for the keys to the A-frame he went in through the back door and straight into the bathroom. It would be cold with the power turned off but Hunter could handle that. He never noticed the toiletries scattered across the sink and small counter, all he saw was a clean shower.

  Anna startled awake, not sure where she was or what had woken her. She must have slept harder than she thought. After so much traveling this week it was a familiar feeling and she shrugged it off and made her way to the bathroom. She thought she remembered leaving the door open but maybe the wi
nd blew it shut. She turned the knob, pushed the door open and screamed bloody murder.

  Ch. 2

  Hunter had the towel draped over his head and was roughly drying his hair when the door opened. He heard the scream and had no time to react before a foot slammed down on his instep, a fist popped into his nose and a knee went, well, south for the winter. Instinct had him moving his knee and blocking the shot to his crotch as he whipped the towel from his head and held it waist high with one hand. With the other he reached toward the panicked female.

  Anna turned to run, felt a hand reach her shoulder. As she spun around to beat the marauding rapist to within an inch of his life her eyes landed where the towel was falling. Her mouth had opened for another scream and she was barely able to stifle a giggle. Going with the feeling she pointed and started to laugh.

  “Jesus Christ, lady! Are you trying to kill me?” It took a moment for Hunter to realize what she was laughing at. He whipped the towel back over himself. “Have a little compassion. It was a cold shower!”

  Anna got herself back under control. “Who are you and why are you in my house?” A few giggles kept escaping and her eyes roamed back and forth over the body before her. Long, toned legs led to a narrow waist before a broad chest Anna swore she could show movies on. The man was built! Except for that one unfortunate area, she mused, he could have starred in movies.

  “I’m Hunter. I own the place. Your turn.” He spun his finger in the air and Anna turned around to give him a moment of privacy.

  “I’m Anna Mylan. It must have been your mom I spoke to in town. Elisa? She sent me out here with the keys. I’m going to be renting for a while. Um, do you usually take showers in vacant houses? It seems like a dangerous habit, not to mention weird.” Highly amused, Anna watched his reflection in a mirror on the wall as he dragged jeans on over his wet flanks. The denim fought every glorious inch. Anna barely contained the urge to lick her lips.

  “I was mowing, it was hot, I was dirty, empty shower, etc. Jesus.” Hunter looked for his shirt and remembered throwing it in the truck. He prayed he’d stop blushing some time this year. Attempting casual, he ran the towel over his dark hair once more before draping it over his shoulders. “You can turn around again. How long have you been here? I never heard you pull in.”

  “It seems I should be asking you that question,” Anna checked her watch. “Unless you have the quietest machine on the planet you couldn’t have been mowing. I’ve been here about an hour and never heard a thing.” A trail of hair ran down his stomach to where he had yet to button the fly of his jeans and droplets of water glistened across his upper body.

  Hunter mimicked her action, checked his watch. He needed to be back in town to meet the boys after school but it would be better to smooth this over. His mother would never forgive him when she heard this story. Traumatizing renters was pretty high on her list of Things Not To Do.

  “Look, I have to make a call and then do you want to continue this conversation over coffee?” Anything to get to the truck, get a shirt on and drape some dignity over his now bruised ego. The musical sound of her laughter stayed with him and he wanted to hear more of it so long as it wasn’t at his expense.

  Anna thought for a moment. This would be great material for her book. “Sure, let’s go have some coffee. I have to freshen up, assuming you’re finished with my bathroom?” She looked pointedly toward the open door.

  Hunter flushed, again. “I’m good. I’m parked in back. Meet you out there?”

  “I think I’d better follow you in,” Anna reminded herself she didn’t know this man and it was better to be safe than sorry. “Then you won’t have to drive me back out later and I have some things I need to pick up in town.”

  “I’ll wait for you,” Hunter escaped, his tattered dignity waving behind.

  As he waited he called his mother to tell her the story before she heard it elsewhere. Yes, Hunter knew they were alone in the woods but his mother had ESP or something, especially when it came to embarrassing stories about her only son. He also asked her to give the high school boys their assignments and said he’d see them tomorrow.

  The diner was a few doors down from the real estate office Anna had visited earlier. Hunter sat in his usual booth and watched her make her way through the maze of tables in the center of the room. She moved with a contained energy he found he wanted to release. She’d be a powerhouse, he was sure.

  Her electric blue eyes met his across the room and he felt a jolt in his stomach. He dropped his eyes and they landed on a full lower lip, a stubborn chin and a long, graceful throat. He shifted lightly in his seat, rose when she reached the table and waited for her to sit.

  Anna had thought long and hard about what she would say to Hunter when they reached the diner. How do you talk to a man you had seen naked before you knew his name? Every opening line she practiced had a double entendre attached and that was so not where she wanted her mind to go. With those sexy eyes, carelessly disheveled dark hair and, oh my, broad hands, she knew she could be lost before she started. Thankfully, he began.

  “So, what brings you to Baldwin, Anna Mylan?” He waved a casual hand and a young girl brought over a pot of coffee, filled their cups and scurried back to the kitchen, blushing the whole way. Hunter could commiserate.

  “A change of pace,” she answered shortly, surprised by the husky edge in his whiskey rough voice. He certainly hadn’t sounded like that standing naked in her new living room. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. I should have expected that question. I’m in the process of moving from Grand Rapids. I wanted peace and quiet to write a book.” Some process, she thought, having moved all of her belongings into the cabin already.

  “I see. And how did you pick here, of all places? We’re a tiny dot on a medium-sized map,” Hunter idly stirred his coffee and tasted tar he was sure was left over from the lunch rush but he’d take it. Lord knows he’d had worse.

  Anna smiled wryly. “You should write for the tourist boards. We used to come here when I was a kid. My parents owned a cabin on a small lake.” She named the lake and he nodded his head.

  “Over by the Price place?” he could picture it in his head.

  “Does every house have a name? I’ve heard about the Martin place, the Lucas place, and now the Price place.”

  “That’s the charm of our town. Everyone knows everyone else. The Martins haven’t actually lived there in about 20 years. There have been three owners since but it will always be the Martin place.”

  “And you don’t own that one? But you own my cottage?”

  “The family chose to retain ownership and we take care of the rentals for a fee. The last of the Lucas clan died off a while ago but they made a pretty big impact on the town. Half the businesses were started up with money from them. I bought the property about five years ago and we’ve been renting it out since. It has historical significance, don’t you know.” An exact parody of Elisa, Anna laughed. “Technically the A-frame isn’t the Lucas place, it should be the Belvette place.”

  “That’s because they took it over for Samuel when he went back South. When he never returned they kept it, right?”

  “That’s right. Elisa must have been feeling chatty today,” Hunter shouldn’t have been surprised. Elisa couldn’t help herself. A comfortable silence descended.