Cottage Country Read online

  Copyright © J.L. Edwards 2012

  All Rights Reserved

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher or author is illegal, and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Other books by J.L. Edwards

  Torren Between

  Torren Apart

  Lust in the Air

  Sex in Seattle

  Flex Appeal

  Follow J.L Edwards on Twitter @jledwards2

  Email her [email protected]

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  Acknowledgments

  For my RG

  Cottage Country

  By JL Edwards

  CHAPTER 1

  The sound of Maroon Five filled the BMW as Stacey Miller weaved her way down the country roads towards her parents cabin on Chester Lake in Montana. She had travelled down these roads for nearly all of her twenty-seven years of life. She spent countless hours swimming in the lake and watching her father putter around the small cottage making it the quaint second home that it is today. Every summer Stacey’s parents would pack up the car and the day that school was finished, they were off for nearly two months of rest and relaxation. Stacey’s father, a middle school teacher, would bring the supplies needed to complete a project each year in his small utility trailer. One year she helped him construct a sun deck, the next year they built a wood shed for all of the firewood that they cut each fall. She hated having to leave all of her friends each summer but looking back on it now, she had such fond memories of fishing on the lake with her father and helping her mother to make sandwiches for lunch. Now she wouldn’t trade those days at the cottage for anything in the world.

  After Stacey finished high school her days at the cottage became few and far between. She moved away to attend college and began her journey towards obtaining her law degree. Her summers were spent working two jobs as both a legal assistant at a small law firm and a server at a local pub. She didn’t have time to go and sit on the deck and sip lemonade while the loons swam by. Her life became hectic and her schedule didn’t spare her a minute.

  After graduation, Stacey did have intentions of visiting the cottage again, but she was able to land a position with a legal firm in Portland and it just seemed like too far of a drive just to spend the weekend back in Montana and then drive back to Portland. Besides, her weekends were spent pouring over law books while she tried to establish herself as a reputable lawyer within her new firm. She didn’t have time to relax and enjoy herself. She lived off of coffee and Danishes from the coffee shop down the street from her office and required very little sleep to function.

  Flashing back to two months ago when Stacey got the call that her father had suffered a heart attack, she dropped everything that she was doing and drove straight to his bedside back in Montana. She had the accelerator pinned to the floor the entire way, stopping briefly for gas and restroom breaks and then getting back on the road again to be by her father’s side. She covered over fourteen hundred kilometers in around twelve hours and once she got to the hospital, she sat in a chair holding her daddy’s hand until he woke a day later.

  She remembers the feeling of relief and exhilaration when she saw her father’s eyes flutter open. He had stayed with them and didn’t succumb to the attack that tried to take his life and Stacey vowed to help her mother nurse him back to health. The two women laid out a plan to change her father’s eating habits and exercise routine and they included more rest time for him in his life. It was a very scary experience for them all to go through, but it opened Stacey’s eyes to the fact that she needed to focus more on what was important, like spending time with her family and taking care of herself. The lifestyle that she was currently living was sure to take cut her years short and being the richest most famous lawyer in Portland just wasn’t worth the sacrifice. Stacey knew she needed to make some changes.

  After Stacey and her mother had transferred her father home to the comfort of his own bed, they set up the necessary nursing care and healthy lifestyle plan for him to get him back on his feet. It wasn’t long before he was up and about and was able to go for small walks down the street. His heart became stronger and under the watchful eye of his doctors he made a full recovery. Stacey could not have been more thankful for anything in her life. She loved her father and at fifty-seven years old, he was way too young to leave them. His heart attack affected her whole family and because of it, everyone changed. Stacey decided that she was going to spend her last weekend at her parents’ cottage before she made her way back to Portland. It had been a very long time since she had visited the property and a relaxing weekend in the peace and quiet was just what she needed before she returned to the hustle and bustle of the big city.

  ****

  Stacey turned off of the main road and onto the familiar gravel road that led towards the lake. She drove slowly so as not to chip the crap out of her new BMW with the tiny rocks. This really wasn’t the type of car that one typically took to the cottage, but it was her first big splurge when she accepted her signing bonus with her new firm. She had an image to upkeep and everyone looked at what clothes you wore and what car you drove to judge your level of success. It was sad really that she had bought into it.

  Her car approached the big log that her father had hollowed out in order for her mother to plant a perennial garden inside. The soil was filled with a mixture of geraniums and pansies that seemed to come back bigger and brighter every year with little upkeep. She turned into the driveway and weaved amongst the pine and fir trees until she reached the charming dwelling that she so fondly remembered.

  She stepped out of her car and inhaled the crisp, clean air deeply. The scent of the trees and the soil was nostalgic. It was exactly as she remembered. She pulled her suitcase from her trunk and walked around to the side of the building where the door was. She used the old metal key to gain entry and strode inside. Everything was pretty much the same. The large stone fireplace had the same black smoke stain up the front. The sofa was draped in her mother’s home made quilt that was constructed of pieces of their favorite old clothing and the mismatched kitchen chairs were tucked neatly under the table that she spent so many hours at playing board games and enjoying meals with her family. Her emotions were strong as she looked around and allowed the floods of memories to come back to her.

  Stacey walked to the sliding glass door that was in the center of the wall of windows on the back side of the cottage. She unlocked the lock and slid the door open allowing the warm summer air to fill the room. She stepped out onto the deck and leaned on the wooden railing. She gazed from left to right taking in the splendor of the scenery in front of her. Why hadn’t she admired this when she was younger? Anyone would have killed to have spent their summers there but all she could think about was what her friends were doing back home and what was she missing out on. She laughed to herself and shook her head at the absurdity of it all.

  The sun was hanging over the mountain in preparation to tuck itself in for the evening. It’s orange glow reflected on the water and sparkled like dancing fire. Stacey was ready to just prop herself in the deck lounger with a glass of wine and her book and that is exactly what she did after loading the rest of her supplies into the cabin. She didn’t want to waste one second of that sunset.

  She laid a blanket over the sun lounger, pulled a small table up beside her and plunked herself down in
the position that she planned to stay in for the next couple of hours. She hadn’t made a lot of time lately to read for pleasure so she was looking forward to diving into a good romance novel or two over the next couple of days. She sipped her wine and fingered through the pages of her book while a very light breeze twirled around her. This was exactly what she needed after the stressful past couple of months that she had gone through nursing her father back to health.

  A splashing sound caught Stacey’s attention from down by the lake in front of the cabin. She lifted her head and peeked over her book to see what was making the noise and big goofy golden retriever was bounding into the water after a stick that his owner had thrown. She smiled and sat up to watch him bounce playfully, encouraging his owner to throw the stick again and again. What a handsome dog she thought to herself. And his owner wasn’t too bad either.

  Stacey put her book down, picked up her glass of wine and stood up so that she could watch the two playing. She leaned on the railing admiring the fun that they were having together.

  “Come on Max. Come get it.” The handsome dog owner taunted playfully. “Good boy!”

  Stacey didn’t know who the good-looking guy was but she guessed that he must have been staying in the Harper’s cabin, which was just through the trail and down the shore a little bit. She and her family had spent many of nights playing checkers and barbequing with the Harper family and as far as she knew, they still owned the cabin.

  “Come one Max, let’s go.” The guy called out trying to get his lively dog to come out of the lake and follow him down the beach. Instead, the silly dog made eye contact with Stacey and began bounding towards her. He was soaking wet with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and he was determined to pay her a visit.

  Stacey could see what was happening and she placed her glass down on the small table. She braced herself for the impact of the big canine and prepared to get very wet.

  “Max no!” His owner called out running up the beach towards Stacey’s cabin. But the dog was not listening and he was almost to the stairs. Stacey had a huge smile on her face and she opened her arms to welcome the dog. He didn’t jump on her he just rubbed his wet body all over her legs and wagged his tail, very happy to be meeting her.

  “Oh aren’t you a handsome boy!” She said in an octave or two above her normal voice. “Yes you are.” She scrubbed her hands behind the dog’s ears causing him to stop and enjoy her attention.

  “Oh my god, I am so sorry about that.” The handsome guy said out of breath from running after his defiant dog. “He is just a pup and he is still learning his manners.” The man said grabbing Max by his collar and forcing him to sit down at his side.

  Sidney wiped her wet furry hands off on the butt of her jeans. “It’s no big deal at all. He is lovely,” she smiled.

  The good-looking guy stuck his hand out to shake hers and she reluctantly extended her wet hand. “I’m Brandon Turner,” he smiled. “I just bought the cabin next door.”

  Stacey returned Brandon’s smile and introduced herself as well. “My name is Stacey Miller. This is our family cabin that we have owned since I was a kid,” she explained.

  “Well it’s nice to meet you Stacey Miller. This is Max…the naughty puppy.” They both laughed.

  “I have a soft spot for retrievers. We had one when I was a kid and he used to play on that exact beach and chase sticks just like your Max.” Stacey smiled remembering her old family friend that she had for thirteen years of her life. “Ours was named Barney. He was a good boy but he was just like Max here when he was a baby. His only goal in life was to have fun and chew on whatever he could get his mouth on.”

  “Sounds familiar,” he said.

  Stacey couldn’t help but notice how handsome Brandon was. He stood at about six feet tall. He had broad shoulders and a lean waist. His auburn hair was thick and full and he styled it in a messy spike. His cheeks were slightly pink but that may have been from running up the beach. Either way it made him look healthy and athletic.

  “So the Harper’s sold their cabin to you?” Stacey asked.

  “Yes, It needs a lot of work and they just haven’t been able to find the time to get up here lately. They bought a place down in Mexico and they have been choosing to spend their time in the sun instead of coming up here so I offered to buy it from them. I own my own construction company and I was doing some work on their house and we got to talking about this place. We all came up to take a look at what needed to be done and the work was more than they wanted to do so they offered it to me for a smoking good deal. I couldn’t pass it up.” He explained.

  “Well you couldn’t have found a better location.” Stacey said. “This place is so serene. In the mornings the lake is like a sheet of glass and you can hear the loons talking to one another.” Stacey stared off into the distance. She really did love this place.

  “Well there really is a ton of work to do but I am up for it. I am going to spend this summer getting everything up to par and then it will be as good as new.”

  Stacey imagined what Brandon must look like in his tool belt working in the sun. She pictured his face glistening with perspiration in the heat. His muscular arms swinging a hammer and pounding nails. A shiver ran up her body and she snapped back to reality. “Would you like a glass of wine?” She asked.

  Brandon shook his head. “Oh I couldn’t impose…I”

  “Impose? Hey it’s not like I am busy here.” She pointed to her book and half full glass of wine on the table. Suddenly Stacey’s face dropped and she felt stupid. She didn’t even think about the fact that he could have a wife or a girlfriend back at the cabin. “Oh, unless of course you are busy or have to get back…” She stammered.

  Brandon laughed. “Oh I’m not busy either. All I have going on is work that I have been procrastinating to do all day. It just seemed more fun to take the dog for a hike and go swimming. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long summer.”

  “Great, come on in and I’ll pour you a glass.” Stacey walked into the cabin and Brandon followed.

  “This is beautiful in here.” Brandon admired the interior of Stacey’s family cabin. “It’s so homey and comfortable.”

  “Yes my dad spent many years tinkering with this place making it exactly what they both wanted. He recently had a heart attack so I think his years of working on this place have come to a bit of a screeching halt.” Stacey murmured.

  “Oh no, a heart attack? Is he okay?”

  “Yes he is doing much better now but it has been a long two months.” Stacey said somberly.

  “Wow, I am so sorry to hear that. If you ever need any help here you just let me know.” He offered. Stacey could tell he was genuine in his offer and his kindness melted her heart.

  “Thank you Brandon. That is a very sweet offer and I will keep it in mind.” Stacey stared into Brandon’s warm brown eyes. He was soft but rugged all in one. The type of guy that you wanted to wrap his arms around you and protect you, but who would sink into a bathtub with you and rub your feet. He made her feel warm and tingly inside.

  “So what do you do Stacey?” Brandon asked.

  “I am a lawyer in Portland.” She said.

  Brandon’s eyebrows rose up. “A lawyer? Wow really?”

  “Yeah, it’s not as exciting as it sounds.” She moaned. “I basically research and study all day long trying to find loopholes to get people out of trouble.” She didn’t sound very enthusiastic about her position.

  “Well I am sure it’s very interesting.” He tried to shed some positivity on the conversation, but Stacey didn’t really think it was all that interesting.

  Stacey handed Brandon a glass of Pino Grigio. “Cheers.” She raised her glass to his. They made their way back out to the deck where Max was laying in the last patch of sun left. They sat down on the sun loungers and continued their chat exploring each other’s pasts and talking about their plans for their futures.

  “I’m not sure how I got into the situation tha
t I did. My intention with going to law school was to get my degree and practice family law here at home. When I graduated, I found myself looking for a bigger firm and all of a sudden I was defending useless criminals for their harsh crimes against society in a city that was bigger than any other I had ever lived in. I am buried so deep in work now that I can never enjoy myself and it sucks.” She ranted. Stacey didn’t know if it was the wine or what but she found herself very comfortable around Brandon and she expressed some of her most suppressed feelings to him.

  “Well I feel like life takes us where we need to be and sometimes we don’t understand why we need to be there…but we just do.” Brandon said softly. Stacey gazed into his eyes as he spoke his kind words. He was very understanding and she liked him a lot.

  Stacey poured the pair more wine. They drank and talked for a long time and their serious conversation lightened up when they both began to feel a little tipsy. They laughed and joked while the sun set in front of them and by nine o’clock Stacey realized that they should probably eat something.

  “I’m starving.” She announced. “Are you hungry” she asked Brandon.