Page 35 of Cedarwood Cabin

I feel guilty; these two brothers have already done so much for me. The least I can do is offer to contribute.

Lyka reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, pushing it toward Dax. Without a word, Dax places one between his lips, lighting it.

“Just enjoy your time here. Take a break,” Dax says after exhaling a stream of smoke.

Taking a break in this beautiful cabin, deep in the forest seems nice and ideal. Hopefully, it will be enough to restore my mind from the dark thoughts that linger.

I realize I have to go commando, not wanting to wear my worn panties again as I get dressed. I step into the hallway and hear quiet voices coming from the living room.

“It’s all working, yeah?” I hear Dax ask.

I peek around the corner and see Lyka and Dax standing in front of the TV. Lyka looks up and notices me. He quickly switches it off and crosses his arms.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

Dax turns around and gives me a closed-lipped smile. “Yeah…”

Lyka only grunts in response. He sits on the couch and immediately goes on his phone. I glance around the room and notice their massive collection of movies. Rows upon rows of DVDs and Blu-rays line the shelves. Intrigued, I walk over to the shelves, running my fingers along the various movie cases.

“You have so many horrors…”

“Ahh, you like horrors, then?” Dax asks, moving closer and standing behind me.

“My favorite is Misery.”

Dax looks over at Lyka and raises his eyebrows. “Lyka loves that film, too…”

Lyka glances up from his phone, giving a small grin with a flicker of approval in his eyes before returning his attention to his screen. Seeing another expression other than grumpiness from him feels odd, but I’m not complaining.

“You’re welcome to watch anything you want,” Dax says.

“Thanks, Dax.”

I look back at the movies, seeing what other titles they have.

“I was thinking we could ride around the forest to the lake,” Dax says, breaking the silence.

“Wait. You have a lake?”

“We don’t own the lake. It’s just off our land, a short ride from here. We sometimes go fishing there.”

I shrug my shoulders and reply, “Sure.”

Dax nudges Lyka with his foot and he looks up from his phone. “You coming?”

Lyka stands up and huffs. “Yeah,” he replies bluntly.

Dax grabs a set of keys from the side table. We exit the cabin onto the porch that wraps around the building and the fresh, forest air hits me. At the front of the cabin, five Adirondack chairs are arranged around a stone fire pit, strings of lights hanging from the surrounding trees. It's a beautiful scene, so tranquil. We descend the wooden steps and I follow Dax and Lyka towards a stone garage. Lyka steps forward and lifts the garage door, revealing an array of vehicles inside.

There's a dark, emerald green Land Rover, two motocross bikes, two sleek, black motorcycles, and four ATV quads.

How do they afford all of this?

“We do well enough with our jobs and hobbies,” Dax says, as if he can read my thoughts.

“We’ll take these,” Lyka says, walking over to the ATVs as he inspects them.

Dax grabs a helmet and a pair of gloves, handing them to me. “Safety first,” he says with a wink.

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