Page 11 of Unravel You

I nodded. I’d go anywhere with him right now. He opened the front door and ushered me in.

Inside, animal carvings adorned the Douglas fir walls. Plush leather sofas with fussy throws sat on one side of the great room, where a massive river-rock fireplace ran up to the vaulted ceiling with tall windows on either side of it. The other side of the room had four over-sized leather chairs facing a wrought-iron stove. This was a huge house and so over the top with every inch of it covered in wood.

“There are four bedrooms upstairs.” He sauntered toward the kitchen, where a chef had something sizzling on the stove. “Thank you for coming out on such short notice.”

“My pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. Cole.” The chef smiled at me while her fingers kept up with the chopping.

I opened my mouth to correct her but decided against it. “It smells amazing. Thank you.”

The kitchen area was in the opposite corner as the living areas, under the loft office that was supported by thick wood beams. “Is this a bear?” I pointed at the face at the end of a log that ran across the load bearing beam.

Derek chuckled. “Yeah. That’s a bear. Very aptly, the cabin’s name is Bear Cabin.”

“Cute.” In his world, bear cabins were a thing. And so were private chefs. “This wasn’t necessary.”

“It was.” He sat on the barstool and pulled me to him. “I can’t cook.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

I rolled my eyes. He had brought me here to talk me into his crazy plan to spend thirty days in Atlanta. “You already know I’m going to say yes.”

He held me in his arms, and I knew my words were true. I couldn’t say no to him. But he had more to say, and judging by his long pause, he didn’t want the chef to know.

“We can take it from here.”

“Absolutely. My crew will come back later to clean up.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“It was great to meet you, Mrs. Cole.”

When the door shut behind her, I turned my attention to Derek. “Are you the one spreading rumors that we’re married?”

He chuckled. “It’s your fault. You wouldn’t give me a date. I figured it’d be easier if I told them we were already married. Avoid that whole conversation of when’s the wedding and why does your fiancée act like she’s having second thoughts.”

“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

He shrugged with an innocent look on his face. “Why don’t you go wash your hands while I make you a delicious elk burger. After you eat this, your life will never be the same.” He gave me a quick pat on my butt and pushed me toward the bathroom. “Powder room is past the stairs by the entrance. There should be a change of clothes in there too.”

I did as he ordered. After the short walk down the mountain, my feet were killing me in these pumps. I removed all my clothes and donned the jeans and T-Shirt in the Patagonia bag. Derek had also thought to include a knit sweater for me.Desert girl over here.The soft socks and boots made me feel like I belonged in this house.

As I washed my hands, I peeked out the window toward the creek running behind the house. Along the edge, a cub picked its way across the rocks. It strolled into a grass area on the side of the house and then dropped on its belly. Max would have loved this place. I left the washroom and headed out toward the front deck. The cub moved on to chase something along the grass, chomping at the weeds every now and then.

It came closer to me, and I sat on my haunches. If it got closer to the railing, I might be able to snap a picture. What did bears eat? Berries? I looked around the deck for something to entice it with but didn’t find anything. What a shame. I’d never been this close to a wild animal. The Phoenix Zoo didn’t count.

“Hey, buddy.” I stepped onto the stoop. The cub glanced up at me and happily dawdled toward me. I giggled, excited the furry thing wanted to interact with me.

“If you get any closer, Mama Bear will come at you before you can say selfie.” Derek pointed toward the woods, where a much larger bear grunted in our direction.

“Oh jeez.” I shuffled back toward the french doors and Derek.

“I should’ve warned you about the bears. Bear Cabin.” He did a quick shrug of his shoulder.

“I got that.”

“We can watch them from inside. Come on.” He pulled me behind the door and shut it before he leaned on the threshold. “Maybe the cub sensed the mama bear in you.” He teased.

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