Page 23 of Shielding Maya

Jasiah nodded, then twisted the wooden knob on the door and pushed it open. He waited for her to enter, then stepped in behind her and closed the door.

The warmth inside the cabin was wonderful. She'd been outside in the chilly air all morning. Though she was dressed for it, she'd not realized how cozy it would feel inside.

A woman came from the back of the cabin. Her eyes landed on Jasiah.

"How is he?" Jasiah asked.

"The same."

Jasiah nodded. "Mom, this is Maya Sager. Maya, this is my mom, Liliana Weston."

Maya stepped forward and held her hand out to shake Liliana's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Liliana."

Liliana laid her hand in Maya's and squeezed gently. "It's nice to meet you as well, Maya. Jasiah has never brought a woman home to us before."

"Oh, no, I'm not..." Maya cheeks heated. "I'm only here because..." She couldn't give up Marni's secret. "I mean, I'm working with Jasiah."

Jasiah cleared his throat lightly. "Mom, Maya and I are working on the issue with the man who was shot here yesterday."

Liliana's hand flew to her face. "I'm so sorry."

Maya smiled. "It's alright. Please don't worry."

Jasiah chuckled. "We just needed to come inside for a moment, so Maya could warm up. We'll be heading out soon. She has other things to take care of today."

"Oh, well, it was nice to meet you, Maya." Liliana offered.

"It was nice meeting you as well." Maya turned toward Jasiah and waited for him to move. He leaned forward and hugged his mom. "Call me if he changes."

"I will, Son."

Jasiah, then placed his hand on Maya's shoulder and turned her toward the door. She liked the firm touch of his hand on her. When he leaned forward to open the door, she smelled his woodsy, pine scent. Pine and witch hazel. It was a fabulous combination.

15

His stomach dropped a bit when Maya got into her Jeep and drove away. He'd see her later. He looked forward to it, in fact. She was a bright spot in his day, and that was something new. Prior to meeting her, each day was just another day. He was learning what he needed to do to be a good leader. He was an expert hunter. He helped build many of the cabins up here. Each day was just another day. But, yesterday, the murder aside, he'd met a woman he admired. She was no-nonsense, strong, and capable. That was exciting. It added to the excitement that she was a beautiful woman to boot.

He'd sat near the fire for the past hour, mulling something over in his mind. He'd felt the weight in his chest since his father told him he'd be president. He'd never really understood why that made his heart ache, but today it dawned on him.

He stood and brought his empty teacup to the newly constructed kitchen counter, complete with a sink made of stainless steel and a faucet so new it gleamed. He watched out the window above as the residents went about their day, he poured hot water from the kettle into his well-worn ceramic cup, dropped the tea infuser in the water, and waited patiently for it to steep. The next time he went to town, which would be tomorrow, he was going to look for one of those coffee makers. Maybe Maya would be willing to help him find one.

A knock on his door startled him to the present. "Come in," he called out. He cleared his throat and turned to see who'd knocked.

The door opened and Reece Mansfield stepped inside. "I got word you needed to speak to me."

"Reece, we need to ask all the residents with a cell phone to bring them to the meeting tonight. The GHOST operatives in Glen Hollow sent word there might be a virus in one or more of the phones and they want to help us out by checking them. They'll be up here in about two hours."

"Will do. We'll start spreading the word."

Reece bobbed his head, then turned. As he left the cabin Jasiah's shoulders slumped. He hated being in the middle of a lie like this. It went against all he believed in. But he also wanted to honor Maya's promise to Marni, and that little girl didn't need to be in trouble with her parents. They were tough on her as it was.

Turning, he grabbed the deer skin jacket his mom had made for him a few years ago for his birthday off the wooden hook he had made and stepped outside. Reece and a couple of others were going cabin to cabin spreading the word about the phones. Which would likely cause a bit of a ruckus. Because a phone virus was something they'd never heard of and that would likely scare them all.

He moved toward his parents’ cabin. He needed his father's blessing to do what he was about to do. He knocked softly, in case his father was sleeping and twisted the doorknob to enter. His mom stood before him, about to open the door. He smiled at her, "Hi."

"Hi."

Her brows furrowed and he glanced around her to see his father lying in bed, resting. The soft rise and fall of his chest confirmed life.

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