I woke up abruptly, chattering with the cold. I thought, damn! I should have remembered that cold front was coming in and turned on the heater. It didn’t help that I was only wearing a tank top and panties. I took the comforter from the bed to wrap around me as I stumbled through the dark to the thermostat to turn on the heat. I flicked on the hallway light with annoyance as I thought about how much I hated the cold.
"I have really got to move somewhere warm one day!" I said aloud as I turned up the thermostat to seventy five degrees. It’s 4:00 in the morning, but I’m awake now, I thought with an annoyed sigh, so I stumbled to the kitchen, turned on the light, and started the coffee machine. I was going to need plenty of strong coffee if I was going to start the day this early and the warmth of the coffee itself would help to ward off the chill.
As I was filling the coffee machine with water, I heard a startling noise coming from somewhere within the empty house. It was a loud bang like a window slamming shut. The noise made me jump so high, I dropped the cup I was using to poor the water into the coffee machine. Damn, I thought, and I started walking out of the kitchen towards the hallway to investigate the source of the noise. As I walked down the darkened hallway, the scene of a dumb blonde walking towards the danger in a horror movie popped into my head. It was one of those movies where I want to yell at the blonde with big boobs for being so stupid. The thought made me a little wary, and nervous laugh escaped my lips as I turned on the light in the spare bedroom.
I screamed when saw what was the source of the bang that had startled me. My Labrador , Shasta, jumped on me, practically knocking me over.
"Oh, Shasta, you broke my lamp! What were you trying to do? Well, I can get a new lamp, but what about the new heart I'm gonna need? You practically gave me a heart attack!" I laughed as I ruffled the dog’s furry head. "Well, let me go put some clothes on, and I'll pick up this mess."
As I went down the hallway toward my bedroom, Shasta followed loyally. Then the dog growled.
"What are you growling at, silly? There’s nothing to be afraid of! It’s just my room---you know, the room where you leave fur all over my bed." I patted the dog, and opened the door. The next thing I knew, I felt a knife against my throat, and Shasta was going crazy.
The first thing I thought was what the heck . . . ? Then my instincts kicked in. OK. Stay calm, I thought. "Who are you?" I asked the assailant.
"Just someone dying to meet you," the man said with a sensual tone. Next, I heard my loyal dog’s barking diminish as darkness overcame me.
　
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Chapter 1
The Garden
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I noticed was a familiar scent. It was a sweet smell like flowers. Lilac and lavender, maybe, I wasn’t sure. The world was slowly coming into view around me as my vision sharpened, and I took in the surroundings.
I was in a garden. A beautiful garden filled with perfect flowers like those in magazines. I wondered, aren’t kidnapped people supposed to wind up tortured in a wretched little room, or something? And when I said, "This doesn’t make any sense," the sound of my own voice startled me.
I evaluated myself, looking for any bruising or blood. Nothing seemed wrong except for a tender spot on my neck. That must have been where he injected what ever drug he used to knock me out. I stretched, trying to shake the haze that seemed to be covering my mind like a veil. Then I decided to try to stand up. I thought about my brave and loyal dog, Shasta, as I walked around the garden slowly, trying to figure out where I was. The poor baby is probably going nuts wondering what happened to me. I hope someone notices I’m gone and feeds her.
"This all makes no sense to me. I don't understand who would want to kidnap me at knife point and then lock me up in a garden," I said aloud.
"I would." The voice I heard was not the same man’s voice I heard just before the darkness of the drugs had overtaken me. This man’s voice was like a song, or a bell, the other mans voice had been gravelly and rough.
I spun around, losing my balance and falling down onto one of the jeweled stone pavers beneath my feet. The drugs were not quite worn off yet. I saw man’s shoes as he stood before me. His shoes were some sort of fancy brand, maybe Armani. The rest of his attire was also very posh; he wore a suit that probably cost more than I had in my bank account. The man’s face was strikingly handsome; I had never seen anything quite like it before. He was perfectly chiseled like some sort of god. He had blonde hair that shimmered in the sunlight pouring into the garden. I had never seen this man before in my entire life.
"Do you like the garden, Linze?” he asked. “I chose all the flowers growing here knowing that they were your favorite." His tone was surprising. It was loving. I slowly stood up; obviously, this man knew a lot about me, but how?
"Please,” he said, “come sit down before you faint." The expression on my face must have conveyed the shock I was feeling; I never had been very good at hiding how I felt.
"Who are you?" I demanded, and planted my feet firmly where I stood. I was not going to do anything this man asked me to do. I would fight him until he took the last breath out of my body.
"I will tell you who I am,” he replied, “but only if you come sit on the bench. I don’t want you to get a concussion if you fall from fainting." I stubbornly stood there for several minutes as the man simply stared at me, waiting for me to comply. It seemed as if he did not move at all, not even a blink or the rise of his chest. He was strangely still like a statue.
"Please come sit down. I won’t harm you."
"Oh, yeah!” I shouted. “Like I should just trust you after you held me at knife point, injected who knows what drug into my body, and kidnapped me! Yeah that sounds like a wonderful idea."
"That was Jayson---he held a knife to you!? I will kill him as soon as I see him again! I swear to it! I specifically told him not to harm or threaten you."
“OK,” I demanded again. “Tell me what the heck you’re talking about before I kill you!" He rolled his eyes sarcastically and next, he beckoned again to me to sit on the bench next to him.
"Please just sit, Linze. I will explain everything. I am sorry Jayson frightened you. He is not the most controlled individual."
I decided to do as he asked. If it was the only way to figure out where I was and how this man knew me, I would do it. It wouldn’t kill me to sit down, and I was feeling awfully faint. Nothing this man was saying made sense. I had to figure out what was going on. I sat down on the bench cautiously, and as I sat, I looked at the man’s face. His eyes took my breath away. They were an extraordinary emerald green. He had to be wearing contacts, no human on this earth had eyes that color.
"You are even more beautiful in person" he told me. That stunned me. This amazingly gorgeous man thought I was beautiful. I didn’t think I was ugly by any means. I had my fair share of admirers, and I knew that men found blue eyes and red hair exceptionally appealing. Blue eyes with red hair is rare, and men can’t resist something rare---but for this man--- this dazzling man---to think I was beautiful was absolutely crazy. I snapped out of temporary shock by realizing this man was the enemy. I thought, for God’s sake, Linze, this man kidnapped you! Get it together.
"OK, tell me who you are and how the heck do you know me!" I demanded, but it wasn’t as effective as I hoped; my voice was still a little weak from what the dazzling man with green eyes had said to me about being beautiful. Damn it, Linze, focus! What is wrong with you?
The man sighed, and began speaking. "Let me start by telling you where you are. You are in Louisiana --- New Orleans to be exact. This is my estate, and I let you rest in the garden because I thought it would be an easier transition when you awakened. I had hoped the peacefulness of the garden would calm you." The shock on my face must have given me away because next he said, "You’re wondering how you got here?"
"Ummm, yeah,” I said barely above a whisper. “I didn’t think an unconscious woman on a plane coming from New York to Louisiana would go unnoticed." He seemed amused by this; a low chuckle came out of his lips.
"I own my own plane." He laughed again.
"I am so glad that I amuse you, but you still haven’t told me who you are." I was pretty annoyed by his laughter.
"My name is Marion Grover. I have known you for quite a long time."
"What are you talking about? I have no idea who the heck you are! How could you have known me for a long time? You better start making sense, or I swear to God, I will break your neck!" Once again, he rolled his eyes at my threat. Why was this guy so arrogant? And what in the world was he trying to tell me?
"Okay calm down, mes chérie, I will explain, if you will let me." He spoke French too! Didn’t mes chérie mean something like my pet? I WAS NOT HIS PET!! I rolled my eyes. "What did I say now to annoy you?" he asked.
"Well I’m not your pet!" I yelled. Oh, he thought this was very funny. He laughed with all the amusement of a child.
"OK,” the man said. “I will not speak those words to you again don’t get all worked up, now can I continue explaining everything to you?" I simply shook my head to signal that I was listening.
"You see, I know your father."
"WHAT?!" I
interrupted him; I couldn’t help it. I had never
met my father. My mother told me that he was
killed in a car accident before I was born. I
knew only stories of him and knew what he looked like only by the
worn photographs that my mother had given me. I looked at them
almost every day trying to will him into existence.
And the way he said it . . . he didn’t say he
knew my father he said he knows my
father.
"Calm now,” he said. “Let me explain." I waited quietly for him to begin again, but I was still very confused. Did this man mean to tell me that my father was still alive?
"Yes he is." He answered my question before I even asked it. What, was he reading my mind now?
"If this is some sick joke you better run now! This can’t be true! My father was dead before I was even born!" I was almost hysterical now.
"I should not have spoken so quickly. Calm down now. Your family had to tell you he was dead so that you would not go looking for him."
"You better start explaining---and I mean fast!" I stood up. I couldn’t calm myself. This was too much to process.
"I will continue to explain,” he said. “But only if you calm down." Why did this man care so much? I sat down on the bench taking deep breaths until my breathing was once again normal.
"All right, now I’m calm. Tell me what this is all about---and you better make it convincing because as of right now, all I am thinking is that you are a pretentious liar."
"OK, I’m going to explain everything, but I want no interruptions until I am completely finished. Understand?" And he began telling me everything about the man that I had only dreamt of.
