Slay Bells - Hildie McQueen Page 0,13

town. She told me to stop by.” She didn’t even look toward Gabriela. “Besides, you seemed stressed the other night.” Her eyes slanted to Gabriela.

Jeremy dismounted and held out a hand to Gabriela. “Cassandra, this is Gabriela. She’s here to write an article on the ranch.”

Finally, Cassandra deemed her worthy of attention. “Oh, so you’re the reporter.” Her wide eyes conveyed forced innocence.

“I’m actually a writer, not a reporter.”

Cassandra ignored her and turned back to Jeremy. “So, can I get a ride next?” She winked at him. Jeremy coughed, and Gabriela could only stare agog at the woman after the innuendo.

“Thanks for the tour, Jeremy. I’m going to head to my cabin and get started on writing. Nice to meet you Cassandra.” Gabriela couldn’t get away from them fast enough.

Once inside her cabin, she peeked out through the blinds. Jeremy and Cassandra were still standing next to the snowmobile. He’d shoved both hands into his pockets while she talked, her arms motioning as she spoke.

The woman seemed to be explaining something because every once in a while, he nodded. Although Cassandra had definitely sent out “back off vibes”, watching them now, it seemed as if they were either broken up or things between them were not exactly working out.

Finally, he motioned to the door and they walked up the steps to the main house. He wasn’t taking her on a ride then, at least not on the snowmobile.

After several hours of getting only a few words written, Gabriela needed fresh air. Interesting that in San Diego she could go an entire day without leaving her apartment, or if she worked at the office, she didn’t even leave for a lunch break. This place however was so different, the air so clean and the atmosphere begged for one to walk outside and take it in. Not just once or twice, but constantly.

She bundled up, grabbed her camera and set off in the direction of the cabins. Making a mental note every so often, she stopped and looked around. First, for any animals wanting to attack, and secondly to ensure she knew how to go back.

One thing she’d forgotten to ask Jeremy was if there were any bears around, or attack moose. In her research, she’d found out moose were often times as aggressive as bears.

When she arrived at the guest cabins, she lifted her camera and took several pictures of the empty dwellings. Movement out of the corner of her eye made her freeze and she studied the tree line. Other than shadows, nothing seemed amiss. Perhaps it was a bird flying by. A huge bird that flew low to the ground.

After a few moments, she stopped staring into the woods. Nothing was coming to attack, so she returned her attention back to the cabins. Noting the indentation of tire marks, she lowered and caught a great angle of the markings leading to one of the cabins. With the structure serving as an out of focus backdrop, the tread marks in the pristine snow were clear. It would be a beautiful picture.

She lifted her head from the camera and looked to the cabin. The front door was slightly open. There were no vehicles, so obviously whoever had driven there earlier had either dropped someone off or forgotten to lock the door. Either way, it would be cool to see the interior.

It was so quiet. The only sounds were the crunching of the snow under her feet. Something about the current scene made goose bumps rise on her arms and Gabriela shook it off.

She looked around and up to the trees, unsure if she would ever be able to settle in a place like this. The surroundings without question were breathtaking, the quietness of the moment made her feel enriched. However, in that moment something was off. A sensation of impending danger made her look around once again.

Unsure of what to do, Gabriela shoved her camera into her jacket to keep her hands free. Of course, the cabin was empty, whoever had been there had mistakenly left the door open. She giggled at her overactive imagination.

“Hello.” Gabriela knocked on the cabin’s door. “Hello?”

No one was about. The interior was cool, but not as much as outside which meant someone had recently been there or potentially was still there. She noted a closed door in the hall and wondered if perhaps someone was taking a nap…or maybe hooking up.

If it was the latter, the couple could have left the door ajar in their