Their eyes met and reality hit. Devin smiled. “Adria! Is that you, Becca?” He was even more stunned by how lovely Becca was, but then again, being a famous model meant she had to keep up her appearance.
He opened the door and took Adria’s bare hand to help her out of the car. He didn't miss the electric chemistry he felt when they touched. It had always been there, but she’d never been interested as a young woman. Then one day, they both moved away.
Adria smiled. “What other twins do you know in Seneca Falls, Devin? It’s nice to see you and your dogs too.”
Devin forgot they were standing in the middle of a massive snowstorm, with him looking at the woman he’d always adored as a young man. Becca was standing beside her, but he barely registered her. “I can’t believe you're here.”
“Yeah, and I’d like to get out of the snow, Devin, so could we save the conversation for later?” Becca was her usual fussy, dramatic self.
Devin laughed, disbelieving they were back. “Right. Sorry, it’s been a crazy couple of months, well a year, but anyway, come this way. I can take you to the cabin in my truck. You should have known better than to bring that car all the way up here to Michigan with our unpredictable weather. I’ll have Carl tow it to his shop and make sure nothing is wrong with it.”
He moved along helping the ladies get to his truck with all of their luggage as the dogs danced around in the snow. Grabbing his keys, he looked in the mirror to make sure he looked okay. Of course, the dogs had to come for the ride, but when they all got in, chaos ensued.
“Did you have to bring the dogs, Devin? They are going to get hair all over my clothing.” Becca fussed and carried on shoving both dogs onto her sister's lap. Luckily, the dogs weren’t too big or heavy.
Devin smiled. “They come with me everywhere except work. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I love dogs. It's been so long since I saw you, Devin. Stay for a few minutes and have some coffee so we can talk.” Adria smiled.
Devin felt that smile she gave him everywhere, in every muscle, and it stirred up his insides. “Sure. I’d like that.” He nudged Becca who’d practically been his best female friend in high school. “Why the sour face?”
She rolled her eyes. “My shoes are ruined, and I chipped a nail when Adria, the race car driver ran off the road accidentally. It’s not my fault we were arguing. I had just spent endless hours listening to her drone on about the dogs at the shelter and I snapped and said something that made her furious. Then she crashed and now I have ruined shoes and a chipped nail.”
Devin smiled, knowing the twins had always been at each other's throats when they were young. “Well, I see much hasn’t changed.”
As he drove down the driveway and up to the cabin, a car was parked in the driveway. “Do you have guests?”
Both women looked at each other. Becca spoke up first. “No, we shouldn’t. I don’t know who that could be. The last people who stayed here were gone last week, and I had the next two weeks booked up for us. We're planning on selling it soon, but no one should be here.”
Adria was scrolling through her phone as Devin looked around. The lights were on, and he could hear the faint sound of rock music. “No, no one booked it. Who in the world is here?”
Devin barely had time to register what was happening as Adria threw herself out of the truck, clearly on a mission and headed for the door.
Two
Adria burst through the door uncertain of what she was going to find, but determined to deal with whatever it was for her and Becca. Loud music blasted from somewhere in the cabin, which could have been from many places since the cabin was rather large.
“Hello. Is anybody here?” Clothing was scattered everywhere as well as plates filled with remnants of food. There were also a few odd items such as a paintbrush, some paints, and a painter's shirt.
Confused and getting angrier by the minute, she turned the corner from the entrance into the great room. “Hello—” Bam! She ran into a brick wall of a man, who towered over her by almost a foot.
Her eyes lifted all the way up to his and he smiled. “Hey, are you okay?”
Adria was in no mood. She was tired, she’d just driven a ton of miles and her wrist ached, and lord knew she wasn’t getting any younger. She smiled back and delicately took two steps back. She heard the sound of feet stomping the floor at the entrance and then she knew someone was behind her, as confused as she was judging by the silence.
Tempted to be rude, she bit her tongue and decided sarcasm would be best. It always worked with unruly members of the community who wanted to adopt a pet but didn't have a home to put them in.
She leaned her head back, knowing sooner or later Becca would find her way into the cabin, complaining about her shoes. “Hey, Becca, did you hire a new cleaning guy?” She smiled at the man in question.
“I’m not the…” His smile faded. “Who are you?”
“Well, this is our cabin and you're not supposed to be here. I guess my next question would be, “How did you get in? Then I’ll ask why you came into our cabin? And why are you still here?” She glanced past him and finally saw the massive canvas the artist was obviously working on. “Painting up a storm?”
He ran his hands through his hair, and Adria had to admit it was beautiful hair. She wanted to know what it felt like and touch it. Then she snapped out of her musings.
He started pacing back and forth, then stopped. “I’m so sorry. My truck broke down and I needed a place to stay. I can’t seem to get it fixed, and I lost my wallet and phone somewhere along my travels and I don’t even have gas money.”
She heard the clicking of shoes on the entrance tile, then silence. The man in front of her stared blankly at something or someone behind her. Adria wondered why Devin was being quiet, then remembered he always had a thing for Becca and not her.
