The Keeping by Nicky Charles

Where was it?”
    “Right on the gate
that blocked the driveway you walked down.”
    “Really? Hmm... I
didn’t notice it. Maybe it fell off.” She concentrated on brushing
some dust from her pants to avoid looking his direction.
    “And maybe it had
some help from you.”
    Mel gave a
non-committal shrug and kept silent. He continued on in the nasty,
mocking tone he seemed to favour.
    “And of course,
the six foot high locked gate, didn’t give you any clue that
you should stay out?”
    “Not really.” She
cast a saccharine sweet smile in his direction. “Though, of course,
if there’d been a sign stating that there were vicious dogs roaming
free, I would have been more cautious.”
    “Dogs? Those
weren’t dogs. They were wolves and you’re lucky they didn’t rip you
to shreds.” He sounded quite pleased to deliver that piece of
news.
    Mel swallowed
hard. She’d had a sneaking suspicion they weren’t dogs, but thought
she’d throw the idea out, just in case. If the man owned dogs that
were out of control, she could always threaten to sue him, if he
got nasty about her trespassing. Now, with that gone, she had to
acknowledge how much danger she really had been in. Guilt and a ton
of regret for her impulsive actions also came into the mix. She
knew she should have gone back to town and tried to make a proper
appointment with Taylor, rather than sneaking up on him. Her
college instructors would berate her over this stunt, if they ever
heard about it.
    Sitting up a bit
straighter, Mel faced the mystery man head on, thinking she should
try to smooth things over a bit, for the sake of the interview she
hoped to get. Before she could even open her mouth, everything got
a bit dark and her vision blurred. Feeling the blood drain from her
face, she clutched the cushion she sat on and closed her eyes until
her equilibrium settled. Damn, but this wasn’t going at all the way
she planned. Like many of her ideas, it had seemed like a good one
at the time. She was supposed to be confidently walking up to Ryne
Taylor’s house, knocking on his door, and coolly requesting an
interview. Taylor's surprise at her unexpected presence would have
had him immediately agreeing to her request.
    Instead, she
knocked herself out and wound up talking to this ill mannered
person, whoever he was. At least he wasn’t Taylor. From the way
everyone spoke, the photographer was a bit of a lady’s man and
likely had smooth banter down to a science. Unlike someone else,
she added, glaring towards the chair housing her tormentor.
    He must be one of
the people who lived with Taylor. Good lord, how did the
photographer put up with this fellow’s sarcastic attitude? She’d
only known him for less than five minutes and already wanted to
smack him. True, she shouldn’t have trespassed, but he needn’t be
so nasty about it.
    “Hey, are you all
right?” The man leaned forward, possibly concerned over her sudden
pallor.
    “Yeah—” Mel
flicked a glance his way and stiffened in shock. His change in
position had brought his face out of the shadows and he was visible
for the first time. Mel was sure her eyes were playing tricks on
her. Before her sat one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen.
Messy black hair hung across his forehead, while a day’s worth of
stubble darkened his jaw line. Deep blue eyes, a straight nose, and
a firm mouth completed the picture. Sexy and dangerous were the two
words that immediately sprang into her mind as she gazed at
him.
    A second reason
for her surprise was that he was almost a carbon copy of Kane, the
husband of the waitress at the Grey Goose. Mel had only seen Kane
briefly, but he’d left a definite impression on her. The man before
her had different coloured eyes and his voice was different, but
otherwise the two men were very similar; they had to be brothers or
at least first cousins. Narrowing her eyes, Mel began to connect
the dots and an unnerving thought came to mind. Was this man that
she was