Common Sense Doesn't Become Me (30 page)

I had to buck up and think of this as an
adventurous camping trip. I had to find the silver lining in the
clouds, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I had to realize
that my options were few and that my first priority is food because
the sound of my stomach grumbling had just gotten louder.

The search of the cabinets came up empty,
only dead bugs and cobwebs. The laundry had a closet full of stuff,
old broom, dirty mop, a few cleaning supplies and rags. A note hung
on the mop. “Have fun!” It was in Sabrina’s handwriting. I had to
wonder what I did that was so mean to her that made her be this
cruel.

The old washer had seen better days and there
was no dryer. A clothesline in the backyard among the tall weeds
caught my eye out the laundry room window. Sabrina had to of picked
this house with the cruelest of intentions. She knew my hatred for
laundry and cleaning. The small closet, in the bedroom with no bed,
had old linens in it and several dead moths. This most likely meant
the linens were full of holes.

The front room had an old looking, black and
dusty, fire-burning stove with no wood around. Probably what heated
the house? The couch smelt funny, and all the windows had a fine
layer of dust with the lightest of sheer curtains covering the
windows. I wouldn’t be able to last here a week let alone a cold
mountain winter.

The fast thought of driving into town entered
my mind to get my bearings until I realized I didn’t have a car. I
didn’t see a garage, and I doubted that they left me one in fear I
would jump in and drive back to Denver, exposing them for the
weasels they had become.

I wrestled with the thought of introducing
myself to my new neighbors but at that very moment, I was
embarrassed and sick with grief and despair. The lurching of my
stomach indicated I wanted to throw up but there was nothing in my
stomach. The pounding inside my head seemed to have gotten worse,
and I was sure I felt the slight sway of my body like it wanted to
collapse onto the floor.

I slowly sank to the floor with my back to
the wall facing the front door. I sat there for minutes crying
empty tears and wondering what my next step should be. I hadn’t
talked with my parents since I ran away to Vegas to strip. I was
just shy of my eighteenth birthday, a virgin. Yet, anything was
better than a mom on drugs and a dad who was drunk all the
time.

Back then, my body screamed sex with any man
who looked at me due to my full figure, long blonde hair and
piercing blue eyes. Or so, I was told. I hadn’t seen a lot of
options back then, so I used what I thought was my advantage.

In my mind, I didn’t see me running back to
mommy or daddy. The last phone call I had made to them left me with
the discovery of a disconnected phone. I felt that was a sign that
I shouldn’t go back.

Looking back it was easy to see how Sabrina
and I hooked up. She acted like an older sister and mother
figure.

Then Mathew came along and offered to take
care of me. Giving me all the love and affection I craved along
with lavish gifts and an offer of a lifestyle I never imagined I
could have. Once we were married, things were always good, as long
as I kept his high sexual appetite sedated and myself in tiptop
shape physically. My credit cards had no limit; my best friend was
always welcomed in his home, and his friends became mine. Or so, I
assumed. I was sure they wouldn’t give me the time of day now.

The sun was starting to get lower, and I knew
if I was going to get into town and back with a few essentials, I
needed to start out now. I eyed my luggage with my yoga and
snorkeling gear. I had really looked forward to our snorkeling
excursion. I crawled on my knees and quickly entered the
combination to the luggage lock. I popped it open and tossed the
lock on the floor. I unzipped the luggage and found my yoga top and
pants. I undressed in the front room. I wasn’t worried if someone
could see in if you couldn’t see out from all the dust and grime on
the windows.

I found my running shoes and a pair of ankle
socks, and set myself out for what would be a short journey to
town. I didn’t bother locking the door. At that point, I was hoping
to find a motel/hotel in town, and I would stay there until
morning. With my wallet and phone in my small black sports
backpack, I set out of my new humble abode for any site of human
life.

Chapter Three

I began walking at a fast clip downhill. The
road was steep going down, so walking back up would be a challenge
with a lot of groceries. I began making a mental list in my head as
to what I would need. A good bottle of wine was going to be worth
its weight to carry. I had some sorrows to take care of. Forget
health food. I was on a warpath that didn’t involve men or slender
waists. I could now eat what I wanted when I wanted, and not get
judged for a pound gained. I smiled at that thought and felt a warm
sensation fill my body with hope. I rounded a bend in the road, and
it opened wide to a valley below. It was breathtaking.

The rolling hills that intertwined into a
valley river below filled with aspen trees of green and yellow
shades, coloring the landscape. The tall intermingling pine trees
were lush with green fir tips, and the river sparkled with clear
dark-blue water with the late day sun starting to cast golden stars
of light off the bending river.

I took a deep yoga breath in, and stretched
my arms over my head and slowly let it out as I let my arms sink to
my sides. I felt alive in a new and unusual way. I didn’t feel so
helpless and alone anymore. I didn’t think Sabrina would understand
my love for the fresh mountain air. It ran parallel in first place
to my desire to sit on a beach and let the ocean lap at my toes.
This place might not be so bad after all.

I did notice, that I did not see a town in
sight. I could only hope it was down the road and hidden by all the
trees. Because if not… I was screwed. Hell I was screwed any ways.
Maybe I would pull a Forrest Gump and just run my broken heart to
all eternity.

I looked down at my newly acquired tennis
shoes I had bought just for the trip to match my turquoise blue
yoga tank top and dark navy blue yoga pants with the matching
bright turquoise design. I had pulled my long blonde hair into a
puffy ponytail before I left the cottage. I was a walking billboard
for fit and athletic cute. I didn’t doubt that. I hadn’t thought to
wash my face before I left which I was sure was a puffy splotchy
red mess of mascara ruins.

I spit into my fingertips, wiped my spit
under my eyes, and used the underside end of my tank top to wipe my
eyes clean. Thankful this brand of waterproof mascara held to its
fifty-dollar price tag. It was actually waterproof. I slapped my
face with my hands and pinched my cheeks to get the blood flowing.
I figured by the time I got to civilization that I would look
normal, as long as I held back any more tears.

I felt like I had walked several miles when I
knew it was most likely only one. I heard the crunching of tires
approaching behind me, and I stepped to the side of the road to let
them pass. Who should pass me but my neighbors in their black Range
Rover with darkly tinted windows. I watched the Rover slowly crawl
to a stop then sat there. I smiled at them and stopped myself,
turning extremely nervous inside. What if Sabrina had placed me
directly in the path of a serial killer? Or worse. How the heck, do
I explain my existence in that rundown shack?

I froze with a plastered smile on my face as
I watched the black Range Rover slowly back up next to me. Then in
what seemed like an even slower pace was watching the passenger
window lower down. Who was driving the car was not who I expected.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Maybe some dangerously looking
mountain man, with a hidden knife next to his seat to dice me up
with.

“Need a lift?” His voice was smooth and deep.
His eyes hid behind very expensive sunglasses while his jaw was
chiseled in a tense motion, and his mouth was set in a straight
line. He had one hand draped across the black leather steering
wheel and another down by his side. ‘Serial murderers come in all
shapes and sizes.’ My inner scared cat voice squeaked in my head.
While the sexual part of me imagined what lied behind those
sunglasses and underneath the pricey tee shirt he was wearing. As
if he read my mind, he raised his glasses to his head and attempted
a smile. “Mike Smith. I believe we are neighbors.”

I reached my hand in to shake his. He
accepted and pulled his hand off the steering wheel and turned
towards me as he shook my hand. “Klarissa Rhi… I mean Beck.” Hell I
had to remember I was no longer a Rhinholt.

He repeated his question as if I was
bothering him. “Need a lift to town?” Before I could stop myself, I
asked the stupid question, which I knew could lead to more
questions I wasn’t prepared to answer. “How far is town?”

He cocked his head and with a squint of his
eyes; he reached up, slide his glasses back down and draped his
hand back over his wheel looking straight ahead. “Farther than
you’d want to walk those pretty new shoes of yours.”

How did he know my shoes where new? Christ
did I have immature stupid written on my forehead. I sensed Mr.
Smith and I, if that was even his real name, were not going to be
new BFFs. As if. Asshole. “No thanks. I’ll enjoy the walk into
town.”

He grumbled something, then started to raise
the window and drove about two feet. The Range Rover stopped again
and this time, he shut it off and out walked a very tall and fit
man with the type of features that read rich, yet laid-back man. He
walked with confidence. His leather flip-flops matched his worn
jeans. However, not his pricey cotton tee or his expensive shades
or brand new Range Rover. He had money, but he had attitude as
well. His blonde hair and blue eyes made him look clean cut. His
lean athletic body shape did things to my body that any healthy
normal woman would respond this way. I cut myself some slack for
feeling any sort of attraction on looks alone.

I took a step back almost scared he was
coming at me at such a fast clip. He stopped just short of the
cliff we were next to and pointed out to a large boulder on a rocky
cliff on a mountaintop quite a ways over. “Well, sweetheart. If you
insist on walking, you might want to head straight down this hill
and hike the next to walk straight down the next. Town is down that
hill from that boulder there. On the other hand, you can catch a
ride with me and be there in less than fifteen minutes. Your
choice. I leave in ten… nine… eight…seven…” He was talking to me
like a child.

I stopped him short. I put my hands up in the
air. “I get it.” I examined my predator for a split second. His
facial features softened quite a bit. The sun was starting to fall
in the sky, and it lit up the back of his curly blonde hair like a
halo. His hair was just shy of his neck with little light wispy
curls on the edge of it. His blue eyes were intense when they
weren’t hiding behind sunglasses and his face aged him somewhere in
his thirties, possibly ten years older than my twenty-five. He was
most likely far more educated and mature then I had ever been.

I jumped in the Range Rover’s passenger seat
and clicked the seatbelt in. I felt messed up. I should have just
grabbed a few clothes and started hitch hiking my way to the
nearest motel six and try to get a waitress job at a local café.
Because at this particular moment, I knew exactly what Sabrina was
laughing at while sitting in the Caribbean lounge about - me.

The first minute of the drive down, the now
very windy road, was quiet between Mr. Mike Smith and me. I should
be thankful to my knight in shining armor. He certainly knew how to
act put out. With a slow intake of breath, I composed myself and
turned to a man with extremely handsome features once he seemed
more relaxed. “Sorry.” I whispered softly from my lips, as I let
out a light puff of air.

“No sorry needed. I just get the impression
you have no idea how far it is to town when your limo driver
dropped you off.”

Nice, he saw the whole show. I tapped my
fingers against my legs. Now I had no freaking clue where I was or
how far. How the hell, do I say that without coming out looking
like Queen Stupid.

A few more minutes passed, and we were still
deep in mountain country on a single-lane dirt road. Shit we were
far from town. I was going to need a car, and I don’t think a
thousand dollars was going to get me much. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“I get the impression something’s amiss?” His
voice had a timber smooth sound to it, a serious sound to it.

My voice, on the other hand, sounded squeaky
and high-pitched. “No. What makes you say that?” I kept my eyes
adverted from him as I knew I was a lousy liar.

He slowed the Ranger for a sharp curve and
then started straight again. This time we were off the main
mountain we lived on and next to the riverbed. I saw a few other
houses along the way that looked far from the road.

“Hmm.” His voice sounded speculative of me,
rightly so. I was wondering myself what everyone would think about
me, and my new humble abode. Looking for a job in a small mountain
town can be hard if no one knows you.

The river looked beautiful. I found myself
getting lost in the scenery. The soft mediation music coming from
the Range Rovers speakers reminded me of my last massage I got last
weekend. I did not think I would be getting too many more of those
anytime soon.

“Hm.” This time it was louder, along with the
taping of his fingers against the steering wheel; I got the
impression, he was not going to let this go.

“How much of the limo driver dropping me off
did you see?” My voice sounded weak and wimpy.

He didn’t speak up right away, and then he
slowed the Rover to a stop along side of the river and turned and
looked at me. “None. Why? What was there to see?”