Innkeeper's Daughter (4 page)

     I stirred awake when there
was a knock at the door. I expected her to walk in but she didn’t. I got up and
opened it up for her. She stood in the doorway wearing a heavy fur coat. I
stepped aside and let her enter. She took two steps in then dropped her coat
reveling nothing but smooth flawless skin. She uncoiled her hair letting it
fall to her waist, and stood in the middle of her fallen cover.  At first I was
held speechless.

I hurriedly shut the door the
grabbed hold of her naked body.  I backed her into the side wall next to where
she stood. “You’ll be the death of me you know that?”  I grabbed her head
tightly trying to force the words that needed to be said ‘We have to end this,
Hanna. I cannot see you anymore.’ But the words would not flow.

She reached up to kiss me, and
like every time before I melted. We never made it to the bed that night. Only
the floor would suffice. The fire between us was growing by the minute and I
could deny her nothing.

I ravished her well into the
morning, each taking turns proving our feelings towards each other. Again I
felt like that beast who escaped captivity or the thirst creature in the
desert. I could not get enough, as her cries of passion begged me for more. And
I gave it. It was pure animal as I drank of all of her, making her mine. I
needed and wanted all of her and she let me have it.

Afterwards, we lay there on the
floor not moving, when Hanna asked something of me I hadn’t expected. “I want
to leave here.” she rolled over to face me. “But I need your help.”

I edge over skeptic. “What do you
mean ‘need my help’?” I started to feel some kind of way about her statement.

She sat up when she saw my
hesitancy. “Sterling, I need your help with leaving here.”

Is she asking what I think
she’s asking?

“Is that what this is all about?”
I stood up to put on my boxers.

“What? All of what?”

“This?” I asked pointing back and
forth between her, me, the floor and the bed.

She jumped up and I could see the
hurt on her face. “You ass! Yes, I want to get the hell out of here, but I’m
not going to whore my way out.” She yelled tossing a small white figurine at
me. She grabbed her coat and headed toward the door.

I felt like a bastard. I stopped
her before she took one step into the hallway and slammed the door shut. She
backed away from me. “I’m sorry.” I held up both my hands. “I sometimes wonder
why a young beautiful woman like you would want a man my age.”

“Sterling, you’re one the sexiest
men I have ever met and we get
a lot
of guests. Besides you’re thirty,
not ninety!” She snapped still holding her coat close to her to cover her
self-worth. I made her feel self-conscious.

“Okay, but my life is
complicated. I’m married and live out of state. How could I help you?”

“I just wanted you to talk to my
father about travel or getting a sponsor at your company. I know certain
companies sponsor athletes. Your boss has done it before. You told me so.”

“Yes but he’s into car racing
like NASCAR, sweetie, not skiing.” I walked towards the back bay window.

“Yes, but a sport is a sport. Isn’t
it?” She whined so desperately wanting to leave this place.

“No, Hanna.” She was so young.
What was I doing?

“Then fine, let me come with
you?”

“You can’t. My life is so screwed
up right now.” I sighed before saying it. “I’ve cheated on her before.” I felt
like shit saying it, but it was true. She said nothing, waiting for me to
explain further.  I sat down on the bed while she kept her distance. “I had a
one-night stand with a woman in my office. I wasn’t happy at home, but instead
of me telling my wife I fucked up. I fucked up bad. The guilt ate at me until I
told her last year, six months after it happened. She has not touched me since
nor can I touch her. The woman I had a one-night stand with is still in the
office, so I figure if we moved out of state things would get better.”

She dropped her coat and fell to
her knees in front of me. “Then let me be your mistress. I swear I will never
tell your wife. I’ll do anything to be with you.” Tears flowed down her cheeks.

I could not believe how much I
screwed up again. “Stop.” I wiped her tears away and placed her next to me on
the bed. “You don’t ever want to be a mistress, so don’t every say that again.
Besides, I don’t want a mistress.”

"Don’t say that this was
just a fuck for you.” she jumped up and hit my chest. “We have a connection. I
know it. I see it in your face.  The way you look at me. The way you make love
to me, the way you say my name.  I may be inexperienced, but I’m not stupid.
You love me. I know it.”

“What about college.” I tried
changing the subject. “Can’t you go to college elsewhere, like Denver
University or…”

“I’ve applied, but my parents
flat out refuse to help me. I hate it here. You don’t know my family. I’ve
saved up a few bucks, but not enough to move anywhere really. All I know is
this place. My parents keep tabs on how much I make and spend. I need to get
out of here or I’m going to die.” She cried pacing back and forth.

“Hanna…”

“No, screw you.” she screamed
backing away. Her words barely escaping the tight jaw. “So help me, if you
don’t tell me that you love me, then I will do something crazy.” She
continually paced with a crazed look on her face.

I tried not to say it. I needed
her to walk away and not think of me again. I was trouble for her. What could I
offer her? What life could I give her? Divorce my wife and be with her. It’s
unrealistic. But as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door I panicked and
said the very words I tried to deny. “Yes, Hanna I’m in love with you.” I stood
up walking towards her. “I don’t know how it’s possible. I don’t know why, but
I do. I don’t understand. It’s only been a few days.”  I fell against the wall
and slid down to the floor.

She sat next to me and I could
not help but wrap my arms around her. “You’re my soulmate,” she looked up at me.

I’ve never saw myself as a
hopeless romantic, not even when she said it, so how could I admit something I
never believed in: love at first sight. “This is crazy.” What a twisted world.

We didn’t say much after that. We
just laid down on the floor until she needed to get back to her room. We agreed
to meet up for skiing again then talk more about our dire circumstance.

I laid on the bed when she left
thinking of both my wife and Hanna. As much as I didn’t want a mistress, I had
one. This is not the life I planned, but does life ever happen the way you plan
it?

Somehow I knew Hanna was my Karma
for all the things I’ve done wrong. I had not been able to pass the test. The
test of faithfulness. As much as I was confused on how two people could care
for one another so quickly, I was that sure that Hanna would bring me to my
knees. This would not end well.

***

We went to the cabin again as
planned to discuss what to do next. We started off talking but then Hanna’s
clothes came off one by one and there was no resisting. I wanted her. I needed
to be inside her, to hear her screams, to see her face when she orgasmed, and
to hear her call my name.

Making love to her was the most
natural thing I’d ever done. “I love you, Hanna.” I could finally admit it out
loud as she sat on top of me on the floor. “I love you too, Sterling.” She
kissed me back.  I rolled us over to prove again how much I loved her.

“Get the fuck off my niece, or
I’ll blow your ass to smithereens, you son of a bitch.”

“Uncle Bob no!” Hanna screamed as
we scrambled apart.

I held up my hands to the shot
gun pointed at my head. I stood naked while another man tossed Hanna her
clothes. “Get dressed, girl. Your daddy is looking for you,” he had a disgusted
look on his face when he spoke to me. “And don’t you look at her, neither.” I
listened.

Two men, a girl, and two shot
guns with one pointed at me. Not a good circumstance.

Once she was dressed, they took
her outside and I was finally given permission to dress. As soon as I put on my
shirt in walked John, Hanna’s father. He just looked at me like he could kill
me.

“I kinda figured something was up,
the way she looked at you. but I thought it was a crush. That is until someone
saw her come out of the men’s bathroom last night, so I had you two followed
today. You sick prick. She’s only nineteen and you’re married.”

Before I could say a word he
punched me in the face. I fell against the wall, tasting blood, then stood back
up. He hit me three more times but I never hit him once. He was a father
protecting his daughter.

Hanna bust threw the door
tripping over the rug scrambling to get to me when I was on my knees coughing
at the gut hit. A rib cracked on the last one.

“Daddy, no,” she cried grabbing
hold of his arm but he pushed her back.

“Get her,” He ordered to the two
other guys, his brothers. “This is the man you whored yourself for? A married
man! So help me, Hanna if you ever see him again, I swear before God that that
you will no longer be my child.”  He hit me in the face. Hanna jumped between
us to shield me but he slapped the shit out of her knocking her into the
fireplace. Rage took over and I took John to the floor. I lost my mind as I
punched him repeatedly. I may be a bastard of a husband, but I don’t condone
ever hitting a woman.

I was pulled off John by his
brothers and held up as he finished me off. All I heard was Hanna scream
“Please da, I love him!” before passing out.

I woke up some time later to
complete silence. I rolled over onto my back and it hurt to even do that.  It
was dark outside and the fire had burned out. My guess, they put it out.

I sat up feeling my right side
scream for me to stop. I had a least two cracked ribs, my right eye was swollen
and my jaw throbbed. I had to get out of there before I froze to death. They
even took the wood.

They at least left my boots, ski
coat and pants. I didn’t expect the crossover to be waiting outside, but I’d
hoped. No such luck.

It was good distance to the
resort so I walked as quickly as I could, holding onto my side. I tried to
remember the path she took but the snow had covered any tracks the crossover
made. I just walked in the general direction we came in.

It had to have been close to zero
degrees by now, so I figured by walking fast I would get warm. It didn’t work.
I was freezing. My feet where sinking into the snow making it hard to walk,
especially for someone who was already in pain. The wind whipped across my face,
but it felt more like pure ice. And going against the wind made it harder for a
person with cracked ribs to breath.  

I was angry at myself for getting
caught up in this stupidity, angry that I hurt my wife again, and mad for
screwing up Hanna’s life. What was it going to take for me to get it right? Why
did I keep hurting Rachel?

I trudged forward keeping my head
low until I heard a remote noise. I stopped. It was a motor. Maybe it was
Hanna’s uncle coming back to finish what they started.

“Sterling!” It was Hanna’s yell I
heard.

I didn’t call back but hurried up
trying to walk into the shadows. I didn’t want her to see me, I wanted her to
leave and go back to her family.

“Sterling.” She screamed louder
when she spotted me. She rode up next to me and stopped to get off when I
ignored her. “Stop.” she grabbed my arm.  I winced when she accidentally hit my
right side.

“Go back,” I said refusing to
look at her.

“Go back, why? You won’t make it.
You have another five miles to go and the weather is getting worse.”

I kept walking. She tapped me in
my bad side. This time it was no accident. “Dammit woman,” I gritted falling,
holding onto a tree.

“You won’t make it. You’ll freeze
to death out here and you need to see a doctor.”

“Just go back,” I ordered.

“No!” she shouted “If you walk
then I walk.” she was serious.

That’s when I saw the bruise on
her face her father gave her. I couldn’t let her walk and I knew she would
never go back. The desperate expression on her face told me so. “Fine,” I said
touching her face. She squeezed my hand and her face relaxed. I was so
miserable, she had to help me onto the crossover.

“When we get back you will go
straight to your family. I will get my stuff then...”

“No,” she said then sped up.
Talking was difficult to do on the back of the snowmobile, so I said nothing
else until we stopped.

Even though the ride was better
than walking, the bumps were harsh. She was right, I would’ve never survived
the distance.

When I made it to the back door,
I tried again to talk some sense into her, but she was proving stubborn. We
made it safely to my room and I expected my belongings to be gone, but they
were untouched.  I packed as quickly as I could.

“Sterling what about us?” I froze
shutting my lids.  I could hear the tears coming before I saw them.

I was stuck. I didn’t know what
to say. “If you go with me your family will alienate you.” I turned to her
easing myself down to sit on the stairwell. She held tightly to a brown travel
bag in her right hand, determined to leave with me.

“I don’t care.” She stepped
closer not letting go of the bag.

“You say that now, but you do
care and you will regret it later. Those men wanted me dead. Your family. I saw
it in your uncle’s eyes and I felt it in your father’s fists. Do you think they
left me there, six miles away, because they cared? To be honest if I had
daughter, I would probably have done the same.”

“But we love each other.” she
teared up.  “Love like this doesn’t come by twice.”

My door swung open and John
barged in. “I knew I’d find you here with him, girl.”