“What about tonight? You’re going to be in a big city.”
“Will it make you feel better if I don’t leave the hotel?” she asked sarcastically, knowing that her friend was quietly nodding her head on the other line.
“Please just be safe and let me know where you are at all times.”
“I will, mom,” Kerry joked, instantly regretting her statement since she knew Mary was sensitive about her own mother, who had left her as a toddler on the front steps of the palace.
“Your highness. . .”
“I’m sorry. Yes, I will continue to check in, but once I get to Carson, I’m going to trash this phone and get another, just in case. And you made sure to stash my regular phone?”
“Yes, it’s in a shoebox in your closet.”
They chatted for a few more minutes before Mary was beckoned away for her duties, which would include getting Princess Karolyna awake and ready for the day. Kerry did feel bad for the predicament that she was putting her friend in, but Mary had understood when Kerry had rushed from the party, mid dance, with tears streaming down her face. She had been embarrassed and disgusted and, most of all, fed up. Her identity wasn’t her own and every man in attendance of her parent’s gala had wanted to claim her as theirs.
Her friend had easily cleaned up Kerry’s makeup and offered to apologize to her parents that she wasn’t feeling well. But instead, Kerry had made a choice that was going to change her life forever. And if she wasn’t careful, Mary’s as well. But Mary hadn’t hesitated in helping her pack a bag and make a plan. She had even helped usher Kerry through the servant’s hidden quarters and helped her confiscate one of the many waiting cars to take the several Lord’s back to their homesteads.
Kerry had to admit it, she had felt like a spy in a movie as they ducked around walls and corners in her escape.
Ending the call, Kerry continued her trek, adding the address Mary messaged to her GPS. She was surprised that the midlevel hotel was right in the middle of the city. If Mary was worried about someone recognizing Kerry, having her in the middle of a crowded area didn’t seem like the smartest plan. But it was done nonetheless.
Kerry arrived at the hotel and checked in under the name Mary had given her on the fake ID and quickly made her way to the fourth floor where room was located. As she exited the elevator, a family with two small children were waiting on the other side. The little girls blinked up at her as if they knew the secret she kept buried in her bag, wide-eyed and full of wonder.
“Mama, she looked like the Snow Queen!” one of them whispered and the corner of Kerry’s lips lifted in a smirk.
Kerry could understand the resemblance with her light blonde hair resting over her shoulder and the blue silk blouse she had changed into at the airport.
“Sorry,” the mother murmured as she and the family switched positions, Kerry moving into the hallway.
“That’s okay. I hear it all the time,” she replied in her best American accent.
Settling in her room and te
xting Mary, Kerry allowed herself to revel in the silence. Having taken a red-eye flight and then driving for three hours, she stretched out on the surprisingly comfortable bed and closed her eyes, promising to rest for a few minutes.
A squeal in the hallway woke Kerry up from one of the deepest periods of sleep she could remember having. She wiped at the corner of her mouth where she was certain drool had pooled and was surprised to find the room washed in oranges and reds as the sun set over the city. Her gaze was drawn to the beauty outside of the hotel and she walked over to look out the large window. The city was bustling below as people walked in and out of the restaurants and shops lining the street.
Kerry’s stomach chose that moment to growl and she considered following Mary’s demands that she stays in her room, but a neon sign with a popular beer’s name blinking down the block drew Kerry’s eye. And frankly, she wasn’t up for room service.
Texting Mary to let her know her plan, because she wasn’t that awful of a friend, or stupid enough not to let someone know where she was headed, Kerry made her way into the bathroom and took a shower, rinsing the grim from her trip off her skin. She ignored her ringing phone as she closed the curtain to the shower and let the pounding of the water lull her back into serenity.
Dressed in a pair of dark denim, a loose pink tank top, and a pair of brown sandals, Kerry considered leaving her bag in the room, only taking her cash and ID with her, but she considered that her items might be better with her than in the room.
After all, the small tiara she had worn to the party rested safely in the hidden compartment at the bottom of her bag. She had forgotten to take it off before leaving and she was certain her mother was now frantic when she realized that it was gone. But Kerry didn’t have time to consider her mother’s feelings, which favored objects over her own flesh and blood.
Pulling the bag's strap over her shoulder and across her body, Kerry made sure to grab her room key and closed the door to her room. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the elevator and readied herself for whatever came her way that night.
This was the first day at finding herself and that began with walking into a bar without knowing a single person.
She could do this, she repeated over and over in her head as Kerry walked down the sidewalk until she almost believed it. And then opened the door to the bar.
Chapter Two
Landon sat at the center of the bar with an ice-cold beer bottle between his hands. He had frequented a few of the bars on this particular street before as they were in walking distance to the hotel he booked a room at, but this bar had been his favorite over the last few years.
Tourists visiting Asheville for the summer season came and went out of the bar, grabbing a drink or some fried food, but they never last long. The groups of women wouldn’t be in until later and those were the people Landon was waiting for. He just had to make it through the dinner crowd to get to the dessert.
“Can I get you anything to eat?” Chelsea, the bartender, asked. He had tried to lure her to his bar in Carson, but she said she’d miss her girlfriend too much. Landon didn’t think that an hour's distance was too long, but what did he know?