Chapter Three
At nine-thirty, Seth was waiting in the trees near the massive cabin where Breeze worked. He searched for her, but only saw a horde of men milling around, drinking, doing drugs, laughing, fighting, and riding dirt bikes. A few women looked like they were enjoying the luxury of the mansion and the men’s company. In Seth’s opinion they dressed and acted like prostitutes, but he tried to remember his mom’s counsel and leave the judgment to the Lord.
What was his Breeze doing in this crowd?HisBreeze. He’d spent far too much of his day thinking about her and imagining what it would be like to be with someone like her. She was definitely different and more intriguing than any woman he’d interacted with before, but he’d only recently met her. He had a race in Minnesota the following weekend, so sadly he wouldn’t be around long enough to get to know her more.
As he watched the men, he noticed a familiar blond ponytail and large, strong body through the large rear windows of the cabin. Stepping closer, he squinted. His stomach crawled with disgust. Flint Brooks. The loser was an X-games wannabe who’d often tried to buy his way into competitions but never made much progress. Seth had met him a few times. The guy had pretended to be a fan, but Seth had seen the jealousy in Flint’s eyes. More importantly, he’d seen the way Flint treated his cronies as if they were all vermin who lived to be stepped on by him.
Knowing Flint was here made him want to rescue Breeze even more. She’d claimed she wasn’t in danger, but Seth felt like she was. It wasn’t just his selfish motivation of wanting more time with her. She was in with a rough crowd. Even if she was the maid and cook, he’d seen the way those men looked at her last night. She definitely wasn’t safe here.
He saw Breeze walking out of a large garage around the side of the house. She ran towards the trees. Seth’s stomach hopped and he found himself smiling with the anticipation to see her. He rushed to her, skirting around the trees.
There she was. The long sheet of blonde hair seemed to shine in the twilight. Her deep brown eyes widened in surprise and grew warm.
“Seth!”
She surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck.
Seth caught her against him and held her there. She felt small in his arms, as if he could break her. But as she hugged him tighter, he felt the strength behind her gentle frame. He breathed in the honey scent in her hair and buried his nose in the softness of it, inhaling deeply.
She pulled back and gave a nervous giggle. “Sorry. I was just so excited to see you.”
He smiled, wishing that he could hold her for a little longer. “I didn’t mind.”
She smiled shyly. “How was your day?”
“Awful.”
“No. Why?”
He edged in closer, wanting to wrap her up in his arms again. “I was worried about you.”
“Oh.” She suddenly wouldn’t meet his gaze, studying the pine tree next to him. “You shouldn’t worry. I’m fine. Just working long hours cooking and cleaning.” She gave him a very forced smile. “Definitely boring but not dangerous. What did you do today?”
She seemed hungry for details of his life and quick to move the focus off her own. He’d give her a break, for now, but he didn’t know if he could let her go back into that madhouse of a cabin. “My family’s all here through Sunday so we hung out together. Went on a mountain bike ride, a hike, and then a Razor ride through the mountains, swam in the pool, played board games and read stories with Paisley.”
“Who’s Paisley?”
“My niece. She’s adorable. She makes us all laugh. She’s the only grandchild, so you can just imagine how my parents spoil her.”
“I used to have grandparents,” she mused. “My mom’s parents. I never knew my dad’s. My grandparents were nice. They always had ice cream bars in the freezer for Ridge and I.”
Before Seth could open his mouth to ask more about Ridge, she asked, “Was Mar there?”
He thought it was cute that she was asking about Mar. “Yeah. I talked to her about you.”
“You did?” Breeze shifted uncomfortably. “A famous lady like that doesn’t want to hear about somebody who scrubs crap off toilets.”
He laughed at her blunt description but sobered up when he saw her looking down at the forest floor. “She wanted to hear all about you,” Seth reiterated. “Especially when she heard how interested I was in you.”
Breeze’s large dark-brown eyes seemed to grow larger in her angelic face. “You … You? Interested in me?” She faltered back a step.
Seth held up his hands, hoping he hadn’t upset her. He knew he was intimidating to some people because of his large stature and his success but he never intended to be. He certainly didn’t want to intimidate her. She’d seemed so strong and calm, but what did he know? He should back off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come on too strong.”
She shook her head, her sheet of hair falling around her shoulders. “It’s not you. I just feel like I’m in some wonderful dream when I’m around you. No way could someone like you be interested in me.”
“Why not?” Did she lack confidence around men? Or maybe it was his wealth and status. How could he explain that he didn’t care about her financial situation? He wasn’t after someone with Instagram followers or gobs of makeup. He liked her clean beauty and the obvious faith that shone from her dark brown eyes.
She didn’t answer him but looked back through the trees toward the mansion filled with selfish, rowdy men.