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  I smiled at her. “Wow. It’s amazing.”

  “I saw the pictures but wanted to surprise you,” she said getting out.

  This was no average lakeside cabin; it looked like something you’d see on a “Top Ten List” of some luxurious getaways.

  “This must be worth millions. I can’t believe we’re staying here,” I said unable to wipe the grin from my face. I felt like someone had just shouted “Move that bus!” and we were looking at our new dream home.

  “Yes, it’s quite extraordinary,” she said.

  Everything about it screamed money, too; from the expensive cedar wood to the thick plated enormous glass windows; it reminded me of a mountainside chateau in Europe. It was impressive with its two-tiered deck located on north side of the cabin and a porch that wrapped around the entire main floor. There was even a gazebo with a hot tub next to a large courtyard that contained an enormous grille and several pieces of outdoor furniture for entertaining.

  “Wow,” said Nathan as he stepped over to us. “How did you score such an awesome place?”

  Mom smiled. “Ernie helped. What a sweet man.”

  “There’s the boat house,” I pointed down towards the lake. Even that thing looked like it was larger than some of the homes in our old neighborhood.

  “Let’s go inside,” she said taking the keys out of her purse. “You know, I’m really surprised that there isn’t some kind of alarm on the cabin.”

  “Everyone must trust each other in these parts,” I said.

  When we stepped inside my mom flipped on the lights and my breath caught in my throat.

  “Wow,” she said in wonder.

  We entered what had to be called the “Great” room. It was enormous and had a large soapstone fireplace with a bearskin rug lying next to it, which was kind of hokey to me but it added to the affect. Plush burgundy colored leather furniture with hand carved wooden end tables sat across from the fireplace and I imagined myself in the chair-and-a-half reading a book next to a crackling fire.

  “I love the light fixtures,” said my mom staring at the dozens rustic chandeliers that made the place glow with warmth.

  “I’m going to check out the upstairs,” I said climbing the staircase; I could barely contain my excitement now that I knew we were actually staying here.

  There were several bedrooms on the upper level, all spacious and each having their own bathroom. I chose one with a queen sized pillow top bed and a small balcony with a great view of the lake.

  “So, what do you think?” said my mom from the doorway.

  “Oh, my God, I love it!” I said, spinning around. “I feel like we’re on vacation somewhere. I wish we could stay here forever.”

  “I know, it’s breathtaking,” said mom. “My bedroom has its own Jacuzzi and a closet so big I could park the car into it.”

  “I just can’t believe this place. If we’re dreaming, I don’t want to wake up.”

  She laughed. “This is definitely not a dream. Otherwise, we would have woken up in a ditch somewhere after driving all those hours.”

  My stomach began to growl again and I patted it. “I’m hungry, let’s make something to eat.”

  We went back downstairs and mom put the rest of the groceries away in the fridge, which matched the cupboards. She took out a pan and smiled. “Who wants home-made sliders? It might be ghetto here, but I’m not about to give those up.”

  “Yeah, I’m starving,” replied Nathan as he entered the kitchen.

  “So,” said mom as she began making dinner. “Is this place breathtaking or what?”

  “Not too shabby,” said Nathan. “And it’s so quiet, I feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  Mom nodded. “The next cabin is just a hop skip and a jump from here, but you’d never know; it’s so peaceful.”

  “Yeah, you did good mom,” I said, cutting the onions. “I can’t wait until tomorrow when we can see it all in the daylight.”

  Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to take the boat out tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure,” answered mom. She opened the fridge and grabbed some cheese. “I think that would be good for all of us. I haven’t been able to work on my tan all summer.”

  I snorted; my mom was as white as a ghost and typically burned and peeled, but never really tanned. My brother and I were the opposite, fortunately, even though you’d never know this year. I just hadn’t had the time to get any sun, especially after the “incident”.

  After dinner I helped her with the dishes and then decided to check out the whirlpool tub in my bathroom.

  “I’m taking a long luxurious bath and then hitting the sack,” I said. It had been a long drive and I was so exhausted, I didn’t even feel like unpacking yet.

  “Okay,” said mom, kissing my cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  A moving company had dropped off our belongings earlier in the day and I found some of my own boxes quickly. After carrying them to my room, I grabbed a towel and the fluffy white robe my mom had given me for Christmas, last year. As I was about to walk into my bathroom to start the tub, there was a soft knock.

  “Yeah?”

  My brother opened the door. “Um, I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier. You were right,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I was being a little bit of an asshole.”

  I scowled at him. “Do you think?”

  He shook his head in frustration. “You’re such a smart ass. I said I was sorry, now go take your bath, I can smell you from here, twerp.”

  I threw my hairbrush at him, barely missing his head. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to kick your ass. Get out of here.”

  He smiled. “In your dreams wimp, I’ll see you in the morning,” he said closing the door.

  I grabbed my stuff and stepped into the bathroom, still excited about having such a luxurious place, all to myself. I turned on the water and began filling the enormous round tub.

  Wow, and it’s all mine, for now, I mused.

  It really was breathtaking. There was even a window facing the tub with a beautiful view of the lake. Although it was dark and I couldn’t see much of anything outside, I imagined during the day it was incredible.

  I opened up the new vanilla scented spa bath gift set that my mom had given me and lit a candle. I then turned off the lights and removed my clothing.

  “Oh my God,” I groaned in pleasure as I sunk into the warm tub; it had been much too long since I’d enjoyed a bath. From there it only got better when I turned on the jets and they exploded from all sides.

  I closed my eyes and lay my head back against the bath pillow, feeling the warm water bubble against my skin. I imagined it couldn’t possibly get any better, but then remembered I’d forgotten my iPod. If this was heaven than listening to the music could only take me to another level of bliss.

  As I stood up to grab a towel, my eyes glanced towards the window and something stared back at me. It moved away quickly and I screamed in horror.

  “Oh my God,” I gasped, trying not to slip on the floor. I grabbed my robe and skidded out of the bathroom.

  “What is it?” cried my mom, bursting through the bedroom door.

  I pulled my robe in tighter and pointed towards the bathroom. “Someone…was watching me in the window,” I said, trembling.

  Her eyes widened and she grabbed a softball bat from one of the boxes in my room. I followed her into the bathroom, half expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. She kept the light switch off and moved slowly towards the window.

  “Do you see anything?” I whispered.

  She turned to me and lowered the bat. “No and I don’t see how anyone could be watching you from this height, Nikki.”

  I swallowed. “I know that I saw something.”

  She sighed. “It’s been a long day and we’re in the middle of the woods. You probably saw a bird flying by or maybe even a bat.”

  I thought about it for a minute and then nodded. “Well, I guess that sounds rea
sonable.”

  She held out a hand to me. “Come here and look how far up we are.”

  Of course when I looked outside, common sense told me that we were too high for anyone to be looking in. Even the bedroom’s balcony was too far away.

  I sighed. “Okay, maybe it was just a bat.”

  She squeezed my shoulder. “Now, it has really been a long day, why don’t you go to bed and get a good night sleep. I’ll bet that tomorrow you’ll be laughing about this.”

  I didn’t know about that, but I nodded anyway.

  “Is everything okay in here?” asked Nathan who was standing outside of my bedroom door.

  “Everything’s fine,” answered my mom with a reassuring smile. “Nikki just saw a bird or something outside and it scared her.”

  Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Really? I thought I saw something out there, too. It was a little disturbing.”

  I turned to my mom for her reaction.

  “What?” she answered, staring at both of us with amusement. “You know there’s no possible way anyone can stand outside of your bedroom windows. It’s too high. Unless Spiderman is vacationing in Montana and has decided to scale this particular cabin, it was just an animal with wings.”

  “I think we should take a look outside,” said Nathan as he turned and walked away.

  “Wait!” my mom said picking up the bat. “Don’t go out there without this!”

  And she thought that I was being paranoid?

  I followed them both downstairs and watched as he switched on the outdoor lights and threw open the front door.

  “Be careful!” I hollered, staying back. There was no way I was going out into the unknown darkness, harmless bird or not.

  My mom hesitantly followed Nathan outside while I wrapped my arms around myself. I had goose bumps but it wasn’t because I was chilly. Being alone in a large cabin in the middle of nowhere and hearing unfamiliar noises when you’re on edge is sort of a mind freak. Every sound makes you jumpy. In fact, I almost had a heart attack when the ice machine from the kitchen started making noises. Realizing I was being overly paranoid, I sat down on the sofa and waited. Then, what must have only been a couple minutes, but seemed like an hour, my brother stormed through the front door followed by my mom whose face was whiter than a ghost. He picked up the phone and started dialing.

  My stomach clenched. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Nathan raised his hand to silence me and then began talking in a strangled tone. “Hello? Yes, I’d like to report… a dead body.”

  ***

  267

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Author’s Note

  Excerpt from Night Roamers