Emily "Em" Dane's Story

"I asked for secluded, not hillbilly." Emily Dane mumbled to herself as she drove. The GPS had her traveling down a nearly nonexistent road for almost forty-five minutes now. "Where the hell is this place?" It was as if she said the magic words. Suddenly the brunette was no longer traveling down a forest, now she spotted a mail box with a wide driveway up ahead.

She slowed and pulled into the driveway, carefully parking next to another car. As she put the car into park, she marveled at the sheer size of it. She couldn't imagine that they got much business way out here, but it was surprisingly well kept. She turned off her car and pulled out the brochure. "Spa, restaurant, horse riding, boating, ghost tours, and more." She hadn't excepted so much. She just asked her agent to find an out of the way place so she could finish her next novel. "At least they have wifi for research."

Stuffing the brochure in her purse, Em got out of the car and started unloading her luggage. With her purse, laptop bag, and two suitcases in tow, she finally made her way up the front staircase and inside. A sigh escaped her lips as she felt the cool air conditioned air touch her body as she finally made it inside. "Thank god." Sure, she had been in this area before but she never could quite get used to the heat and humidity.

Smiling, Emily made her way to the front desk. She wore a American Flag crop top with fringe on the bottom and high waisted jean shorts and black converse. She tapped the bell on the front desk and fanned herself as she waited for herself to come and check her in. Sure, she was supposed to be there nearly a hour ago, but she had gotten lost a few times.

The sun beat down on his muscular back. He climbed out of the boat he was in onto the dock. Kneeling down, Alaric tied up the boat. With a refreshing sigh, he stood and turned back to the beautiful old plantation he was staying at. He loved it here, not that he would really admit that. The owners knew because he came back so often. He hadn't started coming until after his mother passed away. The first time he had stayed there after she died was on the anniversary of her death.

Alaric hadn't known why he came then but he found comfort staying in her room. It was like she wasn't gone. He could do his work and send it in or drive into New Orleans. If he could afford it, he'd just stay there. They had plenty of things to fill up his time.

He took out his SLR and aimed it at the plantation. The way the light shone on it, just made it feel alive. He snapped a few shots before heading inside. He wore a white shirt that clung to his muscles with a pair of jeans and tennis shoes.

Opening the door, he nearly hit the charming woman who owned the B and B. "Shit, I'm sorry, Ms. Pettigrew. I didn't hit you did I?" He asked, frowning. He took a hold of her arm in case she stumbled.

"Talk about gorgeous." Emily thought to herself as the man appeared from the back. She could have fainted from sheer happiness. How long had it been since she had seen someone like that? That's right, never. She only wrote about him. It was actually kinda odd that he looked so much like the character she was writing.

"Does he have to have such a great voice? Makes me all weak in the knees." Her inner writer screamed at her. A blush touched her cheeks as she smiled at him. "Is it that obvious because I'm the only one checking in today or because I have luggage to tie me over until I finish my book?" She joked, extending her hand, "This place is amazing. I can't believe you get to run this place."

She smiled at him as he tapped away on the computer. She always felt weird about staring at someone when they were on the computer so she started looking around the lobby. Was that how people felt when she was busy typing away on hers? Heck, most of the time she had her headphones in and wouldn't even notice when someone was talking to her.

"I don't know if my agent told ya'll but it's kinda a "to be announced" day to leave since I really have to get this book done and edited. She thought it would be good for me to get away from the big apple and get away from everything." She told him. She was actually living in New York City. When she finished the other five books in the series she wasn't living in the city. But now that they went on the Best Sellers list she moved to the city. That didn't help with the flow of writing though. She didn't know if it was the hustle and bustle of the city or because this was the last book in the series.

"God, I'm really sorry about that." Alaric said sheepishly. He let go of her and ran his hand through hair. He was a bit sweaty from all the rowing and staying out for so long. "It was beautiful as always. When are you going to take me up on my offer to let me take you out on the lake?" He asked her, giving her his charming smile.

In truth, Alaric wouldn't lie that it wasn't just how much this place felt like home that kept bringing him back. He didn't know what it was about this mysterious blonde that kept him trying to unravel her mystery. "I know you're busy but you've got to have some time to yourself now and then. Well, that is if you don't mind spending it with me rather than getting away from all the guest." He laughed nervously. He was horrible about coming on to people or flirting in general.

Alaric had dated one girl all throughout high school and she dumped him before she went away to college. He never found anyone else who caught his interest like his ex. That was until he met Bay. He could tell there was something different about her but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He knew that they advertised about the ghost but he wasn't really sure what to make of it. He believed in it, sure. But he never really had a life changing ghost haunting. Or at least, not that he knew of.

Emily smiled back at the godly looking creature in front of him. Would it be wrong to get him to pose for pictures... shirtless for her writing? Or maybe she could just google him. God, she hoped he wasn't the hacker type and couldn't find a way through their wifi to see all of her websearches. Now that would just be weird. Plus she was a writer so on any given day she could be looking up different dialects to how to poison a person. It's a good thing she could say she was a published author otherwise she might be sent to a psych ward.

The brunette smiled at him as she took the key from him. "That's pretty cool that you still have keys." She said, pocketing the key. She looked towards the stairs, both processing what he was saying and thinking about how the hell she was going to get her bags up the stairs. It was hard enough getting them inside here.

His offer filled her with relief. "Actually that would be great. For some reason, I always over pack." she told him with a smile.

She gathered her laptop back and another bag and let him get the others. "I read this was a family owned hotel. How long has it been in your family?" She asked him, "Unless you are just staff and then feel free to give me the mumbo jumbo you give the other patrins." She said to him.

Emily waited for him before she made her way towards the stairs before she begane climbing them ahead of her. "I lived in the south until recently but not this far south or this out in the middle of no where. Do you like living out here or do you live closer to a town?" She asked, glancing back at him.

Alaric chuckled and shook his head. "It's fine. I'm only teasing... but of course. I'd love to take you out." He said. He followed her into the cafeteria and began to help her clean. He hated that she seemed to have to do it alone. He tried to make as little mess as possible so she and Micah wouldn't have to do so much work.

He listened to her as he stacked up some trash on a plate and dumped it in the bin before adding the dish and utensils to the dirty dishes bin. "That sounds fun. I'd love to come and help out as much as I can. It's practically like a second hom to me anyways." He smiled at her.

He just shrugged at the mention of pay. "You don't have to pay me. I'm happy to help where ever I can." He told her. He glanced over at her. "Do we need to do the dishes or will the cook or his staff do them?" He asked. One of the best things about the hotel was that they had a full time gourmet cook.