D O V E

I frowned when I found myself staring at a large gate made of wooden planks. The spaces between each plank was enough for me to peek through but there wasn't much to see but a gravel driveway and foliage of the surrounding woods. Also, it was impossible to ignore "no trespassing" sign hanging of the towering blockade. It was homemade – a piece of thick wood, painted yellow with sloppy black lettering. I could see places where the paint used for the words had run.

This had to be Rhys' place.

And he, obviously, had a thing about his privacy. Under different circumstances, I would have respected that. Everyone was entitled to a few secrets. However, he had ignored my right to privacy last night when he had sent his friend to act as my guardian. We weren't living in the middle ages, and I could take care of myself. He had crossed the boundary of our fragile acquaintance – if you could even call it that – into a very personal territory and I wanted to know why he had done it.

I paced the length of the gate, looking for a way through or over it. Today hadn't started off great and it wouldn't be getting any better from the look of things.

I had planned to ask Dace for the directions to Rhys house later in the morning, but when the sun had risen, and I'd finally left my room, he was nowhere to be found. I had been forced spent twenty minutes of my day trying to bribe Rhys' address out of a postal worker – which he hadn't felt inclined to take. Instead, he had threatened to call the cops. In a moment of desperation, I had lied, hoping to gain some sympathy. I told him that I had a one-night stand and had gotten pregnant. That was what I should've started with from how quickly he had scrambled to find me the address.

I grabbed the no trespassing sign in my hands, releasing all my pent-up anger and frustration. I tugged at it. There was much huffing as I worked on the strong piece of wood, fingers burning as I pried it loose inch by inch. I stumbled back when it came free, tossing the reward of my labor into the gravel. I dusted my hands on my jeans before poking my fingers through the cracks between the wooden planks, slowly hoisting myself upward. My toes pressed into the wood to hold some of my weight. I did my best to ignore the fact I would, without a doubt, be digging splinters out of my hands later.

This was far from a graceful entrance. I had practically done the splits as I tried to use the latch of the large gate as leverage to reach the top. Once I sat astride the six-foot behemoth, I couldn't feel anything but relief to have made it successfully to the top. I did realize that this all seemed like a lot more work than it was worth, but now that I had come this far I wasn't going to turn back. I shifted to the left, glancing over the other side of the gate. My stomach churned as I noted the distance between myself and the ground. This wasn't my first time jumping a fence but I wasn't a fan of heights.

I sucked in a deep breath as I swung my other leg over the top, pushing myself off with a small yelp. I landed on the gravel with a hard thump, stumbling forward and catching myself with my hands before I could faceplant. I pushed myself back up on wobbly legs, dusting my hands off as I glanced back to see the feat I had just conquered.

I started walking down the long driveway. I had gotten the hard part out of the way, everything else from this point onward should be a breeze. That thought proved to be a foolish one. The driveway was much longer than I had anticipated it to be. It took me a good twenty minutes of power walking to reach the end of it. By that time, I was sweating like a stuffed pig, red-faced and out of breath.

There was definitely something strange about this man. Who in their right mind needed a driveway so long? Or a gate so large? I mean, who the hell was he trying to keep out? Or maybe the better question was, what was he trying to keep in? A part of my mind was screaming at me to turn back now, get into my truck and leave town. I paused for a moment – what was I doing? This wasn't like me. I was the smart girl who didn't go looking for trouble. Rhys had already exhibiting those overbearing qualities that Silas had.

And here I was, seeking him out? I chewed on my lip. There was something wrong with me – fundamentally. I needed to leave this place, get back in my truck, forget about Rhys, and drive on to the next town. Even as I thought that, though that would've been the intelligent thing to do, my feet moved toward the house as if pulled by some kind of invisible force. I couldn't explain it but it was starting to freak me out. It was a similar sensation I had felt last night at the bar.

An uneasiness began to grow in my stomach the closer I got to Rhys' home. It was like I was floating in the ocean, being circled by sharks on the verge of a feeding frenzy.

I was in the middle of nowhere, no one was out here with me. I knew I was being ridiculous. Still, I couldn't resist the urge to look around, staring into the dark shadows of the nearby trees. I searched the darkness of the underbrush until I could confirm that I was indeed alone. However, knowing that didn't stop me from quickening my pace. The lingering sensation that I was being watched only seemed to grow. I hurried up the steps and onto the rotting porch, knocking hard on the front door.

When no one answered, I knocked again.

"Rhys," I called out his name through the thick wooden door. I knocked a couple more times, a little more frantic. I moved to the large window, cupping my hands to the glass. I peered through, looking around the dark room. I could see the back of a couch, a nice leather chair – a flat screen tv mounted on the wall. I was surprised by the interior of the house, considering its outside condition. I angled my face, spying the entrance to a kitchen but no signs of life. Maybe, the old man had given me the wrong address.

"Hey!" A deep voice called out to me. I turned around in surprise. My eyes landed on a large bare-chested man, scratch that – a couple more of his sweaty bare-chested friends stepped out of the woods. The one in the lead was moving towards me with a murderous scowl on his face, dark eyes full of anger. "This is private property! You're not allowed to be here without permission."

I didn't wait to try an explain myself. I darted toward the steps, planning to make a great escape. In my haste, my foot slipped and my body pitched backward. This was not my finest moment, and if to make it worse my brain resorted to the age-old instinct of crying out for help as I went down like a sack of potatoes.