Chapter Three

Joe checked the clock on the dashboard. He was making good time. He should reach Pine Crest in two hours.

He'd spent the past two days in Bayport, New York visiting his parents. His father still ran a detective agency there. Joe and his brother, Frank, had worked for their father during their teen years. Both had eventually joined the Army and had become military police. The training they had received was invaluable and when they left the military they were determined to open their own detective agency. River Heights, Illinois was chosen as the place for the agency based solely on the fact Frank's girlfriend, Nancy Drew, lived there.

All things considered, Joe was happy with the decision. He'd met Vanessa Bender in River Heights. The insurance company Vanessa worked for was right next door to Joe and Frank's detective agency. Joe and Vanessa saw each other every day. That was something Joe liked a lot.

Vanessa should be at the cabin by now, he thought. He wished they were arriving at the same time, but Vanessa had insisted she wanted a little time alone at the cabin. She wanted to get things settled and ready before he showed up. He could understand that. She'd told him how important the cabin was to her. The last time she'd been there was ten years ago. Practically a lifetime. Would it still hold the same charm? Joe hoped it would.

He'd spent the last two days answering his mother's questions. She wanted to know everything about Vanessa. Not surprising, Joe had not had a girlfriend since the death of his nineteen-year-old sweetheart, Iola. Oh, he'd dated off and on, but no one had become permanent. No one had stirred his heart. Not until Vanessa.

She had awakened long dormant emotions in him. For the first time in years, he'd felt his heart beat again, a heart he didn't think he had. The day Iola died, his heart died, too. In that space where his heart should have been, was a black void. He'd spent years simply existing, drifting aimlessly from one day to the next; from one year to the next. And then Vanessa walked into his life.

Literally, walked into his office and his world changed. He still remembered how her long, ash-blonde hair had glimmered in the afternoon sunlight. How her smile had rocked his world. She had captured his heart without even trying.

His brother, Frank, joked that Joe was like the Grinch who stole Christmas, his heart had grown three sizes the day he met Vanessa.

If someone were to ask Joe, he would say he had finally found his heart again.

Yes, Joe was definitely looking forward to seeing Vanessa. A week at the cabin was perfect. They would relax and enjoy one another's company. They would hike the woods and have snowball fights. At night, they'd cuddle in front of the fireplace with hot chocolate. Life would be wonderful and cozy. They would get to know each other even better than they already did.

And then he would take her to his parents' home and introduce her. Show her off properly. His mother would like her, he was positive of that.

His cell phone rang and jerked him from his thoughts.

He tapped the Bluetooth around his neck, "Hey, babe."

"Joe, it's snowing here."

Vanessa sounded a little panicked and he chuckled. "Snowing here, too," he said.

She explained about the possibility of ice. About the steep, twisty road up the mountain.

"I have snow chains. You think I'll need them?" he asked.

She hemmed and hawed. "Not sure, hon. Maybe." Then she recounted the directions to the cabin. "Follow the road all the way to the end. The road dead ends at Aunt Alice's cabin."

He nodded as he listened. "Got it, babe."

"There's no cell phone service on the mountain, but the cabin has a landline." She gave him the number. "Call me just before you start up the mountain. That way I'll know when to expect you."

"Got it. I'll call when I'm at the bottom of the mountain," he promised.

She promised dinner would be ready when he arrived. "I bought everything at the only grocery store in town. I just have to get to the cabin and get it in the oven."

"You're making me hungry. How long is the drive up the mountain?"

"In weather like this? At least thirty minutes, maybe a little more."

Joe did some quick math in his head. "It should take me about two and a half hours to get there then."

Vanessa laughed. "You're so precise."

Joe felt the joy in her voice. "I miss you, Van."

"I miss you, too, hon. Can't wait till you're here."

"Same here, babe. See you soon."

Joe turned his attention back to the road and the weather. The weather had taken a nasty turn. When he'd set out that afternoon there had been drizzle. The drizzle had turned to sleety rain, and now … now it was snowing. Fat, thick flakes plastered the windshield.

He switched the wipers to fast and reduced his speed. Experience had taught him caution was the better part of valor.