Sam let out a yawn as she padded across the bedroom and into the bathroom, switching on the light as she entered. She opened her tired eyes and stared at her reflection in the mirror, then suddenly froze and screamed out in terror. Sam quickly turned around, preparing herself for an attack, but the woman was gone. Was I imagining it? She wondered to herself, as she tiptoed through the house and checked all the doors and windows to make sure they were still locked.

Once she was satisfied that no one had broken in, she shrugged it off, assuming she was still half asleep and was just imagining the woman in her bathroom. She shuffled into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal and put a pot of coffee on, then headed out to the deck.

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon – its morning rays filtering in through the trees and warming the deck where Sam sat sipping her coffee. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out her sketchpad and opened it up to a blank page. "Shoot, where are my pencils?" she wondered out loud to herself, as she began rummaging through her backpack. Instead of pencils, however, she found a small envelope. "Hmm... now where did this come from?"

Sam opened the envelope up, its contents spilling out onto the table in front of her. "What tha...?!" she exclaimed, when she saw what appeared to be a stack of photographs -all of her, obviously taken without her knowledge. "So that’s what he was up to, then!" she said, remembering the cute photographer she’d met in the woods the day before.

She scooped up the photographs and shoved them back into the envelope, then headed into the house to change out of her pajamas. As she pulled on her jeans and long-sleeved tee, she smiled to herself, thinking about how she’d have to stop by and thank Gavin for the thoughtful gift.

As she finished applying her make-up and giving her long, golden locks a quick brushing, Sam picked up her backpack, stuffing the envelope of photos back inside and headed towards the door to leave.

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Gavin, meanwhile, had just gotten out of bed, too, and after a quick shower, was about to head out for some breakfast down at the lodge, when he saw the small box of charcoal pencils laying next to his camera bag. He picked it up, turning it over in his hand, thinking again about the beautiful girl he’d met in the woods the day before... Sam. He smiled, put the box in his back pocket and headed out the door, deciding to stop by the young woman’s place and invite her to breakfast with him.

He flung his camera bag into the back of the jeep and opened the driver’s side door to get in and stopped. "Shit," he grumbled, looking down at the jeep’s front tire. "Flat." Gavin slammed the car door and stooped down to get a better look at the tire.

"Now how’d the hell did I manage that?" he wondered, looking at the bit of broken tree branch that was sticking out of the tire. Apparently, he’d somehow driven over it and punctured the tire, but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall doing so.

Gavin walked around to the back of the jeep, checking the spare. Also flat. Just my luck, he sighed, headed back into the cabin to call the office to see about getting someone out to repair his tire.

As he entered the cabin, he got the strange feeling like someone was watching him. "Losing my fucking mind, I am," he muttered, then picked up the phone’s receiver and put it to his ear. No dial tone. "Odd," he thought, setting it back in its cradle. "Perhaps it hasn’t been connected yet?"

He looked around the cabin, searching each room, but found no one. Satisfied that he was indeed alone, he shrugged and headed down to Sam’s place, hoping she’d give him a ride into town.

As he trudged along through the woods, stopping here and there to admire the view and snap a few pictures, he still had that strange feeling in the back of his mind that he was being watched. Cautiously, Gavin looked around - listening for any sound he might hear that would alert him someone was following him, but he could see or hear nothing that would indicate anyone was near.

As he rounded the curved road that led up to Sam’s cabin, he saw her getting into her jeep. "Mornin’, neighbor," he called out to her, waving his hand.

"Oh, hi, you!" she called back, flashing him a wide smile. "I was just heading over to see you!"

"Yeah?" Gavin asked, pleasantly surprised. He walked up to the side of her jeep, "Well then I’m in luck," he chuckled. "Jeeps got a flat and I was hoping you might be able to take pity on me and give me a ride up to the lodge. I’ll gladly buy you breakfast in return," he told her, turning on the charm.

"Oh... of course, I’d be happy to give you a lift," Sam replied, grabbing her backpack off the front seat of her jeep and tossing it in the back. "Get in."

"Thanks," Gavin replied, walking around to the passenger’s side and climbing in.

As they drove down the road, Gavin thought he caught a glimpse of someone watching them from the woods. He turned around to get a second look, but there was no one there.

"See something?" Sam asked, noticing him staring intently into the review mirror.

"Seeing things, more like it," he chuckled, rubbing his eyes.

Sam cast him a curious look, so he changed the subject. "Lot on my mind, I guess. Which reminds me..." he dug into his camera bag, pulled out the small box of charcoal pencils and held them up for her to see.

"Ohhh! You found them! I thought I’d lost them for good this time!" she squealed, "Thank you SO much! I was worried I’d have to make a special trip over to the mainland to buy more."

"No worries, luv," Gavin chuckled. "I’m beginning to think that maybe you are leaving things behind to have an excuse to see me again."

Sam blushed, "No, but that’s actually a good idea... I’ll keep that in mind for next time," she giggled. "Oh, here we are," she said, pulling into the small parking lot in front of the main lodge. "Before we go in, I have something to confess," Sam said, biting her lip.

"Ah, so you DID leave your belongings behind on purpose then," Gavin teased.

"No, no," she giggled again, "It’s just that I already ate breakfast... but they have great hot-cakes here, so I’ll still join you for a bite to eat if you don’t mind."

Gavin smiled, "I’d be disappointed if you didn’t," he told her, as he slid out of the jeep and quickly walked around to open the driver’s-side door for her.

"Thank you, sir," she said, shyly, "such a gentleman. Don’t meet many of them around here now days."

"You just haven’t been looking in the right places then, luv," Gavin grinned, walking her up to the door to the dining hall. She reached out to open it and he quickly moved in front and held it open for her. "After you," he said to her, smiling brightly.

"A girl could get used to this," she sighed, teasing, as she walked through the door past him.

"One with such beauty as you should," he replied, following her into the dining room where a waitress came over and showed them both to a booth in the back corner.

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Tanji ducked down behind a row of low-lying bushes and waited. She’d taken a short-cut through the woods to follow them there, ran all the way. She bent down, her hands placed on her knees, trying to catch her breath, as she watched Gavin help Sam out of the jeep.

Once the pair was inside, Tanji tiptoed up to the nearest window and peered in.

There they were! Having breakfast together in plain sight! What nerve! Did he really think he could get away with this?! Did he actually think she’d let him run away with this blonde floozy and live to tell about it?! Not in this lifetime! Not if she had anything to say about it!

She’d been watching the two of them all morning, playing her little games with them. She’d nearly slipped up when she let Gavin see her, nearly opened her mouth to say something to him. She couldn’t allow herself to do that again, wouldn’t allow herself to be so foolish. Gavin always did have that effect on her, though, always made her forget herself when he was near.

If she could only get him away from that woman! She’d make it up to him, she’d prove her love for him was true and then they could be together again... forever!

She thought for sure that by flattening the tires on his jeep he’d be forced to stay there in his cabin. But no, he’d gone and gotten a ride with...that...that...home-wrecker! Well, next time he won’t be so lucky.

She watched them from the window for a few more moments, then tip-toed around to the back side of the building and quietly snuck into the employee entrance, smiling to herself. Of course! She thought to herself, as she slipped on an employee jacket and blended in with the wait staff, "what better way to kill a rat than with rat-poison in her soup, so-to-speak."

TBC...