Chapter 29

Jayde

I arrive home. Max isn’t here yet. I quickly go upstairs and get cleaned up so my hair doesn’t look windswept as it does now. I prepare myself for when Max gets here. Then I head back downstairs. I go to the living room and turn on the tv. Not finding anything good to watch, I turn the tv off. I decide I will make Max dinner. He is always the one doing the cooking, this time I will cook for him.

I go to the kitchen and look through the fridge and pantry trying to figure out what to cook. Then I remember I told him I would order Chinese. He is expecting Chinese for dinner. I pull up the app on my phone and place the order. He likes the beef and broccoli so that is what I get for him. I order orange chicken for myself.

I go back to the living room and watch the news while I wait for the food to arrive.

Just as the food arrives, Max pulls up. He doesn’t look very happy. He looks furious. It scares me. I have never seen him look like this. I take the food inside and wait for Max to come in. He comes in just as I set the food on the counter. He kisses me bruisingly hard.

“Sorry, I had a bad day and I needed to kiss you,” he says, breaking the kiss.
“I’m sorry you had a bad day. Do you want to talk about it?” I ask quietly.
“Not right now. The food is here, let’s eat.” He half growls.
“Okay.”

We eat in silence. The tv is still on in the other room, I can hear it, not clearly enough to make out what they are saying, but still.

After dinner, I turn the tv off. And we head upstairs to bed.

The next morning.

As we are getting ready for our day, I notice Max acting a little weird. He keeps glancing at me over his shoulder. He looks like he wants to say something but he remains silent.

The silence continues as he cooks breakfast.

I begin to set the table as Max finishes cooking. He brings the food to the table. He sets it down and then sits as I sit. Finally he breaks the silence.

“I want to take you to my cabin for a vacation.” He says as he serves breakfast.
“Oh, why now?” I ask a little hesitantly.
“Tomorrow is your birthday. I thought some time away would be nice.” I’m taken aback. I didn’t know that he knows when my birthday is.
“It is,” I say quietly. “Thank you for planning a getaway. It is really nice of you.”
“I noticed you didn’t have Nurse Carter yesterday, so I dismissed her. You don’t seem to need her any more.”
“I haven’t for a little while actually, but yesterday was the first time I called her off. I am moving around and able to do everything on my own, so I didn’t see the need to have her with me.”
“That’s a good sign. You are getting better. I also canceled your physical therapy for a few days. But we can still stop by and see Amara before we go to the cabin.” He says.
“Oh, we are going today?”
“Yes. Now eat your breakfast so we can pack and get going.” He says as he takes a bite of bacon.

We finish our meal in silence. Afterwards, We head upstairs and start packing our bags.

We head out to see Amara when we are done packing. Max puts the bags in the trunk of his car and we get in. And off we go.

We arrive at the mansion. I rush ahead of Max and up the stairs to Amara’s room. I quickly write down Adam’s number and tell her to call him as soon as she can after we leave. She hides the number under her pillow. I sit next to her bed and tell her, as Max walks in, that I won’t be around for a few days. I tell her that Max is taking me to his cabin for my birthday. She smiles and says that sounds wonderful. We sit and talk a little while longer and then it is time for her physical therapy. Max and I say our goodbyes and head out.

The drive is long, but we finally arrive at a beautiful lake. I look around at all the gorgeous scenery as we slowly make our way up the long drive to the cabin. We park just in front of the cabin and get out.

“Before we go in, let me show you around out here.” He says.
“This place is amazing!” I take a deep breath of fresh air and exhale it.
“I know, it’s part of the reason I brought you here. I know how much you like nature.”

Max shows me around the property. There is a small dock with a boat tied to it. A tree near the lake has a rope tied to it for swinging out into the lake. I think I would rather just jump off the end of the dock though. There is a rack of canoes near the cabin and a small garden that is mostly overgrown with weeds, but it still looks beautiful. We finish the tour on the front porch where he asks me to sit while he gets our bags and the groceries we picked up out of the car. I offer to help but he declines. I do manage to get him to give me the keys so I can at least open the door for him.

Once inside, I am amazed yet again. It looks more like a home than a cabin in the woods.

“We’ll just open some windows and let it air out a bit,” he says as he puts the groceries on the kitchen counter.
“This place is amazing! It’s not at all what I was expecting.” I reach for my bag, but he just shakes his head.
“I’ll put these in the bedroom, you can put the groceries away, if you want.” Though it sounded more like a command than an option.
“Okay, I’ll do that. But I want a tour of the inside, too.”
“In a little while,” he hollers down the hall.

I put the groceries away. Max comes back to the kitchen, smiling.

“We should get changed.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I want us to go for a walk, go for a swim, and then have some lunch.” He says as he ushers me down the hallway.

Once in the bedroom, I see he has already pulled the swimsuits out. It’s a bit chilly outside, but I go with it. I quickly change into my swimsuit and then throw on some sweats and a t-shirt. Then I grab my sweater. I look at Max in his swim trunks, he’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. I look at him like he has lost his.

“The walk will get us warmed up,” he says. “Then we will swim and it will be refreshing.”
“It’s December, I don’t want to take any chances, but I will swim with you for a short while. I’m sure the water is freezing.” I laugh.

We walk for about an hour circling back around to the cabin. He is right of course, I’m sweating. I feel so hot now. He grabs my hand and leads me towards the lake. I strip out of my clothes, leaving me in just my swimsuit. Max takes off his t-shirt. Then he carries me bridal style into the lake.

Ice cold water hits my skin and I jump in his arms trying to get higher up his shoulders.

“It’s not that cold once you get all wet,” he says laughing at me. He lowers me to the water and then lets me go. I plummet to the bottom and then shoot up to the surface. The water is only waist deep but it is frigid. I splash him with water and laugh, too.
“This water is so cold. Why did you want to go swimming?”
“I thought it would be fun. People go swimming in ice cold water all the time. They call it polar bear swimming or something.”
“Yeah, and those people are crazy and probably wearing more than a swimsuit.”

We play around for a little while, maybe ten minutes, and then head back to the cabin, picking our clothing up along the way. We head for the shower to warm up.

I get out of the shower and put on a bathrobe, when I notice a door.