Christmas Kiss

Chapter One

I don't know why I decided to head up north to the old family cabin for Christmas this year. I had invites from friends to spend it with them, but I really wasn't in the mood to be set up with yet another guy that had no interest in what I was about.

I know my friends mean well but I thought after twenty years of friendship they would actually know my kind of man that I was interested in. But unfortunately, they kept trying to get me to date guys that were either to self-absorbed, too much of a know it all, or the best one yet married but, in their mind, they are separated.

Those kinds always make me laugh, holidays were their escape for a fling but I wanted a guy that had a bit of romance in his bones and actually wanted to hear about my day.

After driving for what seemed like forever but it was more around four hours, I finally made it up to the cabin right as the sun was setting. Turning off my car, I sat there for a few moments taking it all in.

I haven't been up here since I was little, after the accident my parents never came back again. It's been over 20 years since my sister was killed in a snowmobiling accident.

I was five at the time, she was eight and went out with my uncle. He was also killed in it but we didn't know at the time he was drinking. He hid that from us all too well.

Only way we knew is when the coroner's report came back and his alcohol level was triple the legal amount.

So here I am, my parents handed me the ownership of the property when I turned twenty-one. They washed their hands of it and said I could do as I wished. So here I am, sitting in my car with all of my belongings looking at a rundown cabin in the middle of nowhere up north Michigan.

"Fine time to decide to start a new life Laura" I said to myself.

Grabbing my stuff out of the trunk, I had decided to take only three bags with me for now. The rest of the stuff can wait till later tonight or tomorrow. Once in the cabin, I knew I needed to start a fire since out here there was no electricity until I got the generator running.

Everything was remote and done by candles, or battery-operated equipment. Eventually I will have to order a new enough generator to help with a few things.

But for now, I was going to rough it. I set my bags down near the door, grabbed some wood that I saw sitting outside the door and placed it in the fireplace. Luckily there wasn't anything living in it or this cabin.

The fire roared to life after a few tries to get it going. Standing there watching it and warming up, it felt good. I went around the cabin, and there was a total of three bedrooms, one bathroom, the only thing my parents made sure of out here was that we had plumbing.

It wasn't the best but still an indoor toilet was a hell of a lot better than going outside in an outhouse. Trust me on that one. The kitchen was decent size. I was going to have to make a list of things I was going to need from the store for tomorrow.

Good thing before I got up here, I stopped and grabbed a few supplies that didn't need to be refrigerated. The family room was definitely needing a good dusting but it was still in good shape.

My parents must have had someone keep an eye on this place since there wasn't any damage that I could see and there weren't any animals living in here. I took the white sheet off of the couch that was near the fire.

Tonight, it was going to be my bed, a fresh new day with plenty of sleep will hopefully get me in the right mood to take care of this place and everything that it needed.

I made sure first that the toilet worked and for once it did, I found more candles that had the glass around it. I think they called them hurricane lamps, but wasn't too sure on that.

All I know is that they came in handy at times like these. I placed one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. Wasn't too keen on dark places or rooms until I knew that I was safe and secure where ever I was going to be at.

I placed the few boxes of crackers, jar of peanut butter, and some bottled water on the counter. After changing my clothes into a comfy pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt I grabbed some crackers and the jar of peanut butter and settled on the couch eating and listening to the crackle of the fire.

I set everything down, my eyes were too tired to stay open any longer. I grabbed my blanket and snuggled down and closed my eyes. I thought I heard a voice whispering how much I have grown and turned into a beautiful woman but then again, I knew I was exhausted and didn't pay any attention to it at all.