Free Suddenly in Love (Lake Haven#1) by Julia London Page B

reversed course and ran back to the kitchen. They didn’t like him any more than Magda did.
    Magda dislodged one tote, then the other, and set them down before reaching around to shut the door. She straightened up and allowed her disapproving gaze to flick over Brennan.
    “Hello, Magda,” he said. He was used to her disdain now. “Little late for you, isn’t it? I thought you preferred the five a.m. start time.”
    “Hello Mr. Yates.”
    “You know, I’ve been here for almost three weeks now. Just call me Brennan.” He’d said the same thing almost every day since he’d arrived, but the woman refused to call him anything other than Mr. Yates. Even now, Magda responded to his request in whatever language it was that she spoke. He thought it might be Hungarian, but until she called him by his name, he was tacitly refusing to ask.
    She leaned over, picked up both tote bags and walked past Brennan on her way to the kitchen.
    “I guess this means no breakfast,” he said drily.
    “No breakfast, Mr. Yates. No lunch. It’s after noon.”
    Was it? Brennan hadn’t bothered to note the time.
    She lumbered on to the kitchen, favoring her right side. He sat down on the bottom step and listened to the sound of things being moved around the kitchen, cabinet doors slamming, and water running. The water reminded him that he was hungry. Hunger won over reluctance, and Brennan went into the kitchen. But as he entered, Magda went out another door, carrying a bucket and a bottle of some type of cleaner.
    “Is it me? Is it something I said?” he asked after her.
    She didn’t respond.
    Brennan opened the fridge. He stood there, staring at the contents, his visual search turning up nothing that interested him. He looked at the coffeemaker. He wasn’t interested in that, either. What he really wanted to do was get in his new car—talk about an impulse buy—and head up to one of the quaint little villages around here and find something to eat. That was actually easier said than done, as it would require some exertion on his part and he still hadn’t determined if he could make even the slightest effort today.
    He walked out onto the back terrace and looked around. The day was turning gray, fingers of rain clouds slowly sliding across the sky. A flock of birds glided across the southern end of the lake, ducks or geese or, hell, even ostriches for all Brennan knew.
    It was peaceful here around Lake Haven. Just like he’d wanted. He’d thought that was all he needed, but now he knew there was something else lurking in the shadows of his soul that he needed. If only he knew what the hell it was. Whatever it was, it went deep. Marrow deep. It was an itch turned inward that he couldn’t figure out how to scratch.
    Yeah, he’d get out and drive. Have a drink somewhere. Eat something that wasn’t out of a bag. He’d risk discovery, but what the hell, he didn’t care. His manager said everyone was looking for him. “There’s going to be a huge bidding war for whoever gets that first shot of you,” Gary had said. He’d called a couple of nights ago to deliver a general diatribe about Brennan having dropped off the face of the earth and not making the decisions he needed to make. For leaving when Gary and Chance were so eager to change directions that they reeked of it.
    “That means you’ve got a bounty on your head,” Gary had said. “It’s better if we control the story.”
    Brennan knew that was true. He’d once found a TMZ guy hiding under the table at the studio. Those guys would do anything for a scoop, and the sooner he put something out explaining his absence, the better.
    But right now, he didn’t care what anyone thought. Or wanted. Right now, the only thing he cared about was a burger.
    Brennan walked back inside, and as he passed the kitchen table, he happened to notice a canvas messenger bag in a chair and a sketchbook on the table. He paused—that was new. The sketchbook was covered with stickers: Mellow