Chapter
1
Lake Tahoe,
NV
Kaitlyn Sherrad rolled down the window
of her baby blue Porsche and stared up at the log cabin set alone
in the midst of a cluster of tall pines. As usual, her father had
outdone himself. Last month, when he had come to the States for her
graduation from college, he had asked her what kind of gift she
wanted and she had said, facetiously, Oh, nothing much, just a little summer place in the
mountains.
After pulling into the driveway and
cutting the engine, Kaitlyn grabbed her suitcases from the
backseat. Smiling with anticipation, she hurried up the narrow,
winding, red brick path that led to the front porch. She quickly
skipped up the stairs and unlocked the door.
Knowing her father, she wasn’t the
least bit surprised to find the living room already furnished. An
off-white sofa with a high, curved back and a matching love seat
faced each other in front of a rough-hewn stone fireplace. A deep
mauve carpet covered the floor, flowered curtains hung at the
windows. The tables were walnut, as was the large bookcase—already
filled with books by her favorite authors—that took up most of one
wall.
Dropping her suitcases beside the sofa,
Kaitlyn explored the rest of the house—two large bedrooms with a
connecting bathroom; a den, complete with desk, computer and
printer, sofa and big-screen TV; a small kitchen with new
appliances and a refrigerator filled with her favorite foods; a
service porch equipped with a new washer and dryer.
She shook her head, a sting of tears
behind her eyes. Being an only child, she had always been spoiled
rotten, but this went far beyond the ballet classes and piano
lessons her parents had provided when she was in grade school, the
new wardrobe they had given her every year, the Porsche her father
had surprised her with for her twenty-first birthday last
year.
She had hoped her folks would spend the
summer with her, but trouble at the Fortress had drawn them home.
It wasn’t always easy, having a father who was the Master of the
Carpathian Coven. Sometimes, as now, his duties could not be
ignored. Usually, her uncle Andrei handled things at the Fortress,
but whatever the emergency had been, it had required her father’s
attention, which meant that her mother had gone, as well. To her
knowledge, her parents rarely spent more than a few hours
apart.
Kaitlyn sighed as she removed her
sweater and tossed it over the back of the sofa. Someday, she hoped
to find a man who would adore her the way her father adored her
mother. A man who would live and die for her. A man she couldn’t
live without.
Picking up her suitcases, she carried
them into the first bedroom and tossed them on the bed. This room
was done in varying shades of green, with billowy white lace
curtains. The twin windows looked out over a sparkling blue
lake.
Kaitlyn shook her head. How was she
ever going to express her gratitude for the love and kindness her
parents had showered upon her? She had thanked them on numerous
occasions in the past, but words seemed woefully inadequate. She
knew they hadn’t been altogether pleased with her decision to
remain in California after she graduated from college, but they had
accepted it without argument.
Feeling a little homesick, she opened
the larger suitcase and began to unpack. Her folks had always
treated her like a princess, but then, maybe that was natural,
since she had been raised in an old stone castle in the heart of
Romania.
She smiled as she hung her clothes in
the closet.
All she needed now was a
prince.