Chapter 10
TEN
Dove
I asked Reid to leave first so I had a few minutes alone to pull myself back together and clean up the mess. He was hesitant to do so, but I reassured him it was for the best. I’d find him soon if he was with Jill. She was the reason I had to stay and couldn’t slip out and head back home after this.
Thankfully, I have a few makeup items and tissues with me to freshen up after that unexpected tryst. I came here with the intention of driving him crazy with desire, not being taken against a bookshelf at his engagement party to another woman.
All of my morals are out the window when it comes to Reid. I’m not sure how I feel about any of this. It’s like I don’t recognize myself when it comes to him.
As I stare at myself in the small antique mirror on the wall, I know that I need to get clarity. I need to figure out what’s going on with him once and for all.
I really hope he’ll answer some of my questions, even let me get to know who he really is. I’ll take anything at this point. I know that I don’t want to let him go, but I need to be firmer in my resolve about this.
The library door suddenly opens. I yelp in surprise as my heart beats wildly.
“Dove? Dove Barlowe? What are you doing in here?” an older man asks, stunned.
“Yes, sorry, I just needed a moment alone. And you are?”
“Montgomery Lake. This is my sister’s home.”
My eyes widen slightly before I plaster on another smile. With silver hair and weathered skin, Montgomery seems much older than Susan.
“Oh. Yes, of course. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The glint in his eyes makes me nervous, even more than I usually feel in Reid’s presence.
“Your mother is looking for you.”
My shoulders relax slightly, but I remain on guard.
“Thank you. I’ll be right out.”
Montgomery steps to the side and widens an arm out for me to go through the doorway. I give him a tight smile. He’s not going to let me stay in here alone. I don’t blame him—he doesn’t have any reason to trust me, nor should he after what I just did.
“She’s out on the first patio,” he says.
I nod with my same cautious smile in place and walk out the door.
Out of the library, I feel like I can finally breathe. First with Reid, then Montgomery, it’s been too intense. I make my way down the long hallway until I reach the same area where I had bumped into Reid.
The patio that’s directly through a set of wide glass doors catches my attention. It must be the first patio Montgomery referenced.
I square my shoulders back and tighten my stomach to get into character. Here goes nothing; I can pretend as if I didn’t just have sex with my mother’s fiancé.
Spotting my mother, I walk through the doors, and she and Susan both look over at me.
“Hi,” I say to announce myself.
Susan’s face lights up, excited to meet me, while Jill looks at me like I’m an annoyance.
“Dove, sweetheart , I’m so glad you were finally able to join us.”
I smooth out my long hair as a distraction.
“Hi, Mother.”
Then I turn my attention to Susan.
“Hi, I’m Dove. Thank you so much for hosting such a beautiful evening for Jill.”
My mother’s mouth twitches at the name I’ve used. It slipped out.
“The pleasure is all mine. Your mom and I have become fast friends,” Susan answers.
Suddenly, my body tenses as a dark shadow emerges from the distance.
Reid is here.
“Dove,” he rasps.
Jill immediately pulls him into her side. I glare at the way she tightens her arm with his. As I watch, she leans up to give him a kiss on his cheek.
My stomach feels like it’s burning with acid. I know it’s because I’m jealous she gets to be on his arm and kiss him in public, but it also doesn’t help that I’ve yet to learn his full intentions.
Reid pulls away from her hold, and I see his jaw tick. Jill flashes me a smile. I’m not sure why she’s making such a show of being with Reid in front of Susan or me.
As she says something to Susan, I realize that she truly has no idea I just had sex with her fiancé minutes ago. This is just her usual annoyance being in my presence.
“Dove, I love your work. When Jill told me you were a photographer, I was so intrigued and had to look you up,” Susan says.
Thank God for Susan. I think my frustration was about to bubble over.
“Thank you. Yes, I am. I primarily focus on wildlife within the state, but I do travel out of state from time to time.”
“If inspiration strikes?” she asks.
“Exactly,” I answer with a warm smile.
“You have an exhibition coming up soon?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m wrapping the collection up soon. I’ll be showcasing it at Grimall’s Art Gallery in November.”
“Grimall’s? Impressive.”
“Thank you. They are wonderful to work with.”
“I would just love to be invited to it,” she says before looking between Jill and me.
“I’ll give Jill the details for you when it’s finalized.”
Susan claps her hands together excitedly.
“That would be wonderful!”
A server walks by with a tray of champagne flutes. I take a new one since my original one was discarded earlier. Susan does the same.
“What do you think you’ll do next?” Susan asks.
“I’ve been thinking about leaving Washington, actually.”
Reid’s stare becomes more intense as I share that piece of news.
“I didn’t know that, sweetheart. Why would you ever want to leave Washington?” Jill asks.
“More inspiration.”
I take a sip of my champagne as a buffer.
“Well isn’t that just so important for a creative like you,” Jill says.
“It is…” I pause as I pretend as if I’ve spotted someone in the distance.
“Well, it was wonderful to meet you again. I’m going to go say hi to a childhood friend I saw inside earlier,” I finish.
“Who is it, sweetheart?” Jill asks.
If she calls me sweetheart one more time I’m going to go into shock.
“Nick Livingston.”
“The Livingstons are such a wonderful family!” Susan squeals.
“They are?” Jill asks.
“Oh yes, I love Frannie, his mother. She’s very involved in local charities,” Susan tells Jill.
“Sweetheart, go enjoy your time with Nick,” Jill says to me.
I try to stifle my sigh.
There it is. Another strained sweetheart has come out of her mouth.
I can see the wheels spinning in Jill’s mind. Little does she know, I did it to crawl under Reid’s skin.
Reid’s and my eyes lock together as his jaw clenches, and Jill and Susan’s talking fades into the distance. I can’t recall what they said, but I’m sure it was pleasantries saying goodbye.
“Thank you again. It was lovely to meet you,” I say to Susan and head back inside.
I’m glad I got that over with. Now I can stay hidden away and disappear in thirty minutes back home where I should be and not at this party.
As I walk around, I find a lone chair in the corner of a room on the opposite end of the house. The party has mostly been relegated to the areas where I initially walked into when I arrived. Hopefully, no one finds me here as I kill time.
I get comfortable and realize that the light isn’t hitting this part of the room either. Jackpot. No one will actually know that I’m hiding out here, including Nick. Nick Livingston is one person I hope to avoid for the rest of my life.
Time passes by, and I realize I can probably head out. I’ve been alone for the past twenty minutes or so.
Glancing around the room, I twist in my seat, ready to leave. Hearing a familiar voice whispering catches my attention. I sink back further in place instead of getting up.
The whispering turns to giggling.
It’s Jill.
Is she whispering to Reid?
I can’t make out what she’s saying since she’s not in the same room as I am. Slowly getting up, I take a few small steps toward the door and slink back against the wall.
If Reid is, in fact, sleeping with my mother, I’m going to throw up right here at this fancy party. We didn’t talk about it, but as part of this facade, I’ve just been assuming he’s not intimate with her in any way now that he’s been chasing after me.
Dear god. Why would Jill be okay with that?
This is my karma.
I’m going to have to listen to Reid sleep with Jill in the next room, and I can’t do anything about it.
My eyes shut tightly as I wait for this to be over with. I should tiptoe back to the chair I had been sitting in, but my feet can’t seem to move, even against my better judgment.
“Please, don’t do this to me here,” Jill whispers through a fit of giggles.
“You’re beautiful. It’s hard for a man to see you and not do anything about it,” someone answers.
This voice is familiar, but it’s not Reid’s.
Relief washes over me, and I can feel the tension escaping. I’m exhausted by what’s been happening as of late.
Even though I’m happy it’s not Reid with her next door, this puts me in another difficult situation. If it isn’t him, then who is Jill with?
Jill giggles loudly.
“Hush now, I’m already spoken for,” she answers.
“That fiancé of yours doesn’t pay you nearly enough attention. How is it possible that I’m here with you right now? If you were mine, I’d never leave your side. You’d be in my sight all night.”
“Oh my…” Jill sounds flustered, even aroused.
“It’s true.”
My breathing becomes rapid as I try to stay quiet, which is hard to do while listening to this situation unfold.
“Montgomery, this is highly inappropriate.”
“But it’s so right, isn’t it?”
A long pause lingers.
“Yes.”
“Come with me.”
Jill’s giggling starts again, and she sounds slightly out of breath as it fades into the distance.
Did I… Did I just hear Jill run off with Montgomery Lake? This dream I’m in needs to end soon. I have to get out here and back to reality.
What is happening in Dossberry? None of it is right.
My head feels light as I stumble out the door and head for the main entrance to leave altogether. I’m not sure what kind of drug was in the air back in that house, but it’s nothing good to stay in.
Driving home, I’m ready for a hard drink after all that. Maybe I’ll pour myself a whiskey or bourbon and settle into my bed as I wait for Reid to come back around. Out of all the nights I’ve waited for him, I need him the most tonight.
Flashing police lights shine in the distance, close enough that they very well could be out on Lamb Creek Mountain.
I grip the steering wheel tightly as I try to stay focused on the road and not the police lights that are becoming clearer the closer I approach home.
Minutes go by, and I indicate at the stoplight that I’m about to turn onto the lone road to my side of the mountain. That’s when I notice it all, clear as day, only it’s late at night.
Dozens of police cars are on the mountain leading up to some of my favorite trails. Police have the entrance onto the mountain blocked off with barricades. I slowly turn and stop at the first barricade. A police officer walks over to me, and I roll down my window.
“The mountain is closed, ma’am,” the officer says.
“I live here,” I answer.
I start to shuffle around in my purse to pull out my license. Finding it, I hand it over to him. The officer takes it from me and examines the address.
“Pardon me, ma’am. You can proceed,” he says as he hands it back.
“Is there anything I should be worried about?”
“No, ma’am.”
“So there isn’t someone on the loose up there?” I try to joke.
The officer’s face remains stoic.
“Please call us if you have any concerns tonight. Someone will be by soon to speak with you.”
“Oh yes, okay then.”
I tap my nails against the steering wheel nervously.
“Thank you,” I finally say.
“My pleasure.”
I hear him shout in the distance that I’m local and to let me through. A different officer moves one of the roadblocks enough for my car to get through.
I give him a small nod and smile as I start to slowly go up the windy path to my home. As I pass by, I notice a lot of activity in the forest areas higher up the mountain.
Parking in my driveway, I hop out quickly and head inside. I throw down my bag and change into a pair of matching pajamas with long sleeves and pants to help ease the chill in the air.
It’s time for that drink. I head into my kitchen to pour myself a bourbon.
After pouring it, I open up the curtains and blinds but keep the lights off. I want to watch what’s happening out there. I know I should be alarmed and scared, but after the past month or so with Reid stalking me outside, this is nothing.
I will admit that I am curious about what’s happening though.
The police officer said I didn’t have anything to be worried about, but if that was the case, then why would there be so many officers out there? Clearly, something had to have happened to cause this much alarm.
I take a sip of my drink and continue to watch as the officers search the woods.
Taking a deep breath, I head into my living room to settle onto my sofa. Placing my drink down on a brown leather coaster, I wrap my gray throw blanket over me. It’s almost as if it’s acting as my shield as I process what’s happening.
As I continue to watch, I try to recount the number of times that I’ve seen the mountain like this. I really don’t think I have in the few years I’ve been here. This has to be serious.
This is a first in all of my years of living here. It’s not like there haven’t been a few suicides or drug-related issues that have caused a couple of officers to have to come up, but this is unusual. Throughout the distance are lights flashing and sirens.
All of this is new.
Reid Samuels is new.
His infatuation with me is new.
I start to pace around my living room in front of my sofa and coffee table.
Reid’s behavior is strange; even I can admit it’s clearly not standard for someone to watch you from a distance for so long and then have a secret situation with said person because he has to keep up the ruse that he’s marrying my mother. I’m well aware there are questions I need him to answer.
That first night we met, I was so focused on how the strange man made my heart skip a beat that I never got my answer as to what he was really doing out there so late.
Reid has something to do with this. I can feel it in my gut that he’s been up to something, and this feels like something he has to do with.
A loud knock bangs on my back door, making me jolt upright.
I bring my hand over my rapidly beating heart and try to calm down.
“Fuck,” I mumble.
I straighten my shoulders and head back to my door. As I look through the nearby window, I see it’s not Reid or an officer like I was expecting—it’s my neighbor Tom. He probably came over here to see if I had heard what was going on.
“Hey,” I say as I open the door.
“Hi. Abigail sent me down here to check on you. Are you doing okay?” he asks with concern laced in his tone.
“I’m totally fine. This is a lot, though, huh?”
“You betcha.”
“Any idea what’s going on? I just got home a little while ago, and the officer I spoke with didn’t share much.”
Tom scratches the back of his neck to deflect.
“What do you know?” I ask again.
“I spoke with a pal on the force. Apparently, we have a dead body on our hands here.”
My head rears back in disbelief.
“A dead body?” I repeat.
“Abigail told me not to tell you, but you have just as much right as we do to know about this.”
My breath hitches.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Silence lingers as I take it in.
“Know who it is?”
“Not yet, but they will.”
I bob my head in understanding as Tom watches on.
“Do they know who did it?”
Tom’s eyes peer into mine, making me feel unsettled for the first time in his presence.
“Not yet, but they will find that out too.”
“Right.”
A branch cracking in the distance thankfully breaks us out of our stare-down.
It’s just a police officer walking the perimeter of my property. I’m sure soon enough they’ll be asking me to come search mine.
“Have you talked to anyone in an official capacity?” I ask.
Tom’s attention comes back to me, but this time friendlier than before.
“I reckon that’ll be happening any day now. I don’t think we’ve had a dead body on this mountain in decades.”
“Well, I’ll stop by soon to say hi to you and Abigail. Is she doing okay?”
“Doing fine, so stop by whenever. I doubt we’ll be allowed to take our usual hikes around here any time soon.”
“Me too.”
“Call if you need us.”
“I will. Thank you. Night, Tom.”
“Goodnight.”
I give him a tight smile as I close the back door.
Heading back to my original seat on the sofa, my body feels like it’s on autopilot after that interaction.
Reid isn’t a murderer. I know he’s not. He can’t be .
I must be wrong to assume it had something to do with him. He’s a complicated man, but I don’t think he’s a murderer.
I take a sip of my bourbon and continue to watch the police activity in the distance well into the night.
It’s been two long days without Reid Samuels. Ever since the engagement party, I’ve been waiting for him to come by like he told me he would. I didn’t take him as a man to go back on his word, so he must be keeping his distance for a reason.
It could be Jill, but if that were the case, then she would be calling and texting me. The most likely reason has to do with the police activity and confirmed murder on the mountain.
I’ve been tempted to call or text him, but I haven’t. I don’t know much about potential murderers, but I do want to protect him if he had anything to do with this. I’m one of the only residents on the mountain, so surely, I’m being looked into by the police.
I shouldn’t be thinking this way. I know I should be taking my suspicions to the police instead of trying to protect Reid in case he does have something to do with this. I just can’t bring myself to do that.
Instead, over the past two days, I’ve been picking the pieces I want in my upcoming exhibition, almost as if there isn’t a question that the person I’m infatuated with could be a murderer and a constant police presence isn’t nearby.
Sitting in my darkroom, the weight of what’s transpired hits me hard.
There is so much to Reid that I’m just unaware of, and I’m still not sure why my body or mind responds the way it does when he’s around. What’s made it worse is coming to terms with the reality that he probably is a murderer.
How can I want someone so cold-blooded? My mind is going wild as I come up with nonstop theories. Maybe he finally had sex with me, and everything he said about wanting me to be his was all lies. It’s possible he just wanted to sleep with me and now has conquered his latest quest.
Maybe the truth is that none of it was true, and he was lying to me about how he felt this whole time. It’s possible.
I blow out a stream of air.
Or maybe, he does want me as his; maybe it’s all true, but he is a murderer who can’t risk visiting me.
If he comes up on this mountain while all of this is happening, then who knows when he could leave or what questions he would be asked.
I may not be familiar with every police officer on this mountain, but they know who I am. As one of the only people who lives up here, it’s easy to know.
I try to shake out of my thoughts of Reid once more. Time and time again, he consumes my mind. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I could be falling blindly for a murderer and that I don’t care. I just want answers.
I get up from my stool and look at the photos surrounding me. This might be it—the eighteen photographs that I’ll showcase. With my hands propped on my hips, I feel confident this is the direction I should go in. It’s moodier than I intended, but art is imitating life.
I look at my cell phone and see it’s a little after nine at night. I’ve been running myself ragged the past two days, trying to distract myself from life. I’ve ignored most calls from Jill and friends as I try to navigate what’s happening.
“It’s time for bed,” I mutter.
With that, I head out of the darkroom and into my bedroom to change. I pull out a tank top only. Even though it’s cold, I’ve been feeling antsy the past two nights.
I strip off my sweater, bra, and jeans and slip on my shirt, leaving me in just it and my panties as a reminder of how much Reid appreciates this sleep attire. Crawling into bed, I pull my comforter up tightly around my neck.
My muscles ache after so much stress and distraction. As soon as my head hits my pillow, my eyelids feel heavy. I haven’t been getting much sleep, and while I still don’t have answers from Reid, I’ll try to get this much-needed rest.
If only my heart and head could stop this constant stream of thinking about Reid and how much I simply miss him.