Chapter 24 #2
Fiona gives me serious get-me-out-of-here eyes and surreptitiously sidesteps away from the fired-up retirees.
I guess I don’t have to brief her on how things are going around town, I chuckle to myself.
I press against the counter as close to Fiona as I can, and in a low voice say, “You’re here late today.”
She shrugs. “I was a little behind this morning. Now I’m doing a coffee run for the office. Seems I picked a bad time.” Her emerald eyes are piercing through me, and I can’t look away. Heat is rushing up my neck into my face. “I guess Henley and Montank will be at the town hall, then.”
“Uh, yeah. People are being very vocal,” I reply uselessly.
We stand for a few moments in silence, and I’m trying to look like I’m not staring at her.
“So, how’s that coffee coming?” Fiona prompts.
“Right. Fresh coffee coming up,” I say without actually checking that it’s ready. I grab the three mugs and head to the coffeemaker. One pot is done. After filling the mugs, I return them to Fiona at the register.
She’s already left a ten-dollar bill on the counter, but when she collects her drinks, she traces her fingers along mine. A shiver runs up my spine, then she turns away and walks outside, leaving a sad jingle in her wake.
The blue sedan waits for me to turn off the road before leaving, since the entrance to the parking lot is little more than a single car’s width. I give a small wave as I drive past, then pull into the nearest spot. Fiona’s truck is parked in the far corner. It’s one of three vehicles in the lot.
I never bother coming to White Rock Lake Park because it’s a twenty-minute drive east of Kalomish with a simple loop trail. The lake is pretty enough, but there are better hikes.
I get out and pretend to stretch for a moment, scanning the park for Fiona. There’s a large, flat section between the cars and the tree line that contains a few picnic tables and benches, but Fiona isn’t out in the open.
Her note this morning only said, ‘White Rock Lake Park, 8:30.’ I stand there for a moment, trying to decide where to go, when a couple walking two black labs appears at the western trailhead where the path wends along the shore.
I don’t want to run into them, so I veer toward the eastern trailhead that leads through the woods within the park’s boundary.
I just have to trust that she knows a good location, and I’ll stumble across her eventually.
When I reach the trees, I see a woman sitting on a bench offset from the path in the fading light.
Fiona.
She stands as I approach, and her soft brown hair falls over her shoulders, contrasting nicely against the green tank top hugging her curves. Where the tank top ends, form-fitting blue jeans take over.
I can’t decide where to look. Those legs that felt so warm and soft with my face buried between them? Those toned, tanned arms and the well-muscled shoulders that are visible under the cascade of straight, chestnut-colored hair? Or the smooth skin on her chest contoured by her tight top?
“Something wrong with my shirt, Tre?”
I jerk my gaze up to her face. Her smile has turned into that mocking smirk I can never get out of my mind.
Her eyes! That was the right answer. Damn it! I berate myself for screwing up our first private meeting since the night she spent at my apartment. I sigh in disappointment.
“No. Sorry. That is a really good color on you, though.”
She rolls her eyes before glancing over my shoulder. Then she turns to join me in walking along the path, deeper into the forest. “Right. I forgot what a fashionista you are,” she says, and I’m unable to get a read on her mood.
I have no response, so we walk in silence for a few seconds, then I probe, “So, you wanted to meet out here…?”
“Yeah. I figured outside of town would be better, and the parks tend to be pretty empty this late.”
“Right, I understood about the time and place. But I’m wondering why you wanted to meet,” I say, turning to look behind us. There’s nobody else in sight. “Did you want to talk about next week’s plans here?”
“No. There’s not enough privacy for that. We’ll meet the night before at the storage unit to go over the details. Same as last time.”
“Okay. Sounds good…” I trail off, waiting for the conversational ax to fall. If we’re not here to talk about the plans, we must be here to talk about us. The silence stretches, and we come around the back end of the loop to see the lake ahead.
“You told Ewan about us?” Fiona finally says, and I can’t really tell if it’s a question or an accusation.
“Oh. Yeah.”
“That’s it? Yeah?”
“Well, I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t interfere again. The last thing we need is another public debacle, so I thought I should tell him before that happened.”
“Fine, but you couldn’t let me know? He ambushed me about it at Malcolm’s last night.”
“I only told him the day before, and you didn’t come in to Betty’s at your normal time yesterday morning. It’s not like we can talk there anyway, but I was surprised when you showed up. There was kind of a lot going on around us right then.” It sounds like I’m making excuses, but it’s all true.
She pauses facing the lake, but turns her head to glare at me. “Speaking of. What made you think it was a good idea to lead a people’s revolution against the city council when you know you’re the main suspect?”
“It’s not that big of a deal. Plus, your whole plan depends on those execs being out of their houses during the town hall, so I’ve been trying to make sure that happens. Also, there are a lot of people around Kalomish who are on our side,” I reply with a grin.
Fiona stares at me for a few moments. “Actually, I’ve been kind of surprised by that. There are plenty of people who complain, of course, but I didn’t know so many were supportive of… direct activism.”
“They may not be ready to take the same risks, but people like to do what’s right.”
“Maybe. But you’ve definitely made sure the sheriff is going to stay focused on you.”
“Yeah, but that was never going to change. Being loud won’t make things worse, but suddenly acting differently and pretending not to want Henley and Montank gone would be really suspicious.” I pause, then add, “You know, I wanted to explain all that yesterday. I wish I could talk to you more.”
“That’s how we get caught, Tre.” Fiona starts walking again.
I move to the inside of the trail so she can see the lake and what passes for a sunset when the peaks block the horizon. “I know. Obviously I haven’t done anything else. It’d be nice if we could use burner phones, or something, though.”
She sighs. “There’s no way we’re doing that.
The cops are going to pick you up again at some point.
If you have a burner phone on you when they do, or if they search your place and find one, they’re going to know you’re hiding something.
Plus, even if they wouldn’t have my name, they’d have any texts we send and any call history, which means they’d know you have an accomplice. ”
My shoulders slump. I can’t fault her logic. “I know. You’re right. I’d like to at least be able to talk to you, though. Even if it’s not about that stuff.”
I guess she thinks I’m trying to justify having burner phones because she responds, “No one would ever believe you if you tried to explain that you weren’t doing anything illegal.
‘I was just talking to my secret girlfriend, who I can’t talk to on my phone for no reason at all, officers.
’” She laughs as she finishes mimicking me, not noticing that I’ve stopped dead in my tracks.
“Secret girlfriend?” I ask, and Fiona whips around to face me. “Is that what you are?”
“No! Shit. I was just trying to point out the absurdity of it. I’m not…
I mean we’re not…” She takes a deep breath.
“I have no idea what we are or what’s going on between us, Tre.
I told you before that I haven’t figured out how I feel.
I had a great time that night, but I don’t know if that’s enough to try being more. I have a lot to get over.
“Add in everything else, and we are so far beyond complicated. I’m not sure I want that. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to point out why burners wouldn’t work. I’m sorry.”
I nod and catch up to walk beside her again, trying not to feel rejected because technically nothing’s changed, but the surge of hope I felt when she called herself my girlfriend just crashed hard into reality.
“Before we get to the end of the trail, what else did you want to talk about?” I ask.
“That’s pretty much it. But now that Ewan knows about us, be extra careful with him, too.
You two already talked about me enough when there was nothing to know.
You can’t let anything slip. He may seem like some wannabe-Buddha, but just because he’s chill doesn’t mean he’s dumb. No one can know what we’ve been doing.”
“I know. I only told him to prevent problems.” When Fiona doesn’t respond, I add, “That’s everything?”
“For now,” she confirms, ambling back toward the trailhead and the parking lot.
I glance back, making sure nobody is around to see us in what remains of the dim light. We’re alone, so I place my hand on the small of Fiona’s back while we walk. She doesn’t pull away, but we split up before we reach the tree line, leaving the same way we arrived. Alone.