Chapter 24
Cy had fallen back asleep, but Zeppelin was up, standing next to the bed, whining softly. He clearly needed to go outside and pee.
The very last thing I wanted to do was move away from Cy’s warm, comfortable body. But I had to take Zeppelin out. Then I should sneak away, back to my place. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to put Gemma in danger. I also didn’t want her to wake up and find me in bed with Cy. He hadn’t expected me to turn up, or stay overnight, and we hadn’t talked about whether he was comfortable with Gemma knowing about us. It wouldn’t be fair to just assume he’d be okay with her discovering we’d slept together.
Slipping out of bed, I picked up the bra and black dress I’d worn the night before, and wriggled into them as quietly as possible. I discovered my panties on the floor beside the bed. Cy didn’t stir as I dressed, grabbed the small handbag I’d used for my night out, then slipped out of the bedroom.
“Do your business quickly,” I whispered to Zeppelin as I tiptoed through the living room and out of the back door. “Then we’ll head home to feed Freud and the chickens.”
A pair of sneakers that had to belong to Gemma were sitting beside the back door. I slipped them on instead of my high heels, hoping she wouldn’t mind if I borrowed them briefly. By the time I had them in place, Zeppelin was running over the lawn on the other side of the barn, toward the trees.
Dammit, I’d forgotten his leash.
I ducked back inside to get it, then went after Zeppelin, enjoying the cool, fresh air as I walked. The morning was crisp, and beads of dew hung on the tops of the grass like tiny jewels. My bare arms and legs were chilly, but the trees in front of me had a quiet kind of majesty, drawing me toward them. There were some wildflowers along the edge of the tree line, and a bird caught my eye as it swooped, catching bugs.
Okay, so I could see why Carla liked Tennessee so much. It might be quiet, but the scenery was stunning.
Zeppelin was sniffing around happily, peeing on everything within leg-cocking distance. He caught the scent of something, barked, and raced off into the trees.
“Zeppelin,” I whisper-shouted, not daring to call out too loudly. “Come back!” I walked swiftly after him into the woods, following the same path Cy had shown me. And I didn’t need to walk for long before I emerged into the pretty clearing next to the river. Zeppelin was down by the water, sniffing his way along the bank.
In the morning light, the hidden shed Cy’s father had built was just as hard to see as it had been when Cy had pointed it out. It was behind a thick grouping of trees which did a good job of hiding it. The door was covered with moss, and vines hung over it, further obscuring it.
Curiosity made me walk closer, picking my way across leaves and twigs to get there. It was so well camouflaged, it wasn’t until I was standing in front of it that I could see the shape of the door. Judging by its covering of vines, it can’t have been opened for a while.
Cy said he and his sister used to store their books and toys in the shed. Maybe some of them were still in there.
I took hold of the handle, expecting it to be locked, or for the door to be jammed shut. But when I tugged it, the old door creaked open, pulling free from the vines. Inside, it was so dark, I could only make out some lumpy shapes.
Extracting my phone from my bag, I switched on the flashlight. The beam of light revealed the shed was full of large plastic bundles. Dozens of them, stacked high.
Leaning closer, I peered at one of the bags. It was about a foot square and thickly wrapped with plastic that reflected the flashlight and made it hard to see what was inside. Judging from the rounded shape of the bundle, it had to be something organic.
A marijuana harvest?
That seemed the most likely explanation.
Did Cy know he had a shed full of weed? Surely he had to know. But why wouldn’t he have turned it over to the police? Could he be storing it, planning to sell it?
My heart was hammering and I glanced behind me, a picture flashing through my mind of being caught with such a sizable stash. I could imagine the heavy hand of a policeman coming down on my shoulder, and my stuttered explanation being swept aside.
Swallowing hard, I shoved my phone back in my handbag and rushed to the water’s edge to clip the leash to Zeppelin’s collar.
I strode quickly back to Cy’s place, tugging Zeppelin with me. To my relief, it was quiet. It was too early for Gemma to be awake, and when I crept in, the sound of Cy’s deep breaths was reassuring. Thank goodness he was still asleep, because my stomach had filled with acid and my thoughts were heading into bad places.
I was sure Cy was honorable. And my gut told me he wouldn’t lie to me.
But could I trust my gut?
After all, I’d ignored Eric’s red flags, making excuses for his bad behavior and allowing it to get worse. Was I fundamentally broken? Did I want so badly for Cy to be the man I believed in that I was willing to overlook warning signs, just as I’d done with Eric?
If it hadn’t been for my experience with Eric, I wouldn’t hesitate to wake Cy up and simply ask him about the drugs. And if he told me he didn’t know about them, I would have believed him without question. But now I wasn’t so sure my judgement was sound.
I needed time to think. And I needed coffee. Lots of coffee.
Grabbing my bag and keys from where I’d left them, I snuck back out. I bundled Zeppelin into Noah’s pickup as silently as I could. Then I drove away.