Chapter 25 - Dean
Dean
“What do you think?” Lily asked.
I leaned against the wall to appreciate our new living quarters. “Cozy and clean.”
We’d moved to a converted real estate office, as I predicted. A tiny window in the top-right corner let in a weak glimmer of natural light. That, along with our small candle supply, limited the time we’d spend inside. I suspected her father considered that when selecting the location.
“Clean?” she asked.
The particleboard desk shoved under the window, with a shared suitcase on top and a rolled-up sleeping bag in the corner, was the only furniture.
“And empty.”
“We can decorate it. Make it ours.” A lilt entered Lily’s voice at the end, turning her statement into a question.
“We could. Make it unique to show it belongs to us.” The place wouldn’t be our humble home forever, and though it didn’t matter to me what it looked like, I wanted to please her. “Let’s start now.”
“With what?”
I grinned and pulled a small item from the back of our suitcase. “For you.” Lily took it and gasped. “It’s a glass deer. I found it at that jewelry store. Glass like a lake, so no matter where we go, some of Deer Lake stays with you.”
“Dean.” She wiped her eyes. “This is crystal.” Lily shoved the suitcase aside to set down her new figurine. She stroked its sides as if it were a pet.
“Crystal is rich people's code for glass.”
“It’s stunning. I love it. Thank you.”
“I’m not done. Also, this isn’t theft. It’s a strategic relocation.” I grinned at her expression and pulled out her second gift. “It’s your parents. Their wedding day.”
Lily picked up the photo frame, holding it like a reverent object. “How did you find this?”
“Snooping.” I shrugged. “I’ll find a hammer and stick it on the wall for you.”
Lily threw herself against my chest. “You’re wonderful.”
“Don’t forget you said that.”
We kissed, our first one in our new temporary home.
Bill Sutton claimed the town council considered our newlywed status when granting us a private spot, as if it were a privilege.
The office’s proximity to City Hall placed it in the middle of downtown.
If I were to kidnap Lily or perform some horrible act, it’d require escaping through downtown.
Cozy offer or not, that wasn’t a coincidence.
“Let’s explore before you go to work,” she said and took my hand, dragging me to the front entrance.
“I meet my crew this afternoon.” The phrase sounded ridiculous. “I don’t lead people.” Even more ridiculous. I worked alone.
“My dad suggested a few jobs I’d enjoy. Not many graphic design and marketing opportunities here.”
How many townsfolk picked from multiple job suggestions? I suspected none.
“Shall we go?” I offered my hand.
“Where to first?” Lily asked as we exited our new room.
Away from this damned town. “Wherever you wish.”
Outside, a pair of deputies stood watch outside the sheriff’s station. Lily’s friend, Rose, strode toward the grocery store, where more deputies served as guards.
Lily perked up. “Would you like to say hello?”
Rose jumped when Lily called her name. “Oh, my.” She noticed our joined hands and smirked. “I do love a fresh scandal. This town needs more of them, though not one from me. I’m too busy with errands to enjoy one of my own.”
“What sort of errand?” I asked, not caring.
“The Millers. It’s for their newest baby. They have a mild case of the flu, so I volunteered to deliver a few things. Come see.” She waved at the guards. “They’re with me.”
Inside the grocery store, Rose checked out the limited baby supplies on the shelves. “A few more babies and we might have a problem,” she said, eyeing Lily with a mischievous grin. “Oh, did I guess the newest scandal?”
“Not even close,” Lily said in a rush. “I’m here to offer my services. Would you want your very own full-time assistant?”
An assistant? “Fantastic idea. You’d enjoy that.” I’d get her to spy.
The two women stared at me, so I ignored the rest of their conversation, uninterested in the job details, to check out the nearby goods.
The freezer case almost burst with canned goods. Strange. I had followed Julian Gustafson to the same spot a couple of days ago. The closest freezer case now held less food. How much did the town use in a single day?
Boxes of red wine on an end cap were also missing.
“Are you ready?” Lily asked me.
We exited the store as another pair of guards resumed their watch at the front door.
“Do you know why those two men are standing outside the store?” I asked once we were out of earshot.
“So no one steals,” she guessed.
“It’d be better if that were true. It’s so people are afraid to ask.”
"That’s ridiculous.” She hooked her arm through mine, dragging me toward the town park. “Are you trying to frighten me?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes and kissed my cheeks, assuming I’d made a joke.
I hadn’t. Deer Lake gave her the freedom she lacked on our journey home.
The end of our partnership agreement meant she no longer had to follow my instructions.
None of that applied here. From our previous conversations, I suspected my rehabilitation partially motivated her decision to continue our fake marriage.
It’d be a lie to say the realization didn’t hurt. I should have taken her when I had the chance.
Lily squealed, ending our conversation and my reverie. She released my arm, running towards a familiar older woman who frowned at me with her pinched lips.
Mrs. Willoughby, the Suttons’ housekeeper, who once tried to separate me from Ryan and Lily. The two women embraced, and I left them alone. I wanted no part of their private conversation.
The town park resembled parks everywhere, with a gazebo and a large community message board. Sheets of paper, curled from moisture and sun exposure, covered the town billboard stand. Without the Internet, people bartered using old-fashioned methods. I approved.
Batteries. ASL teacher. Experience with tractor repair. Firewood. The last request appeared more than any other.
Muffled footsteps sounded in the wet grass behind me.
“Ingenious, isn’t it?”
“What did Mrs. Willoughby want?” I asked.
Lily swallowed and looked past my shoulder. “She asked me to join a knitting group. They create scarves and other cold-weather items for people. I agreed.”
They spoke of more than that. The conversation lasted too long for a simple request.
We resumed our slow walk as occasional passersby noticed us. A few stared outright, while others glanced our way and moved along.
Was it me or her that caught their attention? Or did my return to Deer Lake trigger a paranoia I thought buried?
“The cemetery is up ahead. We should visit,” Lily said.
“Why? What’s at the cemetery?”
I had visited the depressing place twice in my life. The first time for my mother’s funeral, and the second for Lily’s. Why return to a place that forced you to relive your most painful memories?
“To say hello.” Lily pressed a hand to my chest, stopping our walk. “I visit my mother when in town. We don’t have flowers, but that’s unnecessary. Considering everything, wouldn’t you like to see her?”
I barely remembered what my mother looked like.
Only a few pictures of her were taken before she died.
I took those with me when I left for basic and kept them as I traveled from location to location.
Now, years later, they were tucked inside a suitcase, with the rest of my worldly possessions, in a hotel room two hours north of Tampa, Florida.
I’d wake up one morning, and instead of the hazy image I enjoyed now, there’d be nothing left but a blank spot.
“You go. I’ll wait outside.”