Sable Peak (The Edens)

I shut the lid to my laptop, took off my headphones and collapsed in my chair. For the past hour, I’d been polishing my final paper for Personality Theory and Research. It was now uploaded and turned in to my professor. That was it for my semester. For the next three months, I was free to enjoy the summer.

It was easier to breathe without the weight of school on my shoulders. The past five days had been stressful, balancing exams and studying and work and life.

The latter had suffered the most. Most nights, I’d come to Mateo’s and immediately taken this very chair, confiscating the dining room table as my workspace. He’d leave me in peace and keep Allie out of my hair, and when she was asleep, he’d retreat to the bedroom to read.

Usually by the time I snuck in after midnight, he’d be asleep, book open on his chest.

Even though it had been a grueling race to the end of the term, I’d really enjoyed my classes. I wanted to keep learning.

What would have happened if instead of burying our feelings for four years, Dad and I had had someone to talk to? Someone to confide in, like a therapist or counselor?

It had been impossible, given the situation. And even if I’d wanted to talk about it with Dad, which I hadn’t, he’d been equally wrecked by that night. But maybe I wouldn’t be as closed off if I’d had a different outlet.

Maybe someday, I could be that outlet for others.

The sound of hammering came from outside. I stood from the table, stretching my tense shoulders, then slipped on a pair of tennis shoes to head out back.

April had come and gone in a rain-soaked blur, but the beginning of May had been a ray of sunshine. The air smelled crisp, like clean pine and fresh-cut grass.

Mateo had taken Allie outside all afternoon so I could concentrate and finish my paper.

“Daddy!” Her shout carried through the air as I jogged down the porch steps and rounded the side of the house. She had something in her hand, holding it up as she raced toward where he was working on the firepit. Though considering how big he was making the circle of stone pavers, it was turning into more of a patio.

“Sprout.” He tore off his leather gloves and turned his hat backward as she came running over to where he was working.

“Is a pitty wok.”

“That is a pretty rock.” He took it from her, inspecting all sides. “What should we do with it?”

She took it from him, wound up an arm and threw it as far as she could. It landed about five feet away. “Ah gone.”

He chuckled, shaking his head, then gave her a swat on the butt. “Go find me another one.”

“Okay.” Off she raced, crouching as she picked through the grass.

Mateo stared at her with a soft smile, watching her for a moment with pure, endless love. Then he went back to work, pulling on his gloves before picking up a block to take toward what would be a circular retaining wall.

The muscles of his biceps strained at the sleeves of his T-shirt. The white cotton clung to his shoulders and back, damp from sweat. His jeans, dusty and dirty, hugged the bulk of his thighs and molded to the curve of his ass.

I leaned against the corner of the cabin and enjoyed the view.

My view.

This was mine. He was mine.

I was keeping him forever.

The anniversary of that night was never easy. Usually the pain lingered for days and days. Without him, it would have been unbearable. It never got easier. It never got lighter. The only thing that seemed to dull the pain was blocking it out. Letting that numbness take over. Pretending like it didn’t exist.

I loved Mateo for trying to understand. I loved him for not pushing me to talk. I loved him for the distraction of a flight school and the name we still hadn’t chosen.

I loved him.

For always.

Mateo worked to place the block, fitting it into the row he was assembling. Once it was set, he stood tall and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. “Are you going to stand there and drool or come help me?”

“Drool,” I called.

He chuckled, twisting to flash me that blinding white smile. “Finish your paper?”

I raised both arms in the air. “Done!”

“That’s my girl.” He tore off those gloves and waved me over.

I ran for him, laughing as I launched myself into his arms and wrapped my legs around his hips.

“Proud of you, Peach. You worked your ass off this week.”

“I’m proud of me too.” I kissed him, letting him spin us in a circle before putting me on my feet. “This looks good.”

“It’s coming along.” He took my hand, leading me around the space.

He’d carved out a circular area and covered it in gray stones. “The retaining wall on that side will double as seating. I’ll put a smooth block on top. Then these open sections I’m going to build pergolas and hang swings.”

“Love it.” Leaning against his arm, I pictured us sitting together on that swing, watching Allie race around the yard.

“I’m about done for today. We need groceries,” he said. “I was going to take Allie into town to distract her while you were working.”

“She’s happy playing.” The knees of her pants were dirty and wet. The pigtails he’d put into her hair had completely fallen out and now it was sticking up at odd angles. “I’ll go. You can finish up and relax.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“Okay, darlin’.”

“Your dad calls your mom darlin’.”

Mateo nodded. “He does.”

“I like it.”

“Good.” He bent to kiss my hair, then like he had for Allie, gave me a swat on the ass to send me on my way. “Oh, hey, Vera?”

“Yeah?” I turned.

“I keep some of my tools at the hotel for maintenance stuff, but I need to sharpen the blade on the lawn mower and don’t have my wrenches to take it off. Eloise was going to set them out. Would you stop by and grab them for me? Save me a trip.”

“No problem.” I blew him a kiss, then went to the house, scribbling out a quick grocery list before grabbing my keys and setting off for town.

Main Street was busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Now that the rain had stopped, storefronts and window displays were being refreshed for the upcoming tourist season. The kitchen goods shop had a basket of petunias beside its front door. Though it was nothing compared to the traffic we’d see this summer, the sidewalks were busier than I’d seen in months. There were buckets of tulips next to the carts inside the grocery store.

I picked up a bundle before quickly running through my list.

“Hey, Vera,” the cashier said as I piled items on the conveyor belt.

“Hi, Maxine. How are you?”

“Good. Tired. I got a puppy. He kept me up all night.” She’d been talking about getting a dog for months. “But he’s cute so I’ll forgive him. Want to see a picture?”

“Of course.” I put the last of my items on the belt, then moved closer as she swiped through photos on her phone. “He’s precious.”

Should we get a dog? Mateo was great with Anne and Harrison’s dogs. Allie would be adorable with a puppy.

Maxine set her phone aside and began ringing up my foodstuffs, chatting as she bagged.

The normalcy of it hit me like a slap in the face. A good slap, if there was such a thing. Going to the store. Chatting with Maxine. Contemplating a pet.

Normal.

This was normal.

At some point in the past two years, I’d stopped being new to Quincy. I’d stopped being a stranger. I’d stopped being that woman who’d lived as a survivalist in the woods for four years.

Normal. This was a normal day. Running errands. Doing yard work.

God, I loved normal. I wanted another ten normal days. Another hundred. A thousand. I didn’t want fame or fortune. I just wanted this.

To be the woman who I might have become if not for before. A normal life.

With Mateo. With Allie.

And maybe, if I was lucky, with my dad.

Mateo and I hadn’t had time to go on a hike since I’d been so focused on school, but we were going out tomorrow. Maybe this time, with him along, I’d get lucky.

“Thanks, Maxine.” I waved as I took my groceries and headed to the car.

With them loaded, I made my way to The Eloise Inn, breathing in the scent of lemon and verbena from the candle burning on the coffee table in the sitting area. For the first time in months, there was no fire crackling in the grand room’s stone hearth.

Eloise smiled from her seat behind the mahogany reception counter as I crossed the lobby. “Hey.”

“Hi. I’m here to pick up Mateo’s tools.”

“Oh, perfect.” She bent to pull out a tool set from beneath the counter.

“Thanks.” I scanned the room, searching for Jasper and their daughter. “Are you here alone?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Yeah.” She pouted. “Jasper stayed home with Ophelia today. I think she’s getting a summer cold or something because she’s got an awful cough.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Eloise shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve been finagling the summer schedule, which takes forever. We’re booked but it’s been slow today. No needy guests. Not that I’m complaining. In a month, I won’t have a minute to think.”

I opened my mouth, about to ask if she’d filled the vacant housekeeper position, when a throat cleared from the direction of the elevators. My smile dropped as the man approached.

Agent Ian Swenson, walking with that cocky swagger, headed straight for me. “Miss Gallagher.”

“Agent Swenson.” I forced a smile and lied through my teeth. “Nice to see you again.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Is it?”

Absolutely not.

Ironic, that he was here today. Not thirty minutes had passed since I’d been mentally rejoicing my newfound normalcy.

Of course it wouldn’t last. Of course something would ruin it.

I’d never be normal. No matter how much time passed, I didn’t get to be the woman I would have been before.

Silly of me to think otherwise.

“I didn’t realize you were still in Quincy,” I said.

He’d left, right? I was sure he’d left. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. He hadn’t come to the coffee shop again or tracked me down at home. I hadn’t seen his SUV in the parking lot.

“Just arrived,” he said, gesturing for the sitting area in front of the fireplace. “A moment?”

I didn’t want to give him a moment. What if I said no? “Sure.”

He headed for a couch, not even bothering to let me go first. The asshole just expected me to follow.

“Everything okay?” Eloise mouthed, concern etched on her pretty face.

I nodded, steeling my spine as I joined Swenson.

He didn’t sit on the leather couch or one of the plush chairs, so I didn’t either.

I stood opposite him, the coffee table between us, and did my best not to fidget.

Why was he here? Again?

“Would you like to sit?” he asked.

“No, thanks.”

He studied me for a long moment with those boring hazel eyes. “I’m not the enemy, Miss Gallagher.”

“Then what are you?”

“Curious.”

Any other answer would have been better. “About what?”

“You.”

“Me,” I scoffed. “There’s nothing to be curious about, Agent Swenson. I work at a coffee shop. I take online college classes. I’m a safe driver and a mediocre cook. What you might find interesting about me is in the past. I’m trying to get on with my life. You being here makes that impossible. So forgive me if I don’t roll out the welcome mat. I don’t want you here.”

For the first time since I’d met him, his face softened. Without that harsh, intimidating edge, he looked human. Handsome, even. “That’s fair.”

I sighed, my shoulders relaxing away from my ears. “Okay. Can I go?”

“Not yet.” The softness disappeared so fast I wondered if I’d imagined it. He stared at me without blinking, like he didn’t want to miss a second of my reaction to whatever it was he’d come here to say.

My insides knotted.

“Miss Gallagher, we have reason to believe your father is dead.”

My gasp echoed to the lobby’s wooden rafters.