Norma chatted with Anna as Eli ate his dessert, relishing every bite. He heard a familiar voice and glanced over his shoulder to see Cecilia settling at a table with Sarah and a couple of their other friends. Not wanting to be caught looking at her—well aware of how Cecelia would interpret that—Eli turned back to his dessert.
After cleaning the last of it from the bowl, Eli picked up his mug and finished off his coffee. Norma didn’t bother to refill it when she returned since she knew his limit was just one cup this late in the day. Anna also declined a refill when Norma offered one to her.
Anna asked for the bill, but as Eli had expected, Norma waved it off. Unsurprisingly, Anna insisted quite strenuously, and when Norma just as strenuously objected, Anna simply waited until his aunt moved away before slipping a couple of twenties beneath her plate.
She leaned toward him, a sparkle in her eye, and said, “Let’s get out of here before she notices.”
Eli wondered if she realized how much her meal cost because she’d left enough for both their meals times two. He didn’t like the idea that she felt she had to pay for his meal—if that was, in fact, what she’d thought she was doing—but he appreciated that she wanted to do that for his aunt, so he didn’t argue. Instead, he got up from the counter and followed her from the restaurant, not bothering to look around to see who noticed them.
“Would you like a little tour of the town?” Eli asked as he turned the ignition to start the truck.
“Sure. That would be fun,” Anna said. “You’ve lived here your whole life, right?”
“Yep. Only leaving periodically for vacations. To visit my…uh…my dad’s parents when they were still alive.”
“Where was your favorite place to go?”
Eli had to think for a moment because it had been a long time since they’d gone on a family vacation. Once his dad had left, there hadn’t been any extra money to take vacations or even leave town. Still, if he took his feelings for his dad and what he’d later done, out of the equation, there had been fun times they’d spent together.
“Except for visiting family, we didn’t go to the same place more than once,” Eli said. “But I think my favorite vacation was to Florida to go to Disneyworld. I was eleven, and the twins were eight. We had so much fun. That was our one big family vacation. I think my folks wanted us to enjoy it before I got too old, but they waited until the twins were old enough to remember it too.”
“I’ve never been to Disneyworld or Disneyland, for that matter.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, that wasn’t quite the type of vacation my parents tended to go for, and I guess once I moved to LA myself, it wasn’t someplace I felt I had to visit.”
“Maybe you’ll get there someday,” Eli said as he turned off Main Street and headed for the elementary school.
Because it was still just late afternoon, there was enough light to show her the parts of New Hope that had played a significant role in his life. The schools he’d attended. The gym where he’d played basketball and volleyball. The park they’d played at where he’d broken his arm, and the small community health center he’d had to go to because of that. The church he’d always attended. The pool where he and the twins had learned to swim. The library. Some of those places had held more importance to him than others, but they’d all played a role in his life.
Because it wasn’t a big town, driving around to all the sites took less than an hour. Seeing the town through Anna’s eyes was kind of fun. For him, the town had been home his whole life, and, in all likelihood, would be his home for the remainder of it.
Once back at the lodge, Eli pulled to a stop in front of Anna’s cabin. “Will you be okay lighting the fire here?”
“I think I’ll be fine.”
“If you have a problem, just let me know. I’m not that far away.”
“I will,” she said. “Thank you for taking me along for dinner and giving me a tour of the town. That was a lot of fun.”
“You’re welcome.”
They said goodnight, then, once he’d seen her step inside, Eli put the truck in gear and drove the final stretch of road to his solitary home. He parked and headed inside, glad that it was early enough in the evening that he still had time to do some work in his workshop.
As he worked on a chest he’d had a special order for, Eli wondered how long it would be until he caved to Anna’s request to see his workshop. The only people he usually allowed there were his mom and the twins. His home was the same, although there he would make exceptions for some of his old friends. Not that they came around much anymore since they had all moved out of New Hope upon graduating high school. Some still lived relatively close, having settled in Seattle or Portland. Others had moved much further away and only rarely returned home.
Were he more discontent in his life, he might have had some jealousy toward his friends. But with his father gone, he hadn’t felt that he could leave his mom and the girls on their own. His mom would never want to leave the lodge, and frankly, Eli couldn’t see how he’d ever be able to leave either. Especially now that he’d built his own home there.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Arianna was on her way back from painting at the cabin on Monday when she saw a piece of paper fluttering under the wiper blade of her car. Frowning, she detoured over to grab it, a bit surprised to see something like that in such a rural place. She didn’t even know when it had appeared since she hadn’t used the car since Saturday. Sunday had been spent holed up in her cabin, planning out the videos she wanted to film over the next week.
When Monday morning arrived, she’d been ready to get back to work. Leah was still standoffish, but there were no negative comments, and after her conversation with Eli, Arianna felt like she had a new understanding of her. One that allowed her to accept that Leah most likely had a hard time accepting and trusting new people in her life, and that it was that—and not Arianna herself—that kept Leah aloof.
That knowledge had helped to alleviate the need within Arianna to make friends with her. If friendship was going to happen, it would be on Leah’s terms, and nothing Arianna did could change the situation, and strangely enough, she was okay with that. She would continue to be friendly, but she wouldn’t push Leah to accept her or be her friend.
Leaning over the side of the car, Arianna plucked the paper free of the wiper and stared down at it.
YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE.
LEAVE!
For a moment, Arianna wasn’t sure what to do. Part of her wanted to laugh at the ludicrousness of the message. It was crazy to think of something like that being a serious thing in a place like New Hope. Another part of her, however, had watched just enough true crime shows to not ball up the piece of paper and toss it into the trash.
Instead, she carried the note into the cabin with just two fingers and laid it on the kitchen counter—face down. By the time she’d finished her shower and was dressed again to go to the lodge for supper, Arianna had decided to not bother mentioning the note to the others. She was pretty sure it was just a joke of some nature. Maybe a prank played by some local teens.
Why would someone say she wasn’t wanted there? All she’d done since coming to New Hope Falls was help out at the lodge and spend her money at the businesses in town. Didn’t they have tourists that did that all the time? It made no sense that someone would try to chase her away. It had to be a joke.
Pushing it from her thoughts, Arianna set out from the cabin and walked the slightly longer distance to the lodge. It appeared that at the rate they were going, they’d be done with the remaining cabins by the end of the week. They’d gotten a rhythm going, the three of them, and that day’s work had been the smoothest yet.
It helped that they were focused on one of the smaller cabins. Leah had worked with Eli in the main part while Arianna had once again gone into the bathroom. There had been a bit more conversation that day simply because the two siblings were in closer proximity. Arianna, however, hadn’t been able to un
derstand much of what they said since they’d kept their voices lowered.
At the lodge, Arianna let herself in the front door, noticing that Eli’s truck was already there. He was ahead of her, for a change. She followed the voices into the kitchen, smiling as she spotted the family working together to get supper ready.
The evening passed much like the previous ones had, and Arianna realized that this was what being part of a family was like. It had been a while since she’d thought about the strangeness of her family as seen through the eyes of another. The first time she’d become aware of how very different her family situation was, had been in college when she’d been exposed to a roommate’s large, boisterous, and loving family whose parents were very involved in the lives of their many children.
It had been a while since she’d thought about that, but her conversation with Eli had brought it all back. Still, she wasn’t upset over her childhood—there wasn’t anything to be gained by that. If she went to her parents with all this now, they wouldn’t understand. It was how they had been raised, and as parents, they had done what they thought was best. Telling them that there was, in fact, a better way to parent, would serve no purpose except to drive a wedge between them.
If she did anything as a result of this conversation, it would be to do things differently if she ever had kids.
Two days later, Arianna was coming back from the cabin they’d been painting when she saw another flutter of white on her car’s windshield. Her steps slowed as she approached the car. She hadn’t thought much about the first note, but now she felt a twinge of fear.
She reached out to grab the paper but then jerked her hand back, suddenly fearful of what might be written on it.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. “This is probably the haha part of the joke.”
Blowing out a breath, Arianna plucked the paper from beneath the wiper blade then, after a brief hesitation, looked down at it.
I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!
DO IT!
Unlike the other time, the implied or else rang loud and clear in her mind. She ran up the stairs to the cabin and slammed the door, reaching behind her to turn the deadbolt lock above the handle. Her heart was pounding as she tried to figure out what to do.
Was this a 911 emergency? Or should she call Eli?
Was it really serious enough for either?
She didn’t want to upset Eli and his family by insinuating that their lodge wasn’t a safe place. And would they even believe her? They didn’t know her that well. They wouldn’t know that she wasn’t prone to hysterics.
Arianna didn’t want to cause a hassle and, knowing she probably couldn’t hide her state of mind, she fished out her phone and texted Eli.
I’m not going to be able to make it to supper. Something’s come up that I need to deal with. I’m sorry for the short notice. Can you let your mom know?
Eli: Sure, I can do that. I hope everything is okay.
No, not okay…but Arianna wasn’t going to tell him that—at least not yet—so she just brushed his concern aside and thanked him for telling his mom she wouldn’t be at supper. In the meantime, she would just take precautions. Pay more attention to her surroundings.
She went around the cabin, making sure all the windows were locked, then lowered the blinds and tugged the curtains closed. Across the room, she stared at the papers where they lay on the counter. Suddenly the little bit of paradise she’d found in New Hope Falls didn’t feel quite so safe.
What was stopping her from leaving? She wouldn’t even ask for a refund. She could just say she’d been called back to LA and had to leave.
Shoulders slumping, Arianna went to the couch and dropped down on it. The problem was…she didn’t want to leave. Being where no one knew her was refreshing. Being out of her usual world was exactly what she’d needed. It was a reminder that the world she’d created for herself was anything but normal. She wasn’t ready to go back yet, but that left her trying to puzzle out what to do about the notes.
With no appetite and still needing to clean up from the day, Arianna headed for the bathroom. She turned on the water to fill the large tub, but instead of leaving the window uncovered like she had for previous baths, she closed the blinds. While the tub filled, she peeled out of her paint-splattered clothes and left them in a heap on the floor.
Sinking into the warm, scented water, Arianna wanted to just forget about everything. Unfortunately, her brain was not on board with that plan. It had a plan of its own, and that plan was for her to consider everything that might go wrong. Everyone that might be interested in threatening her.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t been aware of the potential for stalkers in the past. Other people who made their living on social media had had fans turn into stalkers. In at least one case, a stalker had become a murderer. Because of that, she’d always tried to be aware of her surroundings and the people around her. It had probably been what had helped contribute to how her life had pretty much narrowed to her apartment, and the only social life she had was centered around brand-sponsored events.
But the messages she had received seemed to be from someone who wanted her gone. They weren’t trying to make a connection with her. She wasn’t sure if that made them more or less dangerous. Still, she couldn’t figure out who could be leaving the messages. It wasn’t like she’d made a bunch of enemies in her short time there, let alone one.
Frustrated and not enjoying her bath like she’d hoped to, Arianna abandoned the tub and got dressed in a pair of sweats and a baggy T-shirt. She made herself a cup of tea and set it on the end table while she went to the fireplace to start a fire. It was a reminder of just one of the many reasons why she didn’t want to go back to LA.
Once the fire was flickering brightly, rather than continuing to puzzle over the situation, she opened her laptop and tried to focus on her business because that was something she understood. It was something that made sense to her.
For the most part, the business did manage to hold her attention as she answered emails that had come from her team that day. There were still requests—bordering on demands—for her to return to LA, but honestly, there was no need for her to go back. Or at least there hadn’t been before the notes on her car windshield.
Was it selfish that she wasn’t willing to go back to LA? It was just that for the first time in a very long time, she was feeling at peace with the world instead of trying to avoid it. It seemed that, for now, New Hope Falls had a spot for her even if someone wanted her gone. She didn’t want to give that up.
Before she went to bed that night, she went around to each of the windows to make sure they were all closed and tightly locked. Short of breaking the glass, no one was getting in uninvited.
Still, she had a restless night, and when she stepped out the door the next morning, she hesitated before heading over to the car, fearing what she might find there. A rush of air escaped her lungs when she saw there was nothing trapped beneath her wiper. Feeling relieved, Arianna turned her back on the car and headed for the cabin Eli had said they’d be working on that day.
“You doing okay?” Eli asked when she walked through the door, his brow furrowing.
“I’m fine.” Except, if Eli was asking her that with such concern on his face, then perhaps she should have taken a little more time with her makeup to cover up the fact that she hadn’t exactly gotten a solid eight hours of sleep.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.” Arianna flashed him a smile that was fueled by her relief at having not found another note that morning. “I’m here and ready to work.”
“Okay. Good.” Her smile seemed to do the trick since his brow smoothed out. “It’s just the two of us until noon. Leah has an appointment or something this morning.”
“Do you want me to work out here then?” she asked. “Or am I still hanging out in the bathroom?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t mess with a good thing,” Eli said with a chuckle. “You’ve got that bathroom work down t
o a science, so you might as well stick with it.”
Arianna kind of wished that she could work in the main room with Eli because being alone in the bathroom would leave her with just a little too much time to think. It took some real effort to keep her thoughts focused and not dwelling on the notes she’d left sitting on the counter of her cabin. Maybe if she got home and didn’t find another one, she’d be able to relax enough to not be so distracted by them.
Leah showed up at noon with lunch, then set to work helping Eli. Though Leah might not be her biggest fan—or a fan at all—the three of them had managed to form a stellar team. They worked quickly and efficiently together, making great strides on the work. Arianna almost wished they were working slower because she didn’t want the work to end. Once it was finished, she wouldn’t have an excuse to be around Eli anymore.
After they’d called it a day, Arianna was a bit nervous as she approached her cabin. When she’d parked the car during her move between cabins, she’d backed it in, so she was able to see the windshield as she walked toward the cabin. There was no fluttering of white, which was a relief, but not a surprise, since she hadn’t heard any vehicle on the road in front of the cabins, and she’d opened the window in the bathroom where she was painting a crack so she could listen while she worked.
The next morning, however, when she walked out the door, she could see that whoever it was had returned, but this time, their message was made in a more aggressive and costly manner. Etched in the door of her car were the words GO HOME. They had come while she slept. While she’d thought she was safe. This took everything to a new level because she wouldn’t be able to hide the newest message from anyone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The sound of a vehicle approaching from the direction of Eli’s home caused Arianna to look up. The truck slowed as it reached her cabin then came to a stop in the middle of the road. Eli got out and came around the front of the truck.
A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1) Page 14