by Autumn Skye
I paid the check, tipped the waitress well, and walked my old ally out to her car. She gave me an insincere kiss on the cheek before driving off. I watched her headlights disappear before I noticed the waitress who’d served us running out the café entrance holding my purse.
“You forgot this,” she panted, out of breath from the rush to catch me.
“Thanks. I wouldn’t have made it far without my keys.”
“No problem. I was hoping I could ask you about the manor.”
“The manor?”
“That’s what we call the old house you bought. No one ever gave it an official name. You are the one who bought it, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes. What did you want to know?”
“The towns been talking, trying to figure out what you intend to do with the property. It’s been empty so long. Did you buy it for yourself?”
“No, I intend to fix it up and sell it.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re a nice lady and you bring a bit of big city class with you,” she laughed. We were hoping you’d stay.”
“Thank you. I’ll be around for a while. I do love this town. Everyone is so friendly.”
“Nosy, too. We don’t get many people from the city who hang around as long as you have. There’ve been numerous speculations about who you are.”
“Huh, what’s the wildest rumor you’ve heard?”
“It’s a toss-up between a romance writer who came here to work on her latest book and a paranormal expert who believes the manor is haunted.”
“Haunted?” I smirked.
“You know, every small town has their own scary haunted house. Yours is the one kids dare each other to sneak into on Halloween night.”
“None of you truly believe it’s got ghosts, do you?”
“No, but it’s fun to make up stories. You fixing the place up, though, that’s going to be something to see. It’s a miracle no one has torn the place down yet.”
“I’ve fallen in love with it,” I lied. In truth, the place scared the shit out of me. It was one hell of an impulse buy, and it might break me if I let that sink in.
“Good luck. We’ll all be keeping an eye on the place. Can’t wait to see what you do with it,” she said.
“I’ll do my best to make it less of an eye sore. Maybe I’ll even give it a name,” I promised before climbing into the SUV.
I headed back to the lake, both relieved Shelly hadn’t decided to join me and disappointed. It was a big lake to have all to myself. My cabin was the only one occupied. At times, I felt down right detached from the world, which was why I drove to the café for breakfast a few times a week. Getting acquainted with the townspeople helped. I’d never been the loner type. I didn’t know there was a cure for my loneliness and that she would soon be on the way. I sure the hell couldn’t have guessed how she would change everything. That was life for you. The biggest changes always happened when you weren’t looking and usually when you weren’t quite ready for them.
Chapter Four
Lily
In the end, I left the city with only one suitcase Friday evening and caught Highway 59 headed south. As I’d tried to explain again and again to Farah, I didn’t need much more than the shorts and tank tops I crammed into that one case. The lake was about an hour and a half outside of Houston, near the halfway mark to Corpus Christi. At least the exit was. Once I hit that I headed West on a desolate back road for another twenty minutes before I drove into the town of Kinley, home of Sapphire Lake.
Kinley was a rural area that included a lot of ranches and farms on the outskirts of the community. The city limits had a Main Street and that was about it, but I did see the antique shop and cafe Farah had mentioned. I nearly passed the grocery store and did a sharp right turn to veer into the near empty lot.
It wasn’t a large supermarket by any means. I grabbed a week’s worth of food and cleaning supplies. Conveniently, it was near closing time and I didn’t have to stand in a long line to be checked out, or any line at all for that matter. There were five checkout lanes and only one was open with not a soul in front of me. I set my purchases on the conveyer belt and watched as a young brunette scanned each one.
“Heading out to Sapphire Lake?” she asked.
“Yes, how’d you know?”
“We have a population of 600 residents here. If you were a local I’d know your name.”
“I guess that makes sense. While we’re on the subject, exactly how far am I from the lake?”
“It’s another ten miles.”
“I hope you’ll spend some time in town, though. We have some wonderful little shops for the tourists.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. I intend to check them out.”
“You’re just in time for the annual apple butter festival, too. It’s tomorrow at the fairgrounds.”
“Apple butter?”
“Well, it’s actually all things apple. There’ll be apple butter, apple jam, candy apples, apple cider… They’ll also be selling barbecue, five dollars a plate. Dessert is, you guessed it, apple pie. This year we’re going to have carnival rides and game booths, a carousel for the kids and a Farris wheel. It’s not exactly big city fun, but we enjoy ourselves.”
“It sounds like you do. Maybe I’ll go. I’m staying for a week.”
“Oh, you aren’t with that lady who bought the manor, then?”
“Um, no, I’m not with anyone.”
“I just assumed. It’s a bit early for the vacationers.”
“Well, that’s why I came, to avoid a crowded place.”
“You came to the right place. The new lady is the only soul we’ve so much as seen drive through here in months.”
“You say she’s a new resident. Is she included in the population of 600, or will you have to repaint the sign,” I joked.
“No, she’s not. I guess we’re 601 now. We’re all real curious to get to know her better. We never thought the manor would sell.”
“Why is that?”
It’s this huge old house that’s been up for sale for ages, about a mile before the lake. They say it used to be breathtaking, but it’s sat and rotted for a decade now. The owner, a widow, passed away and her children inherited it, but they live in Corpus Christi. They used to rent it out, but they never wanted to do any upkeep on it, so they put it on the market a couple of years ago. Whoever would even consider rehabbing that place must have a fortune to burn, but this lady looks like she does, so…”
“What kind of house is it?”
“Kind?”
“Ranch style? Hacienda?”
“Oh, I guess it’d be considered Victorian.”
“I love Victorian houses.”
“The lady bought it with the intention of selling after she does some work to it. Maybe you can get with her and make a deal. She’s staying at the lake. You might run into her. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t. You’ll know her. She’s the only other person out there until the summer people begin trickling into town.”
“I doubt the asking price will be in my range,” I smiled.
“Your total comes to $120.56.”
“That I can afford,” I said, swiping my debit card.
After she ran my card and bagged my things she nodded to me. “Have a pleasant stay.”
“Thanks, I will. I might like to check out this house, though. It sounds like it’s some sort of landmark.”
“It used to be. Now it’s an abandoned dump that would be easier to tear down than fix up, in my opinion, but you might disagree. The lady who bought it seems to think it has potential.”
After I loaded up the back floorboard with my groceries I headed back onto the road. Noticing the light wasn’t quite as bright as it had been when I’d parked, I remembered what Farah had said about the curves in the lonely road. She’d been right. It wasn’t a road to be traveling for the first time after dark, but I figured I still had plenty of time to make it to
the cabin before sundown.
After a mile or so I turned off onto an even more narrow road. Though the robotic voice of my GPS issued no suggested corrections, I began to wonder if I’d made a wrong turn before long. In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by thick woods with no other car in sight, every scary movie I’d ever seen began to replay in my head. How creepy would it be if there wasn’t another soul staying on the lake? I’d been craving solitude and now I was desperate to see another person, anyone at all would do.
I rounded a curve and saw it immediately. I’d passed it before I realized what it was. I braked the car to a stop and put it in reverse. Pulling over to the shoulder of the road I stared up at my dream house, all three stories of it. Old, decrepit, historical, regal, and beautiful, it lured me into a fantasy in which I had a crap ton of money and awesome credit, two things I’d need to convince a bank to give me a loan the size it would take to call this home my own. That wasn’t going to happen, but maybe it wasn’t as expensive as I feared. It needed a lot of work and if it was the house the checker at the grocery store had mentioned the owner might be in a hurry to sell and turn even a small profit. It did appear to be in dire need of a makeover. Perhaps she regretted her decision to buy.
Why did I do this to myself? My sister could own a house like this, but me? Not now or ever. Still, it might be fun to play make believe and find out the realtor’s name. If I acted interested she’d surely give me a tour of the place. By the time she caught on that I’d wasted her time I’d be back in Houston. It wouldn’t be right to mislead her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t tempting. I was compelled to see the interior of that house, but I couldn’t very well stay parked on the side of the road and plot my way inside like an intruder. If I didn’t bump into the new owner on the lake as the checker had predicted I would, I’d ask her name when I went back into town.
I drove on and hit the lake entrance a few minutes later, almost missing it as I rounded another curve too fast. The lake was maybe two miles round in diameter. There were dozens of cabins scattered along it, all numbered and all but one dark and empty. I drove towards the one with a light shining through the window. When I neared it, I saw it was cabin thirty-two and I was thirty-one. Having someone right next door did a lot to ease the slight anxiety I had over being out here alone, but it disappointed me, too. What if I had a chatty neighbor? I hadn’t come to socialize. I wanted to soak up some sun and forget about work. That was all. Then again, this neighbor had to be the owner of the house that had me so curious, so I was going to get my chance to ask about it and maybe get that tour.
I lugged my suitcase out of the car and let myself inside. It was a one room, not even as big as my apartment. It had all the basics, a kitchenette with a fridge and stove and a bathroom with a shower. A living space took up most of the square footage with a full-sized bed shoved against the far wall. An inch of dust covered most everything in sight.
My cell phone went off and I fished it out of my purse after I dropped the suitcase on the floor.
“Hi, Mom,” I answered.
“Lilly, I’m glad you answered-finally. I’ve called you three days in a row. Don’t you check your messages?”
“Sorry, I’ve been busy,” I fibbed. I’d gotten all seven of my mother’s messages. I just hadn’t gotten back to her because she wanted to confirm that I planned to attend my sister’s baby shower, which I didn’t. It was Ann’s third child. Shouldn’t she already have everything she needed?
“You didn’t RSVP to the shower invitation, but I assume you’re coming.”
There wasn’t any way out of it, of course, so I replied, “Naturally. I wouldn’t miss it, unless I can’t get time off work. I’ll have to check with my boss. I haven’t seen Ann in a while. It’s a shame she moved so far away.”
“Dallas is a good drive, but it isn’t as if your sister left the state. You could put forth a little effort to keep in touch,” she sniffed.
I couldn’t see any gain by pointing out that Ann had never once driven to Houston to visit me. My mother rarely if ever sided with me over my sister. It would cause an argument and I was supposed to be relaxing, not getting my blood pressure up. “Who else is coming?” I asked by a way of distraction.
It worked. She started going on about the guest list as I walked over to the window and opened it, then stood gazing out at the lake as I tuned my mother’s voice out. I had to admit the view was amazing. The sun was beginning to set, casting brilliant shades of gold, orange and lavender pink rays over the water. It made me think Farah might have been right. I could find some serenity here if I let myself, and if I got off the phone with my mother fast enough. It really wasn’t fair. She’d cut me off financially until I “came to my senses”. It was all for my own good, to push me to get my life in order, she said, but I was still expected to participate in the family gatherings I hated so much. They always ended in an intervention. What can we do to fix Lily’s broken, meaningless life?
The faint sound of a door creaking to a shut caused me to turn my eyes to the cabin next door. What I saw caused me to suck in my breath in surprise. A woman with raven shaded hair had stepped outside and was sauntering towards the water’s edge. I couldn’t see her face because in the fading light she was gradually becoming a silhouette, but I could make out her curves, all of them. She was quite naked. I’d parked the car far enough into the driveway that it was hidden at the side of the cabin and I hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights yet. Obviously, this woman thought she still had the lake to herself. The proper thing for me to do was to look away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.
“I have to call you back, Mom,” I said, feeling captivated and shamed all at once, like a stalker. Voyeurism wasn’t usually my thing.
“Why can’t you just give me a concrete answer. Are you coming to your sister’s shower, or not?”
“I promise I’ll get back to you,” I said with the vagueness I knew she so detested.
“You’re impossible,” she scoffed.
“Please, Mom, I really have to go,” I sighed.
“All right, but do call me back as soon as you find the time.”
“Yes, I will.” I assured her again before I hung up the phone and set it on the table underneath the window sill.
The woman was now standing in the sand, allowing shallow waves to roll over her feet. Aside from the fact that she had an amazing, firm, taut body, what struck me about her was her royal like posture. She stood straight and tall. She was at least five-foot-nine inches in height with long lean legs and a round full ass. I wasn’t the type to comment on things like that, at least not until that moment, but who could help but notice? I didn’t feel an ounce of envy, either, just an odd sense of enchantment. How was it possible to be utterly mesmerized by a total stranger?
She raised her arms up over head and clasped her hands together, fingers entwining as if she were stretching to warm her muscles before a swim. Her head snapped in the direction of my window and I took a step to the side, startled at the idea of being caught spying. I doubted she could see me now that the light had grown so dim. It was probably my own guilt making me so paranoid. Honestly, she should know that if you’re going to skinny dip you’re taking the chance of being seen. And if you’re going to flaunt it, people are probably going to look, so why did I feel like such a pervert? Maybe she didn’t even mind being watched. With a body like that she had no reason to be shy. Maybe she knew I was watching. There was something defiant in her demeanor. Was she playing a game with me?
And there I went, making too much out of things again. This breathtakingly beautiful woman was taking a swim with no clue I was anywhere around, and that was all there was to it. My guilt was earned because I had no business peeping at her. I owned that, but still couldn’t do the appropriate thing and draw the curtains. I had a notion that with scenery like this my weekend getaway was going to be far more interesting than I’d counted on.
And I was right.
Chapter Fi
ve
The sable haired mystery woman swam out perhaps 50 yards and then began stroking her way back to shore until she stopped and stood waist high in murky water. I continued staring at the outline of the curves of her body, all that was visible in the dusk, as she threw her head back and ran her hands through her hair to pushed it back out of her eyes. This was so wrong. I felt a familiar wetness between my legs. I was getting turned on at the sight of this stranger, who I had no right spying on. Somewhere inside there was enough shame that I managed to pull the curtains and put an end to my temporary insanity, but just before I did she looked my direction again and this time I was overcome with a certainty that she’d seen me. The shame, however, wasn’t enough to overpower that wanton need I was now struggling with, though I was sure that I’d lose the battle. I’d been alone for far too long. I hated admitting this, but it was true. I’d come close to hitting on Farah just the other night, and now I was finding myself attracted to a woman I didn’t know, one who’d not likely want to know me considering the way I was behaving and the thoughts that were creeping into my head.
I knew switching on the light would give my presence away with certainty, but it was too difficult to see and make my way around the cabin now. I didn’t have a choice, so I flicked the switched on the bedside lamp. It wasn’t as if I could hide here in the dark forever.
My legs were shaky and even in my aroused state a weary drowsiness came over me, likely from the long drive. I shut the window as quietly as I could and turned the air conditioner on to cool the stifling heat in the air. After slipping out of my jeans and into a pair of shorts I climbed onto the full-sized bed, pushing the heavy comforter off to the side. I needed rest and something to take the edge off. That was the whole reason for coming here. I thought for once I might say fuck it and listen to what my body was telling me. That not only sounded good, but irresistible, because I couldn’t imagine getting any sleep until I had release from this sudden onslaught of lust so rich I couldn’t escape its grip. Besides, gorgeous mystery woman would never know it was her face I saw when I brought myself to a quick climax.