Through blurry vision she could see Paige’s face flash on her screen. She happily answered and put her on speaker to avoid hearing her friend’s early morning squeal.
“Mornin’, sugar. What’s up?”
“Wow, you sound like shit. What’d you do last night?”
“Drank too much.” She groaned. She was not about to get into a deep conversation with Paige about Henry first thing in the morning.
“Ha! You know, they have meetings for people like you,” she teased. Paige was in an exceptionally good mood, and although Echo was thankful, she also suddenly wanted to hang up on her. Her perkiness could be overwhelming. “So Mark and I were talking and we wanted to go out on the boat this weekend. It’s supposed to be up in the eighties—the lake will still be fucking cold as hell but I’d love to go out. We’re leaving the munchkins with his mom. Ya wanna go?”
Spring in Central Oregon was a fickle bitch. It was not unusual for sun, rain, snow, hail, and a thunderstorm to all occur in a single day, so when the temps hit the eighties it was wise to enjoy it. Two days later the weather man would most likely be predicting snow. As much as she wanted to go play, however, Echo had already decided she’d really needed to keep going through the house. If she was going to make it her home, she needed to cleanse it of all things Charlie. Keeping the memory of him in her mind was one thing, but living in a virtual monument to their life together was decidedly unhealthy.
“I can’t. Next time I promise.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” There was a stern tone in Paige’s voice and it made Echo feel unsettled.
“I’m just hanging out at the house today, going through stuff and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of,” she defended.
“Are you sure you don’t need a break from that place? It’s probably not good for you to cooped up, surrounded by Charlie at every turn.
“Yeah. Hey, Paige?”
“Hmm?”
“What do think of Henry?” Echo couldn’t resist opening the can of worms and she waited for Paige to burst out into an onslaught of accusations and curse words, but her friend surprised her.
“I think he’s a nice guy, kinda quiet though. Why? Catch your eye did he?”
There was no point in skirting the issue, especially since she’d brought it up and Paige wouldn’t be happy without every detail.
“Well,” she sighed. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. He came over last night to apologize for the other night and…”
“Wait, what ‘other night,’” she interrupted. “Are you seeing him?”
“Fuck no!” she yelped, causing her head to take a few steps back in its recovery. “The other night at the bar.”
Silence. Echo wondered what Paige remembered considering she’d passed out at Bridgette’s.
“You should be nice to him, Echo.” There was an odd edge to Paige’s voice and Echo couldn’t recall ever hearing the tone before, but it gave her the chills. It was almost threatening but in a polite way.
“Why? You know something I don’t.”
“No, I just mean don’t be a bitch like you normally are. He’s a nice guy and you don’t want to push him away. I mean, really, think about it, have you even dated since Charlie?”
“No, not really.”
“Okay then. Take it slow, or fast—however you like it I guess, but be nice. You seem to get a little mouthy around him.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s kind of a problem, but I’m trying to work on it. There’s just something about him that triggers my inner bitch, but at the same time he reminds me of who I used to be. It’s so weird. He’s like the complete opposite of Charlie but I can’t seem to get him out of my head.”
“Oh, sweetie.” She laughed. “He’s not so different from Charlie. I think you’d be surprised how alike they really are.”
Echo rolled her eyes. Paige always saw the good in people and it wasn’t so far out in left field to think she would find similarities between the two if she thought it would help Echo pursue him.
Echo took another sip of the tea and her phone vibrated. An incoming call from a number she didn’t recognize. It was probably Jules. That girl changed numbers every other week.
“Paige, hang on. I’m getting another call. I think it’s Jules.”
“Do you wanna just call me back?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Okay, sweetie, talk soon.”
“Sounds good. Bye.”
She pressed the answer button and took another sip of tea. It was near the bottom and some of the powder that hadn’t fully dissolved had collected. It had a bitter taste to it and made Echo gag, but she knew it would be a potent dose so she forced it down.
“Jules?” She coughed the woman’s name and stood to dig through the drawer to find more of the powder. With the intensity of her headache, she figured a second dose wouldn’t hurt any.
“Who’s Jules?”
Henry. She closed her eyes against the memories that flooded her mind. His soft lips pressed to hers, his intoxicating aroma that filled her nostrils. Hell, she was going to have a hard time keeping things from progressing too quickly if she couldn’t stop lusting over him every time he spoke
“She’s my PA.”
“How’s your headache?” His voice was laced with genuine concern and Echo couldn’t help but smile like a dorky school girl.
“It hurts, but the tea is helping, Thank you.”
“Good. I was hoping with enough tea this morning that you might consider having dinner with me.”
The thought of seeing him again made butterflies dance in her stomach. She couldn’t help herself. She loved the feeling she got when she stared into his blue eyes, but again, there was the nagging voice in her head warning her to proceed with caution. Considering how easily she had lost control with him last night perhaps she needed to keep her distance for a little while.
“As much as I’d like to, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why? I thought we had a nice time last night. I know I did.”
Was it her imagination or had his voice taken on a note of seduction? The memory of his tongue on her body sent quivers of desire through her.
“Henry, what happened last night—it was a mistake. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t enjoy it, but honestly I’m not capable of much more. I’m more damaged than I sometimes care to admit and you don’t need to get involved with such a mess.”
Echo wanted nothing more to let him into her life, to take a chance to find happiness again, but her fear steeled her resolve. It was hard to admit how broken she really was over the loss of Charlie and as much as she wanted to move on, people didn’t find that kind of love twice in the same lifetime.
“Nothing happened, Echo. Nothing inappropriate anyway. We’re two adults who are obviously attracted to each other and there’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, I’m a big boy. I can decide for myself if I want to get involved in your messed-up life.”
“Why? Why would you even want to? I’m sure you’re more than capable of having any woman you want.”
“Are you serious?” he scolded. “Do you know who you are? When I look at you I don’t see damaged goods, I see a beautiful woman who suffered a heartache and pulled herself up from the ashes of hell. You’re very guarded, that’s true, but I can see your lust for life screaming to come out and fuck if I can explain why, but I want to be there as you go on this journey.”
“So you’re a masochist then?”
Henry’s laughter rang out. “Well not in the way you’re thinking. Look, I just want to take you to dinner. Someplace nice and public that way you’re not tempted to ravage me. Please.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Even though she was being difficult he was willing to put up with her. In that moment she decided to mute her internal alarms and give him a chance.
“Alright, Henry, you win. When and where?” She hadn’t been out on a date in years and she actually felt giddy, even though her head stil
l pounded. Finally finding the powder, Echo scooped a heaping spoonful into her mug before filling it with water and dropping a fresh tea bag into it. Hopefully a second cup would put a stop to the sledgehammers that were being swung around in her head.
“Why don’t you decide? I haven’t been very nice, so you pick and I’ll be happy to eat whatever you’re craving.”
“I doubt that,” he snorted. “Be ready at seven, and wear something sexy. Keep your tits covered though. I like looking at them, but I’d rather not share you with anyone tonight.”
The line went dead before she could respond and as she stirred the tea, Echo fought off her sudden ache for him. Paige was wrong. Henry was nothing like Charlie. Charlie never demanded anything of her and Echo discovered that Henry’s bursts of controlling nature were a huge turn-on. She wondered what he’d be like in the bedroom. She pictured him, fistfuls of her hair in his hands as he guided her to her knees.
Fuck. Her body quivered at the thought of Henry’s dick in her mouth and her pussy moistened in anticipation. It was definitely not something she wanted to rush into, but she wouldn’t turn her back on the opportunity either.
For now though, the tea had to be enough and she drank in the hot liquid with high hopes that, by tonight, she would be back up to par.
Chapter Twelve
There was no feeling like it. The anxiety of a first date was enough to make the strongest person become weak in the knees and the most confident doubt every decision they attempted to make.
Echo had spent the entire day in a near panic over being so hasty. She shouldn’t have said yes. There were too many questions about Henry and if she had any common sense in her she wouldn’t be putting herself in a position to be alone with him.
She’d paced the house for hours, walking circles in the kitchen, staring at her phone and even picking it up a few times intent on calling him to cancel. What would her excuse be? He wasn’t going to accept anything other than a life-or-death situation, and maybe not even that. From her dealings about the house she’d learned that Henry didn’t take kindly to being told no.
To keep her mind busy, she patrolled the house. In addition to her bedroom there were three others, four bathrooms total, a formal dining room, a family and a living room, two offices—one for her and one for Charlie—along with a game room complete with pool table and darts, and a library filled with an extensive collection of books that would take her months to catalog. He really had gone all out for her.
Certain that she was setting herself up for an emotional break-down, she stepped into Charlie’s office to look around. There wasn’t much to see. It was by far the most neglected room in the house as far as décor was concerned but it fit him perfectly. He’d been a very minimalistic type person. True, he did love the finer things in life, but he was also perfectly content to have just the basics needed to survive.
In front of the large picture window sat an oversized oak desk and cushy leather chair. On the left wall stood a floor-to-ceiling built-in shelf littered with countless books and to her right was a simple setup of a twin leather chair, small side table, and a mini bar complete with crystal bottles and rocks glasses. It made her think of the stereotypical office of a Harvard professor or a lawyer. Definitely too stuffy for her taste, but it suited Charlie just fine.
She walked over to the desk and seated herself in the chair, feeling the buttery soft leather under her skin and breathing in the aroma. It was better than new-car smell.
She wished he’d been able to enjoy it with her
On the desk were various office essentials—a blotter, stapler, magnetic paper-clip holder, pen stand. There was also a large frame that held a picture of her and Charlie from their first trip to Aspen. The weeklong vacation had been cut short when she fell ill with the flu, but it hadn’t dampened Charlie’s spirit. Stuck in the cabin catering to her racked stomach, he still wore a smile every day and told her over and over again that there was no place he’d rather be.
She picked up the frame and ran her fingers over the image of Charlie’s smiling face. Her life was so different now, but she missed him and would give just about anything to have him back.
Echo allowed herself to shed a tear for him before tucking the pain back into the closet of her mind. She’d cried more since she’d stepped foot into the house than she had since the day she woke to find him gone.
As she reached out to set the picture back onto the desk, pain seized her head and spread out in full force from the back of her neck up to her temples. The room span in response and her stomach churned with the threat of vomit. Holy fuck!
Her hands flew up to her head and covered her eyes and she cried out in pain, the picture frame falling to the ground as she’d released it and the glass shattering into a pile on the floor.
She wasn’t sure how long the pain had lasted. She just remembered sitting there for what felt like an endless amount of time, tears of pain streaming down her face as she cried from the agony of it all. The tea was supposed to be helping and it had up until now. Pictures of Henry, Charlie, Paige, and Bridgette flickered through her mind, and as they suddenly swirled together in a blur and exploded, the symbol on the back of her neck appeared. The 3D image hovered in her mind, glowing bright before it suddenly lost its luster, turned a sinister shade of black, and fell into a pile of dust. A gust of wind carried the dust away and her mind fell into blackness.
When the pain finally subsided and Echo was able to open her eyes, she sat still in the chair, trying to regain her composure. It had been the worst episode so far and she suddenly craved the solace that the tea would give her. She stood to head into the kitchen when she saw the frame on the floor.
Large triangles of broken glass lay scattered on the floor, some of it still stuck within the frame. Bending down, careful not to kneel on the shards, she plucked the frame from the rubble and flipped it over. Wanting to save the picture, she released the latches that kept the back of the frame securely in place and carefully lifted it off. As she pulled it apart a smaller picture that had been hidden behind her and Charlie fell to the ground. Curious, she set the frame aside and picked up the picture. It had a patina to it and the paper it was printed on was thicker than most picture paper currently available.
In the center of the photo stood a man who resembled Charlie, his hair hanging down to rest just at his shoulders, and he wore a dark scowl on his face. The woman who stood next to him shared his scowl and Echo immediately thought of Corrine. Charlie’s sister always seemed to be glaring at whoever she was looking at and it had always made her feel uneasy. The woman in the picture wore her hair pulled up tight and if it wasn’t for the age of the photo Echo would have placed money on the fact that it was Corrine. A second man stood to the right of Charlie, his black hair long and shabby like the Charlie look-a-like but he had a full beard and it made it difficult to make out the details of his face. The trio stood in the center of what appeared to be a park and behind them was stood a mature landscape of trees with a snow-capped mountain range off in the distance. It looked like somewhere in Central Oregon. Echo would recognize the silhouette of the Three Sisters Mountains anywhere.
She flipped the photo over, hoping for a date or place. Blank. Yeah, that seemed about right. Charlie rarely documented things. His memory was impeccable and he would have been able to tell her exactly who the people were, and when and where the picture had been taken without second-guessing himself.
When she flipped it back over and tried to decipher the background, her heart stopped and she openly gasped. Frantically she pulled open the drawers of Charlie’s desk, searching for a magnifying glass. He loved to be thorough and it wasn’t unusual to find him, magnifier in hand, seeking out the tiny details most people missed. In the top right-hand drawer she found it and with trembling hands she held it to the picture.
There, beside one of the trees lost in the background with a dark glare on her face stood Paige. She wore a white sundress and had long pigtails in her hair
, her arms straight down her sides, her hands clenched in fists. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven.
Echo felt a sudden surge of confusion and anxiety flood through her. She had never seen such disdain and hatred on her friend’s face, not to mention the fact that Paige had never let on that she knew Charlie, or his family, prior to Echo introducing them. There was a sense of malice that came off of the photo and Echo wondered what context it had been taken in. What in the world could have caused it? Paige had always been a joyful child, never angry or mean, always nice to even the cruelest of people. She’d often told Echo that she tried to live her life by the Golden Rule, and though it was hard sometimes, it was wise to remember that people were usually only mean because they were unhappy. Echo never really bought into it. She figured people were mean simply because they were born with sticks shoved up their asses and it was uncomfortable.
The mini replica of a grandfather clock that sat on Charlie’s desk began to chime and she looked at the time. 5:00 p.m. Shit! Where had the day gone? She needed to get ready for Henry. He’d be there at seven sharp and she didn’t want to keep him waiting. She quickly cleaned up the glass and gently set the mess on top of the desk. She’d clean it all up tomorrow and would sure as shit be asking Paige about it the next time she saw her.
Echo rushed through her shower but made sure that every orifice of her body was deeply cleaned and that there were no random patches of unwanted hair anywhere to be found. She wasn’t going into the date expecting much more than dinner, but as a precaution, she wanted everything to be as near perfect as possible, and stubbly legs were not going to cut it.
When she stepped out, dried off, and wrapped a towel around her hair, she made sure to apply an ample amount of her favorite lotion. It was scentless and made her skin feel like satin. From the top drawer of her dresser she pulled out a matching black lace thong and strapless bra and considered whether or not she should slip on a garter belt for stockings or just go natural. Henry had said to dress nice, so she opted for the stockings and slid them up over her legs and hooked them to the belt to keep them in place before she flipped through the various cocktail dresses in her closet, all still adorned with price tags.
Echo in the Night [Echo's Song] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 9