Page 35 of Pity Parade

“Because that would cause him more pain, and I love him too much to do that.” She smiles like she did in the wedding picture I saw from their marriage announcement online. “Go to him,” she says. “He needs you.”

Memories of current day Heath start to infiltrate my brain. “What about what I need?” I demand.

“You need the same things,” she tells me. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Once again, she disappears, and I’m left alone with Heath. Against my better judgment, I reach out a hand to him. “How about that coffee?” But instead of taking my hand, he turns and walks away from me.

The obvious takeaway from this is that Heath Fox is not my person, and he never will be. As such, I need to focus my attention elsewhere.

And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

HEATH

Even though I don’t normally remember my dreams, I’m fully aware I had some doozers last night. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’ve been on the weird side for a while.

I’m so groggy this morning, I have a hard time opening my eyes to greet the day. Rolling over, I try to force myself back to sleep. The problem is I’m not a person who sleeps in. By the time I’m finally in a sitting position with my feet on the floor, I’m overcome by a very odd urge. I want to go back to that land for sale. I have no idea why I’m compelled to do this. I’m hardly going to build a skyscraper in Elk Lake. Yet, I’m drawn to this property, and I need to figure out why.

After drinking two cups of coffee and eating a blueberry muffin from my first visit to Rosemary’s, I open the front door to leave my cottage. It’s still cool out, but I can already smell the coming heat of the day. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply. If I were being fanciful, I’d say the air smelled like promise.

I open my eyes in time to see a car with Illinois license plates pull into the driveway and park in the spot in front of the neighboring cottage. It looks like Trina’s friend has arrived.

A man a few inches shorter than me steps out of the car. He’s got sandy brown hair and he’s wearing jeans and a cotton sweater. “Good morning!” I call out to him.

He turns around and smiles. “Hello.”

“Here on vacation?” I ask, making small talk.

I’m surprised to hear him say, “I won a contest.”

Really? “What kind of contest?”

He pops his trunk and pulls out a large duffle bag. “The woman on the phone said it was a singles’ thing. The weird part is, I don’t even remember entering it.”

I thought this guy was a friend of Trina’s. “Elk Lake is a nice town,” I tell him before asking, “Do you know anyone who lives here?”

He shakes his head. “No, I’ve never even heard of the place.”

I step toward him and offer my hand. “I’m Heath Fox. I’m right next door if you need anything.”

“Heath Fox, the developer?” He sounds surprised.

“That’s me.” I explain, “My family vacationed here one summer when I was a kid. I always wanted to come back.”

“That’s cool. Are you staying for long?”

“Until the end of August,” I tell him.

“Do you know anyone who lives here?”

I’m tempted to bring up Trina’s name but decide to keep that information under my hat, at least for now. I’m also tempted to bring up his nonexistent stutter but it’s clear that was another lie. “I’ve met a few locals,” I tell him. “They seem nice.”

He walks toward his front door while looking at his phone. After punching in the key code and making sure the lock disengages, he says, “Have a good day. I’m sure I’ll run into you again.”

“I’m sure you will.” Because I’m going to make it my mission that you do. There’s a mystery afoot regarding a beautiful television hostess and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

Getting into my car, I feel the urge to call Trina. Checking my phone, I look to see if I still have her number programmed into it. I discover that I do—so long as she hasn’t changed it in the last two years.

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