Page 27 of The Lake of Lost Girls

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Starving,” I replied as we started down the sidewalk.

Ryan fell in step beside me. “Me too. This hotel is great, but it’s still hard being cooped up inside all day.”

“We can take a walk through the park, it’s really pretty at night, and there should be some food stalls still open.”

“Sounds perfect,” Ryan readily agreed.

We crossed the street to the large park and I guided him down a winding path toward a grove of trees. It was a chilly evening, so I zipped up my coat and shoved my hands deep in my pockets.

“I’ve been working on my article since first thing this morning,” Ryan told me as he rubbed his hands together to stay warm, “I hadn’t realized how cold it had gotten.”

“Yeah, but the fresh air is nice.” My stomach flipped with nervousness at being near him again, and I knew I needed to keep myself in check. But for once I pushed away my misgivings and had to trust what my instincts were telling me. That Ryan was a decent guy and I could trust him.

“Are we really talking about the weather?” he asked playfully. “If so, this isn’t going well for me.” He fake-winced and I found myself laughing.

I had thought of little else but Ryan since meeting with him at the coffee shop. I still wondered if I was being foolish in how quickly I was coming to enjoy his company—and to tentatively trust him. But I couldn’t deny how good it felt being around him. How he gave me permission to just beme.And that was a feeling I hadn’t realized I was missing so badly.

Yes, I wanted to learn more about my sister, but I was also figuring out a little bit about myself, too, which I hadn’t expected.

“You’re doing fine. More than fine,” I told him. My cheeks heated, despite the cold. I kept my eyes in front of us, too embarrassed to look directly at him. I had never been this bold before, particularly with a man I barely knew.

“That’s good to know,” Ryan replied. “So, food …”

“You’re going to want one of Stan’s Burgers. They’re the best around,” I suggested, seeing the food stall on the path ahead.

We made our way over and placed our orders.

“Don’t wait for me,” Ryan said, seeing my eagerness and, not needing any encouragement, I took a huge bite of my burger.

“I was hungrier than I thought,” I chuckled sheepishly, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

I was already halfway finished when Ryan handed me a coffee. “One mocha latte for the sweet tooth.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I liked how he cataloged details away, making note of things that to others wouldn’t have mattered. He was observant. And empathic. He was good at making me feel special. A nasty voice in the back of my mind warned that it was all an act, but I hoped that my common sense was right and that he was as honest as he came across.

We walked slowly down a cobbled path, eating in silence. It felt comfortable and not at all awkward.

“It’s nice here,” Ryan observed.

Even at night the park was pretty, with neat planters and clean flower beds. Old-fashioned bulb-shaped lights were strung between the streetlamps and wrapped around the wooden bandstand in the middle of a clearing of trees.

“Starting in June, the hotel puts on a summer concert series. We hire local up-and-coming bands to perform every Friday evening.” I indicated the gazebo-like structure. “It’s become a huge tourist attraction. People come from all over. We’ve had some bands that have gone on to become pretty big names.”

“That sounds like fun,” Ryan said.

“It is. It’s a nice change from how things used to be. At one time, this town was a tourist’s dead end. It’s taken a lot of work to claw back from that and to turn this into a place people want to go.” I finished my burger and balled up the wrapper, throwing it into the nearest trash can.

As I sipped on my coffee, my phone rang. I fished it out of my purse and saw my mom’s name. For the first time I felt annoyed at her checking up on me. She called at least once during my shifts. I knew it was something born out ofuncontrollable anxiety. I never blamed her for it and it had never bothered me.

Until now.

I switched the phone to silent. I only had twenty minutes before I needed to get back. I would call her then. I was already anticipating the earful I’d receive for not answering, but right now, I didn’t care.

“Another reporter?” Ryan questioned.

We sat down on the nearest bench, sitting close enough that our arms pressed against each other.

---