Page 42 of The House Beyond the Dunes

I look up and down the beach. “Where are the woodlands?”

“Just west of Kyle’s cottage. Follow the road due west. The woods runs along the North Carolina/Virginia border.”

There’s more to the area beyond the beach. Knowing there’s uncharted territory triggers my curiosity. “How far away is it?”

“Less than a mile.” Devon smiles. “If you walk up there, be careful. There are folks there that don’t like outsiders.”

Her warning is unsettling. “Outsiders. Seems odd to call someone that today.”

“That’s because you live in the city, where everyone is connected.”

A faint, unsettled smile tugs the corners of my lips. “Sounds like Kyle was a real Huck Finn.”

“If that means he was smart as hell and loved adventure, then yes, that was Kyle. I don’t think that guy ever forgot any fact he heard.”

“Where are his brothers and parents?”

“His parents died years ago. Cancer. Big smokers. Kyle was the oldest. The middle boy, Jeb, was in jail for years. He was released in July but overdosed within days of getting out in a motel in Elizabeth City. The youngest boy, Zeke, is also dead. Drugs. The summer before Kyle’s junior year of college.”

“I didn’t know that.” None of these facts fits the perfect life Kyle projected when we were together. The university diplomas on his walls are a long way from here.

“How did he get from here to Georgetown?” I ask.

“He blew the doors off the SATs,” Devon says with pride. “He ended up with scholarships to several colleges.”

“You’re staring,” Kyle says as he stands behind me in his beach cottage.

My attention is drawn to the Georgetown diploma. “That’s an impressive education.”

“Be proud of your accomplishments.” Energy radiates from his body.

“I am.” I was. And I wasn’t. Public college is nothing to be ashamed of, but it doesn’t open the kind of doors his pedigree does. “I never thought I’d be where I am now.”

“What else do you want to accomplish?”

“After I earn my PhD? Find a job with benefits and pay a few bills. Beyond that, I don’t know. There is no grand plan for my life. I stumble from day to day, studying, serving coffee, and telling myself it’s all good.”

“Don’t worry. The future will take care of itself.”

“Where did he live when he was growing up?” I ask.

Devon smiles. “His folks had a small place down the road near the forest. His people have been up here for a few generations.”

“What did they do? How did they make a living?”

Devon’s shoulder raises and drops. “This and that. It’s what most folks do up here. Fishing, construction, or hunting guides. His brothers were a lot like Kyle. Smart. Ambitious. All of them were good at hunting and tracking. But the younger boys decided their way out wasn’t by using their brains but selling drugs.”

“Drugs?”

“All these beaches with no one watching ...”

I glance out toward the restless ocean. I thought I’d been getting to know Kyle, but now I realize we were virtual strangers.

“Kyle never did anything like that,” Devon says. “He was focused on the future.”

Kyle had a future until forty-eight hours ago. He was alive, eating, drinking, and anxious to make love to me. And then nothing.

I clear my throat. It’s tempting to keep pressing about Kyle, but I suddenly don’t want to know any more. “Much appreciated.”

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