Page 47 of Light of Day
“That’s not a deer,” he muttered.
Heather climbed off him and rolled out of bed in search of her clothes. He didn’t bother with clothes; more important to grab his firearm from his bedside table. With his Glock in hand, he padded silently out of his bedroom and in the direction of the strange sound.
It came from the south side of the cottage, where a lean-to shed sheltered his garbage cans and garden tools and chainsaws. Was someone trying to steal his tools? Unlikely, as they were nothing special, and in fact had come with the place. Maybe it was an animal—a raccoon or a skunk or a lost dog.
Either way, he proceeded cautiously, easing open the back door and stepping on silent bare feet across the dewy grass. It was still so early that the sun hadn’t risen above the horizon, and his yard was full of pearly light. A magical time of day, when the world held its breath in profound stillness before the burst of morning birdsong and revving lobster boat engines.
He held his breath as he approached the shed. Its interior was too shadowed for him to see anything, but the noise was getting louder the closer he got. He really hoped he didn’t have to scare away a skunk. There’d be no way Heather would let him get back into bed with her if he got sprayed. Whatever it was, he’d be tempted to shoot it just for interrupting their hot make-out session—that was a shootable offense, right?
“Don’t shoot!” A woman’s voice stopped him in his tracks. “I’m not trying to steal your garbage.”
He lowered his gun to the ground as a woman limped out of the shed. Her brown skin was streaked with dirt and she was missing one shoe. Some of her hair was in short braids, and some of it had sprung free.
“Gabby?”
22
“Heather!”
At the sound of Luke shouting her name, Heather, still barefoot, ran out of the house.
“Gabby!”The sight of her, even though she looked a mess, sent such a charge of relief through her that she let out a shriek.
She hurtled toward her friend and they flung their arms around each other. “Oh my God, I was so worried,” she said over and over again. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” Then she drew back to look at Gabby more closely. “You’re okay, right?”
“Mostly. A little bit not okay. I’m so glad you came out. There’s some insane shit going on here on this island. People havenoidea.”
“You weren’t answering your phone. I was freaking out.”
“I don’t know where my phone is. That kid locked me in that sailboat! I thought we were buddies, then all of a sudden things got shady.” Gabby’s gaze—those big brown eyes—swung toward Luke. “I was hoping he’d be here. I’ve been stumbling through these woods all night.”
They both turned toward Luke, who was quite the sight in nothing but his boxers—and that Glock, now pointed at the ground.
It seemed to finally click that Heather had spent the night there. Gabby’s eyebrows rose. “Um…exactly how long have you been on the island?”
Heather felt her face warm under Gabby’s knowing glance. “Honestly it feels like a year, but I think it’s just been a couple of days. One night at my mom’s, one night here. We were out late looking for you. We thought you were on that sailboat, but by the time we got there?—”
“I was gone. Yeah. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to get out.”
Stepping forward, Luke slapped at an early-morning mosquito. “How about we get inside? Gabby, what do you need? Food, a bed, a shower, or do you want to make a police report? Is that why you came to me?”
Gabby didn’t answer as they all trooped back inside Luke’s adorable cottage. To Heather, it looked like something out of a fairy tale, and it made her remember the good times of her childhood, when she and her friends had roamed the woods building fairy houses and climbing trees. It was nice to be reminded that there was beauty and magic on Sea Smoke, along with the gossip and dysfunction.
“Help yourself to whatever you want,” Luke told Gabby when they were all inside. “I’m going to put some clothes on.”
As soon as he’d disappeared inside his bedroom, Gabby turned to Heather. “How much can we trust him?”
“I…” Heather thought about it. “I have no reason not to trust him. He’s been helping me search for you. He probably broke a few rules in the process, but he didn’t seem too worried about that.”
“But he’s a Carmichael, right? The same family that owns the hotel?”
“Yes.”
Gabby scrunched up her face in doubt.
“He’s on the outs with his family, if that makes a difference. I think they disowned him when he got together with his ex. Why?”
“There’s some stuff I’ve dug up here, and it’s not going to make certain people very happy. I’m thinking I should get off this island before I drop it. This could be big for the podcast.” As exhausted as Gabby must be after a night in the woods, her eyes gleamed with excitement. “I was thinking I’d give the island constable a couple of hot tips before I leave.”
