Page 2 of Take Me Slowly: part 2
A memory popped into my head, of a summer evening spent grilling, eating and laughing beside the creek.
Imagination, I told myself. It had to be.
"What happened to your parents?" I asked gently.
"They retired a couple of years ago." He frowned, his eyes fixed on me. "You have a lot of questions, city girl."
Yes, I did, and they were increasing by the minute.
"Are you some sort of undercover journalist? Is that why you're here? Those nails were a convenient excuse to come up here and stick your nose in where it doesn't belong?"
"Definitely not," I scoffed. "I don't know why I needed to come up here, I just did."
"What the fuck happened?" We reached the Clarke cottage and he stepped around me to lean against the wall beside the door. As if he was on guard against me trying to break in.
He lifted his chin and looked down at me, his eyes narrowed. "When you got out of your car, you looked like you saw a ghost. Or are you that eager to get on your knees for me?" His cheek twitched slightly, like a smile threatened before he shoved it back.
My lips parted. I wanted to explain what happened, but I didn't know myself. I was certain I'd been here before, but the more I thought about it, the less it seemed possible. I might have seen the place on TV or in a movie. Read about it in a book. Maybe someone painted it and I saw their work. It was beautiful up here, and quiet. The wind like a whisper, like it didn't want to disturb the tranquility.
Coral Clarke was dead.
I couldn't be her. Could I?
"I don't know," I said finally, aware of his scrutiny. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
From the expression on his face, we could agree on that.
"You should get back in your car and go back to Aurora Hollow, before you do something you'll regret." His eyes were dark and certain. Convinced I should walk away while I could. Sure I should run and never look back.
"Can I look inside?" I nodded toward the cottage.
Just when I thought he couldn't get more rigid, his entire body stiffened. "Why would you want to do that?"
I couldn't explain why; I needed to. If only to assure myself I'd never stepped foot in there before.
"No one lives there," I said easily. "The lease on the cottage I'm renting will be up soon. I might need somewhere else to live." It was as good an excuse as any, but predictably, he didn't buy a word.
"You're not living up here," he said. "For one thing, your boyfriends wouldn't allow it."
"They don't get to decide where I live," I said tersely. But he was right. Connor and Riley would lose their shit if I lived near Josiah. So would the rest of Aurora Hollow.
They welcomed me, but how welcoming would they be if I lived up here?
"This place would make a perfect art gallery," I said lamely. That was a more plausible story. It was quieter up here than it was in town. This would be a perfect place to paint and create. The cottage looked big enough to host retreats for other artists. I could picture them already, glass of wine in one hand, paintbrush in the other, sharing methods and tales in the shade of the trees.
"You can't rent it anyway," Josiah said, bursting my pretty bubble. "Gavin Clarke owns the place and he hasn't rented it outsince Coral left." A haunted look passed through his eyes before he forced his cold mask back into place.
"Has anyone else been inside?" I asked. My eyes lingered on him for a moment before I peered in through the window beside the door. The curtains were open, giving a view of the living room. "You have, haven't you? You look after this place as well. You must have a key."
His lips tightened, but he shrugged. "Someone has to keep the place from falling down."
There was more to it, but I decided not to push yet.
"This is going to sound weird, but I feel like I've been here before," I said softly. "This place. This house. It's… I don't know. Familiar."
"Don't," he said firmly. "Don't start making up bullshit because you're nosy. What is it with city folk, anyway? Always thinking they can poke their noses in other people's business. How about you go find someone else to piss off? I have better things to do." He pushed past me and stomped away.
"Coral's bedroom was purple," I blurted out. "Light purple, with dark purple curtains. And… Unicorns. There were unicorns."
