I figured I could blame my childhood. My parents had been so concerned with our image, they’d drilled a certain amount of wariness into me whenever I was in public. That was probably what was making me jumpy now.
The ghost of my father still loomed over my life.
I kept walking. It was a reminder of why I’d left my hometown. Why I’d been so determined never to come back.
But this wasn’t Pinecrest. People here didn’t know, or care about, Audrey Young, daughter of Darryl and Patrice. I was just Audrey, the new girl who worked for the newspaper.
Plus, I had a date with Josiah Haven tonight. That was enough to chase away the unsettled feeling trying to worm its way through me.
July 5th
I hate seeing her happy.
Hate it.
Seeing her at all twists my gut with anger but seeing her happy makes it so much worse. She’s always happy. Always with that fucking smile. Because no matter what, her life is great. It’s perfect.
Always better than mine.
Maybe I shouldn’t have taken those pictures. But now that I have them, I can’t stop staring at them. She’s on her tiptoes, reaching up to kiss that hairy Neanderthal mountain man. I don’t know what she sees in him and I don’t really care.
I just hate seeing her so fucking happy.
I have to do something about that. She came here. She’s the one who came back. Everything was fine before. I don’t want her here. Can’t stand it.
I need to make her leave. She needs to go.
CHAPTER 21
Josiah
I wasn’t nervous.
A guy like me didn’t get nervous for a date. I’d been on tons of them. Maybe it had been a while, but that was by choice, not for lack of opportunity. Hell, Aunt Louise tried to set me up on dates all the time.
But there was something going on inside me when I pulled up to Audrey’s house. A buzz, like from a shot of good tequila. I kind of liked it.
I got out and went to her front door. Max stood with his front paws on the windowsill, bushy tail wagging like crazy.
“Tell your mommy I’m here, okay?”
I didn’t know why I was talking to her dog through the window. Maybe she was rubbing off on me; she talked to him all the time. I knocked and Max disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing in the window, wagging his tail even faster.
The door opened, revealing Audrey dressed in a moss green t-shirt, black bike shorts, and hiking boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she had a jacket draped over her arm.
“Does this work?” She gestured to her clothes.
I was pretty uninterested in a regular dinner date. So I’d told her to dress for the outdoors and if she was up for it, we’d go on a hike.
“Perfect.” I looked her up and down, appreciating the way the bike shorts showed off her curves and sexy legs. “It’s not a hard hike, but those shoes aren’t new, are they?”
“Oh, no, I’ve had them for a while.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want you to get blisters and have to pack you in on my back.”
She smiled and my buzz increased. “Come on, giving me a piggy-back ride down a treacherous slope was so fun.”
“Especially with a stinky dog.”
“That was not our best evening. But don’t worry, my shoes are broken in. Carrying me on your back shouldn’t be necessary.”
“Good.” I glanced at the dog. “Ready, Max?”
“Is Max coming too?”
“Does he like to hike?”
“Yeah, he loves it.”
“And do you want to bring him?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Then he’s coming.”
I didn’t know why she was looking at me all starry-eyed, like I’d just done something surprising or whatever. We were going on a hiking date. Of course her dog could come.
Besides, I kind of liked him.
We loaded up in my truck. There was room for Max in the back seat and he managed to stick half his body in the front by standing on the center console. I had to admit, his happiness was contagious. He posed with all the joy of a creature who couldn’t imagine anything better in life than to go for a truck ride with his mommy. And me, apparently, but I figured his doggy happiness was mostly due to the drive.
I took us out to a back road that led toward the far end of Lake Tilikum. Audrey watched the scenery go by with a small smile on her face. And it was pretty. Pine trees were interspersed with wildflowers blooming in clumps where the ground got enough sun and the tall grasses were still green from the spring snow melt and rain.
The dirt road ended in a small clearing with just enough room to turn around. I parked, turned off the truck, and reached for my backpack.