she could have walked the path in her sleep. But even with her familiarity she was unsettled by the cloak of night surrounding her.
The air was warm and fragrant and the rich smell of juniper lent sweetness to the air. Gravel crunched beneath her feet as she walked down the twin-rutted lanes of the narrow dirt road. The normal chirp of the birds was eerily absent.
As she got closer to the beach she could hear the waves washing ashore. The rhythmic in and out of the water made her more at ease and she found herself thinking of Jamie Rivard.
Something about him was different than any other men she’d met. Maybe it was his upbringing. His manners and voice held the strains of southern genteel, even if his style of dress and transportation was more on the wild side.
The man was a contradiction. But more importantly, the man was distracting.
How he’d managed to get her uncle to hire him was beyond her. People around Chandler were known for distrusting outsiders. But her uncle knew that as well as any other. She tended to forget that it wasn’t that long ago her uncle had come to Maine to help them after her father’s death.
In the darkness, she let out a sigh as she pictured Jamie Rivard. She considered herself a good judge of character, but he didn’t fit any stereotype she’d ever seen. He was friendly, yet standoffish with a swaggering confidence that he countered with a boyish charm.
And then there was the question of the limp. That slight hesitation that he tried to hide hadn’t been noticeable during their first meeting. But since his arrival at the house she’d watched him. She’d seen the hitch in his stride and the uneasy hesitation when he stood up. He disguised his discomfort well, but she’d seen enough to know that something about his leg wasn’t right. Maybe it was tied to the scar? It was a new scar, still raised and discolored. Whatever had happened to him, hadn’t happened very long ago.
She didn’t consider herself naïve. She’d gone to college. There had been other relationships before her marriage. But there was something different about the way he looked at her. Somewhere beneath that cocky exterior was a man she might like to meet. She just wasn’t sure how to find him. She certainly wasn’t looking for a permanent romance, but it’d be nice to have someone interesting around for as long as it lasted.
Her feet hit soft beach sand and she trudged on, sinking into the loose coarse earth. She walked close to the shoreline until she came to the point where the ledges stuck out into the ocean like a darkened spear.
Shelby searched out the familiar hand and footholds, carefully pulling herself up onto the ledges. A breeze kicked up off the water, brushing against her skin as she settled herself into her usual place, set up high on the ledges and well away from the waves that scared her.
There were no boats and no planes in sight tonight. There was nothing but the wind to make a noise. Shelby settled back against the rocks to wait.
After only twenty minutes, the night air had managed to put a chill deep into her bones. Clouds were moving in fast, making the sheltered cove even darker and erasing the line of the horizon against the night sky.
She was a fool to think that something suspicious had happened. Despite her suspicious mind, nothing ever happened in Chandler. The most they’d ever had to deal with were cut lines and the occasional turf war.
With a sigh, Shelby readied herself to once again make the trek back home. A good nights sleep would help her forget her troubles, especially her problems with her brother.
Her dark mood returned as she thought about Josh. The look on her uncle’s face when he’d returned from searching for her brother had been enough to scare her all over again. Josh’s disappearance had once again brought up all the horrible feelings that Tommy’s death had caused.
Shelby started picking her way back down the ledge, seeking out hand and foot holes
The air was warm and fragrant and the rich smell of juniper lent sweetness to the air. Gravel crunched beneath her feet as she walked down the twin-rutted lanes of the narrow dirt road. The normal chirp of the birds was eerily absent.
As she got closer to the beach she could hear the waves washing ashore. The rhythmic in and out of the water made her more at ease and she found herself thinking of Jamie Rivard.
Something about him was different than any other men she’d met. Maybe it was his upbringing. His manners and voice held the strains of southern genteel, even if his style of dress and transportation was more on the wild side.
The man was a contradiction. But more importantly, the man was distracting.
How he’d managed to get her uncle to hire him was beyond her. People around Chandler were known for distrusting outsiders. But her uncle knew that as well as any other. She tended to forget that it wasn’t that long ago her uncle had come to Maine to help them after her father’s death.
In the darkness, she let out a sigh as she pictured Jamie Rivard. She considered herself a good judge of character, but he didn’t fit any stereotype she’d ever seen. He was friendly, yet standoffish with a swaggering confidence that he countered with a boyish charm.
And then there was the question of the limp. That slight hesitation that he tried to hide hadn’t been noticeable during their first meeting. But since his arrival at the house she’d watched him. She’d seen the hitch in his stride and the uneasy hesitation when he stood up. He disguised his discomfort well, but she’d seen enough to know that something about his leg wasn’t right. Maybe it was tied to the scar? It was a new scar, still raised and discolored. Whatever had happened to him, hadn’t happened very long ago.
She didn’t consider herself naïve. She’d gone to college. There had been other relationships before her marriage. But there was something different about the way he looked at her. Somewhere beneath that cocky exterior was a man she might like to meet. She just wasn’t sure how to find him. She certainly wasn’t looking for a permanent romance, but it’d be nice to have someone interesting around for as long as it lasted.
Her feet hit soft beach sand and she trudged on, sinking into the loose coarse earth. She walked close to the shoreline until she came to the point where the ledges stuck out into the ocean like a darkened spear.
Shelby searched out the familiar hand and footholds, carefully pulling herself up onto the ledges. A breeze kicked up off the water, brushing against her skin as she settled herself into her usual place, set up high on the ledges and well away from the waves that scared her.
There were no boats and no planes in sight tonight. There was nothing but the wind to make a noise. Shelby settled back against the rocks to wait.
After only twenty minutes, the night air had managed to put a chill deep into her bones. Clouds were moving in fast, making the sheltered cove even darker and erasing the line of the horizon against the night sky.
She was a fool to think that something suspicious had happened. Despite her suspicious mind, nothing ever happened in Chandler. The most they’d ever had to deal with were cut lines and the occasional turf war.
With a sigh, Shelby readied herself to once again make the trek back home. A good nights sleep would help her forget her troubles, especially her problems with her brother.
Her dark mood returned as she thought about Josh. The look on her uncle’s face when he’d returned from searching for her brother had been enough to scare her all over again. Josh’s disappearance had once again brought up all the horrible feelings that Tommy’s death had caused.
Shelby started picking her way back down the ledge, seeking out hand and foot holes
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