Page 2 of Finding Forever
A massive headache started to build behind my eyes. “I’ll pay for my groceries, then go and see him. Someone’s made a mistake.”
Jonathan took a business card out of his pocket. “Take this. If you get stuck, call me. I have a spare bedroom you can use.”
I didn’t think I’d need it, but I took the card anyway. “Thanks. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
“Don’t forget your apple cider,” Jonathan said quickly.
I added two half-gallon containers to my cart. I might not need to use Jonathan’s spare bedroom, but I would definitely need the cider.
two
ERIC
My fingers paused over the keyboard. I glanced at my story outline, then back at the page I’d spent the last hour rewriting. It wasn’t working. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a convincing way to make a dead body appear in Aaron Connelly's orchard.
Sherlock, my German Shepherd, looked up and sighed.
“You’re right,” I said with a smile. “It’s time for a break. Let’s go for a walk.” Before I could push back my chair, Sherlock was already sitting in front of the French doors, eager to escape.
As soon as I opened the doors, he bolted down the path that led to Willow Lake.
I limped after him, wincing as a sharp pain shot down my right leg. I knew better than to sit in one position for too long, but time had a way of disappearing when I was writing. I wanted to finish the second chapter of my book in the next couple of hours, but that depended on how quickly I could get a dead body out of the Hudson River.
Sherlock had disappeared into the forest, but I wasn’t worried. He rarely went more than a hundred yards from me. He was probably sniffing out a skunk, chasing a red squirrel, or terrorizing a wild cat.
I took a deep breath, enjoying the sweet scent of the pine trees surrounding the property. After spending most of my life in New York City, Sunrise Bay felt like living in a parallel universe. I’d only been there for three months, but I couldn’t imagine going back to the concrete jungle I once called home.
My cell phone rang, and I sighed. Sometimes, the rest of the world found you whether you wanted it to or not. I looked at the caller display before answering. It was my friend, Alex. “Hi. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
The urgency in Alex’s voice worried me. “Walking toward the lake. Why?”
“The grandson of the original owners of the cottage is coming to see you. He didn’t know you’d rented the property.”
“Why does that matter?”
“He was going to stay there.”
I rubbed my leg, feeling the familiar ache. “He can’t. I’m here.”
“That’s up to you to work through. I just wanted to let you know that he’s on his way. His name’s Riley.”
Of all the things I needed right now, an unexpected visitor wasn’t one of them. “Where did you see him?”
“He was buying groceries at the general store. I overheard him talking to Jenny.”
I frowned. Anyone who spent more than a day in Sunrise Bay ended up in the general store. “Thanks for warning me.”
“No problem. How’s the book coming along?”
“Slowly. How would you get a dead body from the Hudson River to Delaware?”
“Refrigerated truck?”
“Too risky.”
“Boat?”