Best of 2017

by Alexa Riley

  “Because that Garrett has been starving you to death over here.” Bonnie sliced her biscuit in half and rattled her knife in the jar of homemade scuppernong jam. “I told Sheriff Crow to let you stay with me, but no, he wouldn’t have it. He said you were in good hands out here and moving you was out of the question until you got better. I raised hell about it, but he still wouldn’t budge.” She rolled her eyes and expertly spread the jam along the warm biscuit. “Maybe he’ll change his tune now that you’re up and around.”

  I sipped my coffee, happy for the food and the company. “Garrett’s not so bad.” We’d spent the night in the same bed. I hadn’t gotten up the nerve to go for a cuddle, and I’d fallen asleep too quickly to act on the impulse even if I’d had it. The run through the woods had taken more out of me than I’d realized. He was gone when I woke, but I’d run my hand down his side of the bed, knowing he’d been there all night. So close.

  “Not so bad, huh? He doesn’t feed you worth a damn and keeps you in this haunted house. Seems pretty bad to me. Where is he, anyway?”

  I glanced at the wall behind her, the library beyond it. “Working.”

  “On what?”

  “Books. He restores them.”

  She cocked her head at me as if I’d spoken another language. “He does what now?”

  I explained his work as we ate a leisurely breakfast. Ty had given Bonnie the morning free to come and visit with me. If I ever laid eyes on him, I’d definitely thank him. She brought me bits of gossip from the county, and more importantly, the knowledge that I had a friend nearby. After we finished and cleaned up, I leaned against the farmhouse sink and tried to figure out the best way to ask questions without raising Bonnie’s suspicions.

  “I looked around at some of the family photos here. One of them sort of got my attention. A girl, Garrett’s sister.” I fidgeted with the hem of my tank top. “Did you know her?”

  She glanced around, her dark eyes scanning every corner and shadow. Did she think Garrett was going to pop out and yell boo? “Everyone knew Lillian, sugar.”

  “What was she like?”

  Once satisfied we were alone and staying that way, Bonnie relaxed and rubbed her fingers along the brown skin at her throat. “She was beautiful. Larger than life. Back in my heyday, I competed in a few pageants around these parts.” She stood a little straighter. “But I was always runner-up to Lillian. You know how you meet some people and you forget them the next minute?”

  “Yes.”

  “Lillian was the sort you never forget. She sparkled, you know?”

  I nodded. I’d always thought the same of my mother.

  “She could light up a room as sure as a chandelier. Bright. She used to get up to some crazy shenanigans around here, I tell you.” She smiled and leaned back against the counter next to the fridge. “Damn girl would toilet paper roll the Browerton mayor’s house, then egg Sheriff Pennington’s cruiser, then go on a tear all along the country roads on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle—well, whichever boyfriend she had at the time.”

  I found myself smiling. “She sounds like a good time.”

  “She was. She really was. Charmed her way out of every lick of trouble.” Her face fell. “Shame what happened to her. I didn’t know she had any problems like that, you know?”

  “I don’t think anyone did.” Garrett still doubted it; his revelations last night told me as much. “Did you talk to her after she came back from Hollywood?”

  “Sure.” She started opening drawers, her scowl growing with each bit of disarray she found. When she discovered a stash of dishcloths, she snagged one, wet it, and began wiping down the counters.

  “Had she changed?”

  “Not really. Same sparkle. Just a little older like all the rest of us. She took up writing for the Browerton paper. Got the whole town riled when she did an exposé on Golden Grocery for discrimination against its black workers.” She smiled. “Made me damn proud.”

  I’d read her piece and remembered being impressed with her dogged search for the truth. We seemed to have that in common. “Did she still have boyfriends?”

  “Oh, sure.” She scrubbed a particular spot next to the sink with all the might her small frame could muster.

  “Any in particular?” I knew I was pressing my luck, but I had to make some headway on my father’s disappearance. The car told me I was on the right path. I just needed some trail markers to show me which way to go.

  “Sure, she saw crazy Danny—that was before he caught the crazy, mind you. Let’s see, the Satterly brothers. They got into a fight over her one afternoon right outside the diner. I’m talking grown men, in their late thirties, fighting over her. Ty had to break it up. I even heard she used to have girlfriends, too. Don’t know about that.” She worked her way around me, moving jars and wiping up every bit of dust as she went. “And there was one handsome fella she used to bring to the diner. Vince. He grew up around here. A couple years ahead of me in school.”

  I went taut like a dog on the trail of a deer. “How long did she see Vince?”

  “About the same as the others. Though, I think she was still dating him when”—She faltered, then scrubbed the side of the counter even harder—“when she did it.”

  “What happened to Vince?”

  She paused and wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “I don’t rightly know. I guess he left after that. He was raised here, but he never stayed. I think he was only hanging around again for Lillian, to be honest.”

  “So you never saw him again?”

  “Nope.”

  That put his disappearance just two weeks after I’d seen him last. He’d come to visit me at school, plopped down on my dorm room bed, and asked me when I was going to start digging for dinosaurs. He stayed long enough to smoke a cigarette, in violation of dorm rules, and give me an early birthday present—a surprisingly attractive scarf. Had Lillian picked it out?

  “You said she dated Danny. What happened to him between then and now?”

  She dragged the washcloth across the counter and shook it out in the sink. “Nobody knows. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he started acting squirrely right around the time Lillian died. Hiding in the woods. Showing up in town every few months screaming about lights in the trees, or voices, or God knows what else.”

  “I saw him. When I first started my survey, he found me in the woods, warned me away.”

  She turned and glanced down at my leg. “Maybe you should have listened.” She shrugged. “Sheriff Crow keeps him in line. Locks him in the drunk tank to dry out whenever he shows up. Then we don’t hear from him again for months.”

  If I could have physically kicked myself, I would have. My biggest lead had been right in front of me the whole time. “How would I find him?”

  “You don’t.” She stabbed a finger at me. “Stay away from him. You know how I told you Garrett was evil? Maybe, and I mean maybe, I was wrong about him. But I’m not about Danny. Something ain’t right in his head.” She scowled at the counters and tossed her dish rag into the sink. “Well, I’ve done all I can right this minute. This place needs a real scrub down, not my half measures.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Anyway, I’m so glad I finally got to come spend some time with you. Holler at me if you need anything. I’m always at the diner, and you have my cell.”

  “Yes.” I nodded as she pulled me into a crushing hug.

  “Watch out for Garrett.” She buried her whisper in my hair. “I’ve heard things about him. Bad things he likes to do to women.”

  I returned her hug. “He’s a teddy bear, I promise.” Unless you run from him.

  “If you want to stay with me in town, just say the word.” She grabbed her bright pink bag off the table and pulled her keys out. “I’ll get all over Sheriff Crow about it.”

  “Will do.” I stowed the two containers of food she’d brought in the fridge. “Thanks for the food. Though the Garrett diet is doing wonders for my figure.”
/>   “No excuse for a grown man not knowing how to cook.” Her disapproving tone came back with a vengeance as she strode into the hall, and I followed with a limp. She’d let her hair go natural, the brown curls fluffing in a cute halo around her head.

  The library doors opened right as we passed by. Garrett looked up, surprise raising his eyebrows. “Bonnie. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I’ve been here for half an hour.”

  “Food?” A hopeful smile gave him a boyish look.

  “In the fridge.” She scoured him with a harsh stare. “But save some for your prisoner. She’s getting too skinny.”

  “Maybe you should bring food more often.”

  “Do I look like a Meals on Wheels to you, Blackwood?”

  He glanced to me, unsure. “Um, no?”

  “No is correct. Learn how to cook.” She pointed at me. “Let this little bit here teach you.”

  He glanced at me. “You know how to cook?”

  “I dabble.” I shrugged. “But I haven’t had a chance to try since my leg’s been messed up.”

  “Here’s what I’ll do.” Bonnie pulled the heavy front door open. “I’ll stop by the store and bring you two everything you’ll need for a week.” She flicked her gaze to Garrett. “Give me a credit card.”

  He fumbled around in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

  “I’ll be back after my shift, and I’ll use this”—She plucked the card from his hand—“to pay for my gas.”

  “That would be perfect! Thanks, Bonnie.” I smiled, excited at the thought of having something other than a Garrett special. Maybe it should have put me off, the thought of cooking in this kitchen to the point of almost playing house with him. But good food wasn’t something I could pass up, no matter how awkward it got.

  Garrett frowned, but didn’t raise a fuss.

  “All right. See you in a few hours.” I closed the door as she walked down the front porch stairs.

  Leaning back against it, I eyed Garrett. “What’s with you?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not a big fan of visitors.”

  “Water is wet.” I rolled my eyes. “This will be great. It can’t be worse than what you make, right?”

  “You have a point. You already eat?”

  “Yep.”

  “Plans for the rest of the day? More snooping?” He stuffed his hands into his jeans, the movement bringing my gaze down to his belt and lower.

  I snapped back up to meet his eyes, but his smirk told me I’d already been caught. “I’m all snooped out. If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at some cat videos—very important—and read the news on your laptop.”

  “By all means.” He gestured toward the living room.

  “Okay.” I turned and step-hopped toward it.

  His hand was at my lower back in a moment.

  “I can manage.” I didn’t move away.

  “I know you can, but you shouldn’t.” He stood close enough that I could feel his body heat, smell his woodsy scent. My bed still smelled like him. “May I?” His gaze landed on my lips.

  My nipples hardened and tingled. “Yes.” Permission. But what was I allowing him to do? Just help me, right?

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted. We walked to the living room, our bodies pressed against each other and my feet barely touching the ground.

  “Thanks.” I held onto his neck as he lowered me to the couch.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I dropped my arms and stared up at him before letting my gaze trace down the buttons of his polo, past the lean stomach, and down to the bulge in his pants. Jesus.

  He turned and grabbed his laptop from the nearby ottoman, then handed it to me. “Try to keep the porn to a minimum. Viruses and all.”

  “No promises.” I took the computer and perched it on my lap.

  He hesitated, as if wanting to say more, then tightened his jaw and strode away toward the kitchen.

  I flipped open the laptop and searched in my pocket for the memory card I’d found in Lillian’s closet. The sound of a plate hitting the countertop reassured me that I was safe, but I turned on the sofa so I faced the door. If Garrett walked in, I’d have plenty of time to minimize whatever was on the memory card before he got around to see the screen. I didn’t know what I would find, and I wasn’t ready to share it all with him. Not yet.

  With shaking fingers, I snugged the card into the small opening along the left side of the laptop. A file popped open on the screen. I clicked inside and found about twenty folders, each one named by date, which I assumed corresponded with the dates on which the photos were taken.

  I opened the first folder and found five images. The first was of the front of the Browerton grocery store, the next four were photos of workers. The next folder had more of the same, but with images of paychecks. I sped through the next few file folders, most of them pertaining to Lillian’s investigation and eventual news article on the discrimination.

  The next folder, dated a little over two years ago, held something that I never thought I’d see. Dad lying on a picnic blanket on a sunny patch of grass, a smile on his face and his Braves hat shading his eyes. Three more photos, then a selfie with both of their faces pressed together. Tears threatened as I studied them. My father’s crooked smile, the familiar wrinkles, and the mischief that always sparkled in his eyes. Lillian cut her gaze toward Dad, a smile along her reddened lips. Her long hair cascaded around her shoulders, and I could see why she won every beauty pageant she entered.

  Footsteps in the hallway forced me to minimize the window and click on the Internet.

  “Why did we agree to this cooking scheme when we could have just had Bonnie keep bringing us food?” Garrett leaned on the doorframe and rubbed his stomach. “I’m certain nothing I can make will beat those grits.”

  “I know right?” I answered so quickly all my words ran together.

  Garrett cocked his head to the side. “You all right, Red?”

  “I’m fine.” I fidgeted, making sure to wince when I moved my leg. “It’s just sore. I think I’ll go get some rest once I’m done with the kitten of the week video.”

  He didn’t seem convinced and ran a hand through his dark hair as he held my gaze. “If you say so.”

  “Yep.”

  “Call when you want to go up, okay? Can’t have you falling down the stairs. Insurance rates, you know?”

  I snorted. “Right, insurance rates.”

  He shot me a smile, one made of some sort of heart-melting material. “I’ll get back to work, but you can”—He shoved his hands in his jean pockets and inspected his feet—“you can come by if you want, or like I said, just tell me when you want to go up.”

  Heart definitely thawing. “Thanks.”

  “Welcome.” He walked out, the sound of his footsteps receding as I stared after him.

  He had a sweet streak. Who knew? I adjusted myself on the leather couch, the cushions squeaking a little as I lifted my leg onto the ottoman.

  I opened the file again and scrolled to where I left off. Instead of getting snared in the picnic photo again, I skipped to the next date.

  Woods. I zoomed in on the photos but wasn’t sure what I was looking at other than woods similar to those around Blackwood. I clicked to the next and then the next. Ten photos in, and I couldn’t tell what the hell Lillian thought she’d captured on the photos. But I did find a pic with my father’s hand and wristwatch in the side of the frame. Whatever she’d been looking for, Dad had been with her.

  I clicked through the rest, but I saw nothing that would help me figure out what happened. Deciding I had to have missed something, I started over, scrutinizing each photo for any missing clue. Other than a hunter’s mark on a few of the trees—a circle with a squiggly slash through the center done in orange spray paint, I found nothing. Shit. I closed out of the file and pressed my hand to the top of the monitor. I’d almost closed the laptop when a thought hit me.

  I c
licked on the memory card again. After a right click and changing some settings, I had the computer show me all hidden files.

  “Bingo,” I muttered under my breath when a new file emerged, the last date of all the folders. I clicked inside and saw one file.

  Click-click. The image filled the screen, and my breath stopped. Another shot of woods, the sun barely peeking between the branches. But this one had much more; a shallow grave filled with what looked like at least three bodies unearthed. To the side of the pit, my father leaned on a shovel and stared just above the camera with a look that turned my blood to ice. The sparkle had left his eyes and in its place—raw horror.

  “Red?”

  I yelped and slapped the laptop closed.

  Garrett threw his hands up. “Damn.” He walked in and sat next to me as I furtively freed the memory card and stowed it in my pocket. “Cat videos getting to you?”

  I swallowed and tried to play it off. “Just tired, I think. You scared me; that’s all.”

  “You’re acting sort of…” He scrubbed his beard, the rasp reminding me of how it felt against my thighs. “Weird. Even for you.”

  “Even for me?” I tittered out a fake laugh and kept my hand on the top of the computer.

  “Yeah, especially what you just did right then. That bizarre laugh.” He stared at me. Could he hear my heart beating faster and faster?

  He glanced to the computer. “Are you going to share?”

  I wanted to trust him. My instincts told me to open the computer and show him what I’d found, but my mind was still on the fence.

  I hedged. “Maybe, but not right now.”

  “Fine. Keep your secrets.” He stood and sighed.

  I took his hand.

  He couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d smacked him.

  “Just give me some time, okay? Just some time? Please?”

  His demeanor softened, and he squeezed my fingers. “You know I can’t say no when you use that word.”

  I smirked up at him. “I play to my strengths.”

  “I’ve noticed.” He helped me up and held my waist as I hopped to the stairs.