Page 79 of Silent Heart

It was better to know. If Kole was in town, I could lay low this weekend and avoid him. But the sinking feeling in my gut told me he wasn’t here. He’d simply disappeared this summer.People didn’t just vanish, and yet he had. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

“You two were really hot and heavy, what happened?” Sarah Jane leaned her boney chicken wing elbows against the stainless-steel countertop and curled her back like a cat.

“Nothing happened. His vacation was over.” I moved to the front door. “I’ll wait with Lilac.”

Gemma nodded.

Outside, I gulped down the crisp air. My chest felt as though it threatened to crack in two. The pressure from my fingers rubbing against my sternum helped. Lilac whickered at me, and I hurried to her side, tucking myself against her musky neck.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.It wasn’t a breakup, because it never was anything more than fun. So why did I still feel…something for him?

“Because he just disappeared,” I gasped. Not knowing where he was and if he was okay bothered me more than I cared to admit. And I couldn’t fight for us with such an abrupt ending.

Tipping her head, the mare bumped her nose against my shoulder in sympathy.

Chapter 31 – Harley

Against my better judgement, I cruised across the lake. The setting sun blazed warm, but its strength was deceptive. There was a bite to the air that promised a chilly fall night. For the first time since coming back here, I felt like I could breathe. I didn’t plan to be on the water, but here I was. Having blown off my friend with the excuse of a headache, I found myself at the dock, boat key in hand, after dinner with my grandparents. It wasn’t like I lied to Gemma. My temples ached, and my throat scratched. Thankfully, she’d said she also had to reschedule because her daughter threw up moments before I messaged.

Long shadows reached out to catch me. I sped out of their grasp, my sights glued on the navy blue expanse ahead of me. Like the horseback ride this morning, there wasn’t a purpose to the boat ride.

Or so I told myself.

I did a loop around our upper lake, only sparing a quick glance at the McTavish place as I passed. I cruised to the middle lake, only slowing for the channel passage. There were a few boatsparked at the Landing Bar & Grill. But I headed down to the bottom lake, doing a long loop.

Maybe it was the cool night air, maybe it was being on the water again, but my headache lessened.

As I passed the summer camp, the temptation to dive into the icy depths for a swim was strong. Ice baths were trendy, with enough science to back up the validity of their health benefits. But it seemed I was beingdrivenby a force of nature, stronger than I could resist, across the water. With enough gas in the tank, I pushed the throttle down andflewover the surface.

It wasn’t until I came through the upper channel that my heart began to patter. The outsides of the big lake house were on, one of the only houses on this stretch that was occupied. They were having a bonfire.

Who was there? Did they even know Kole?What if he is there?

Curiosity drew me closer. The engine of the boat puttered along the no-wake buoys. I could make out people on the lawn, sitting around a fire. They were too far away to see their faces. But judging from the size of them, two or three of them could have been Kole.

Scolding myself internally, I was about to angle out into the lake and cruise back home. A shout drew my attention. The blast of a horn sounded behind me.

Several fishermen in a fancy bass boat barreled by. I had the right of way and plenty of room to maneuver, but they came within feet of hitting me. The wake created from their boat was strong enough that it sent me sideways toward the end of one of the docks. It took all my boating skills to keep from a collision. I didn’t have money to fix a rich person’s fancy composite dock.

I yanked the motor to neutral and scrubbed my face. That was close. It served me right for lurking around here where I had no business.

“Miss, miss! Are you okay?” a familiar voice shouted behind me.

Turning, I saw the man who’d come with Kole that first day. He jumped from the last steps and hurried to the end of his dock. I threw up my hand in a weak wave. That was Kole’s relative.His brother.My mind drew a blank, adrenaline racing through my veins and sapping all my strength post near collision incident.What was his name?!

“Yes,” I croaked. “Just some assholes, probably drunk. Nothing new for these parts.”

“Hey, I know you,” the brother called out, concern erasing from his cheery face. “Hi, Harley! You remember me, from the restaurant on the middle lake?”

“Hi! How’s it going?” I didn’t trust myself to stand, my legs were shaking from the near brush with danger.

Lucas.The voice in my mind snapped the name to the face of the man leaning on the pole at the end of his dock.

“Oh, it’s going,” he laughed. “Spur of the moment family vacation since our college girl is home.”

Why was there something dancing at the edge of his words? It was like he was smirking at a secret joke. I shook my head. It didn’t matter. I was tired and needed to go home to study before bed. “Well, it was good to see you, and I’m okay. Really. No harm done.”

“Want to come up for a drink? Calm your nerves?” Lucas offered.

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