Page 23 of Lake
I drank the coffee and contemplated going in search of more. But decided I needed a shower to wash away all the frustration I was feeling.
Again, I found myself surprised as I pulled back the curtain and saw that the white tile and grout was still bleach bright white. Okay, so maybe men weren’t as bad as I had made them out to be in my head. This guy might have been better than me at the whole keeping things clean.
I rushed through the shower feeling insecure about being naked for too long even though Lake did tell me that I didn’t have anything to worry about and I knew I had turned the lock on the door. I had no choice but to use his soap, which I found oddly nice smelling. Like lemons and rosemary. And a hint of something darker that I couldn’t place. I didn’t really mind it or the way it actually made my skin feel silky smooth after I toweled off. I did my best to dry my hair with the towel then put it in a braid down my back. Most of the time I chose to keep it up in some way because it always seemed to get in my face otherwise.
After I was dressed, I felt brave enough to go in search of more coffee. Picking up my empty mug, I headed out the door.
I found my way back to the kitchen easy enough. There I found a full pot of coffee and the woman from last night humming at the stove while she cooked up some bacon.
“Abigail,” I said hoping that I remembered her name right.
“Oh, hey. Good morning.”
She gave me a smile and I returned it.
I knew I needed to say something because I knew I’d come off as grumpy the night before. Okay, fine. Not grumpy, a total bitch.
“Last night… I just want to say I’m sorry. I’d like to make a million excuses for being short with you, but I really am not the type of person to hide behind things. So, I’m really sorry and can we start over?”
“It’s okay,” she said genuinely. “Lake told me what happened. I don’t know what I would do if someone pulled a gun on me. I sure wouldn’t be as badass as he made you sound. Well, I guess you really were, given that I saw the black eye and all.”
She giggled almost as if she felt like she shouldn’t be laughing at that.
“Yeah, I feel bad about that too.”
She looked at me pointedly.
“Only a little,” I said under my breath which caused her to giggle again.
“Would you like some breakfast?” she asked returning her attention to the stove.
“Thanks, but I’m not much of a morning eater.”
I blamed my dad for that one, late nights sitting up going over cases the last few years had kind of shifted my meal times to not normal hours.
“I get that. I usually just have a bowl of oatmeal or some fruit. These guys eat a lot though.”
I wondered just how many of them there were. But it didn’t matter, I didn’t think I’d be sticking around here long enough to even worry about it.
“I’m going to go see how Lake is doing with my car.” I gave her a wave, snatched up my fresh cup of coffee, then headed back out to the front.
The place looked different during the day. The path that led through the trees to the garage out front was clearly visible now. Which was good because the last thing I wanted to do was get lost in a wooded area.
She went out on a case and never returned…
I saw the wording clearly on my tombstone. Not the most epic of ways to go out but hey, it was different.
I found my way back out to civilization and saw that all the bay doors to the back of the garage were open. I guessed it was almost eight so they were probably already open for business. The place was impressive even if it looked a little run down. It was clear that the original building had been added on to and pretty recently I could tell.
It looked like Lake had somehow gotten my car pulled into the place. His back was to me and he was bent over the hood. I stealthily made my way inside, mindful of the guys that were working, and stood right behind him, peering over his shoulder.
“If I tell you that your car is a piece of crap that can’t be saved, are you going to punch me?”
I laughed under my breath and was a little impressed that he knew I was standing there. I had been super sneaky after all. I was good at that. Took years to hone the skills that I had.
“No, but I might knee you in the nuts when you least expect it.”
He stiffened then ducked out from under the hood.
