Page 5 of Kindred Lies
Chapter 3
Amethyst ambled along the sidewalk lost in thought. When she had exited the inn she had noticed there was a bridge leading out to a break wall. So without thinking too much about where she wanted to go she turned in that direction needing the calming affects the lake had on her. For some reason she always turned towards bodies of water to think. After her encounter with Cooper and Ben she found she really needed to reflect on everything.
The encounter made her feel unsettled inside, something she could normally brush off. Ben Anderson had a very gorgeous physique, one opposite in coloring of his best friend. Where Cooper's looks tended to be dark Ben's fell towards the light with blond hair and blue eyes. He made his interest in her quite clear, all she needed to do was reach out and accept. She now had two gorgeous males to choose from and no clue which she liked more.
Just as she reached the steel and wire bridge on the sandy beach her cell phone started to ring, digging into her tote bag Amethyst retrieved it. She grimaced as she stared at the caller I.D. Lyoness Keane, otherwise known as her mom, was trying to get a hold of her. Something Amethyst did not look forward to, ever. Her mother could be as flighty as a flock of pigeons flying across the sky. She couldn't ignore her because Lyoness Keane never gave up. She would just keep calling back repeatedly until Amethyst broke down and answered. She might as well see what her mother wanted. It would get the conversation over with as soon as possible. Besides it didn't get any easier to deal with at a later time. Amethyst pressed the button to accept the call and held it up t her ear.
“Hello Mother.” She tried to keep the irritation out of her voice but failed. Why did talking to her mother have to be such a chore?
“Darling wherever are you these days?” Lyoness’s high-pitched voice filled her ears.
What? Why did she want to know her current location? Another bad sign, how to handle it.Hmm…Well, she might as well be honest? Right? What harm could it do? No reason to start panicking yet. Her heart pounded inside her chest. It was a little too late to calm herself now that every horrible scenario was flowing through her mind. “I'm in a sleepy little town called North Point, Michigan.” She tired to sound nonchalant. She wasn’t sure she succeeded. “Why mother?”
Completely ignoring her question Lyoness asked, “Is it on a lake? I love the Great Lakes.”
Amethyst wanted to scream, but refrained from doing so. It was best to remain as calm as possible while dealing with her mother. Instead she tried to change the subject and asked about her mother's latest love interest.
“How's Saul?”
She could almost see her mom brush her hands in front of her as she replied, “Oh that jerk. We ended things last week. Time to move on. You know how it is. Now tell me about this sleepy little town. Which lake is it on?”
She should have known her mother and Saul broke up. Amethyst would like to say she could count all of her mother's lovers on one hand, but it would be a lie. No, she would probably need a calculator or some kind of bookkeeping software to keep track of them all. Yes, it had been that extensive and mind blowing. Her mother and Saul called it quits. The only surprise was in how fast it happened. This had to be a record for her mother.
With a sigh she lifted the phone away from her mouth and covered her mouth so to prevent a scream from erupting. She got herself under control and replied, “Lake Michigan”
Amethyst heard a loud squeal of pleasure on the other end. “Oh, that's absolutely perfect. Where are you staying? I'll be there tomorrow. We can hang out and have some girl time. Are you working on a new story? I am sure this one will be as brilliant as all the rest. I can help you do some of your research. This will be soooo much fun. I can't wait to see you love.” Her mother kept rambling on and didn’t give Amethyst a chance to interrupt. Not that she would have. Her mind shut off as soon as her mother mentioned she’d join her.
Just as she feared, her mother wanted to pay her a visit. More like drive her nuts. There's no way to talk her out of coming to North Point. Lyoness had decided on her travel plans before she placed the phone call to Amethyst. Lyoness Keane did whatever she wanted, when she wanted to. All she could do was grin and bear it. Before she gave up completely Amethyst attempted to talk her mother into staying in Florida.
“I don't know Mom. Are you sure you want to come all the way here? It's quite a drive from the airport. Plus you are in Miami. It's beautiful there.”
“I'm sick of Florida. I need a change. It's been years since I visited Michigan. I think it's time to return there. What's the name of the inn you're staying at?”
A wasted effort like she had originally thought. So she gritted her teeth before she said something she would regret. Her mother could be as demanding as a two year old at times. Once Lyoness Keane got an idea in her head it could turn into an all out brawl just too even suggest she make a different choice. So Amethyst reluctantly told her the name of the inn. “Trenton-Hill Inn.”
Armed with the information she had called for Lyoness giddily told Amethyst before ending the call. “Okay baby, I will see you tomorrow. Kiss-Kiss.”
Amethyst just stared at her phone in bewilderment; her mother had hung up on her. After several minutes she placed her phone back in her tote and turned around walking aimlessly towards the Inn. It looked like she would have to prepare for her mother's arrival the next day. Should she warn Cooper? It would give her a reason to talk to him. Not sure if talking to him would be a good idea or not she decided against it. On the other hand, the inn should be aware that she would have another guest in her room. No way was her mother going to get her own room. She most likely bordered on broke and lacked any personal funds. It was one of the reasons she sought out Amethyst after a break up. Her mother’s lovers paid all her expenses and once they ended the relationship her funds dried up.
She looked up and saw that she had arrived back at the inn. Amethyst headed inside. She sighed and resigned herself to her situation. She sent up small thanks she was in a large suite with a pull out couch. As she walked into the inn she noticed Cooper was no longer behind the counter. A young woman with short black hair, purple eyes, and a sunny smile greeted her. “Hi, I'm Olivia. How can I help you?”
It took Amethyst a minute to get over her disappointment Cooper would not be helping her. Not that she should care, but she couldn't help her attraction to him. She looked forward to having another conversation with him.
“Oh I thought Cooper was working.”
Olivia nodded the smile never leaving her face. “Oh he is…or was I should say. He had an emergency with his dad so he called me to take over. Are you one of our guests?”
“Oh. I'm sorry, yes. I'm Amethyst Keane. I'm in room thirteen. I needed to let him know that my mother, Lyoness Keane will be joining me tomorrow. If I'm not here when she arrives can you make sure she gets a key to my room?”
“Oh absolutely I'll make a note of it in our computer. Is there anything else you need?” Olivia wrote down the information on a yellow sticky note and placed it on the computer monitor.
She really wanted to know what was going on with Cooper and his dad so she blurted out, “Is Cooper's dad okay? I'm sorry I know that might be too personal.” She shouldn’t be prying into Cooper’s business. “Sometimes I can't help my curious nature.”
Olivia waved her hands in a dismissive gesture. “Oh I'm sure Mr. Marchant, is fine. He retired a year ago when Cooper's mom died. He lives alone out at the house by Ghost Peak. I guess he got stuck on his roof. The wind blew his ladder down or something. Luckily he had his cell phone in his pocket and called Cooper for help.”
Ghost Peak? That place sounded interesting so Amethyst asked. “Oh that’s a fascinating name. Why is it called Ghost Peak?”
“It's rumored to be the place that Easton Hill proposed to Marianne Trenton. Other than this inn the legend says he haunts that spot each year on the day he proposed to her.”
