Page 56 of Waitress at the Shadow Ridge Inn
“Suit yourself. Seriously, everything all right?”
“Yeah, of course. I’m just tired. Long shift.”
“And a man who’s keeping you from getting enough sleep at night,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Yeah, that too,” I agreed.
“Lucky bastard,” he muttered. “All right then, darlin’. Go home, get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.”
I felt his eyes watching me as I climbed into my Jeep, and I breathed a little easier. As much as Lou liked to tease and flirt, he was a good guy, and I felt better, knowing he was there.
As soon as I was out of the lot, my anxiety began to rise again. If my stalker found out where I worked, might he also have discovered where I lived? Did I dare go back to my cottage?
I could just take the main street, head up onto the highway, and keep going. If I wasn’t here, he’d have no reason to stick around.
I seriously considered doing just that, but the farther away from the inn I got, the more I calmed down. Rational thought began to return.
I didn’tknowmy stalker was in Shadow Ridge. Perhaps it had just been the power of suggestion, spurred on by rampant paranoia and the mental fog I’d been dealing with from lack of sleep and anxiety. Other than the shiver I’d felt when Shannon told me about the mysterious customer, there hadn’t been any of the usual warning signs. No neck prickles. No lingering sense of dread.
I could be overreacting. If my stalker were in Shadow Ridge, wouldn’t I have sensed him? Wouldn’t he have returned to the inn to see if I showed up?
Unless, of course, he had decided the inn was too public and he was waiting right now at the cottage, where it was dark and secluded and no one would know I was missing until I didn’t show up for my shift tomorrow. I’d be the server who’d simply left work and disappeared, never to be seen again.
I shuddered.Ifmy stalker were here andifhe’d discovered where I worked, then it seemed reasonable to assume that he’d discovered where I lived as well.
I looped the block and headed up the mountain. There was only one way to find out.
21
I drovepast the turnoff to the Mueller estate, then went another mile or so and pulled over to the right as far as possible. The road wasn’t wide enough to make a U-turn, so I executed a K-turn instead.
Traffic was nonexistent on this road, especially at this time of night, which was why I felt safe doing what I did next. I put all the windows down, shut off the engine and the headlights, and gave my eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. The sky was clear. With the full moon’s peak less than twenty-four hours away and zero light pollution, I could see the road clearly. The silvery moonlight lit up the trees and the leaves that clung stubbornly to branches, spilling over the faded black asphalt like a shimmery, translucent blanket.
I depressed the clutch and let the Jeep glide noiselessly downhill, putting my right foot lightly on the brake pedal to keep from gaining too much speed. When I approached the access road, I wrenched the wheel—steering was a lot harder without the engine on—and guided the Jeep onto it. I took my foot off the brakes and drifted in as far as I could, no longer visible from the road.
After setting the emergency brake, I eased out of the vehicle and made my way downward until I could see the caretaker’s cottage below.
Nothing looked amiss. The outside lights were on, as were the inside lights I’d left on timers. The curtains were open, allowing me to see inside. I watched and waited. I saw no movement.
I circled around the cottage, sticking to the shadows and moving quietly on thick beds of fallen pine needles, looking for a vehicle that might have been hidden, finding none. No red flag warnings from my guardian angel either.
Satisfied, I returned to my Jeep. I drove back to the cottage and pulled around to the side, as close to the mudroom as I could get. If someone came down the driveway, they wouldn’t see it right away.
I went inside and followed my normal routine, closing curtains as I made my way through the house. Everything was exactly as I’d left it.
I went into the bedroom and began tossing my minimal wardrobe into my travel bags, leaving out only what I would need for the next day. My stalker wasn’t here, but the possibility that he could be at any time accelerated my timeline. I needed to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.
It didn’t take long to gather my clothes. I sat down on my bed, pulled out a phone, and typed out a message to Steve, tears falling as I did so. I couldn’t leave suddenly without giving him some explanation, and I might not have the time later.
I rewrote it so many times. Conveying what I felt in words was not one of my strengths. In the end, I had only a few concise sentences.
Me: You’re my person. I’ll explain everything when I come back.
Basic,I knew, but it summed up everything nicely. Stevewasmy person, and he needed to know that I’d not only realized that, but accepted it as well. He also needed to know that, come hell or high water, I would do everything in my power to return.
I saved it as a draft. I’d wait until the last possible moment, and then I’d hit Send.
