If she had to guess, she’d say Pelham was about two hours away from Avon. In her opinion, that wasn’t precisely Curt’s neck of the woods, but she wasn’t going to correct him. “I got here last weekend.”
“Leah said you’re staying in Avon. I was up that way in October. How do you like it?”
“A bit more rural than I expected, but I like it. It’s quiet.”
Before Curt left Nichols Investment and moved to New Hampshire to focus on his writing career, he’d lived in Boston, so he knew well how much life in a small town differed from living in the city.
“The media doesn’t know you’re there?”
“I don’t think so. And if it does, no one has bothered me.”
“Glad to hear it. If you want some company, I can drive up either this week or next.”
As much as she loved the solitude, she wouldn’t mind a short visit from Curt or any of her cousins, assuming they didn’t spend the night. Her parents were a different matter. “Sounds good. Whenever you have the time. I’ll text you the address of where I’m staying. I’m warning you, though, the town isn’t big on street signs.” If and when she ventured out, she’d probably need her GPS to find her way back to the cottage. “So, how was your trip?”
By the time Curt finished telling her about his vacation and all the fun the three of them had at the theme parks in Florida, she wanted to go herself. The enormous crowds she’d encounter kept her from making any plans to visit in the near future.
“Taylor and Reese are expecting me, so I need to go, but I’ll see you later in the week. If you need me to bring you anything, let me know.”
“Will do. And say hi to Taylor and Reese for me.” Ending the call, Juliette stuck the cell phone back in her jacket pocket and pulled on her gloves.
Cold air and silence greeted her when she stepped outside. For a moment, she stood on the little front porch and let both wash over her while enjoying the lake view. While it hadn’t been his intention, her conversation with Curt had conjured up thoughts of the stories circulating about her and the fact she’d dated a married man. And yes, they were still going around. She’d made the mistake of checking the Star Insider’s website last night. Some of the pictures posted were ones she’d never seen. But one stood out from the rest. It’d been of a man and a woman in bed. Since some of the pictures of her and Daniel had been taken together inside his home, she assumed the couple was in his bedroom, but because she’d never stepped foot in his room, she wasn’t positive. While all you could see was the woman’s naked back, she had blonde hair about the same length as Juliette’s, so the site was claiming she was the woman in the photo. However, it wasn’t possible, because they'd been at her place the one time they’d been intimate.
As she stood outside, though, thoughts of the media and the photo disappeared. It wasn’t the first time since she’d been at the cottage that she’d stood in the same spot and whatever concerns she had drifted away, proving she’d made the right decision in coming here.
Her first instinct was to walk along the perimeter of the lake, but at the last minute, she pulled out the map of the campground Mrs. Wright left her when she checked in. She’d already put a little checkmark next to the various paths she’d explored, but there were several left. One in particular caught her eye now. To reach it, she needed to follow the edge of the lake until she reached the area near cottage number twenty. At least by the looks of it, the path into the woods started somewhere behind the building and ended closer to the campground’s office. And unlike the streets in town, all the trails she’d followed so far had been well marked, suggesting the Wrights didn’t want guests getting lost on their property.
With a route decided upon, Juliette returned the map to the safety of her pocket and set off. A slight breeze blew the few pieces of hair not under her hat in her eyes, and she brushed them aside. Today, like every day this week, the lake remained empty, a large portion of it still covered by ice. Exactly how thick the ice was, she didn’t know, an
d she didn’t care to determine by stepping on it and finding herself submerged in icy water. Despite the lack of activity now, Holly assured her Avon Lake was a favorite of ice fishermen and skaters in January and February, and a hub of boating activity started around Memorial Day weekend, more or less around the time she’d be getting ready to leave. However, Juliette didn’t know where she’d go. She always had her place in Manhattan, but depending on what other changes she decided to make, it might not be the most optimal location. And if she chose to accept her mom’s offer to work at the Helping Hands Foundation, she’d have to move closer to Rhode Island. A relocation to Providence or Newport would allow her to be closer to much of her family, especially her sister, who she’d learned this week was pregnant. At the same time, though, if she returned to New York, she’d be closer to her brother and his family.
“First you need to figure out what you want to do.”
Wednesday afternoon, Pierre, her agent, had called wanting to know when she’d be back in the city and whether or not she wanted to be part of the Jolie fall fashion show again. She’d been part of every one of its shows since the former pop singer turned designer launched her label. Unlike some of the bigger ones in New York and Paris, the label’s shows had a whole different kind of energy while at the same time being far less stressful. Regardless, she wasn’t sure she wanted to participate in this new fall launch, especially considering she didn’t care for the latest style Jolie had adopted. Needless to say, when she told Pierre she’d get back to him, he hadn’t been happy.
Honestly, she didn’t care if he was happy or not.
Spotting cottage number twenty up ahead, she headed for the large gap separating the building from its neighbor. Just as the map indicated, the entrance to the path was a short distance from the house. Unlike while walking along the lake, here trees closed in around her. At the moment, their limbs remained bare, but leaves would create a canopy of shade in another two months or so. She looked forward to seeing it.
The phone in her pocket rang, the sound unusually loud in the silence. Pulling it out, she checked the caller ID. Rather than the name of a family member or friend, there was only a phone number—one she didn’t know, although she recognized the 212 area code. The only people in New York she’d take a call from were in her contact list. Whoever was calling now could leave her a message, and depending on who it was, she’d call them back later.
One minute she was walking with her finger about to press the decline icon, and the next she was flailing her arms like a bird trying to take off. Pain shot through her knee when it made contact with a rock. Instinctively, she put her hands out to help break her fall, dropping her phone and the glove she’d removed in the process.
“Ugh.” Slowly, she moved into a sitting position as she waited for the pain in her knee and the stinging in her palm to subside. No doubt, when she looked later, she’d find a nice bruise on her knee. “That’s what I get for not paying attention.”
She’d been talking to herself an awful lot the past day or two. She guessed it was a side effect of spending so much time alone, something she wasn’t at all used to.
Snap. A jingling sound followed the first noise. Until now, the only sounds around her other than her ringing cell phone had been the occasional rustle of dead leaves caused by a chipmunk or a squirrel scurrying across the ground. Neither animal was heavy enough to snap twigs, and unless they’d started wearing jewelry, they couldn’t be the cause of the jingling either.
The cause of the new sounds came into view as she retrieved her phone and glove. She’d met Clifford yesterday. The dog had been with Candace and her daughter when she saw them while out walking. The man jogging with Clifford, she’d never met, but thanks to Holly’s description and the fact the property belonged to the Wrights, she assumed the guy headed her way was Aaron. And she understood why her friend had had a thing for him while in high school. He looked about the same height as her brother, who was an inch over six feet. A black long-sleeved base layer shirt hugged his broad shoulders and emphasized his flat abdomen. A black beanie covered his head, but his short and sexy beard told her his hair was dark like his sister’s. Even from a distance, his arresting good looks captured her full attention, and with no trouble, she could see him starring alongside Anderson Brady or her sister’s husband in a summer blockbuster.
Slowly, she came to her feet and watched the muscles rippling under his shirt as he approached her. She didn’t know if the man was single or not, but if he was, the women in Avon must be blind.
He could be a total creep. She’d met plenty of gorgeous men who turned out to be the biggest jerks in the world.
Clifford reached her first and stopped, but his owner wasn’t far behind.
Green. The dog’s owner possessed the most beautiful green eyes. She rarely associated the word beautiful with a man, but she didn’t know how else to describe his eyes.