AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Right. He’d implied her fear was of water.
“What’s yours, then?” she asked, deflecting the truth.
“Failing.” He glanced to the purple yoga mat they sat on. “My deepest, darkest fear is of failure at Crestone. Failing my mom.”
“You won’t.” Certainty filled her full up. William would succeed.
He grinned. “I wish I had your confidence.”
Somehow, and she wasn’t quite sure how, they made it through the rest of the session.
“What should we do now?” Lucy asked as they headed back to the cabin.
“They’ve got a few groups going fishing. Or we can go hiking?” William suggested.
“Fishing this morning, hiking this afternoon.”
“Fishing involves water,” he replied.
“No kidding?”
“You okay being on the lake?”
“It’s not like we’re going swimming. Besides, fear of water is ridiculous. You want to go fishing, and I really should face my fear. I promise not to freak, if you agree not to push.”
“I can do that.”
Last night’s barn freak-out was a prime example of how she’d been living her life. She was tired of being scared. But hopefully the police would soon find Robbie. Her luck couldn’t stay this awful.
Robbie hadn’t been at the dance last night. His scent was an elaborate trick of her mind. The frantic pressure of all the people had triggered the memory. That was all. When William stepped back all her insecurities rose to the surface, and she got scared.
A trauma response. That’s all it was.
The time had come for her to start moving on from the terror one idiot had brought into her life. Living a life of fear, shrinking into the sidelines, was no life to live. Somebody had probably said that once. If not, they should have.
And, really, of all the things that freaked her out, water was the least intense. On her quest to be a new woman, free from crippling fear, she would start her journey by conquering the depths of Twin Lakes. It couldn’t be that bad. Not too awful. It’s not like people drowned frequently.
Except when they did.
No, she would slay her demons starting today. Along the way, maybe she’d even be able to put her attack behind her. First, water, and then, well…she’d see what happened.
She continued to the cabin while William set out to deal with the rental situation and ask some strategic questions there. She gave herself a pep talk while she re-set the cameras in the room. Her phone rang. Katie’s name appeared on the display.
“Hey,” Lucy answered.
“You haven’t returned my calls,” Katie accused.
“Things have happened. Lots of things. I’m in the mountains. An exposé at a resort…” Lucy paused and bit at her lower lip. She decided to go all in. “With William.”
“You’re what?” Katie’s screech could’ve burst a thousand eardrums.
Lucy cringed.
While Lucy told her nearly everything, Katie remained silent, listening. When Lucy finished, her friend took a deep breath before speaking. “Do you remember the first time you told me about him?”
Of course she did. That conversation had occurred a year after the whole Florida thing.
“I remember,” she replied.
