Mouse yawned hugely and settled his head in my lap.
Definitely a good day.
EIGHTEEN
Dutch
Monte:
Checking in. That crisp New England air helping out? I was hoping for some pages.
I flippedmy phone face down on my desk. It had been a month since I’d gone to the library with Phoebe. My rolling blackboard had a solid plot outline on it. I almost picked up my phone to send a photo of the blackboard to my editor, but I still didn’t want to share.
Not because I wasn’t sure of the story beats, but because of the itch along the back of my neck.
I knew Monte didn’t have anything to do with Christopher’s bullshit. At least I was pretty sure of it.
But I’d trusted Chris for over thirteen years. He’d been the one to get me my first deal with Raven Boulevard. It had been a small arm of a larger titan in the publishing industry. Chris got me a decent deal for my first book and whenAdaptationhad been a sleeper hit my life had changed. The only horror authors to hitThe New York Timesat the time had been King and Koontz.
My book had kickstarted both of our careers. I’d done more than that, if I was honest. Now Raven Boulevard was the premier horror imprint.
And Chris had been a sought-after agent. It still didn’t make sense why he’d fucked me over so royally. The fact that I still felt any sense of loyalty to him made no sense.
Annoyed that thoughts of Chris could still derail me, I left my office to get some air. I had one hundred good pages for Monte at least. The problem was, this book wasn’t what I’d been contracted for.
The minute she saw these pages, I’d have to truly face everything.
And I still wasn’t ready to do that.
Mouse popped up off the couch when I grabbed my flannel then met me at the door. I’d fallen into a routine with Phoebe as well as the damn dog. Mouse arrived each morning on the porch depending on whether I stayed with Phoebe for the night or not.
The two of them were the only things keeping me from spiraling out.
That and the lake.
Each day, Providence Lake melted a little more. I’d discovered the pier hidden under all the snow and ice. It probably wasn’t smart, but I’d ordered a scull to row out onto the lake. It was a ridiculous expense, but I wanted a firsthand look at the vast lake. It was becoming a singular focus.
I picked my way down the rock-hewn stairs to the pier. Mouse raced off the front of the porch and took the long way around to the beach, meeting me in the same area. He wasn’t willing to get on the pier. Mouse loved to run along the water’s edge, but he didn’t get more than his feet wet.
I couldn’t blame him. It was still too damn cold to accidentally fall into the water. I’d already done it once. Helluva way to start the morning.
I dragged in a deep breath.The car under the lake had infiltrated my dreams again. My brain held on to the stories from the town and had twisted the what-ifs and fears into a portal for my book. Where the deepest part of the lake met with another place where innocence was an energy commodity.
The psychology of fear consumed my dreams and more than once, I’d almost shared the idea with Phoebe.
But something always held me back.
She didn’t give me any reason to doubt her, but I’d learned the hard way that I wasn’t the best judge of people.
Mouse barked at me, then took off for the beach. I followed the stone path back up to my porch and spotted why the dog was losing his mind.
Phoebe was back.
I’d spent the last three nights without her thanks to an out-of-town job. A restaurant in the Adirondacks had hired her to paint their terrace fence. She’d been sending me progress photos and shots of her on the balcony of the hotel covered in paint splotches.
She was a menace.
Just thinking about her skin had mepicking up the pace.
