Page 9 of Unmasked

For a long moment, she stared out at the trees surrounding them. “You know what I want?”

It was a conversation they had had a couple of times already, talking about the future, all of their dreams and wishes.

His lips brushed her hair as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “What’s that?”

She stared off into the distance, imagining what their life together would look like. “I want a house with a big back porch so we can sit there, just like this, and watch the sun go down together every single night.”

“I think I can make that happen.”

She heard the smile in his voice, and she tipped her face up to his. “And a porch swing.”

He grinned. “A swing where we can watch the sunset. Anything else?”

“Just you.”

She cuddled close, wrapping her arms around him. In that moment, everything was perfect. She had no idea how quickly it was all about to change.

CHAPTER

FIVE

PRESENT

“Why don't you come join me, honey?” Everleigh's mother asked. “It would be so nice if you could get involved.”

The absolute last thing she wanted was to get sucked back into the Junior League. Everleigh had hated the pretentiousness twenty years ago, and she liked it even less now. “No, thanks. I'm not really feeling up to it.”

A sympathetic expression lit her mother’s face. “I can't imagine how hard this whole thing for you has been. Especially with the divorce.”

Her voice dropped an octave, like she was imparting a dirty secret. She said the word divorce like it was the worst transgression a person could possibly make. Everleigh's mother was nothing if not traditionally Southern in most of her views, and Everleigh knew she frowned upon the fact that Everleigh had divorced. Down there, you married for life regardless of what happened. It was almost a cardinal sin to forsake the sacrament of marriage.

In retrospect, Everleigh could admit that she had never wanted to marry Fletcher. Though he was charming, handsome, and successful, Fletcher was more of a friend than a husband. Their marriage had lacked passion, a fact which he readily admitted. Everleigh had never cheated on him, and she believed he had remained faithful to her too.

Their split had been amicable, as Everleigh asked for nothing in the divorce. All she wanted was to be free. She had money of her own from her interior design business, and when they separated, she bought an apartment in the city close to work. It was smaller than where Fletcher and Everleigh had lived, but she didn't need much. Appearances didn't mean nearly as much to her as they had to him.

For years, Fletcher had been Everleigh's best friend. They’d met at Georgetown, and though she initially resisted, her parents and friends eventually convinced her to go out on a date with him. His family was “new money,” and from the north, but her parents liked him regardless. After several years and endless hints that he wanted a future together, he proposed. Everleigh put him off for a while but ultimately said yes.

Despite spending four years together, she never felt any real desire toward him. He was friendly and easygoing, and she loved that about him. But it wasn’t enough. Although he’d talked multiple times about having a family, she was never ready. Though she blamed it on her career at the time, she knew deep down that wasn't the case. She didn't love him the way a wife should, and every day that passed dug the knowledge a little deeper.

Finally, she could no longer stand it. Two years ago, Everleigh presented him with divorce papers. Though he had been shocked and hurt, he understood. She never told him the full truth of her past, but he was aware she was holding something back. Their marriage had slowly disintegrated, and she couldn't put on a happy face and pretend that everything was okay anymore. They decided that it was best to part ways so they could each find their own happiness.

And for a while, everything had been fine. But as time passed, something deeper pulled at her. She couldn’t deny that she knew exactly what it was. She missed the South, missed the warm weather and the friendly people. Although she loved aspects of being in the city, it was never home for her. She’d wanted to move back home, back to her roots.

Several months ago, Everleigh reached out to the clients of her interior design company and let them know she would be relocating. She wrapped up the remaining jobs, packed her things, and never looked back. There was nothing left for her up north anyway. She still talked to her friends and even Fletcher once in a while.

Moving home though, at least back into her parents’ house, had been a mistake. She felt smothered, and her mom and dad treated her like a teenager rather than the thirty-one-year-old woman she was. Though she hardly ever went out, she couldn't do so without a full interrogation from one or both of them. She was their little girl, and they didn't want anything to happen to her.

Everleigh understood and appreciated the gesture, but it was all a little too much. They were overprotective and slightly overbearing, and they always thought they knew what was in her best interest. She hadn't said anything yet, but what she’d told Mason was true; she was seriously considering looking for her own home.

Her father had so many contacts that the minute she picked up the phone to speak to a realtor, he would know about it. She had to wait until she was completely ready and have an honest, open conversation with them. Right now though, she just needed to get away.

Everleigh's mother gave her two air kisses, one on each cheek, so she wouldn't smudge her makeup. As soon as the garage closed behind her BMW, Everleigh yanked on a pair of ballet flats and made her way out the back door. The trail she took was a familiar one. She couldn't count the number of times throughout her childhood that she had slipped into the woods to meet up with Knox and Vivi.

The memories of those days sent a sharp spear of regret spiraling through her chest. Those had been some of the best days of her life. No, that was a lie. Those had been the best days of her life. She never cared about pageantry the way her mother did; the only thing she wanted to do was run wild through the woods and splash in the shallow creek that divided their properties.

One day while she was playing in the woods, she came upon a dark-haired boy and his little sister. She hadn't known what to make of Knox the first time she saw him. He was almost two years older, but he seemed so much more mature than his eleven years. He was quiet and reserved, but she liked that about him. His gentle soul put her at ease, and she was immediately drawn to him.

She went back the next day, and the next. Soon, she was finding ways to sneak out all the time to meet up with him. She brushed her fingers over the initials carved into their tree as she passed, and a sad smile twisted her mouth. Things were so different back then. For a short period of her life, things had been absolutely perfect. Then she ruined it.