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ChapterFour
Acrowd had gathered on the street, looking at Ariana and Damon’s plot of land. They would have to pass the group of neighbors to reach Charles and Lia’s house. They had no home. It was still surreal. Who knew how long it would be now? The investigation would put a halt to construction.
Damon stopped the car and turned to Ariana. “Do you want to go somewhere else for now?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere. Back to the bar and grill?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“We could see what’s playing at the theater,” he said. “You wanted to see that new comedy everyone’s talking about.”
“Humor would be lost on me at this point.”
He squeezed her hand. “Or it could help relieve some of the stress.”
“I doubt that.”
“We could go to the lake and walk the path.”
“Let’s do that,” she said.
Damon turned the car around and headed out of the neighborhood. The lake was only five minutes away, and it always took her mind off things. Though it would take a miracle to distract her after being questioned about murders she hadn’t committed.
She couldn’t believe they’d bought a house that had bodies buried in the yard.
They’d moved to the gated community of Rosy Hills for a quiet and safe existence. They’d both had more than enough trauma and drama in their childhoods and teenage years to last several lifetimes. In fact, that was what had brought them together in the first place. Maybe even what kept them together.
No, it was their love and devotion that glued their relationship. Healing from their pasts only gave them empathy for each other. It tightened their bond, but it wasn’t the sum of their relationship.
Damon rested his hand on her knee. “Are you ready to get out?”
She snapped her attention to the parking lot. “I was so lost in thought, I didn’t realize we were here already.”
He gave her a gentle kiss. “I can’t believe it either. All those times we hosted barbecues and spent time in the yard, we were close to bodies.”
“Now the police are looking at us as suspects.”
“It’s just a matter of waiting for them to figure out we’re innocent. They have to ask questions until they find the truth.”
“I know. It just sucks that we’ve been pulled into the middle of another crime. Seems like we can’t escape it, no matter how hard we try.”
“Let’s walk around the lake,” Damon said. “The fresh air will do us good.”
She stepped outside and took a deep breath. It didn’t help.
Damon threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the water.
A bunch of kids played at the playground and another couple ran on the sand with a golden retriever. A group of preteen boys kicked a ball back and forth.
He pulled her close. “This reminds me of when we first met.”
She flashed back to seeing him for the first time in the classroom for the study group he was leading. He’d seemed so much older than she was then, but now the two-year age difference was nothing.
“One of our first dates was at a beach,” he said. “Remember?”
“Of course. But I thought we were studying, not on a date.”
