Page 10

Chapter 9

J ace and I work for several hours, meeting with Mrs. Cunningham and reviewing blueprints for the ongoing construction project. Even though I have multiple subcontractors, I still prefer to be hands-on and involved in every project we take on. By early afternoon, we’re making no progress, so I decide to call it a day. Being the boss has its perks, and since the weather’s perfect—clear skies and a gentle breeze—it’s a great opportunity to go fishing.

“Hey, man, let’s give up for now and hit the lake,” I suggest.

“Hell yeah, let’s do it,” Jace agrees.

I text my buddy Trevor, who does framing work for the company, to see if he wants to join. He replies almost immediately that he’s in, so we make plans for him to meet us at my house in an hour.

After dropping Jace off at the office to get his truck, I stop to pick up a few bags of ice before heading home. My place is a two-story modern house with an expansive view of the lake and a large boat dock .

Inside, I change out of my work clothes, fill the cooler with bottled water and beer, and head outside to load up the boat with fishing gear. I’m almost done when Jace and Trevor pull up. Aero, Jace’s dog, trots over to me, tail wagging and I crouch down to scratch his head. “Hey, bud.”

With the fishing poles and tackle boxes on board, we head out on the bass boat with me at the helm. This boat’s my baby, second only to my truck. I love the feel of the engine roaring to life beneath me. Lake Lucia is a vast body of water that spans forty thousand acres with nearly seven hundred miles of shoreline. Eight towns surround the lake, most with beaches where locals and tourists gather on warm summer days. The water’s stunningly blue, making it famous and perfect for all kinds of water sports. Older residents call it “Devil's Lake,” fueled by the cautionary tales of mysterious drownings, yet despite the stories, swimming remains a popular activity on hot summer days.

My sister, Paisley, loved swimming. The familiar flash of pain hits me as images of the two of us splashing in the water when we were kids flood my mind.

As I drive toward our favorite fishing spot, my thoughts drift back to that fateful night, so many years ago.

It was a warm summer evening in late July, just after my eighteenth birthday. My parents were out of town for the weekend, and I had planned a huge party they knew nothing about. They had only one request: I had to look after my little sister, Paisley, and keep her safe.

My birthday bash had been in the works for months. I’d invited all my classmates, especially my buddies from the football team. It would be my last hurrah before heading to the University of Georgia, where both my father and grandfather had studied. I couldn’t wait to leave Lake Falls, eager to move on to bigger and better things.

Jace and my girlfriend, Molly, were busy putting up last-minute decorations when the keg arrived. Inside, Paisley spent most of the day sulking in her room. She had wanted to go to her friend Sasha’s house, but I wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t trust Sasha. She was two years older than my sister and had a reputation—she had hooked up with half the football team, myself excluded, and had even been arrested for shoplifting a few weeks earlier. I didn’t want Paisley falling under her influence. Though my sister could be a spoiled brat at times, I was still protective of her. Instead, I offered to let her invite other friends over—on the condition that no one drank.

By ten that night, the party was in full swing. The guys played beer pong, laughing and trash-talking, while the girls danced. I kept an eye on Paisley, making sure she wasn’t sneaking drinks or doing anything stupid. But as the night went on, one beer turned into ten, everything blurred together, and I lost track of time. Molly had been all over me, dragging me into the pool house to hook up. The last thing I remembered was glancing at the back porch and seeing Paisley talking with one of her friends.

Little did I know, that would be the last time I saw my sister alive.

The next morning, I woke up on the couch in the pool house, surrounded by my friends, who were either passed out on the furniture or sprawled across the floor. Empty red Solo cups littered the ground. Groggy, I immediately went in search of Paisley, expecting to find her asleep in her bed. But she was nowhere to be found. Panic set in. I woke everyone up, and we frantically searched the property, calling her friends and checking with our neighbors, but there was no sign of her .

It wasn’t long before the news broke—another girl, around Paisley’s age, had gone missing that same night in a neighboring town. Paisley’s phone was never recovered, but text records showed she had planned to meet up with Sasha. She never made it to her house.

I still check with the sheriff several times a year for updates, but there’s never anything new. To this day, the case remains unsolved. No leads, no evidence—just an empty hole in my heart and the crushing guilt of having failed her.

I snap back to the present as we reach our fishing spot, drop the anchor, and grab our poles. The faint sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man hums from the radio as I crack open a beer and toss one to the guys. Just as I’m about to take a sip, something—or someone—nearby grabs my attention. I spot my blonde goddess, Tessa, and my cousin Allie walking along the lake’s edge, each with a tote bag and a lounge chair and I can’t help but gawk at Tessa as she gracefully removes her black swimsuit cover-up, revealing sun-kissed skin. The shimmering gray bikini fits her body like it was tailor-made for her.

“Hot damn, the view’s amazing today,” Trevor drawls.

Jace turns his head, his gaze flicking over to land on the girls. “Is that Allie? I wonder if she’s still with that douchebag, Dalton,” he mutters, clearly disgusted. “She could do so much better.”

“Last I heard, she was,” I say.

“Forget Allie, look at Tessa. I’d tap that ass,” Trevor leers.

“Be respectful, man,” I say, reaching over and sucker-punching him in the stomach. An inexplicable anger roars to life inside me, along with a feeling of possessiveness.

Trevor grabs his stomach and laughs. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t. I saw you checking her out. Beauty and brains, too.”

I shoot him a sharp look. “How do you know her?”

“Remember when I nearly cut my finger off with that table saw? She was working in the ER and sewed me up. She’s like a doctor or nurse practitioner or something.”

I frown. “Why have I never seen her before?”

“I think she moved here a few months ago,” Jace says. “I heard her dad’s some bigwig in Atlanta, and she spent a few summers at Camp Lanier when she was younger.”

“You’re wasting your time, Eli.” Trevor smirks. “ My buddy Shane says she’s turned down every guy who’s asked her out since she moved here. Guess small-town boys aren’t good enough for her.”

We’ll see about that.

I feel a tug on my fishing line and grin as I start reeling in, eager for more than just a bass today.

I’ve barely finished putting the eight-pound bass in the live well when a boat approaches loudly, coming in way too fast. My eyes scan the surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a flash of blonde hair. Tessa breaks the surface of the water, unaware of the approaching boat.

“What the fuck?” I yell, diving in, adrenaline surging through me as I plunge into the water.