Page 213 of Secrets Along the Shore

That twisted my heart inside. “Then why would anyone hurt her?”

Becca didn’t answer. But she didn’t close the door either.

I waited. Hoping.

Finally, she said, “It wasn’t supposed to happen. We were just trying to have fun. She wasn’t supposed to be there.”

My heart pounded. “Be where?”

Becca shook her head. “On the water…never mind. I told you, I can’t. It’s not safe. Not for you, not for me.”

I nodded, backing away slowly. “Okay. I get it. But if you change your mind…I’ll be at the lodge.”

She closed the door again but not with a slam. It wasn’t a breakthrough. Not yet. But it was a crack in the wall.

And maybe, just maybe, Livvie could help us knock the rest of it down.

CHAPTER

TWELVE

I dreamof the boat again.

Every detail is familiar. The thick summer heat pressing against my skin. The waves of lake water against the hull. The vibration of fireworks overhead, coloring the sky in bursts of crimson and gold. I can smell the faint tang of gasoline, feel the wood grain of the oars beneath my fingers. But this time, something is different.

I see another boat.

I see it just beyond the dock lights, half-cloaked in darkness. A flash of white. A movement. Someone standing at the edge. A limp figure lifted. Hair dripping like seaweed. My throat closes. I want to call out, but my voice won’t work. I’m paralyzed as I watch the body drop into the water with a soft splash, swallowed by the lake.

I know that hair. I know that girl.

Livvie.

I jolt awake, heart pounding. My skin is slick with sweat. The room is dark, cloaked in shadows, but the light from my phone glows beside me. It vibrates a second later.

Evan (5:22 AM): Can we talk?

I stared at the message. For a moment, I didn’t move. The dreamclung to me like cobwebs, thick and disorienting. My chest tightened. That second boat, a motorboat, had never been in the dream before. What else had I missed? What else was my mind hiding from me?

I texted back quickly, my fingers trembling.

Scarlett: Not here. Let’s meet in town. Eight? That bakery near the post office.

Evan: Okay. I’ll be there.

I moved to get ready, not wanting to return to sleep, taking a long, scalding shower to let the water rinse the sweat and fear from my body. Then I changed into jeans and a hoodie, pulling my hair back tight before making my way to leave. I glanced toward the back deck as I reached the door. That same sense of being watched prickled my skin.

I opened the door and froze.

My tires had been slashed.

All four of them.

My heart dropped to my stomach. I stepped outside slowly, my eyes sweeping the woods around the lodge. The early morning mist still hung low, blurring the tree line. Was someone beyond the outskirts of the forest?

Was someone watching me, ready to strike?

A bird flew above, sweeping low over my head and made me jump. I spun in a slow circle. Was someone out there?