Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rain pattered softly on the roof as Holly tugged on the neckline of her dress and frowned into the mirror.

“Stop that,” Missy chided, slapping Holly’s hands away. “You’re going to stretch out the fabric. You look amazing. You’re going to be the hit of the party tonight.”

Holly had made the mistake of agreeing to go to Missy’s friend’s birthday party on Great Pond, and Holly’s bad choices had only spiraled from there. She’d then allowed Missy to dress her in a black wrap dress with a sexy silhouette and a bare back. Missy had wanted to do her hair and makeup, and since Holly had already given up any semblance of good decision-making, she’d let her. The results were cascading curls, which were actually pretty, and enough dark makeup that Holly wasn’t sure if she was looking at a person in the mirror or a raccoon.

“Take some off,” she said, pointing to her eyes.

“No, that’s a smoky eye. Poor thing, you don’t even know what a smoky eye is. Good thing Missy is here to take care of you.”

Holly stared into the mirror with regret. Why had she agreed to this? She had a spicy romance novel on her Kindle; she’d made apple-scented candles with Aunt Rose earlier that day; and the gentle rain made for a perfect night in.

Because of Connor, her inner voice chirped. Oh, right. She’d convinced herself at some point while pouring wax that all she needed was a fun night out with a few hot guys, and then she’d be able to put her attraction to Connor in perspective. It had been a long time since she’d seen anyone socially who wasn’t either a customer or Jeremy. Clearly, this reclusion was responsible for making Connor appear more enticing than he was. Once she mingled with other attractive, intelligent men, she would see that Connor was sadly average, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about throwing herself at the only person hell-bent on ruining her family.

Perfect reasoning, she told herself as she pulled on the hem of her dress. Nothing wrong with it at all.

“I already called an Uber. Let’s go.” Missy gripped her arm and dragged her downstairs. “Bye everyone! Don’t wait up!” she howled as she pushed Holly through the front door and toward the waiting car.

“I can drive,” Holly protested.

“Um, no you can’t. Didn’t I tell you this was a rum-themed party?’

“What? No! How do you even theme a party after an alcohol?”

Holly slid onto the seat and Missy followed behind. She was stunning in a white leather skirt and a soft pink top that should have clashed with her hair but somehow didn’t. “Rum cake, rum ice cream, rum punch, rum cigars …”

“All right, all right. I wish I’d known; I can’t stand rum.” Not since she’d vomited a fifth of it back in college.

“Don’t worry.” Missy withdrew a slender flask from her purse and waggled it in front of Holly. “Your girl has you covered.”

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

“I can’t believe you agreed to do it,” Missy said as they hit the main route. “I’ve never known you to do anything fun.”

“Hey! I’m super fun. I’m the funnest.”

Missy snorted. “You’re not anywhere near the funnest. You’ve always been so worried about protecting the family that I think you’ve forgotten to live.”

“That’s not true!” Was it?

A wicked gleam entered Missy’s eye. “You can make up for it tonight. This is the hottest party of the spring. It’s basically a college party with class, because, you know, we’re older now.”

Yes, a rum party on the lake sounded very classy. And very safe.

By the time they reached the lake house, Holly’s stomach was cramping with nerves. The property was beautiful, with a dark wood-shingled house and weathered steps that led down a steep embankment to a dock on the lake. Fairy lights were strung along the deck railing, and the moment Holly stepped out of the car, she smelled cigarette smoke and weed. The rain had temporarily ceased, and bodies spilled from the house onto the deck, the damp green grass, and the dock below. Everyone was dressed as if they were at a cocktail party instead of a rum rager.

“See, they’re all holding real glasses instead of red Solo cups,” Missy said, nudging Holly with her shoulder. “Classy.”

Until someone had too much and shattered one, Holly thought. Okay, that was not a fun thought. Fun thoughts only. Must prove Missy wrong.

Once inside, Missy took her hand and towed her through the crush of bodies to the kitchen, where Missy’s friend and owner of the house was presiding behind a temporary bar.

“Missy!” Mike cried, pulling her into a tight hug. “Glad you could make it.” He turned his blue eyes on Holly and grinned. “Holly, I’m happy Missy could drag you out.”

Mike had graduated in Holly’s class, but she barely remembered him from school, which meant he hadn’t been one of her tormenters. Their faces she’d never forget. In college Mike and Missy had become friends and stayed in touch over the years. He was a chiropractor now, with a body chiseled in the gym. He was exactly what Holly was looking for: smart and handsome.

Maybe this had been a good idea after all.

Mike gestured to the table, which was crowded with an assortment of bottles, all of them filled with amber liquid in varying hues. “We have rum, rum, dark rum, light rum, and rum,” he said. He pointed to a set of white bowls heaped with different garnishes like lemon and pineapple. Beyond them were bottles of Coke and other mixers. “Help yourselves, ladies.” He grinned at them with a movie-star white smile. Holly should ask him what whitening agent he used or if he was just brushing with a good toothpaste.

Oh God, she was boring.

Mike handed Holly a glass, and his fingers brushed against hers. She waited for the butterflies, but none came. Maybe she needed to flirt more for the zing. Holly examined the display of rum bottles and discretely watched Mike until he turned to greet an arriving couple, then filled her glass with Coke.

“I saw that,” Missy whispered at her side. “Let me get my flask.” Before she could move, two of her friends squealed from the other side of the kitchen and ran over.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m going to mingle,” Holly said. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

Missy nodded, and she and her two friends poured generous glasses of rum while exclaiming about how adorable the house was and how the party theme was so clever and classy.

Holly wandered the deer-and-plaid-themed rooms, stopping to exchange awkward pleasantries with classmates from high school who probably didn’t even remember whispering behind her back, and waved with genuine happiness to various customers she knew from the apple farm.

She was passing a bookshelf crammed with hunting magazines when a wave of nausea swept over her. Holly pressed her palm to her belly and scanned the room a second time until her gaze fell on one of only three people who could be responsible for such a reaction. Stacy’s dark eyes met hers, two manicured fingers rubbing her temple. Holly forced a half smile, and Stacy made her way over.

“Holly, I didn’t know you and Mike were friends.”

“We aren’t. He’s Missy’s friend, and she dragged me along.”

Stacy nodded and pivoted to stand shoulder to shoulder with Holly so they could study the room together.

Holly wasn’t sure why Stacy was sticking around. It wasn’t like they were friends, and being this close to each other was extremely uncomfortable. “I hate half the people here,” Holly blurted. She and Stacy had gone to the same high school, graduated in the same class, and knew the same people.

Stacy lifted her glass halfway to lips that gleamed with perfectly applied gloss. “Because half of them were evil dicks to you in high school?”

Holly gave a surprised squawk. “Uh, yeah. You noticed?”

Stacy didn’t remove her gaze from the crowd when she said, “I noticed, and I should have done something about it.”

Holly was so stunned that a single flick could have knocked her over. Stacy —her nemesis dictated by nature—was admitting a wrongdoing to her ? “No. You would have just made a target of yourself. Nothing was going to stop them.”

Stacy did look at her then, her eyes reflecting the lights of the overhead antler chandelier. “I should have anyway. People like us should stick together.”

“We’re nothing alike.”

Stacy smirked, even as the grooves in her forehead deepened with pain. “Maybe not, but we at least have more in common with each other than we do with them.”

That was true. “Where are your brothers?” Holly leaned forward to look for the handsome set of twins who’d graduated the same year as her own twin sisters.

“Demetrius is here somewhere, but Kai is home.”

Holly’s stomach was trying to crawl up her throat, so she eased a few inches away from Stacy. “Well, have fun, I guess. Tell Demetrius I say hi.”

“Holly, before you go, I just want to remind you of our offer.”

“Right. Your offer. I haven’t forgotten.”

“And … I want to tell you to be careful.” Stacy pulled her lip between her teeth. “There’s something strange in the air.”

A warning from Stacy wasn’t to be taken lightly. Like she’d said, she and Holly, although opposites, still had measurable talents that most people didn’t. For Stacy, that meant having a far more informed grasp of the magical than Holly, whose family lived in shadows and denial. “Thanks.”

Stacy returned to her friends across the room, and Holly’s cramping stomach immediately relaxed some.

It was hot and stuffy inside, even with the windows open, and Holly knew she would feel better with more distance from Stacy, so she made her way onto the back patio, running the conversation with Stacy through her mind. She and Stacy had always kept an antagonistic distance, as much from necessity as from the nature of what they were. But this maturity on Stacy’s part was new, and Holly wondered if maybe the other woman was onto something when she said that people like them should stick together. Holly and her family didn’t have community the way Stacy did, and for the first time Holly wondered if they were missing out on more than they’d realized.

Holly was headed toward the dock for a glimpse of the water, when someone stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

“Holly, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Holly smiled automatically, but it took her a moment to recognize Blake Stephenson. When she did, the smile turned genuine. She’d gone to high school with Blake; he’d been one of the few people who hadn’t made her feel like a freak. “Blake, how are you?”

He grinned, showcasing an adorably crooked eyetooth, and ran a hand through his sandy-brown hair. “Same old, same old. Working remotely for ESPN. How about you? I hear Wicked Good Apples is doing well. You’re going to be on TV, right? Some ghost-hunting show?”

“ Grimm Reality ,” Holly said. The breeze ruffled her skirt and rocked the dock on the water below. It was going to start drizzling soon. “Supposedly we have a ghost.”

“Never liked ghosts much myself.” Blake nodded to her drink. “Can I top you off?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks.”

“I was headed to the dock. Want to come with me, and we can catch up? I only ever see Missy on social media. I have no idea what’s going on in your life.”

Since she’d been going that way too, Holly nodded. Blake casually placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her down the steps, and she waited for the tingle. Again, there was nothing. What the hell! All Connor had to do was look at her and she got zings and tingles all over. This was more serious than she’d thought. Her plan was going to backfire if she couldn’t prove to herself that there were other men out there who could make her react the same way Connor did.

The boards shifted when they stepped on the floating dock. Several other couples were already clustered together, drinking and talking over a black pond shrouded in wispy fog.

Blake told her a bit about his job, and Holly found herself laughing more than once. He was in the middle of reenacting a football goof that had gone viral when a shitfaced partier fell heavily on the dock, bouncing their end upward. Blake, who was already off balance, stumbled backward and spilled his drink down the front of his polo shirt.

“Ah shit,” he said, ineffectively wiping at the dark stain.

Holly grimaced. “Are you attached to that shirt? Because that stain is going to need bleach.”

“No, but I was really attached to my drink. I’m going to grab another one. You want anything?” When she declined but offered to go with him, he said, “Don’t worry about it. Stay here and save our spot. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Holly waited, breathing in the rain-scented night and the smells of the pond. It was cool enough that she wished for a sweater, but too nice to bother going inside to get one. She rubbed her hands over her bare arms and was enjoying the view of the house lights sparkling on the water so much that she barely noticed the time passing and the couples gradually moving inside. Blake still hadn’t returned, and she figured he’d either been held up or he’d ditched her. She tried to care either way but couldn’t seem to. The truth was she’d rather spend the evening alone under the cloudy night sky than socialize. Her experiment was a failure. There was not a single man in attendance who intrigued her, attracted her, or infuriated her like Connor Grimm.

It began to mist, and she reluctantly decided it was time to head inside. She was turning away from the water when she thought she heard a whimper. Holly paused and strained to listen through the thumping bass coming from the house. The fog had gradually thickened over the pond, shortening visibility to ten feet at best. She was about to chalk it up to her imagination when she heard the whimper again. It didn’t sound human, but animal.

Holly walked to the end of the dock and scanned the water. Sometimes fog distorted noise, so it was possible the whimper was coming from shore … except there! It came again! This time the fog shifted enough for her to spot a large rock protruding from the water ten feet from the dock. Sitting atop it and shivering violently was a puppy. How on earth? The poor thing must’ve swum out and climbed onto the rock and been too scared or exhausted to swim back to shore. It was the only explanation for how he could have ended up in such a precarious situation.

Holly chewed on her lip as she considered how best to reach the dog. The water wasn’t too deep, but even at ten feet out, it would likely go up to her chest. It would be cold and murky, and she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of swimming alone, in the dark, with a thunderstorm brewing overhead. But what other choice did she have?

Well, there was one other way. Holly looked over her shoulder. The increasing rain had driven everyone indoors. Warm squares of light spilled onto the darkened lawn, and she could hear muted laughter and music from within.

Not a soul was in sight, and still she hesitated. Cell phone cameras and security cameras were everywhere, even when you didn’t think they were. What if Blake came out to check on her now that it had begun raining? There were simply too many people here for her to risk it.

Holly heaved a sigh as she slipped off her shoes and left them with her cell phone and purse on the dock. She sat on the cold boards and let one toe touch the water. It was icy and so dark it almost looked black.

“This is your lucky day, you know that, dog?” she called out.

The dog whimpered in response.

Holly slowly dropped into the water. Her soles squished into silt, and freezing water closed around the tops of her thighs, soaking her dress. She shivered as she began wading toward the quaking dog, trying not to gag at the thought of what she was stepping in.

“This isn’t scary at all,” she whispered. Mist coated her face and beaded in her hair. She was going to have to leave the party after this; there was no way she could walk around looking like a muddy, drowned rat. Plus all the makeup Missy had slapped on her eyes was probably dripping in inky rivers down her cheeks.

Something brushed softly against Holly’s ankle, and she blanched. “It’s just a fish,” she assured the dog, as if he cared. “This isn’t creepy. Who doesn’t wade in cold, dark water at midnight? I mean, worst-case scenario is leeches, right?” The water had risen to her belly button. Only a few more feet to go and she’d reach the puppy.

“I hope this teaches you a lesson,” she said sternly. The little white terrier puppy yapped and blinked shaggy hair out of his eyes. “I don’t want to catch you swimming without proper supervision again.” Holly held out her hand and let the dog sniff and lick her knuckles before she reached for him. He was wet and smelly and shaking so hard she had to tuck him close to her chest to keep him from jittering out of her grasp.

Holly turned toward dry land with the wet dog curled in her arms. She’d only taken one step when thunder rolled directly overhead and lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the dock. “Not good, not good, not good,” she chanted. Her foot slipped on a rock and she stumbled, catching her balance, but only after she’d submerged the dog up to his nose. She lifted him back out of the water, and he shook his head, dispersing droplets all over her face.

Thunder rumbled with such force that the water vibrated. “Screw this.” She was risking both of their lives when there wasn’t a soul outside. With two hands Holly held the dog out from her chest. A hurricane-strength gust of wind roared down the lake, lifting the puppy’s light body from her grasp and carrying him the last ten feet to shore, where it deposited him gently on the grass.

Lightning flashed again, casting light over the pup on the bank and the man standing beside him.

Holly met Connor’s eyes, and a barrage of emotions struck her one after the other: disbelief, fear, anger. She didn’t have a chance to settle on one, because at that moment a bolt of lightning struck the post of the dock with a sizzling CRACK ! The air filled with the acrid scent of burning wood, and the post snapped in half. Holly saw it falling, but she couldn’t move fast enough in the water to get out of the way. She threw her hands up to shield her face as it struck her on the shoulder and dragged her under.