Ivey Pierce is an explorer, and thanks to her career as a wildlife biologist, she does not stay stationary for long. But when her parents die in a terrible accident, and her childhood home is left vacant for two years, she returns to the tattered me...
Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
"YOU STEPPED ON A NAIL? Are you alright?" Kate's voice rang into the backyard as my knees made indents in the dirt and my fingers yanked weeds out of the ground. I turned down my phone speaker, dragging my arm across my forehead.
My tanning lotion slipped off my skin like oil on a hot surface while the sun continued baking me alive. "Yeah, and get this," my voice hushed because I knew how easily sound carried over water. "This new mysterious neighbor guy came to my rescue."
"A mysterious man? Tell me more." I told her everything from him coming inside my house to me getting a tetanus shot a couple of days ago. Then her tone changed. "Ivey..."
"I already know what you're going to say."
"I was going to tell you what you told me to say if you got distracted."
"I'm not distracted. Talk to all the blisters I'll have on my fingers and knees from the yard work I've done today." I brushed the dirt off my palms and rested back on my heels. "You have no idea what Clifton is like. The moment you cross the county line, the town sucks you into its vortex, and you become this gossiping, nosey cog who feeds off drama and other people's business."
She snorted. "Wow, who am I talking to right now? I don't know this version of Ivey. Put my friend back on the phone."
Even though I knew she was joking, my whole body sagged at her remark, and I stared up at the house—the reason I was here. "If I lose myself, I'll call Larry and have you shipped over here."
"As always, fuck Larry. I will come now if you need me."
My lips turned up into a soft smile.
"So what's the deal with this guy?" she asked.
The urge to look at his house nipped at me, so I craned my head and was met with the lifeless property. Water lapped against his motorboat, and the trees lining his property swayed with the afternoon breeze.
Not that I was watching, but I noticed he only came out at night or very early in the morning, which I concluded was because of his job or because he was a vampire. Neither were terrible options. "I think it's because I know nothing about him except that he's been here for six months. People areusually born and die here in Clifton, and the locals don't seem to like him very much even though he is very nice to look at."
"Oh, how come? Do you know why?"
"Nope. But I did hear someone say he fucked someone's daughter without any more context. I have no idea, but everyone judges me here too because I had a private funeral for my parents and didn't let anyone attend, then left, so I know how he feels."
"So he's a ladies' man?"
"I wouldn't say that. I'm a lady, and he talks to me like he's talking to a brick wall."
"Well, I guess it's good to keep it that way. If he talked to you like you were the sexiest woman alive, which you are, you'd definitely be distracted."
