Game of Secrets and Shadows (Book One in the Covert Operations series)

Four

I never thought that I'd end up back here.

I'd lived in Redmond, Oregon my entire life before Oaks which, I guessed, was really like another life in and of itself. It was located east of the Cascade Mountain Range in Oregon's High Desert Plateau. It wasn't a huge place, with a population that barely reached twenty-seven thousand. It happened to be a popular hiking area since the state park was practically just around the corner. I'd spent many summer days climbing my way up through the vertical traverses of the park with my brother and Daniel.

When I'd gone to Oaks, I'd left those days far behind me. I didn't regret the decision to leave...much. I missed my family and Daniel, who was pretty much my only real friend at the time. I hadn't exactly been bullied. It was more as if I just didn't fit in anywhere. While I was relatively intelligent at Oaks, I was practically a genius compared to the people in this town. That had been my problem. Too smart to hang out with even the smartest kids because they got jealous. Not athletic enough, at least at the time because that was entirely a different story now, to fit in with the jocks. And nowhere near sociable enough to be popular.

Those three factors combined together had been enough to cut my social circle down to near nonexistent. Growing up, I'd let them bring many tears to my eyes. Daniel was always there, of course, and in a way I'd always felt bad about that. He'd had the makings of a popular, smart, remarkable guy, and yet I'd always held him back. I'd known that, even when we were little kids. Daniel had always had a natural charisma about him that just drew people in.

It was probably part of the reason that I'd been completely and horribly in love with him.

When I'd left for Oaks at fourteen, I'd had feelings for Daniel that I'd known could never be reciprocated. The moment I stepped onto the plane that had taken me far away from the small town I'd grown up in, I'd sworn that I'd leave my feelings for him behind. And I had.

But that didn't mean that there wasn't a knife twisting in my gut as I watched him and his parents sitting next to my brother and my father in front of my mother's casket in the front pew of the church.

I was in one of the last rows. Far enough back that I wouldn't be remembered and close enough to not be separated and, by extension, conspicuous. It was unlikely that people would recognize me since I'd been gone for four years and looked so unlike the girl who'd gone missing so long ago.

Still, as a precaution, I'd pinned a dark brown wig on my head and had put in brown contact lenses, which contrasted horribly with my naturally pale blue irises. The brown turned out muddy and utterly horrible which, I guessed, was good for what I needed them to do.

The service was beautiful. People said good things about my mom. Told funny stories about things that she'd done. Remembered stuff from way back when she was a kid. She'd been a teacher at local elementary school and some of her past students stepped up and spoke of how she had been their favourite teacher. But, mostly, they talked about how kind she was. How compassionate. And how much she'd loved her family.

It was a closed-casket service and the front was littered with flowers and some pictures. There was a large portrait of her, standing just to the left of the casket. They'd picked a nice picture, showcasing her bright smile and long dark blonde-brown hair. She had the same eyes that Wes had, that bright, bright blue, that was almost azure.

When the service ended, most people got up to leave and headed towards the door. Others drifted off towards the front where my dad and Wes and Daniel's family were, offering up condolences. I stayed where I was for another few minutes longer, only getting up when my two remaining family members started walking down the aisle towards where I was sitting. They approached, looking tired and haggard. It looked as if there were new wrinkles on my father's head and he appeared weary. Wes just looked exhausted. His eyes were rimmed with red from crying and his face was puffy. It didn't look as if he'd brushed his hair recently.