Necessary Detour Read Online Free
kissed her cheek, and left for her own bedroom. “Don’t spend all night watching that guy on the ladder next door,” she teased.
“Sweet dreams, darling girl,” Nikki smiled. The man was probably just a fix-it guy from town. Reporters wouldn’t come this far. They were back in L.A., perplexed about her sudden retirement. It wouldn’t occur to anyone yet that the choice to re-invent herself had been made for Nikki eight weeks earlier, when a tiny life inside her took root and began to grow from a stranger’s seed.
Chapter 3
He was frustrated. Why hadn’t Goldy stayed in Los Angeles where celebrities belonged? It would be so much easier. This remote location changed everything. All the careful planning was a joke now that Goldy was hiding out at Louisa Lake. Hell, he’d have to be on his toes with this one.
Lugging the stepladder back to the garage, he tried to put it away without making a sound. The lights were out at Goldy’s, which meant any noise he made would probably be heard by the two women lying in bed over there. Fuck. The thought of Goldy in bed, only footsteps away from where he stood made his blood quicken. Her long blonde hair, that body, her smile. He’d fantasized about kissing that smile. At the last Goldy concert, he’d fantasized about more than that. Him and thousands of other men in the audience.
If he marched over there right now, let himself in to her house and slipped upstairs to her bedroom, what would she do? The reality was that she’d be terrified. He had to stay away from her. Things were about to go down, and he needed to keep a clear head.
****
As she made her morning cup of tea, Nikki noticed that the Chevy truck was still parked beside the garage at the Dickersons. The maintenance man had stayed the night. His hammering went on until well after ten. Maybe the Dickerson family was getting ready to put the place up for sale. She hoped they didn’t sell it to anyone who actually wanted to use the property. Having an absentee neighbor had been handy when they visited the lake.
Edna’s son, Andy, the DA in Seattle, was in charge of the house now and Nikki punched in his cell number. When she got voice mail, she simply left a message. “It’s Nikki Crossland. Can you call me back on this number? I have some questions about your lake house and who’s over there.” Andy had been trustworthy in the past about the secrecy of the Burnsides showing up at the lake, each year.
Later that day, Andy Dickerson left a short message saying he had a guy over there. “Just ignore him,” he said.
Even though the “guy” was gone, Nikki contacted Sheriff Harold Gaines of the Louisa Lake Police Department, one of the only people she knew in town. “Are the Dickerson’s selling?” Harold had once told her that he knew all the gossip on the lake.
“Not that I know of.”
“I just wondered because there was a maintenance man out here.”
“Probably just that.” It sounded like she’d interrupted his lunch. He was a big guy, with a doting wife and retirement staring him in the face. Nikki imagined him with a tray of food in front of him.
“Can you let me know if you hear anything? And Harold, as always, it’s a secret I’m here, so I’d appreciate you keeping it under that sheriff hat.”
“Roger that.”
****
Labor Day was over, and the lake was once again engulfed in the September hush. Without Quinn, Birch House seemed in desperate need of everything. It would take days to adjust to the deafening silence. They’d had such fun together, just what Nikki envisioned. Their toe nails were Petal Pink, they’d trimmed each other’s hair, written a little song about themselves, suffered together through sunburns, finished the book Little Women , invented three new recipes to put in the Birch House Cookbook, water skied, and walked the loop with Elvis each day. They had even created an account for Nikki on Dating.com that she secretly had no intention of using.
When Quinn
“Sweet dreams, darling girl,” Nikki smiled. The man was probably just a fix-it guy from town. Reporters wouldn’t come this far. They were back in L.A., perplexed about her sudden retirement. It wouldn’t occur to anyone yet that the choice to re-invent herself had been made for Nikki eight weeks earlier, when a tiny life inside her took root and began to grow from a stranger’s seed.
Chapter 3
He was frustrated. Why hadn’t Goldy stayed in Los Angeles where celebrities belonged? It would be so much easier. This remote location changed everything. All the careful planning was a joke now that Goldy was hiding out at Louisa Lake. Hell, he’d have to be on his toes with this one.
Lugging the stepladder back to the garage, he tried to put it away without making a sound. The lights were out at Goldy’s, which meant any noise he made would probably be heard by the two women lying in bed over there. Fuck. The thought of Goldy in bed, only footsteps away from where he stood made his blood quicken. Her long blonde hair, that body, her smile. He’d fantasized about kissing that smile. At the last Goldy concert, he’d fantasized about more than that. Him and thousands of other men in the audience.
If he marched over there right now, let himself in to her house and slipped upstairs to her bedroom, what would she do? The reality was that she’d be terrified. He had to stay away from her. Things were about to go down, and he needed to keep a clear head.
****
As she made her morning cup of tea, Nikki noticed that the Chevy truck was still parked beside the garage at the Dickersons. The maintenance man had stayed the night. His hammering went on until well after ten. Maybe the Dickerson family was getting ready to put the place up for sale. She hoped they didn’t sell it to anyone who actually wanted to use the property. Having an absentee neighbor had been handy when they visited the lake.
Edna’s son, Andy, the DA in Seattle, was in charge of the house now and Nikki punched in his cell number. When she got voice mail, she simply left a message. “It’s Nikki Crossland. Can you call me back on this number? I have some questions about your lake house and who’s over there.” Andy had been trustworthy in the past about the secrecy of the Burnsides showing up at the lake, each year.
Later that day, Andy Dickerson left a short message saying he had a guy over there. “Just ignore him,” he said.
Even though the “guy” was gone, Nikki contacted Sheriff Harold Gaines of the Louisa Lake Police Department, one of the only people she knew in town. “Are the Dickerson’s selling?” Harold had once told her that he knew all the gossip on the lake.
“Not that I know of.”
“I just wondered because there was a maintenance man out here.”
“Probably just that.” It sounded like she’d interrupted his lunch. He was a big guy, with a doting wife and retirement staring him in the face. Nikki imagined him with a tray of food in front of him.
“Can you let me know if you hear anything? And Harold, as always, it’s a secret I’m here, so I’d appreciate you keeping it under that sheriff hat.”
“Roger that.”
****
Labor Day was over, and the lake was once again engulfed in the September hush. Without Quinn, Birch House seemed in desperate need of everything. It would take days to adjust to the deafening silence. They’d had such fun together, just what Nikki envisioned. Their toe nails were Petal Pink, they’d trimmed each other’s hair, written a little song about themselves, suffered together through sunburns, finished the book Little Women , invented three new recipes to put in the Birch House Cookbook, water skied, and walked the loop with Elvis each day. They had even created an account for Nikki on Dating.com that she secretly had no intention of using.
When Quinn
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