Love and Other Things (Crystal Lake 4)

Chapter Four

By ten a.m., Sid was crawling the walls.

The night before, she’d fallen into bed exhausted, and for the first time in a long time hadn’t needed any kind of sleep aid to get the job done. No pills or tea or oil. It was lights out for this girl about ten minutes after she’d come back from Nate’s.

She was awake before it was light outside and spent a few lazy hours sipping coffee by the fireplace with the book she’d brought along. She caught the sunrise over Crystal Lake and had breakfast while it happened, enjoying the silence and solitude. This was what she’d needed. This was what she wanted. To refresh her batteries, get away from the city, forget about the mess she’d left behind, and disappear in a place where no one knew her.

A mental and physical break. Her doctor had been after her about it for weeks.

So it was kind of funny that a few hours in, all she wanted was to do something. She poked her head outside, inhaled a shot of fresh, crisp air, and decided a trip to town was in order, especially considering she needed groceries. Molly had sent her home with a few things the night before, but she still had to stock up. Besides, a walk around town would be fun.

An hour later, she’d showered and dressed in faded jeans and a pale pink sweater. Her makeup was light, a bit of gloss on her lips, a touch of mascara, and she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She was pretty sure that even if she ran into folks who knew who Sid Barrett was, they wouldn’t recognize the Crystal Lake version. She grabbed her brown leather Vuitton and a beige sweater and headed outside. It was still chilly, but the sun felt nice on her face, and her steps were light.

Only when she drove past Beck Jacobs’s place did she think of him. Well, she’d had a few evil thoughts the night before, but they didn’t count. She snuck a look and saw his truck was gone, and then decided that Beck wasn’t worth the stress he created. The man had issues, no way around that, and complicated seemed too light a word to use in conjunction with him.

Sid had left complicated behind her, along with a pile of pain and heartbreak. She needed to focus on herself and not think about a man who was rude and cold and had zero manners or social skills.

Even if he was dangerously handsome, in a rugged, wholly male kind of way.

For one second in her mind’s eye, she saw Beck half-dressed with his shirt hanging open, cradling that kitten, and, in spite of herself, shook her head and exhaled. He was the kind of man to set most women’s hearts fluttering a mile a minute, even someone like Sid, a woman whose heart was no longer whole. But in the end, it didn’t matter. He didn’t matter because Sid was a lost cause.

Only a fool would get involved with her. Or someone as screwed up as she was.

The drive to town took about fifteen minutes. She drove past a grocery store on the outskirts of town because she wanted to explore a bit before she ran her errand. A lovely park was central to the town center, there along a riverbank, and she parked in a municipal lot, eyes on a cute boardwalk that sported a host of shops and boutiques.

An old caboose had been converted into a food joint and was open, selling hot chocolate, among other things, out of a take-out window. Sid grabbed a large with extra marshmallows, sipping it lazily as she slowly made her way down the path that followed the river. It was warmer than the day before in spite of the snow on the ground, and with the sun on her face, she felt spring in the air.

Mothers and toddlers smiled as they went by, as did the odd jogger—she supposed most folks were at work on this fine Monday morning. A walking club consisting of elderly folks dressed in bright green matching track suits with neon-yellow hats came at her from the opposite direction, all in sync, but with generous smiles and waves as they passed by.

She spied a boutique called Bella & Hooch across the way, with lovely throws in the display window, and headed there. She could use one for mornings with her book. There were a few customers inside chatting up a woman behind the counter who looked to be about Sid’s age. She had long, wavy hair the color of dark rust, big expressive eyes so blue, Sid could see them from several feet away, and her smile was easy and open. Her dress was very much bohemian, with a lovely blue-and-cream pattern that suited both the woman and the shop.

She spied Sid and smiled, but then let Sidney browse in peace, which she appreciated. There was nothing worse than a hovering salesperson. The women finalized their purchases while Sidney ran her hands over the display of throws. She settled on steel-blue Egyptian weave and grabbed a couple of vials of essential oils as well as a diffuser.

The woman introduced herself as Poppy while ringing up her order.

“Are you new to town or just visiting?” Poppy asked with a smile as she ran Sid’s credit card through the machine. “It’s hard to tell these days. The town is growing so fast, and with all the development on the other side of the lake, we’ve got a lot of new folks here for the long haul.”

“I’m here for a vacation, I guess.” Sid hadn’t thought about what it was exactly she was doing in Crystal Lake, other than getting away from where she’d been.

“Well, there’s lots to do. Still snow on the ski hills, if that’s your thing.”

“Actually, I’m just looking to relax and disappear.”

Poppy looked up, and for a second, there was something in her eyes that made Sid wary.

“It’s a good place to do that,” Poppy replied softly. She handed Sid her bag. “Where are you staying? At the new resort?”

“No. I’m renting a place. A beautiful stone cottage on the lake. Nate Jacobs is a friend of mine, so he hooked me up.”

“Right. I heard Beck was renting out the cottage.”

Beck. Sid had to work hard not to roll her eyes, but then something loosened her tongue.

“So you know Nate and his brother?” she asked casually.

Poppy laughed. “Sure do. Nate and I are the same age, we were in school together from kindergarten right up to graduating high school.” She smiled. “And Beck, he’s older by a few years, so he was the hot guy who seemed so unattainable. But then through most of high school he and Cate were joined at the hip, so it’s not like anyone had a chance with him anyway.”

That piqued Sid’s interest. “Who’s Cate?”