Page 1 of Shadow of Deceit
1
He’d come for her. Full throttle. The proof in Mia Blackburn’s hand as he looked on—a threat in neat rows of shiny magazine letters glued to stark white paper.
Evergreen Resort will never be yours. Leave town now or you will pay.
She looked up at her father as his continued hatred burned in her hand, exactly like she feared would happen if she ever returned home.
Her mouth went dry, and her throat tightened. She desperately wanted to fire an accusation his way, but couldn’t form any words.
“What is it you want, Mia?” He picked a speck of lint from his navy suit coat and flicked it into the air.
Wow.Nothing had changed. He’d flicked her upcoming answer away as easily as the fuzz. Right here in Shadow Lake’s small post office with old brass mailboxes and worn tile floors.
Not unusual for him. He’d been acting this way since she’d turned thirteen.
Sure, she hadn’t seen him for ten years, but she was used to his behavior—expected it even. Then why did it sting so badly?
Tears dampened her eyes.
No. Don’tyou dare.
No way she would cry. She willed back the tears and located the armor she’d forged over the years. She slipped inside the steel plating and drew a deep breath.
“I never thought you’d want me to leave town bad enough to resort to threats.” She thrust the page out, her hand shaking. “And why bother sending hate mail when you could threaten me in person?”
He grabbed the paper and stared at it. “This isn’t something I would do.”
She continued to watch him. “Interesting response. Not a definitive no. Just not something you would do?”
He shoved the paper back into her hand, his expression blank and unreadable. Moments ticked by. Painful. She was ready to squirm out from under his microscopic intensity, but willed herself to remain still.
He heaved a sigh. “As usual, you’ve made it very clear what you think of me. I won’t respond to your accusation.” He spun and exited the building, the small bell above the door tinkling in a cheerful chime, belying the lingering tension.
Through the window, she continued to track his progress as he strode down the street in the morning sunshine to his Mercedes. Why had she even stopped to get the mail first thing on arrival in town? If she hadn’t come here, she wouldn’t have run into her father.
He climbed into his shiny car and drove off. Her anger dissipated a fraction, and a hint of reason returned. She could breathe again, if only to inhale the lingering musky scent of the cologne he’d worn for as long as she could remember.
She let out a long breath. Dragged in another. She didn’t want to be like this. Tense. Anxious. Fearful. Less than an hour in town and she’d returned to the motherless thirteen-year-old girl who cried herself to sleep every night, hoping for comfort from her remaining parent and getting none.
She thought she’d dealt with this pain. Put it behind her. Obviously not. But maybe she was wrong. Maybe he really hadn’t done this. Maybe someone else wanted her to leave Shadow Lake to stop her from fulfilling the terms of her uncle’s unusual will.
She had to live at Evergreen Resort for one full year to inherit the property, sleeping on site every night of that year. The only exemption her Uncle Wally, Evergreen’s owner, had given her was that she could leave the property if her life was in danger.
Wally’s lawyer said her uncle was concerned about natural disasters or a fire or something like that. But his intent was for her to make every effort to reside on the property unless it was completely uninhabitable. Then and only then could she leave, and the property would immediately revert to her.
An escape and yet not one. Even if the main lodge became uninhabitable there were cabins she could live in. She doubted he ever thought about someone trying to scare her away. But someone was doing just that. She didn’t care about owning the land or even the money if she sold it, but she did care about honoring the wishes of the man who’d been more of a father to her for the past ten years than her biological father. She would honor him no matter what came her way.
The clang of the bells over the door sounded. Had her father returned?
She spun.
Oh no.Not her father, but equally as stressful. Maybe worse.
“Ryan.” She whispered her ex-boyfriend’s name like a desperate plea for help as he held the door for several townspeople coming in to collect their mail.
A jolt of awareness shot through her.
Don’t look over here. Please don’t!
