Page 12 of Unmasked

Resentment surged through him. “You didn't belong here fifteen years ago. You sure as hell don't belong here now. You don't mean anything to me anymore. Stay on your side of the woods and I'll stay on mine.”

A mixture of fury and adrenaline coursed through his body as he spun away and strode back toward the house. The gall of that woman to show up here. He hated her. But he hated himself even more for still wanting her.

CHAPTER

SEVEN

The sweetly savory scent of coffee hit her the moment she pulled open the door of the small coffee shop. There were only a dozen or so tables sprinkled throughout the small space, and she immediately recognized Sierra from her photo online.

Sierra sat at a table to her right, a binder on the table in front of her next to a ceramic cup full of frothy brown liquid. As if feeling Everleigh's gaze on her, her face lifted, and a bright smile lit her face. She stood as Everleigh moved toward her, then extended her hand. “You must be Everleigh.”

“I am.”

“I'm Sierra.” She grinned. “Nice to meet you.”

Everleigh slipped her palm into Sierra's and shook once before looping the strap of her purse over the back of the chair and sliding into the seat. Sierra gestured to the cup of cappuccino in front of her. “Would you like something to drink? My treat.”

“You don't have to do that,” Everleigh replied.

Sierra waved off her concern. “Really, I want to.”

Everleigh quickly scanned the board. It was too hot for anything warm to drink. “I’ll take an Iced Caramel Macchiato, please.”

“Absolutely.”

Sierra made her way over to the counter to order, and Everleigh took a moment to catalog her surroundings. She knew Mason was there somewhere, more than likely outside in one of the parking lots where he had a view of both her car parked along the curb and the front entrance of the coffee shop.

She studied her car parked near the corner of the building. In retrospect, she probably should have parked somewhere more obscure, somewhere she didn't have a direct line of sight. If the photographer knew she wasn't able to see him come and go, he might be more likely to get caught in the act of leaving the photograph.

She still couldn't begin to imagine who was taking the photos or why. Over the past few weeks, she had barely even left the house, let alone opened herself up to confrontation with anyone. When she left after graduation thirteen years ago, she had never looked back. She hadn't stayed in contact with any neighbors or friends from school. Not that she had many in the first place. Given a choice, she had always preferred to spend time with Knox and Vivi instead of the pretentious young women from her prep school.

Sierra slid Everleigh's coffee in front of her before returning to her cappuccino. Everleigh turned her focus to Sierra and returned her smile. “How long have you lived here?”

“My entire life. I went to St. Mary's, but I was a few years behind you in school.”

Everleigh's eyes widened. “Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you.”

“It's okay.” Sierra leaned back in the chair and settled her hands in her lap. “Like I said, you were several years ahead of me. High school feels like it was ages ago. When you reached out to me, I thought your name sounded familiar, so I did a little digging.”

That made sense to Everleigh. “How have you been?”

Sierra lifted one shoulder. “You know how it is in small towns. Some things never change.”

“That can be both good and bad,” Everleigh commented.

Sierra tipped her head in agreement. “That is true. What about you? I heard you moved to New York. What was that like?”

“It was a culture shock,” Everleigh replied honestly. It seemed so exciting at first, but so many of her memories were tainted by regret. When she moved away, all she could focus on was putting distance between herself and the girl of her past.

“I can only imagine.” A sympathetic expression moved across Sierra’s face. “So what brought you back here?”

“I was tired of the city. Life up north wasn't at all what I expected, and I needed to just come back home and regroup. People say the city never sleeps, and they're right. Whether it was one o'clock in the afternoon or one o'clock in the morning, things never slowed down. I missed the simplicity of the country.”

“I can see how that would be overwhelming,” Sierra said. “Are you enjoying it so far?”

Everleigh would be if she wasn't receiving strange photographs. “It's good… But it’s also been a huge adjustment,” she said slowly. “I think everything will fall into place.”

“It will,” Sierra agreed. “Where are you living at the moment?”