AllFreeNovel
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“OH HEAVENS!” I drop to my knees, hiding behind a park bench.
“Alli, it’s me, Scotty, from the other day at the mountain.”
“Hi there,” I say quietly from my crouching place. “I didn’t realize you lived in town.” Though of course he does. There are only two options within driving distance of the Dog’s Paw, and one of them is Hampton Falls.
“Actually, I’m in Angelville”—the other possibility— “but I bring my daughter here into Hampton Falls for the ice cream at Irving’s stand. Isn’t it delicious?”
“It’s my favorite.” I now notice there’s a young girl, maybe seven or eight years old at his side. I somehow missed seeing her in my rash dive for a hiding place.
“Why are you on the ground?” she asks with the innocence of youth.
“I dropped something when your dad surprised me.”
The girl tilts her head, and I can tell I haven’t even fooled a child with my story.
“It sure is a beautiful night for a stroll, in any case,” Scotty says and then looks around. “Oh,” he pauses. “Perhaps I understand now what you’ve lost on the ground there. Yes, best you find it. Out of sight.”
I look up, and he nods in the direction of Terence and Kasia.
“I’m sure I’ll find it soon. Nice bumping into you.”
“Daddy,” the girl whispers as they walk away. “I don’t think she lost anything down there.”
“Sometimes people say things that are symbolic, honey. What she lost couldn’t be seen.”
My dignity, perhaps?
But I’ve come this far. I’m not quitting now. I just need to make sure things don’t go too far. Not when I’m this close to spreading my heart out on the table in front of Terence. It’s coming, and soon. I won’t be able to contain it, and I’d rather spill my guts on my own terms.
With no Kasia around to throw it off course.
I need a better vantage point. Why didn’t I wear a hat? I could have hidden my face behind a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Then again, did anyone ever blend in while wearing a wide-brimmed hat? Especially at night?
I’ll walk with my back facing them. If I do a zigzag along the street, I can approach them without ever facing them.
If it weren’t for the fact that this feels a little like ankle-twisting hopscotch, it would have been perfect.
I’m almost there. Their voices are within hearing now.
“…hearts pumping,” Terence says, “all across the group. I think it hit home for them how important this work was, that they couldn’t just pass it by.” He must be talking about the demonstration today.
“No doubt. How could they ever say no to you now? Local hero, saved one of their own? You’re practically worthy of a documentary!”
Ugh, Kasia. Laying it on super thick.
“But that’s not the craziest part in this whole thing.”
Behind them are a bunch of bushes. Perfect hiding and spying place. I pull my best James Bond moves and make my way around the side.
But there’s a wild card I didn’t count on.
Ranger.
I hear him trotting in my direction before I see him, but I would know the sound of those paws anywhere. I’ve been listening to them since he was nine weeks old.
He walks to the edge of the dog park, right to the spot where I’m deftly maneuvering, and pants at me from the other side of the fence.
“Go, Ranger. Go back to Terence.” Ranger looks at Terence but stays on the spot, wagging his tail. I’ve got to move before Terence and Kasia notice that Ranger has sniffed me out.
