Page 18 of A Wolfe in the Woods

And with that, she disappeared, leaving me alone in the dark to lick my wounds.

CHAPTER 6

BLANCHETTE

In lieu of going for another walk the following morning—and thus risk encountering who I mentally deemed as the “Hot Grump” again—I stuck around my porch. I nipped into the reception cabin around nine, letting May ply me with hot, buttery croissants laden with thick berry jam, slabs of local cheeses and dried meats, and a small platter of fruit, all of which I took back to my cottage with me.

And there I posted up for most of the morning, sipping coffee, nibbling off my breakfast tray at my leisure, and reading a thriller novel I’d had the good sense to pack with me as I rocked in the wooden chair on the porch overlooking the lake.

It was a beautiful morning, though my sunburn from my brief dip in the lake yesterday had me sticking to the shade. It was calm and peaceful…everything I’d envisioned when I thought of the wordvacation.

But as my breakfast slowly dwindled after my second refill of coffee, and as I turned more and more pages in my book, which felt more and more predictable, I started to get antsy. After two, it began to get uncomfortably hot and I was getting bored cooped up on the porch. One thing I hadn’t realized was how much I relied on my phone to keep me occupied. The mindlessscrolling as I tried to sleep, the flipping through photo albums when I got fidgety, the constant checking and answering of text messages and emails that streamed into it all took a large chunk of my day.

I’d called Meg on the landline last night, but otherwise…May had informed me they were still in the process of getting internet connected to the cottages. I’d have to go into town for it.

And groceries—I need those too,I couldn’t help but think, my book spread face down over my leg as I eyed the glittering lake.

The town of Everwick-by-the-Sea, just mere miles down the highway, loomed in my mind, like a dull ache in my side. Yesterday I’d done a good job of trying to ignore how close I was to my grandmother’s home. Tomyhome, for many, many years.

I couldn’tnotvisit while I was here. If I didn’t, when I returned to Graymore, the knowledge would make me feel even worse, the guilt multiplied. Meg had known exactly what she was doing by sending me here.

It was only my second day in and I was already bored and restless. What was I going to do here for the rest of the week?

Maybe I should go into town today. Go see my grandmother’s cottage. Rip it off like a bandage. That would satisfy Meg at the very least, and then I can just go back to Graymore early,I couldn’t help but think.I could just lie on the couch for the rest of the week and watchSteamy Island.

Was Ireadyto visit Everwick today?

I huffed out a sharp breath. I didn’t know if I would ever be ready, but I wanted to get it over with. Then I could decide if I wanted to stay or leave.

With that decision made, I stood from my rocking chair on the porch, feeling a drop of sweat roll down my back before the waist of my denim shorts stopped it. I tidied up the last of mybreakfast dishes, depositing everything in the kitchen, slathered on more sunscreen, and then grabbed my purse and keys.

But when I got to the dirt parking lot opposite the reception cabin, I discovered my car wouldn’t start.

I tried to turn over the engine multiple times, feeling my heartbeat begin to pound in dread and annoyance.

“Unbelievable. Just my luck,” I muttered, groaning as I slumped back in the hot driver’s seat. I tried one last time before climbing out and making my way across the lot.

The AC was blowing full blast in the reception cabin. May was sitting in one of the armchairs by the unlit fire, and she turned to regard me when I entered.

“Ya hungry, dear?” she asked. I wondered how she knew it was me but decided that it was because the other cabins were empty. I hadn’t heard or seen anyone check in yesterday evening.

“After the breakfast you gave me this morning?” I asked. “Not at all. Unfortunately, uh, my car won’t start.”

“Ahh.”

May stood, surprisingly limber and quick for someone her age. She gripped the handle of her cane as she came closer.

“I was hoping to go into town today to get a few groceries,” I told her. “But I think I should call someone out here to look at my car instead.”

“Toric’s shop is closed on Thursdays,” May informed me. “He goes fishin’ on Thursdays. Has for years, and no one will ever shake him of it, even if it’s stormin’. You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to get him to come out and take a look. I’ll call him first thing, though. Don’t ya worry.”

“Of course,” I mumbled. I took in a deep breath. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”

“But for now, I’ll get ya a ride into town,” May said. “How ’bout you meet back here in…say a half hour or so?”

“A half hour?” I asked. Might as well, considering the auto shop wasn’t open regardless. What else would I do? “All right. Thanks, May.”

She waved me off. I went back to the parking lot, popped the hood, and pretended that I knew what I was looking at. With luck, it was just the battery again and it just needed a charge. My rusted red car had already been eight years old when I bought it from a moving neighbor a few years ago. Hopefully it wasn’t all the jostling down the road a couple nights ago that had broken something, something expensive.