At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) (22 page)

Isabella put her hand to the necklace, emotions swirling around inside her, whispers from the past urging her to listen.

“Leticia kept telling me that we needed to go back to the theater. But I knew it was going to be the last chance for us to see each other; I was getting pressure from Alice to set a wedding date.”

“Why didn’t you break it off with Alice if you were in love with Leticia?”

“Alice was the woman I was supposed to want. She fit into my life; Leticia didn’t. I had big ambitions. I didn’t want to be held back.”

At least he was honest enough to admit the truth, Isabella thought, although that didn’t make her like him any more. She was beginning to think Leticia had been a fool to love him.

“I told Leticia that I didn’t want to waste our time together worrying about something she couldn’t even define.”

An immense sadness flowed through Isabella. She could feel Leticia’s disappointment, her pain at his unwillingness to see her as she really was.

“Later that night, we saw the flames from the hillside,” he said.

“You were at the falls,” she said, another piece of the puzzle snapping into place.

“How did you know that?”

“Just go on.”

“Yes, we were at the falls. It was a beautiful place, dark, romantic, private. By the time we got back to the theater, the firemen were pulling Caitlyn’s body out of the building. She was dead.” He turned to look at her. “Leticia was stricken with guilt. And so was I.”

“Neither of you started the fire,” Isabella pointed out.

“But maybe we could have stopped it.” He gazed into her eyes. “You see things like Leticia did, don’t you?”

“I thought you didn’t believe in her visions.”

“But I should have.” He paused. “Is something going to happen? Because if it is, I won’t ignore it this time.”

“I don’t know.”

“When you do know, don’t let anyone stop you from talking about it. Leticia said her biggest mistake was not believing in herself enough to make
me
believe. Don’t make the same mistake. Don’t let anyone else get hurt.”

“I don’t know if I can stop anything,” she said helplessly. “Seeing the future doesn’t give me power.”

“Doesn’t it?” he challenged.

Just then, Tory came toward them. “Grandpa, I need your help. Can I borrow you for a minute?”

“Yes, of course,” he said, rising to his feet. He gave Isabella a quick nod.

She watched them walk down the aisle. Nick’s grandmother had joined his parents by the stage. When Harrison reached the group, he slid his arm around his wife, who gave him a soft smile.

Maybe Harrison had been infatuated with Leticia fifty years ago, but he’d made a life with Alice and created a family that had spawned several generations. Isabella didn’t want to mess with any of that.

And while she was intrigued by the history, deep down, she still felt certain that her dreams were not about the past but about the future—because Nick wasn’t in the past.

Speaking of Nick . . . Her breath caught as she saw him walk out of the wings with his uncle. He had a roll of blueprints in his hands, and as she watched, he paused, pointing up to the private box closest to the stage. His uncle nodded, saying something Isabella couldn’t hear.

She got to her feet with a gnawing feeling in her gut. Was she just feeling unsettled by her conversation with Harrison, or was it something more? The restless feeling drew her toward the stage. Nick hadn’t seen her, caught up in his conversation with his uncle. But as their discussion ended, Nick turned and their gazes met—again.

A familiar blast of heat swept through her. Whenever they were in the same room, it was just him and her. Everyone else faded into the background. She didn’t know if the others were paying attention, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t look away.

He beckoned to her, and she walked up the steps. He moved across the stage to meet her. “I was just going over some ideas to renovate the balcony area.”

She looked out at the auditorium. The view was different from the stage, one that most people didn’t get to see. “It must be strange to be up here under the lights.” She still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling, which was even more powerful now.

“I never liked it,” Nick said. “Are you all right, Isabella?”

“I’m fine.” But even as she said so, she felt a wave of dizziness. She put her hand on his arm to steady herself.

Lights flashed in her head, exploding in shards amid a cacophony of screams. On instinct, she dragged Nick across the stage, barely registering his protest—a protest quickly silenced as a heavy light came crashing down onto the stage, exactly where they’d been standing.

And just like in her head, the glass shattered into a thousand pieces, and screams rocketed through the theater.

Nick’s heart pounded against his chest, his breath coming fast as he looked back to where he was standing seconds before.

Everyone was frozen in place, including him. All he could feel was Isabella’s body close to his. She’d wrapped her arms around him, and he was holding on to her, too.

She’d saved his life. But how had she known? Had she heard something? Seen something snap above their heads?

Suddenly, his uncle started shouting, someone called down from the catwalk, and the stage crew sprang into action.

Tory and his mother hurried up to the stage, both breaking into speech at once. “Are you all right?”

“How did that happen?”

“Thank God you moved just in time.”

“Just in time,” Nick echoed, looking at Isabella. “Thanks to you. You have great reflexes.”

She nodded, then stepped away. “I got lucky.”

It was the same thing he’d said when he’d pulled her out of the car wreck, and a chill washed over him. Was it luck that kept throwing them together? His body still hummed from the adrenaline rush of the near miss and Isabella’s body wrapped around his. Her instinct had been to protect him before she’d thought about protecting herself.

“Thank you, Isabella,” Tory said, giving her a hug. “He’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s the only brother I have.”

“I should get back to work,” Isabella said quietly. “I’ll see you all later.”

“That was way too close,” Tory said as Isabella left.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” his mother asked, a worried look in her eyes. “I can’t believe that light came down. We haven’t had an accident like that in years; everyone is always so careful.”

“I’m fine,” Nick replied. “We should find out what happened, though.”

“Uncle Richard is on it,” Tory said.

“I hope this isn’t a sign,” his mother said worriedly.

“The curse?” Tory quizzed.

“What curse?” he asked.

“This production is the same play that never finished its run because of the fire,” Tory explained.

“We tried to put it on again fifteen years ago, but we ran into a string of problems and eventually decided to do something else,” his mother added, concern lingering in her eyes.

“I’m sure the light falling had more to do with poor workmanship than with a curse,” he said, unwilling to buy into the idea. “You both have too much imagination. I’m going to take off. I need to find Megan.” He glanced down at his watch. “She said she’d come by here after the football game, which had to have ended by now.”

“It’s good that she’s making friends,” Tory commented.

“I’m just not sure they’re the right friends.”

He picked up the blueprints from where he’d dropped them, his gaze catching on the slivers of glass littering the stage. He hadn’t seen or heard a thing—not a crackle or a pop or anything. How had Isabella reacted so quickly?

Shaking his head in bemusement, he headed down the steps. As he entered the lobby, he ran into Isabella again. She was obviously on her way out, her keys in her hand.

“You’re leaving,” he said, a little surprised.

“I’m having trouble concentrating today,” she said, walking quickly through the front doors.

He followed her into the courtyard. “The light falling shook you up.”

“Yes, it did.”

“Isabella, wait,” he said as her pace increased.

She paused, obviously eager to be gone. “What?”

“How did you know that the light was going to come crashing down?”

She stared back at him uncertainly, something in her eyes that he couldn’t decipher. “I sensed it. It’s not a big deal.”

“You saved my life.”

“I don’t think the light would have killed you. I probably just saved you from a few stitches.”

“You were close enough to get hurt, too.”

“Well, we’re both fine,” she said shortly.

“You’re suddenly in a hurry.”

“And you’re suddenly not,” she said in exasperation. “Aren’t you the one who’s always saying we need to keep our distance?”

“That sounds like me,” he said with a smile that softened her expression ever so slightly. “What are your plans for the day?”

She hesitated. “I’m not sure. When I stopped in town earlier, someone left a flyer on my windshield for something called a Wild Turkey Shoot. I thought I might check it out.”

“Wild Turkey Shoot? What will this town come up with next?”

Her lips curved into a smile. “It seems there’s a new event every other day.” She started walking again. “I like the festive atmosphere, the feeling of celebration. You don’t get that in the big city.”

“True, Angel’s Bay has never seen a holiday it didn’t want to celebrate. I’ve spent most of the last decade in L.A., and I’d forgotten. I’m still getting used to—” He stopped in shock as he saw two teenagers making out by a motorcycle close by. “What the
hell
is she doing?”

“Take a breath, Nick,” Isabella advised.

All he saw was a haze of red fury. That junior thug had his tongue down his daughter’s throat. “Megan!” he shouted, striding forward.

His daughter jumped away from the boy, her face flooding with red as she looked from him to the boy and then back again.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“What does it look like we’re doing?” the punk had the nerve to ask, a smirk on his face.

Nick took another step forward. The kid must have sensed his anger, because he quickly hopped onto his bike, said, “See you, babe,” and took off down the street.

“Was that the same kid who got you suspended from school?” Nick asked Megan. “The one who was drinking?”

“Will isn’t bad,” Megan defended. “We weren’t doing anything. He just gave me a ride.”

“You weren’t
doing
anything?” he echoed. “Are you kidding me?”

“We were kissing. I’m fifteen. What’s the big fucking deal?” she demanded, going into offense mode. “I’m sure you were doing more than kissing when you were my age.”

“That was different,” he spluttered, knowing it wasn’t different at all. But he couldn’t think of something better to say, nor did he know what to do.

“I’m going inside,” Megan declared, and walked by him as if his opinion meant nothing to her. And it probably didn’t.

He blew out a breath and looked over at Isabella, who gave him a sympathetic look. “I am a terrible father.”

“You haven’t had much experience. You’ll get better.”

“When? She’s almost grown-up as it is.” He frowned. “I don’t like that kid she’s hanging around with. Did you see that look on his face? I know that look. I used to
give
that look. What am I going to do? Should I give her space or go after her?”

“I don’t know, Nick. I’m not a mother.”

“But you were a teenage girl.”

“Well, my teenage self would have been horrified if my father had caught me kissing one of my boyfriends, and I would have wanted a little time for him to get past that image. In fact, I probably would have hoped we’d never talk about it.”

“I
am
going to talk about it—but not right now.” He sighed. “I’m overreacting, aren’t I? It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“It reminded me of what we were doing last night.”

“But we’re adults.”

“Yes, we were acting really grown-up at the time,” she said dryly.

As she turned toward her truck, he found himself unwilling to let her go. “Since Megan needs time to cool down, maybe I should check out the Wild Turkey Shoot with you. I could use a drink.”

“Do you think that’s a wise idea, the two of us together?”

“We’ve already escaped death once today. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I don’t remember any bars out here,” Nick said as he directed Isabella toward the outskirts of town. The flyer just listed the event, address, date, time, and charity contribution. He grew increasingly more doubtful as they took a side road leading past small farms and stables.

As Isabella took a right on the next dirt road, he saw colorful flags waving in the distance and a parking lot filled with cars. He hadn’t taken two steps out of the truck before he realized that they weren’t going to be doing shots of Wild Turkey.

“I don’t think this is about drinking,” Isabella said.

“You tricked me.” He gazed at the pen filled with squawking turkeys.

“I didn’t know. I’m an outsider, remember.” She slammed the door of the truck, giving him an unrepentant grin.

“Yeah, right,” he said, unable to resist smiling back at her. Isabella’s cheeks were rosy, her hair blowing in the wind, not a speck of makeup on her face, but she was gorgeous. Every time he looked at her, he couldn’t seem to look away.

“So what do you think the deal is?” she asked.

He read off the nearby banner, “Catch a wild turkey and win a free Thanksgiving dinner. Donations go to the Good Samaritan Family Shelter. It looks like ten dollars buys you five minutes to catch a turkey. If you don’t get one, you’re out. But your money goes to a good cause.”

“Sounds like fun and it’s for charity. We should do it, Nick.”

He could think of a lot of other things he’d rather do with her than chase a turkey, but, as usual, he was having trouble getting the word
no
past his lips.

“Nick?” Isabella prodded. “I just asked you if you wanted to catch a turkey.”

“What if I said I wanted to catch you?”

“I’m not running,” she countered.