The air was heavy with the scent of cigars and hazy from the smoke. When I came around the corner of the entry hallway I found the medium sized space to be more crowded than I had anticipated it to be. Either these people enjoyed day drinking more than they should or like Jet they really loved their red meat. Speaking of Jet, it wasn't hard for me to find him. Beyond the fact that my eyes gravitated to him on their own accord. The small crowd had seemed to have created a pathway for him and I wasn't sure whether that was a conscious or unconscious effort on their part.
I made my way through the opening they had created, taking note of the curious glances sent in my direction. Jet was leaning against the bar counter talking to the female working behind it. He glanced over his shoulder at me as if he had sensed me coming up behind him. My pulse quickened as I drew closer to him, it felt like there was an magnetic force pulling me toward him. His eyes drifted down the length of me before he turned away.
I sucked in a breath as I fell into the empty space on his left. The female gave me a wary glance as if she wasn't accustomed to new faces. Jet shifted beside me, angling his body away from me,"Paige this is Lucinda. She's the one that bought the house by the lake." The way he regaled the information to her seemed like there was another message being conveyed in the under current.
I noticed the way dark her eyes sparked with a knowing look as she held his gaze before turning her face in my direction again. She tossed me a friendly smile this time that didn't quite reach her eyes as she threw her drying towel over her shoulder.
"I'm surprised that someone was actually willing to buy that run down place. It's older than half the buildings and people in this town. The Mayor wanted it torn down but Cal's cousin got enough people to sign a petition about it's historical value to the town or whatever. Obviously it kept the thing standing because here you are." She reached out for wet glass as she shook her head, smiling to herself as if the whole thing were a joke, and clearly I had missed the punchline.
Jet pushed away from the counter, "I'll be back." I watched as he wandered away from us. People moved out of his way like they were going to catch some kind of disease if he so happened to accidentally brush up against them. It was the oddest thing I had seen, so far everyone had seemed nice enough.
"Don't mind, Cal. He talks to everyone like that. He not as bad as seems." Paige commented as I turned my gaze back to her. She was drying off the glassware. I was confused about who she was referring to. I looked around me to the people at the bar, "Cal, who?"
Paige lifted a brow as if I was complete moron, "Cal..." She nodded her head in direction Jet had walked. I turned with a furrowed brow expecting to find the person in question. There wasn't anyone sitting on that side of the bar. The only person I saw was Jet as he wandered back through the kitchen door, completely ignoring the employee only sign hanging on the door.
I felt a wave of annoyance as I realized that was who she was talking about, "He told me his name was Jet."
Paige clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth, "Jet? What a ridiculous nickname..." She shook her head at the concept as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had heard. She lifted her eyes to meet my gaze as she set down the glass she had been working over, "Sweetheart, it's best someone tell you who you're associating yourself with. That there is Callum Jethro Wolfe."
I recognized the name Wolfe because of everything that Casey had told me about the other morning when she walked Mary-Beth and I through the house. I looked back toward the kitchen door with a frown. Once he knew who I was, he could have told me the truth but he had chosen to let me believe that he was completely unaware of anything. He'd let me look like a complete idiot.
"I've seen that look before." Paige commented with a bit of laughter. I glanced back toward her to find her lips curved up in one corner, "Don't hold it against him too much. He probably was worried you'd already heard the name. People around here talk about him often enough, but there just spinning tales. I'm sure you know how it is.."
I didn't know how it was. I was from a big city and sure people gossiped about other people but you rarely knew who the hell they were talking about cause there were too many names and faces. I didn't try to correct her, instead I was more curious about what people had to say about Jet or Cal or whoever my rescuer was.
"What kind of tales would they feel the need to spin?" The smirk disappeared from her face as her expression changed into a more serious one
She glanced around at the crowd, "You have to understand that the Wolfe family was one of the original founding families of Twin Peaks. That kind of legacy can start to weigh on people, and it weighed an awful lot on his father. Marcus Wolfe was not right in the head, he didn't treat his family right..." She left the information vague probably cause she didn't know herself what that actually meant. My mind however went back to this morning in the basement, and the marks I had seen gouged into the cement floor. The possibility of how they got there left my stomach unsettled as horrible images plagued my mind.
"People have always been wary of him because of that. They think that he might not be right in the head because of what his daddy done." She seemed extremely annoyed by the thought of people holding his father's sins against him. I couldn't help but wonder how close him and Paige truly were, with her knowing so much about him and his family. It was hard to ignore that she was eye catching with her small stature and frame, dark eyes accented with long sooty eyelashes. Her hair styled into a short bob that played well with her doll like face.
"Now people are trying to blame poor Maggie Redford's death on him like he's some sick freak who would do something so awful to young girl. The Doctor made it clear it was an animal attack, most likely a sick mountain lion or wolf that had wandered down from the preserve.But people always want things to be more dramatic than they really are. It's disgusting, really." Her words caused a bubble of fear to sprout in my stomach. Not because Callum was a supposed killer, I would worry about that gossip later. I was more concerned that there might be a sick animal parading around in the woods and I didn't want anything to happen to Mary-Beth.
"I heard howling out by my house this morning. It woke me right up out of my sleep. You don't think I should be worried do you? Are animal attacks normal things around here?"
She played off like it was no matter at all, "Oh is that so? I wouldn't worry about it too much. The local wildlife was probably just sniffing around cause of the new scents. Wolf sightings are normal around here but they usually avoid people. The one that attacked Maggie was probably sick."
Paige grabbed a napkin and pen from behind the counter, and began to scribble away, "If you do see one and you feel uncomfortable..." She slid the napkin across the counter to me. I stared down at it, watching as the fresh ink bled into the pores of the paper.
Samson Blithe
837-6521
"That's the number for the wildlife preserves park director." I glanced up at her, grabbing the napkin and stuffing it into my pocket, "He's a real friendly guy. He'll make sure to keep you and the poor animal safe." That seemed to be an adjective these people liked to throw around, everyone was friendly. Real friendly.
Callum returned from the kitchen with another man in tow. He had dark long hair pushed back out of his face behind a blue bandana, a scar running across his cheek under his left eye. He had tattoos covering his right forearm, twisting up to the top of his hand. He looked like he belonged to a biker club which made him seem oddly out of place in this small rural town. He split off from Callum's company, going behind the bar where Paige stood.
He addressed her first, dropping a quick kiss to the top of her head before he turned his gaze toward me. He eyed me over with a skeptical look that had me squaring off my shoulders, "You must be Lucinda, the one who bought the house by the lake." He reached across the bar toward me with an open palm.
I relaxed at the friendly gesture, grabbing his callous hand in mine, "That would be me. You must be the mechanic and best burger cooker in town."
He smirked at my comment. The expression softened his features, making him seem more approachable, "That's quite a mouthful. You can just call me August or Auggie, whichever you prefer." We pulled back from each other as we released our grip on one another.
August leaned his body into Paige, "Cal told me the engine on your truck blew on your way into town." He nodded his head toward Callum who had returned to the empty space he'd left beside me earlier.
"That certainly seemed to be the case." I replied shortly, feeling Callum's heavy gaze on the side of my face.
August looked towards Callum as if there was some kind of conversation happening between them that didn't require words. I turned my face toward Callum with my lips tightened into a thin line. His gaze drifted to mine for a moment before that moved back to August.
"Well, I could probably tow it into the shop and start working on it after lunch. If the engine really is blown it might be a problem. It might come down to rebuilding what you have with new pieces or getting a whole new engine all together. I won't know which it is until I see it for myself." I had a feeling that might be what he was going to tell me, but I had hoped that feeling would be wrong.
I pulled my attention away from Callum with a heavy sigh, "Well whatever you can do I appreciate it. My truck is very important to me..." It looked like all hope of surviving the day with a positive outlook was fading quickly. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish all the things I needed to today without my truck, and the thought of going home to a place where the only other person I interacted with hated me didn't make me feel any better.
"Don't worry, Lucinda. If anyone can fix it, it's Auggie. He is the best there is in these parts. Don't let him or anyone else let you believe otherwise." Paige commented with a smile as she patted August on his wide chest. He looked down at her like she was his entire world, the same way I remember my father looking at my own mother in the faint memories I had left of her. I gifted her with a small smile but I knew it didn't reach my eyes.
"I better call off my interview. There isn't anyway I'm going to get there now." I mumbled as I fished my hand into my pocket for my cell phone.
"There's no reason for that. Why not have Cal drive you? I mean he brought you all the way into town." Paige offered up his services without hesitation.
I tightened my grip on my phone. The thought of being alone with him only made me more anxious, especially after knowing who he was and the fact that he had lied to me once already, "Oh I don't want to overstep on Cal's kindness. It's not a big deal, if they really want me than they'll let me reschedule." I say his name stiffly, because I want him to know that I knew the truth.
"Cal, don't make the poor woman beg you." Paige tossed a look in his direction, "I know you're mother taught you better than that."
Callum let out a huff, "Fine, I'll take her to the damned interview."
I turned toward him, "That's fine you don't have too." His eyes held mine in a silent war of wills. I think that he was used to having people cower under the intensity of his aura, and I a big part of me wanted to but I wouldn't let myself look away from him.
He cocked an eyebrow, "I said I'll take you. So, I'll take you. Now, who is the interview with?" Something in his tone told me not to push it anymore. I slid my tongue over my teeth in annoyance. I would have pushed it simple to spite him but I could feel the eyes of his friends and the some of the nearby bar crowd on us. I didn't want to make a scene in front of these people and have that be the first impression.
"Helena Vanderville." I noticed the way his body tensed at the name. August snorted and I turned toward him to see Paige giving him an elbow to the side, still holding a tight lipped smile in my direction. There was obviously something that they were trying to keep from me, and being the outsider I didn't feel like I had a right to pry into it even though I was curious about their reactions to the name.
"Wonderful." He replied dryly, "Auggie, pack me up my usual to go."
August nodded his head, pulling away from Paige, "Come by the shop when your interviews done. It's right off main street, big blue sign out front. I'll give you loaner car...it's a piece of shit but it'll get you around until I can get your truck running again."
I gave him a grateful smile, "Thank you. I really appreciate that." He nodded his head giving Callum one last look before he wandered away back to the kitchen.
"It was nice to meet you, Lucinda but I better get back to work before people start fussin' at me." She gave me a friendly smile and waved to Callum as she walked away toward the far end of the bar where a small group of men in construction uniforms had just sat down. The tension between the two of us seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment. I was happy when August returned with his boxed up meal.
"Here you are my man." He passed off the box.
Callum gave a small grunt before he turned and walked away. I gave August a small wave of my hand before I followed after Callum. He walked with long, powerful strides that I struggled to keep up with.
"Why didn't you tell me who you really were?" I asked as we exited the bar unable to stop myself. I had to lift my hand to shield my eyes against the brightness of day. Callum didn't respond to my question. He simply kept walking forward, booted steps heavy on the frozen pavement. I stalked after him, my eyes focused on the back of his head. I wanted to know the truth from his own lips. I couldn't explain it but the fact that he had tried to trick to me by lying about something so silly was eating at me.
I sped up my pace to catch up to him, "Are we just going to pretend that you didn't lie, is that it?"
He replied dismissively, "Why do you care if I lied or not? There is enough stories out there, pick whichever version of me you like best, sunshine."
"You think that's the best way to start things between us?" Callum spun around quickly to face me, his hazel eyes were a dark brown. I pulled up short, letting out a ragged breath that colored the world in front of me white for a moment. We stared each other down, the familiar urge to run away screaming in my mind.
"Start things between us? What do you think this is?" He lifted his hand and motioned to the space between us, brows lifted high, "I found you on the side of the road and was nice enough to help you out. We are not friends. We are not going to be friends. Now that we cleared that up, get in the truck."
I ground my teeth together as I narrowed my eyes as I turned away from him. I marched to the passenger side of the black truck, waiting for him to unlock it. I could see why he kept to himself like a hermit, he had a horrible attitude. I was surprised that anyone liked him in any fashion.
We are not going to be friends.
The sentence made me cringe internally like I had been slapped across the face. I couldn't explain all these strange sensation that Callum Wolfe was causing in me or where they had come from but I knew that I didn't like them. I was usually much more controlled and put together, but something about him clashed against who I was. He seemed to be bringing out the worst in me.
I heard the sound of the automatic lock clicking and I opened the door, pulling myself up into the cab of the truck without any trouble this time. Neither of us spoke, we'd both said enough to each other. I couldn't wait to get to my interview and wipe my mind clean of Callum Wolfe. Hopefully, we would never have to see each other again.
My cellphone rang and I fished it out of my pocket, looking slightly awkward as I did so, "Hello?" I breathed into it, doing my best to ignore the soft chuckle that came from Callum's side of the truck.
"Miss Cartwright?" A soft female voice came through the receiver.
"Yes?"
"Hello, my name is Laurel Mercer. I'm the guidance counselor here at Twin Peak High School." My heart began to beat a little harder. I reached up with my hand to plug my free ear, the sound of engine and street to loud to hear her clearly. I leaned my body toward the side window, making sure my face was turned away from Callum as he seemed to be proving to be quite the distraction for me.
"Is something wrong? Did Mary-Beth do something?" I could only imagine that she would do something on the first day in a new school simply to spite me for bringing her out here.
"Oh no. She is fine...Well, as fine as she can be considering the situation." I clenched my teeth together in irritation. I hated how everyone referred to it as a situation as if there were some kind of solution that would solve the grief she or I were dealing with, "I just wanted to have a quick chat about her grades."
"Are they bad?" I didn't know what kind of parenting habits Kelley and my father had with her. For all I knew Mary-Beth partied all the time and skipped school on the daily.
There was a small pause, "Quite the opposite, actually. She is one of the top students in her grade. Which is why I am calling you. I already talked with Mary-Beth this morning about some advanced programs we offer here that might be worth her while. However, most of them require the permission of a guardian." I now understood the purpose of this call. She wanted Mary-Beth to join these programs and thought I would have some personal sway with her when it came to making those kind of decisions. If only she knew the truth, it was almost laughable in my head.
"I'll talk with her about it. Thank you for the call Miss Mercer." I was done with the conversation. I felt uncomfortable discussing private matters of my life with Callum being able to listen to all of it.
"Alright, have a good day Miss Cartwright." She hung up.
I pulled my phone away from my ear and shoved it back into my purse, pretending that nothing had even happened or that I couldn't feel Callum watching me as I did so.
"Who's Mary-Beth?" He asked after a beat of silence. I tensed up at the question, keeping my gaze focused on the road. I was still irritated by the dismissive attitude he'd had toward me earlier when I had questioned him about lying about who he was. I mean why would anyone lie about something as small as their name unless they had something that they wanted to hide.
I crossed my arms over my chest, "Now you feel like having small talk?" My voice had a hardened edge to it. A tone that I had learned from the past couple of weeks of being around Mary-Beth.
He made a sound in the back of his throat that reminded me of the beginning of laugh. I turned my eyes on him quickly, the thought that he would laugh at me only agitated me more. Part of me felt like he enjoyed the fact that he had gotten under my skin like that was exactly where he wanted to be, "Well, it would only be fair now that you know so much about me."
"What do I know about you? Other than you're a liar and that people think you're some kind of killer." I snapped at him.
The amused spark in his eyes grew at my words, "And here you are alone in the my truck with me. Imagine all the fun possibilities." The way the words fell from his lips sent a shiver through me. There was something in his hazel eyes that had me holding my breath, a darkness that lurked as if there was something else staring out at me.
I gave him a deep frown, "Hilarious."
His lips twitched upward into a grin that only left me more unsettled than I already was as he pulled his eyes from me back to the road.We went through the main intersection in town, before he pulled over to the side of the road. The building to my right, reminded me of a courthouse.
"Here you are. Safe, sound, and spared from my murderous intentions." He commented with a tone that still spoke of amusement and something else, something that I couldn't quite pinpoint.
I unbuckled myself, "I guess I'll consider myself one of the lucky ones."
I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze which felt heavy on my skin. Those whiskey jade eyes pulled me in with their magnetic force, holding me captive. The voice in my head screamed at me to look away, move, anything really to get away from the man sitting opposite me. There was something different about him, something that left me unsettled in some deep part of myself. Callum Wolfe was a man of secrets, secrets that as much as I hated to admit I wanted to discover.
My father always told me that I was too curious for my own good, that it would get me into trouble if I wasn't careful. Staring into Callum's eyes I was almost certain trouble had found me. He leaned forward and I sucked in a breath as he invaded my personal space, our faces close enough that I could feel his breath against my cheek.
My heart beat heavily against my chest. He reached behind me and I was uncertain about what he was doing until I heard the sound of a soft pop. He gave a pause before he spoke, "Watch your step." He pulled back stiffly, resting in his seat as if nothing had happened.
I regained control of my functions and forced myself to turn away from him. I reached out with a shaky hand and pushed the door open, the cold air washing over my heated flesh. I was being completely ridiculous. I was acting like a teenage girl who had never even been touched by a boy before. I was beyond the age of being ruffled so easily by the opposite sex, yet here I was completely undone by one man's actions. A man that I knew absolutely nothing about, other than he was the type of man to lie about his name.
I stepped down out of the car, turning around to grab my purse, "Thank you for the ride." I spoke softly. I went to close the door, not expecting anything more from him.
"Lucinda..." I paused at the sound of him calling my name, meeting his gaze again expectantly. What I expected him to say to me, I wasn't sure but what he said was a surprise, "Be careful who you chose to trust. I would hate to see you get hurt." I didn't know what to say to him, so I stepped away and closed his door. I watched as he pulled away from the curb and into traffic.
I watched until his he turned down a side street and disappeared from view, a part of me feeling oddly uncomfortable without him near me, as if his presence had afforded me some kind of comfort in this sea of strangers.
I sucked in a deep breath as I turned around and found a couple of people looking away from me quickly, too quickly as if they were trying to hide that they had been looking at all. I lifted my chin a bit as I bound up the cement steps to front door of the court building. As I reached for the golden handle the door propelled outwards toward my face. I stumbled back, my heel getting caught on the edge of the step. I began to fall backwards but a strong hand wrapped around my hand, catching me mid fall. I hung suspended in air for a moment, breathing heavily as I stared into the face of a suited older male.
He gave me a charming apologetic grin, "Sorry about that, Darling." He pulled my up slowly and waited until I was settled once again with my feet flat on the ground before he released me, "I didn't see you through the glare on glass." His voice is smooth and rich, like a nice brandy but something about his words seemed like a front. I smoothed out my shirt with my hand, trying to wipe away the nervous sweat that had built up on it from my near tumble, "That's alright, it just seems to be my luck today." I mumbled.
I was really beginning to hate the image of myself that I must have been giving these people, like I was the damsel in distress type. I mean sure I was a damsel and I had been in distress when Callum found me but that didn't mean that I wasn't a capable human who could take care of herself.
"Either way I need to be more careful in the future. I don't think it would look good to have the mayor knocking people down wherever he went." His comment had me, focusing my attention on his face. This was the Mayor of Twin Peak? He looked too young and relatable to be a politician. Most of his hair still had it's soot color except for the gray patches near his temples.
He tilted his head to the side and stuck out his hand toward me, "Bradford Vanderville." When I took his hand again I felt a strange spark of fear in my stomach, similar to the feeling that I got around Callum and his friends. It was almost like there was heaviness in the air around them that didn't seem right, like there was something off about them that I couldn't put my finger on. I forced myself to smile back at him as I shook his hand, "Lucinda Cartwright."
His eyes sparked with awareness, "Ah, Yes. Miss Cartwright. The new resident of the Wolfe Manor. I believe my wife is expecting you." He released his grip on my hand and tucked it into the pocket of his black slacks, that looked like they had the crease ironed into them. I remember Kelley spending hours ironing creases into my father's pants when they had to go to business dinners, she thought it made him look like a prestigious man. My lips twitched upward at the memory, my father had been a blue collar man he didn't care about prestige.
"That would be me. News sure does travel fast around here." I commented in a stiffer tone. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
Bradford chuckled, "You'll find that is common place in small towns like Twin Peaks. We care more about the community and the people in our community. We look out for each other like a family." He stepped back toward the door, grabbing the handle with his free hand, "It just takes some time to get used to. Lot's of people in this town came from big cities looking for different things that they found here with us here in Twin Peaks. I'm sure you'll find whatever you are looking for with us here, Miss Cartwright. Twin Peaks is a good place for new beginnings."
"I sure hope so, Mr. Vanderville." I replied as I stepped up to the door as he pulled it open for me.
"Call me, Brad. One big family around here, remember?" He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I nodded my head, returning the smile as I passed by him and into building, "Oh and don't let my wife intimidate you, she's a may act tough as nails but she really is a big softie at heart." He said as the door fell closed behind me.
All the eyes in the small room focused on me and I gave a small uncomfortable smile, Wonderful.