The Weight of Madness Read online

  “Honestly I was up two nights in a row before that. I don’t even know what happened. We were just talking, staring out at the water, and you dozed off. I just watched you sleep for awhile.”

  “That sounds a little creepy,” I laughed.

  “Not in a serial killer way,” he joked back. “You just looked really peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you. If anything I was wildly jealous of your ability to just fall asleep on the most uncomfortable surface on earth. That’s an impressive talent. Then… I don’t know, I guess my brain just shut off. Even though it was only a few hours, that was the best sleep I’ve had in awhile. I swear that’s a rarity.”

  “Glad you enjoyed falling asleep with me.”

  “Maybe we can do it again some time.” He smirked back at me as I instructed him where to pull into my apartment parking lot.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at four,” I replied, leaning over to kiss him goodnight. He reached for his door handle. “Don’t get out. It’s pretty cool outside. Your truck’s warm. I’m up on the third floor. Seriously, you don’t have to get out.”

  “You’re insane if you think I’m letting you walk alone at two in the morning,” he shot back, sliding out the driver’s side, holding my hand. I followed out his side of the truck. “Especially with some crazy guy calling you in the middle of the night. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some overprotective guy, but you walking alone this late on my watch is never going to happen. Late at night like this - that’s when all the crazies come out.”

  “Yeah? What about you? You’re out at two a.m.”

  “Exactly,” he replied with a mischievous grin. “Maybe I’m one of them.”

  ***

  My alarm sounded at six and despite my night of interrupted sleep, I felt completely recharged. I’m pretty sure I awoke with the same smile I fell asleep with last night after Lance dropped me off.

  I showered, put on another maxi dress, and packed a bag with a blue swimsuit and a towel for later. I knew Olivia would never be awake this early so I refrained from texting her, but I was eager to tell her about our afternoon plans. I was also anxious for her to meet Lance’s brother for some reason. I wondered what he was like. Sure, maybe the thing with Garrett was more serious than she led on and perhaps she wouldn’t be interested in Lance’s brother anyway, but I was still curious to see how that would go. If he was anything like Lance, I was certain she would at least be attracted to him. From the way Olivia talked about Garrett, it seemed as though he wasn’t serious boyfriend material.

  Then again, what did I know about serious boyfriend material? Sure, I’d had a few, but those all turned out wrong and never lasted long.

  I left my hair down and spent a few extra minutes on my makeup, highlighting the green flecks in my hazel eyes. I always spent time putting myself together in the morning for work, but obviously with plans to see Lance later, I was a little more motivated to make myself look presentable.

  I made it into the shop around ten til seven, happy I beat Austin so he wouldn’t give me too much grief about the day before when I essentially ditched out on half my work day for a guy.

  I unlocked the front door of the store, noticing a small piece of paper slid through the mail slot attached to the old antique shop door. I unfolded the piece of paper, smiling as I read it.

  To the girl who gives the best sleeps – looking forward to seeing you later. I was glad no one was around to see me blush. I slid the note into my purse.

  The display tables had been moved around and the shop looked great. I was relieved it didn’t appear like there was a lot for me to do before opening. I set my purse and beach bag behind the counter and got to work. Around seven-thirty, Austin came in.

  “So he released you,” he joked, taking off his green sweatshirt and sliding it onto a hook by the back door.

  I sighed dramatically. “He’s amazing.”

  “Oh no, here we go,” Austin added with a laugh. “Does he have as many tattoos as the last guy from Chicago?” I realized when he said it just how long it had really been since I’d dated someone.

  “Actually I don’t know yet,” I replied with a curious smile.

  “Well that’s promising. Your father would be happy to know that you don’t know that.”

  I gave Austin a few details about the previous day and mentioned I would be seeing Lance again later. Then we got right to work and I hoped the day would pass by as quickly as possible.

  Around nine a.m., I texted Olivia, hopeful she was already awake.

  Grand Sun River this afternoon? Mind if two more join us?

  There was a pause, but then I could tell she started typing back.

  Yes… Who?

  I was blushing all over again thinking about Lance. I had a pit of butterflies in my stomach and I loved that feeling.

  One insanely handsome guy and his brother.

  My phone rang immediately.

  “I feel like you have a story to tell me Sophia,” Olivia said urgently on the other end as soon as I answered.

  I recounted the entire story to her. “His brother will be joining us too. I haven’t met him yet though.”

  “Well he’s probably attractive if his brother is as hot as you say,” she panicked. “I’m dating Garrett! This is so inconvenient.”

  I laughed. “It’s not a set-up, Livi. We’re simply hanging out, not trying to match you up. I already had plans with you and he was already set to hang out with his brother… So we’re just merging those two things together.”

  “You know my weakness for hot guys, Soph,” she stated. I imagined her pacing her bedroom at this point. “This thing with Garrett isn’t even that serious. I mean, I don’t know if we’re exclusive or whatever, right? I would know if we were, correct?”

  “You’re over-thinking this,” I snickered. “We’re floating down the river… maybe grabbing some dinner. It’s just a hang out. Can you meet me here at Sparks at four?”

  “Sure. That’ll give me seven hours at the gym to work on my abs,” she said sarcastically. “See you then.”

  Part of me hoped Lance’s brother would be a great match for Olivia. That Garrett guy she was dating seemed a little suspect to me. He was kind, but always seemed up to something. Sometimes several days would pass before he’d even return her texts. That didn’t suggest exclusivity to me, but I wasn’t exactly an expert on that. I did know, however, that the guy never gave me a good vibe.

  Conversely, if she did like Lance’s brother, that could cause some awkward friction down the road if one of our relationships fell apart. Whoa, did I just say relationship? I was clearly over-thinking all of this too. It was a casual second date for heaven’s sake.

  I ordered some new office supplies, worked on some sketches, joined Grandma Eve for lunch, made some pricing spreadsheets, and before I knew it, it was already half-past three. Gianna was closing the store tonight, so at least I didn’t feel guilty about leaving work today. Austin was already gone for the day at an ultrasound appointment with his wife, so that also helped.

  I made my way to the bathroom in the back room so I could freshen up. I changed into my swimsuit, putting a black cotton cover-up over it, and I touched up my makeup. Olivia arrived a few minutes later.

  “Really, Soph? Eyeliner? For the river?”

  “Dammit, I know,” I replied in frustration, looking back at the mirror. “Does it look like I’m trying too hard? I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so I thought it might distract from the circles under my eyes.”

  “You look beautiful,” she said sincerely. “I’m just giving you a hard time because you don’t usually wear a lot of makeup. Obviously you’re really into this guy. That’s exciting for me.”

  “He’s insanely handsome.” I sighed. “There’s a lot of pressure when a guy is that good looking.” I tied my wavy hair back into a loose bun, hoping to look a bit more casual. I changed out of my work heels into some flip flops, and finally I heard the storefront door chime. Olivia and I grabbe
d our beach bags and made our way through the door at the back of the store into the main showroom area.

  Lance looked even more handsome than I remembered from the day before. His thick dark hair was styled and he had on bright red board shorts and a light blue v-neck t-shirt. He took his sunglasses off and his gaze settled on me. I took a deep breath.

  Olivia, however, she had a different expression on her face than I expected. As she made eye contact across the room with Lance’s brother, she froze, and I couldn’t read her face. He had a short tight hair cut and equally broad shoulders though his features were darker than Lance and his skin was far more tan. He looked to be an inch or two shorter as well.

  “What?” I whispered slyly as she turned to face me. “Good? Bad? His brother is the one on the right.”

  “I know,” she replied quietly through gritted teeth. “I already know him. I called the cops on him last week.”

  Chapter 7

  Lance introduced his brother Logan to us, and Olivia and I politely shook his hand. She then shook Lance’s hand, and I was glad they were meeting each other. Despite mentioning she knew Logan already, the puzzling thing was that his reaction didn’t suggest he knew her at all. I definitely needed more on that. The police were involved? Aside from being pretty physically fit, this guy didn’t look like he had a dangerous bone in his body. His smile was soft and he seemed charming.

  Lance leaned into me and put an arm around my waist, quickly kissing my cheek. “This felt like the slowest day of my life getting to this point,” he whispered quietly into my ear. It was a sweet hello.

  “Lance said we’re headed to a river? Isn’t it a little early in the year?” Logan asked, making small talk.

  “Eh, it’s almost eighty degrees out today,” Olivia shrugged. “The water around here is never really that warm. Now’s as good a time as any, before the river is too packed with tourists.”

  We loaded into a silver Jeep and Olivia gave Logan the directions.

  “So you guys haven’t experienced a summer here in Grand Harbor, right?” I made conversation as we headed toward our destination.

  “This will be our first,” Logan replied, maneuvering the Jeep through the light afternoon traffic. “I hit up some of the beaches around here last fall right when I moved here, but it got chilly pretty quickly. I don’t ski or snowboard, so I’ve been somewhat of a homebody during these past winter months. Now that my brother is out here though, we get out more. Lance said you own Sparks, right?” I nodded. “What about you, Olivia? What do you do?”

  “I stage houses for a local realty group in town,” she explained. That was true, she’d done a few recently, but that was semi-new. I was curious as to why she didn’t mention her bartending gig. She was there most nights. I swear she worked at least fifty hours a week at the pub. “What about you guys? Soph told me about your work on the McCarthy mansion. What’s after that? Is your residence here permanent, or will you head back home? Soph mentioned your dad owns a construction company?” I’d only given her a brief rundown of their situation earlier on the phone, but didn’t have time for many details.

  “My dad has had some health issues, so he’s likely going to just retire and sell off his company. Lance and I want to go a different direction. I’ve already signed on for another project after this one,” Logan replied. “I’m still trying to talk Lance into staying.”

  Olivia and I were in the back seat together, but as he said it, Lance looked back at me. There was the catch, I suppose. The whole ‘it’s too good to be true’ mantra usually held true for me. As quickly as I was falling for him, it sounded like he may not even be sticking around long. Meanwhile, I just permanently planted myself in Grand Harbor for the next so many years now that my business was up and running. It seemed like the universe hated me.

  “I’m still trying to work things out,” Lance chimed in. “I like it here. It seems like there are plenty of good reasons to stay.”

  “Don’t you even start with that rundown cabin off North Pines Boulevard,” Logan razzed his brother. “That’s where dreams go to die. Sophia, whatever you do, do not let him take you to this old dive he wants to buy up north just past the bait shack. You’ll never look at him the same way again. You’ll think he’s a crazy person.”

  “I’ve already been there.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “And you still politely showed up today anyway? Bonus points for that,” Logan continued teasing.

  We finally pulled into a lot marked Grand Sun River Rentals and parked next to a small rental hut. We unloaded from the Jeep, Olivia grabbed out her stocked beverage cooler, and we stripped down to our swimsuits. The hot sun felt good on my skin. I loved warm springs like this, even though that often meant a grueling, scorching summer was just around the corner. This far north though, the water was always cold no matter what time of year it was.

  We paid for our inflatable tubes, and Olivia and I bungee corded them all together, including the tube that held the cooler. We were practically pros at this by now after spending so many of our summers this way. We headed out into the water. I couldn’t help but stare at Lance’s torso as it flexed and tightened from the cold water. I wanted to touch everything I was looking at.

  “This feels like it may be a better July activity,” Lance stated, taking a seat in his black inner tube.

  “You’ll be hot in no time once that sun heats up your plastic tube,” Olivia explained. “You’ll be jumping in at the swimming hole before you know it.”

  “Michigan girls are apparently insane,” Logan added playfully, also looking chilled from the water’s temperature.

  “Where have all the good men gone,” Olivia teased back. “Soph, next time let’s bring Lexi and Gianna. They are one-third the size of these wimps but a hell of a lot tougher.” Everyone laughed together at her remark.

  We made our way down the river, and it was a perfectly sunny afternoon. I hadn’t been out much these past few weeks with the shop, so the warm sun felt welcoming on my pale skin.

  I so badly wanted to hear Olivia’s story about how she knew Logan, but didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up with us all tied closely together. He hadn’t acknowledged knowing her at all, so that made it all the more awkward to me. She still seemed somewhat flirty with him, so it couldn’t have been that bad. Then again, for her to get the police involved though, something significant had to have occurred.

  The guys were great company on the river. They had so many hilarious stories about one another growing up. One time Logan convinced Lance that he could fit through the heating vents from the second story of their house, sliding through it down to the first floor. Instead, Lance got stuck in the metal vent. His parents came home to find Lance’s legs dangling out of the ceiling, and Logan was nowhere to be found because he knew he’d be in a lot of trouble, being two years older. Another funny story involved Logan being left behind at a campsite one summer. It wasn’t until they’d made the four hour drive back home that they’d realized he wasn’t in his grandparents car as they suspected for the trip back.

  We floated, took in some sun, and even splashed around in the cold water for a bit. It was a perfect carefree day.

  “So we were thinking of cooking out tonight at our place,” Logan commented as we returned our tube rentals at the end of our excursion. “Would you ladies like to join us?” Lance flagged down the tube rental bus to take us back to the Jeep.

  “Sounds great,” Olivia replied before I even had a chance to say anything. Clearly she doesn’t feel he’s a threat if she’s so eager to head back to his house. We climbed aboard the bus and made the ride back to the first lot. Lance sat close to me and I didn’t mind one bit. He squeezed my hand and it melted me.

  In no time, we were pulling up in the Jeep to the boys’ apartment. Sure enough, it was the giant building across the street from my complex, blocking my view of the lake. They led us to their second story apartment. We unloaded our stuff and Logan pulled out some food from the frid
ge.

  “Burgers good?” he asked the group. We all nodded in unison. “Those stairs right there lead down to the water. There’s a shed at the bottom with a paddleboard if you guys want to take that out while I cook.”

  Even though it was well after seven by now, the sun still felt warm as we walked out onto a huge wooden deck. There was a grill and some patio furniture and it looked like an outdoor oasis versus a bachelor pad. I imagined the swanky setup came with the high rent. The view was breathtaking; you could see a massive stretch of beach from any seat on the patio, and the endless view of the water was perfect.

  “Can I take the paddleboard out first?” Olivia asked eagerly, preparing to head down the deck stairs.

  “Of course,” I replied. “Logan, do you need help with the food?”

  “She can’t cook. Don’t let her near the burgers,” Lance teased.

  “Come on, how hard can it be to cook a burger? I can probably do something helpful,” I added while laughing.

  “Food poisoning is a real thing you know,” Lance shot back with a grin. “Logan, get her a drink and distract her from helping. I’ll help Olivia get the paddleboard out. Seriously, no cooking.” He swiftly kissed my lips before following Olivia down the stairs.

  “So my brother,” Logan began, looking at me curiously from the grill as soon as Lance and Olivia were out of earshot. He opened up a cider beer and handed it to me. I happily accepted.

  “Yeah, he seems like a good guy.” I felt nervous all of a sudden about this conversation. It was all so new. There was still so much to learn about him, but I definitely enjoyed his company.

  “He’s the better one of us, that’s for sure.” Logan put the burgers on the grill.

  “Yeah? Does that have to do with your recent trouble with the law?” I really did want to ask Olivia about it first, but I couldn’t help it. It just fell out of my mouth.

  “How do you know about that?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I didn’t think Lance even knew about that. He said something?”