MORE FACT THAN FICTION

CHAPTER 7

It was a little sad packing up my dorm room at the end of the school year but I was glad to get back to Spokane and my Dad. My head was swimming with all that had happened these past few months. My depression since Forks was getting better and Emily was hopeful that the old Bella was coming back. I didn't quite have the same faith in myself.

I couldn't shake the sense that I had left something in Forks. Was it my optimism or faith that I couldn't be the only one in this faux world of Twilight? The encounter at the bar with the stranger had also left me with a sense of loss. I'd lost something but didn't know where to look for it. I could only hope that spending some time at home would clear my thoughts.

Dad was so happy to have me home. It was evident that he had missed my domestic goddess skills but something was definitely different in his world. Her name was Louise and she was a clerk at the station. They had been on a few dates already and were very fond of each other. It had been so long since my Dad had dated that it was endearing to see this side of him.

By the end of my first week home, Dad had invited Louise over for a barbeque. We did up some steaks, potatoes and salad. Louise was a lovely lady who was divorced with two grown kids. Her interests seemed quite well matched for Dad. She cooked, Dad ate, she cleaned, and Dad got dirty. I loved to see him happy but inside I could feel a knot of panic due to the fact that he didn't need me as much any more. I knew that this would happen eventually but right now I felt so fragile emotionally that I didn't want to face the truth.

One steady in my life that I was looking forward to was my summer employment. For the past 3 years I had been a day camp counselor with the City of Spokane. Being an only child, I had grown up wanting a younger brother or sister so being with the kids during the summer filled that void a little bit. Emily never understood why I would want to be around 'bratty' little kids, as she said it, all day but I got such a thrill out of sharing their tears and triumphs. So I spent my day with the 6 and 7 year olds at the camp, going around the city, doing crafts, playing games, swimming and just being a fool.

One day we were down at the Riverfront Park when it was overcast and threatening rain. The counselors had debated about going or not but the kids absolutely loved the park, the fountains to run in and getting to somewhere new. The morning was spent playing games on the grass and running through the fountain to cool off.

During the morning I felt like we were being watched. I was always a bit more paranoid about the kids when we were on a field trip but today the feeling was heightened. I kept checking the surroundings but nothing looked amiss. There were people all over the park but no one stood out more than the rest.

For lunchtime, we set up at the old German pavilion to sit and eat our packed lunches. I couldn't shake the feeling so I wanted to go for a walk to watch the group from a distance. "Trish, I'm just going to go for a walk. Something feels off and I just want to take a look around."

"Sure thing Bella. I'll keep everyone here until you're back." I was the senior counselor so Trish had to wait for me, which made me feel a bit better.

As I walked along the path towards the hotel on the other side of the river I kept checking back to make sure I wasn't being followed and also to see if anyone was watching the kids. I started to make a loop around the path back toward the tables but immediately stopped, as I smelt it again. The scent from the university, the stranger. There was no way he was here. But I would never forget that incredible mix of forest; clean air and a musky male scent that made my heart skip a beat. I scanned the area to find him but I couldn't see him. I cut across the grass to make my trip back quicker.

"Trish, did you see anyone around here that looked out of place?" I asked her as I jogged up to the table.

"Bella, I don't know who you're looking for but if it's the gorgeous creature, I mean drop dead gorgeous male specimen, that came by and gave me these then you are one lucky lady." She opened her hand to show me several dozen tokens for the antique carousel.

"Did you get his name?"

"No, he just gave them to me and told me to make sure that the kids and counselors enjoy themselves. His voice was like velvet. I would have thanked him but I couldn't speak I was so spellbound. Wait! You don't know his name?"

I spun around quickly to see if I could see him. "No, and I'm not sure it's the same person I'm thinking of."

He was long gone but the scent lingered in the area. I had to have been hallucinating to think that he had followed me to Spokane from Vancouver. "Well, I guess I know where we are going next." I stood on a bench and announced to the kids that we were going the carousel because of a generous anonymous donation. The cheer that went up was deafening.

The Looff carousel at Riverfront Park is my favorite place to visit. It's almost 100 years old and each horse is unique. When I was young I made my Dad send me on ride after ride just so I could ride the 'wild animals', the tiger was the best. I still remember the time when I was big enough to reach for the rings when the arm came down. You would grab for the rings, trying to get the brass one, and then throw them into a clown's mouth to win a free ride.

The younger kids sat on the inner horses and we, the counselors, spread ourselves out on the outside to keep an eye on everyone. The carousel always started off slowly but by the time the arm came down from the operator's tower it was going fast.

On my first try I managed to get a ring but missed the bucket on the other side of the carousel. As I approached the operators tower again I watching for the brass ring and noticed it just as I reached out and grabbed it. I yelled loudly that I got it. Everyone around was laughing with me and congratulating me. I looked back to the other kids when I noticed someone watching the ride from the sidelines. Before I could get a good look he was obscured by the center of the carousel. When I finally cleared the center he was gone but I could have sworn it was the stranger.

As the ride slowed down everyone was congratulating me and I was overcome with the exuberance. The rest of the afternoon was a blur of activity, including the bus ride back at the end of the day. These were the times that I loved my job.

When I finally dragged my weary body through the front door of the house, I was shattered, mentally and physically. The bus ride back to the center had given me some time to think and I was going around in circles. I couldn't understand how or why someone would follow me from Vancouver only to be anonymous.

"Bella, is that you?" Dad's voice echoed down the hallway from the family room.

"Yeah it's me. Are you in for dinner?" as I stared into the fridge.

"No, I'm heading out with Louise. She wanted to know if you wanted to go to her cabin with some of your friends. She's working with weekend and her kids aren't using it."

A cabin for the weekend with friends, sounds like an excellent idea. I was liking Louise more and more. "That would be awesome."

"Great! I'll let her know. You could probably go up on Friday night if you wanted."

Before my head hit the pillow that night, Emily and I had it all arranged with a few of our friends from high school, okay mainly Emily's friends from high school. We would leave the following night right after everyone finished work. Emily and I would travel up in my Civic and the rest would meet us there.

The weather was going to be hot and muggy so it was a perfect weekend to be near the water. I knew that Louise had a boat but it was definitely off limits because I didn't want the repair bill. Dad said we could use it but I wasn't comfortable with it because Louise had never shown me how to operate it.

As with every Friday night in the summer, the roads were packed with people escaping the city to get to the lakes. The drive would normally only take 45 minutes but with the traffic it took double the time.

Emily was catching me up on her week for the entire drive. I had no idea that working at Silverwood could be so interesting. Emily always razed me about the whole day camp thing but I could never understand her choice of summer employment. Like me, Emily was now so far up on summer employee seniority that she had weekends off, which for a summer job was mighty sweet.

Emily was babbling on about some big tough guy on the Tilt-a-whirl who couldn't hold down his lunch. She was laughing so much I could barely understand but my mind was also focused on a vehicle driving near us.

I had noticed this car enter the freeway when we did, and the only reason I noticed it was because of how beautiful is was. Whenever I would change a lane, it changed lanes too. I had seen enough sport cars in my time but never one this impressive. The black two door was behind us the entire way, and as I turned off the freeway it wasn't far behind.

As we pulled into the street that leads to Louise's cabin, I didn't notice the car. That's too bad I would have liked to know its owner.

"Oh, we're finally here. That didn't take too long." Em might not have noticed the time but my ears knew exactly how long they had been assaulted for.

As I stepped from the car, I stretched my arms above my head and took a deep breath of the fresh air, and then froze.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Duh...duh...duh! Sorry for the cliffie but I didn't want this chapter to be horrendous or unfinished. Let me know what you think is going to happen next. My monster-in-law has gone home now so hopefully I can concentrate a bit more and get ahead so give me some ideas to help my juices flow.

Also big thanks for all the reviews this past week but the whole monster-in-law thing kind of prevented me responding in time. I'm hoping that I eventually get more reviews for this one than my first story, Out of the Shadows.

Have a great week!