A/N Loved your reactions! Love you all.
Took a sec from posting more since I'll be tweaking the timeline a bit. If you read from the compilation, make sure to read here as things might change (because clarity - facepalm). Love you, B
Chapter 5 - Sugar Bowl
Bella can't stop thinking of the blue-eyed stranger. He's young. Probably in his twenties, and he lives in the woods? But, where? Why? Is he alone?
She wonders and wonders.
She watches Sam from far away at the family center and tries to work up the nerve to ask him more questions.
She can't.
The town crowd has gathered to discuss further plans to catch the thieves in action. Bella snuck in toward the back to listen. Jameson is outside wondering why she's so interested. Ben and the girls hang around with other kids from around the campsite. Bella is otherwise on a mission.
"There are hundreds of violations throughout the camp and local homes around the area. If you've noticed anything missing, please sign one of these forms and list the items beneath," says the sheriff from the front of the room. "We ask you to lock your cabins during the day and at night, especially when you leave for the weekend. If you're leaving for the winter, store away any outdoor items inside or in your locked shed. We're committed to finding the culprits this year with the help from authorities. Don't be alarmed if you see one of them walking around the premises."
Some locals laugh. Some scoff. One of them stands to speak. "It doesn't make any difference, Sergeant. We buy new security systems, mine is top of the line, and now I'm missing my damn sugar bowl." People laugh. The former sugar bowl owner goes a little red as he sits.
The sheriff's shoulders sort of drop. He doesn't know how to respond to that. The truth is, he knows it doesn't make a difference. This burglar has no qualms. The break-ins are the cleanest he and his team have ever seen. No prints. No broken locks. Windows are left intact. The Sergeant hates to admit that he's damn impressed. It boggles his mind the level of stealth.
So he settles the complaining crowd. There's nothing he can do but ask the owners to plant more surveillance to help catch the thief and end the meeting.
Bella thinks and thinks, even at the lake when everyone is goofing around and splashing one another she keeps her eyes peeled, just like new surveillance being installed in households.
Her mind runs through the lists from yesterday on the table at the Center. Every sheet had a few items that were similar. There's a pattern. She's not quite sure they've noticed it all points to male products, never female. And even car and motorboat batteries go missing. Lost hikers wouldn't take items that weigh them down, would they?
Sam was quiet at the meeting. She wasn't sure why he wouldn't point out the obvious. There's a boy in the woods who's probably the culprit to all this mystery. In any case, wouldn't he be a suspect?
He said some people shouldn't be bothered. Well, Sam is honoring that. He's deliberately leaving him out of the equation. He's letting the boy get away with this.
Bella looks over her shoulder where she sits on the towels by the lake's shore. She gnaws at her fingernails, spits them out, and looks the other way. Then that familiar feeling grapples at her shoulders; the feeling of being watched. It's slight, but with this new realization, it's like a boulder coming over her.
At the lake, there are many trees lining the area. To get here, you just hop-skip over fallen trees and climb coves. Anyone could be out there, and you wouldn't really know. It's why, when it's late, no one sticks around. The nightly creeks and buzzings give you the creeps. Your heart speeds—
Just like now.
The dark green shirt camouflages like squirrels hopping up tree barks. You spot them only when they move swiftly. She sees his back, he's retreating. Dark pants hug him, coming up short to his ankles. She loses him and then sees a bit of him.
Bella stands, runs up to get closer. She leans this way and that. Like a mirage, he's there then he's not. No backpack this time. If that's the case, he probably doesn't live far.
Jameson curls his fingers around her damp hair and kisses her beneath her ear. He saw her beyond the shore alone. The perfect moment to surprise her. They barely have time together.
Bella shivers. Not from the kiss, but for the feeling of wonder in what she just saw between the trees.
…