Untouched
When Abby's best friend goes missing for more than 24 hours, she fears the worst. Upon calling the police, a detective comes to meet her. Opening the door she sees an old friend, Ethan, who has come to help her solve the case. Together, the flames are rekindled as they search for her missing friend and what fate has befallen her.
Wrong Number
Devon wakes up to the news that her husband was involved in an accident that left his wrecked car at the bottom of the river, with no body to be found. Followed by a series of mysterious phone calls asking for Dan that send chills down Devon's spine, she knows something just isn't right. But the worst is yet to come...
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Finally! Devon thought as she sat down on the couch in her new apartment.
Moving was never easy, but she had done it so many times now that it was becoming somewhat of a routine. However, this time it was different. She wasn't going to be moving again in the near future, if ever. It had taken a while to save the money she needed, but now she had her very own book shop. Even better, her spacious apartment was right over the shop, which meant that she had everything she needed conveniently within reach.
The first order of business had been to get her belongings moved into the apartment. Tomorrow, Devon would begin unpacking boxes and stocking the shelves of her shop with the help of Janina, the girl she had hired to help her. Together, she hoped that they would be able to get most of it all done within a couple of days. She really wanted to have her grand opening by the end of the week. Saturdays were usually excellent days to hold them because people would be looking for something to do on the weekends.
Devon had planned it all out beautifully. She did her research and found that this tiny coastal town on the east coast would be the perfect location for her book shop. Crystal Cove was small enough to be quaint, but large enough that tourists visiting nearby beach resorts would be able to find it easily enough. In fact, tourism was a large part of the town's income. When she found Crystal Cove, it boasted one casual dining restaurant, one fine dining restaurant, a Victorian bed and breakfast as well as a small but elegant inn. There were other necessary businesses in town but there was no book shop. That's where Devon came in.
She was going to be selling all sorts of books. There would be sections for romances, mysteries, occult, research materials, and even a children's section. That was going to be set up as a story time area. Her favorite part, though, was in the back of the shop. That's where Devon would be offering Tarot readings in a private and specially decorated area. No one had to know that her information came from sources that had nothing to do with the Tarot. She had been playing that off for years so that people didn't become afraid of her and her abilities.
Well, Devon thought. I can't just sit here daydreaming. I've got to get busy. Her electricity, water, and landline phone were all turned on and she could now stay here. The movers were due to arrive in a few hours to bring in her furniture. One thing at a time, she thought. She got up and started to do some cleaning and measuring so that she would know where she could put what.
This is going to be amazing, Devon thought. Dan would have loved it. No, I'm not going to think about him right now. It's only going to make me sad and I can't afford to get depressed right now. She went into her sunny kitchen and grabbed a diet soda from the refrigerator. Stocking the refrigerator had been something she had had the foresight to do. She would get her bed set up and at least be able to eat something in her own home tonight.
Just as she popped the top on the soda, her phone rang. Startled, she nearly spit out her swallow of diet coke. It had to be a wrong number, she thought as she went back into the living room to answer the phone. Picking up the phone, she said a cautious but cheery "Hello." At first, no one said anything.
"Hi, is anyone there?" Devon said.
"Hi," a deep male voice said. "I guess I must have the wrong number. I was trying to get in touch with Dan, but you're obviously not him."
"Dan?" A little unpleasant shock ran through Devon's body. "How do you know Dan?" "Hey, I'm really sorry for bothering you."
Before she could say anything else, her caller had hung up. She checked the caller ID and saw Unknown Number registered there. How odd, she thought. There wasn't enough time left to dwell on it, though, because at that moment, the movers pulled up. She was distracted for the next couple of hours with supervising the unloading of her furniture and boxes of things.
As she had promised herself, Devon got her bed set up and a path cleared so that she could eat a simple dinner in her very own kitchen. She nibbled on a salad and an avocado and bacon sandwich when she remembered the odd phone call from earlier. That really had to be a coincidence, she thought. It did make her miss Dan even more than ever. That feeling was especially bad at night. She tended to remember the way he used to make her body absolutely sing with pleasure. No man had ever been able to do that for her before or since. In fact, Devon was pretty much afraid that she would never meet another man that would do that to her.
Suddenly, she realized just how tired she was. She got up and changed into her pajama pants and spaghetti strap t-shirt. Washing her face and brushing her teeth completed the bedtime ritual for tonight. She slipped into her bed and turned out the lamp on her nightstand. Just as she was dozing off, her telephone started to ring. Fortunately, she had an extension sitting on her nightstand so all she had to do was reach over and pick it up.
"Hello," she said.
"Hi, is Dan there?" came the same male voice from earlier.
"It's you again," Devon said accusatorially. "Who is this and what do you want?" "Oops, I've got a wrong number again! So sorry!" And with that, the connection was broken.
Dammit! Now, Devon would never be able to get to sleep. What the hell was going on? Was someone trying to play some sort of joke on her? If so, it was a very cruel one and she didn't appreciate it. Dan was gone and he wasn't ever going to come back. She had only recently begun to accept that and now, some asshole was trying to rattle her cage. Of course, she could be crazy. It could just be that it was an honest mistake. Dan was a pretty common name, after all.
Common, however, was the last word that would ever have described her Dan. Laying back onto her pillow, she could see his tousled black hair, high cheekbones, blue green eyes and sexy sideways smile. God, how she missed him! No one was ever going to take his place and she knew it. Her body still missed him every night. Even right now, when she was tired and hot, her body wanted Dan to be touching her, kissing her, and making love to her. Finally, she turned over on her side and went to sleep with a single tear sliding down her cheek.