Some clouds had rolled in and it was getting dark fast. I really didn’t love boating at night, but I made it without incident to Candace’s. I tied the boat off and headed up the path to her place. Turned out, I also really didn’t love walking up to a cottage in the dark not being able to see what might be hiding in the woods. Stupid Freddie. Again, this was another one of those things we were supposed to do together. My mother’s words were still rattling around in my brain though. Maybe I was being too hard on him. Maybe he really was freaked out by the idea of bringing Sean to Otter Lake, and I was like some sort of security blanket slash punching bag for all of his upset feelings. Maybe I was freaked out by the wedding too, and—
Just then a tree branch snapped in the distance.
And maybe I was about to die because I was distracted with too much introspection.
I hurried up the cottage steps and rapped on the door. Enthusiastically. I heard Candace scream on the other side.
“It’s just me,” I said loudly, but, you know, not too loudly. Not sure why. I guess I didn’t want the person spying on me from the woods overhearing our conversation. “Let me in.”
The door whipped open, and there stood doe-eyed Candace clutching a double-pronged marshmallow skewer.
“Hey,” she said, reddening and putting the skewer down on the table by the door. “Sorry. I don’t even know why I was holding … that.”
We both looked at the metal rod.
“My imagination is totally running away from me.”
“I get it,” I said, closing the door.
Man, Candace looked even more tired. She had dark circles around her eyes and she had gone back to the “obviously unwashed hair loosely piled on her head” look. Not for the first time in my life, I wished I was a hugger. She looked like she could use a hug.
We stared at each other for a moment before I raised my arms. Oh what the hell.
She fell into my arms so hard, I fell back against the door.
“Thank you so much for coming, Erica.”
“There, there,” I said, patting her back. Her shoulder had somehow jabbed itself under my chin, pinning the back of my head against the door. And here I was worried a hug would be uncomfortable. “You seemed a little more freaked out now than you were when I spoke to you on the phone. Has anything happened?”
“I keep hearing things outside,” she said, stepping back and shooting a look over her shoulder.
“What kind of things?”
“I don’t know,” she said, fiddling with her hands. “But … but, okay, so I was just in the kitchen getting a glass of water and, well, the window’s stuck, so I’m hearing all the bugs and frogs and then…”
“And then what?”
“They all went quiet,” she said. “Like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Then right after I heard this twig snap—” Her eyes darted over my face. “You probably think I’m crazy.”
“Are you kidding me?” I squeaked. “That’s really freaking creepy. It’s like when my mother and I are at the retreat, like in the living room or something, and everything’s cool, then all of a sudden, out of a dead sleep Caesar whips his head up and looks at the window.”
“Exactly!”
“And you know he can hear something that we can’t, and … and it’s probably not good.”
Candace nodded.
“Okay,” I said, nibbling my lip. “I’m not doing a good job of calming you down here, am I?”
She waved what I was guessing was supposed to be a dismissive hand in the air, but it came off a little frantic. “I haven’t heard anything like that though in like twenty minutes. I think if anyone was going to do something, they would have done it by now.”
“Okay, whatever, I’m taking you back to my mom’s,” I said, grabbing her elbow. “You can text Joey and tell him to meet you there. Did you call the sheriff again?”
“No, I felt … silly, I guess, after the last time I spoke to her.”
I clenched my fist. Bigly. “She does that to people.”
“Are you sure your mother won’t mind if…”
“You know, the only thing bothersome about you is that you’re always worried you’re bothering other people. Now come on.”
She grabbed her keys off the table by the door and moved to head out. I didn’t follow though.
“What?” she asked, looking at me.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” I said, looking at the table.
“The skewer?”
“Um, yeah,” I said. “It’s a long sixty-second walk to the boat. Do you need anything before we go?”
“Not really,” she said, but then a strange look came over her face. “But…”
“But what?”
“I know it sounds silly, but…”
“Candace.” I swear, people trying not to be annoying were very annoying.
“My dress,” she said, placing her hands on either side of her head.
“What about your dress?”
“My dress is actually in this wardrobe container in the shed. We didn’t have any room because this place is so small and—”
“Your dress is out there?” I pointed at the back window.
“It was fine when I checked earlier, but now with the whole frog-blackout…”
“You want to make sure it’s okay.”
She nodded. “I know it’s just a dress, but what if it’s an animal or something that got into the shed and—”
“It’s not just a dress,” I said. “It’s your wedding dress.” I was really trying hard to think like a bride. “We’ll just check it out real quick and then we’ll get out of here.”
“You know what? I’m sure it’s fine.” The hand she had waving in the air said it was fine, but the look of her face told a whole other story.
I dropped my chin and looked at her from underneath my brow. “I have a question you might want to ask yourself.”
She waited.
“Do you want Freddie procuring you a new wedding gown?”
“Let’s go,” Candace said, walking out the door. “Quick.”