A Love Forgotten

A Love

Forgotten

By Mary Powell

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Mary Powell

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means- except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews- without written permission.

CHAPTER 1

It was mid-August. The sun was warm. A slight breeze brushed across my face while I sat on the swing over looking my back yard, some woods and most of all the mountains. Dillon, Colorado was a small beautiful town. My parents moved me here right before my sixteenth birthday. They thought it was the right thing to do.

"You’re headed down the wrong path. Too much alcohol and too many boys," My mother used to say.

She was right. There were too many boys. And when you added the age of fifteen to a girl with a lot of alcohol, it spelt disaster in the making. I had only been with one guy by the time my parents packed up and moved me far away from everything I had ever known. New school, new people and not much fun. But that was fourteen years ago and it was time to think about the present.

And the present looked quite boring. I put down the book that was not holding my attention anyways. It was Saturday- what was I doing still at home. I should be out shopping with friends or something. I spent much of my time alone these days. Yeah, I had friends but none that would call me up spur of the moment and ask to do something out of the ordinary. There was only one friend that did that. The first friend I made when I moved to Dillon. Megan was the outgoing energetic type. Anything that consisted of drinking, boys, and partying made her energetic.

Flipping open my cell phone and dialing Megan’s number, I got her voice mail. I should have known. My days usually started earlier then hers. But that was because I went to bed at a decent hour and got up early enough for my morning run without the disturbance of tourist and campers.

Hey, it’s Eve, give me a call when you decide to climb out of bed. Wondering if you would like to hang out tonight or something? K… bye. She rarely showed her face before one in the afternoon.

She was a bartender and used to being up late. Or early depending how you looked at it. She was usually climbing into bed when I was getting up for the day. More than once during my jog I have seen her driving home from some random guys place. In a town of under a thousand we don’t have many options. But in the peak months when tourist are heavy there are up to four thousand hanging out in our woods and swimming in our lake. People come from all over for the sense of being the outdoorsy type, even if it’s only for a week a year.

It was late morning and still a few hours before Megan was to wake up. She would call, of course, because she was always trying to get me out of the house and mingle with some of the tourist. She took on the unofficial title of being the tourist party favor and showing some of the men party sites. When there is nothing to do in a town but drink and have fun after the sun went down what else can you expect.

I had nothing to really do today. I had already jogged my three miles as I do every day, weather permitting. And when weather didn’t permit, there was always the treadmill in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I purchased this house a year ago after my last break up. Being tired of moving in with either my parents or Megan after every break up, I took control of my life.

It was a three bedroom home with a wraparound porch, formal dining room, bath and a half, fenced in back yard, and a beautiful view. It was just outside of town where there wasn’t a neighbor in either direction for a few blocks.

Deciding that maybe I should clean something, I went inside to dispose of my half read book and empty glass of lemonade. The kitchen was bright with dull yellow counter tops and sunflower boarder along the ceiling. An older lady lived here before she wanted to move closer to her daughter in Utah. Could be why I got such a good price for the place. She had already moved and was looking to sell quickly. She accepted my first offer without hesitation and within a month we were in the bank signing on the dotted line.

I still had boxes in the basement that I haven’t gone though since they found their home down there when I first moved in. Little by little I would bring a box upstairs and either throw away the things I no longer wanted or find a place for the stuff somewhere in this house. There were so many memories in those boxes that I didn’t know if I wanted to have them resurfaced yet. As I made my way to the basement the phone rang…

Hello I answered

Hey babe, how’s it going Megan replied.

It’s not even noon yet, what are you doing up? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you for another hour or two.

Well, you know, I can’t sleep my life away. Besides my phone kept beeping at me saying I had a missed call. So I listened to your message. Which is great because there is a bon fire going on down by the lake tonight. There is a group of tourist in town, eight men in all, here on some bachelor party. Staying for the week from what I found out last night. Eight men! Where would she begin I laughed to myself.

Ok that might be fine for you but I’m not sure if I’m up for a bon fire tonight. I was thinking dinner and the movie marathon that’s playing at the theater. I protested.

She decided demanding instead of persuasion would be the key, dinner we can do. We can order in while we are getting ready. You’re going tonight and I will not take no for an answer. You are twenty-nine not fifty-nine. Start acting your age

She had me there. I did act like I was a bump on a log lately. So I conceded and told her ok fine I will go. Do you want to pick me up? No wait…. I will drive that way I can’t get stranded. A little humor always softened her up.

No it’s ok. I will pick you up. Have pizza there by six and I will be right behind it. I have some errands to run this afternoon and then I have to get ready myself. You might want to take a nap today. I know your schedule and you will be sleeping by ten if you don’t.

Yea, ok, whatever, see you later I complied.

How the hell did that happen? I called her for some one on one girl time and she roped me into joining her at some party. But how can I expect her to sit indoors on a Saturday night after all.

This is why she lives and breathes. Parties and drinking and boy, oh my!

Hmmm…. figured I should take her advice and nap, I decided on lunch first. I sat down to the kitchen table with a peanut butter and jam sandwich looking out the window and daydreaming about how my life used to be fun. Megan was always the center of attention but had no problems bringing me along for the ride. We went on dates, sometimes together- other times not so much, which were usually once we got older and she started taking her dates home with her or vice versa. My dating was few and far between until Collin. There was a six year gap where I couldn’t really date due to my career path I had chosen at the time.

Collin was funny and cute, tall and slender, not built from the farm life he led but still had some definition. None of that mattered when he made me laugh. He had blue eyes and blond hair. His hair was short but has a hint of curl to it at the ends. Two years I spent with him. The last year I lived with him. I started wondering if that was our mistake. We thought it was more economical to move in together seeing as we were always together. So I moved in.

Everything seemed to be going great, in my opinion. Until one day I can home early from work to find Collin in bed with a friend of mine from high school. Granted we weren’t close but she knew we were together. We used to hang out at the bar where she worked. On most nights he would be there while I was home sleeping. I was the one with the job that started at seven in the morning while he worked second shift at the local foundry. So that ended life with Collin and another move in with Megan.

I was glad she had a spare bedroom. I really didn’t want to move back in with my parents. I would have to listen to my mother talk about living in sin. How, if I just followed the word of the Bible a little closer, my life would be better, more secure.

Well I didn’t have to worry about that any more. I owned my own home, now all I have to listen to is how she would like to see me settled with a child or two. She was always pushing me into something. She was full of love and understanding when I needed the comfort but that only lasted so long. I loved my parents. There were just some things that got on my nerves as I got older.

Snapping myself back to the present, I cleaned up after lunch and made my way upstairs to my bedroom. Sleeping might prove difficult with the sheer drapes letting the sun in but all I could do was try. Riding with Megan tonight would mean I could not leave when I wanted to and I knew that was behind her determination of her driving. It was all part of her ploy to make sure I was out to have fun for the night. It’s just that her night rarely ended before the sun rose.

Stripping off my shorts and tee shirt, I crawled into my queen size bed with just my tank top and undies. The fabrics of my satin sheets were cool to the touch, but the comforter was thick. But that too was satin. The champagne color complemented the eggshell white walls with tan carpeting. It was still early afternoon but I knew I could only sleep for a couple hours. It had been so long since I was out that I wanted to make sure I showered and dressed for the event. Drifting to sleep made me dream of Collin. Why on earth did I have to dig up that memory?

Work was slow, everything was done. Mind if I take a half day today Keith? I asked my boss.

"Not at all, Eve, enjoy the weather. It looks beautiful out there. Wish I could enjoy it too but I have to finish this report for the end of the month. I know that if I don’t you will be hounding me on the first." with a crocked smile he glanced up at me.

He was right too. Working with all men you have to be able to keep them on top of things, even if Keith was the owner. But he knew in order for me to do my job properly and on time he had to do his as well.

The drive home, to Collin, who wouldn’t be at work just yet, might still be in bed. Maybe I can sneak in and join him for a little afternoon pleasure. It had been over two weeks since the last time we were intimate. Way too long if you asked me. So I quick stopped at the corner mart and picked up some fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

He still has three hours before his shift started. Plenty of time to devour each other and take a shower. As I rounded the corner of our street I noticed a familiar looking Yellow Bug sitting in our driveway. Pulling over to the curb in front of our house I cut the engine. Peering though the passenger window, the house looked deserted. Putting my house key in my purse and closing my door quietly for fear it might disturb someone, I made my way to the front door. It was locked. It was never locked. When he was at work I was home and when he was home I was at work. There was never a need to lock the door. But now it was locked.

Fetching my keys back out of my purse my nerves started to get to me. What was Cassie doing here? Granted she worked bartender hours and usually worked when Collin did. Which would leave the day free for them to do what they wanted while I was at work.

"No, that’s stupid, you’re just overreacting" I silently yelled at myself. I completely trust Collin and Cassie was a friend. But then why is the door locked...?

Finding my keys and opening the door as quietly as possible just in case my intuition was correct…. I found the living room empty, along with the kitchen. Realizing I was holding my breath, I exhaled. That’s when I heard a faint sound coming from the bedroom. Not the bedroom! Creeping along the hallway like some thief in the night, I felt dirty. Reaching the bedroom door I found that it was shut. Another weird thing that never happened in that house.

Turning that door handle felt like it took an eternity but when the door finally gave way, my eyes proved my intuition right.

Waking up in a pool of sweat I was almost hyperventilating. Yea Eve, just sleep Megan said. Easy for her to say. But I would have never dreamt that had I not had that relapse in my subconscious during lunch. My fault really but seeing as it was time to get up anyways I welcomed a cold shower. Forty-five minutes later, clean from head to toe and shaved everything that needed to be shaved I stepped out of the shower. The joys of being a woman, we have to endure a sharp razor to certain sensitive areas of our bodies all for the pleasure of a man. I had no doubt I would be returning home alone but the idea of wearing shorts with hairy legs did not suit me.

I dressed in my brown casual Capri’s with a purple tank. A white zip up sweater in case it got cold later and my sandals. Now what to do with my hair?

Out by the lake with a bon fire, there is no real need to do anything special with it. Put a slight curl to it to liven it up and call it good. My hair was the one thing I loved about myself. Close to the middle of my back, brown with copper and honey highlights that were natural and straight unless I worked magic and spiced it up a little. Applying makeup I was sure no one would even see in the dark, I finished and went down to call for pizza. Megan should be here soon and we would be on our way.

Flipping open my phone to dial the only pizza joint in town it was easy to remember the number.

Marley’s Pizza, what can I get ya?

Hi George, its Eve, can I get a large sausage with a side of garlic cheese bread?

Sure Hun, just you tonight? I get done in an hour if you want help eating all this food? George was always trying to get a date with me but I looked up to him as a brother and nothing more.

"Sorry babe, but Meg is on her way over and then she’s dragging me out to the beach later."

George was quick to reply,Oh really, well then I guess I will see you later after all! I’m heading down there myself, soon as I shower off some of this pizza stench. Well anyways, give it a half hour and your delivery should be there. See ya later, Hun.

Bye George, thanks.

The joy of living in a small town was that everyone knew everyone and knew everything about you, including your address. So it made it a little easier when you needed things delivered.

Almost every business delivered. If you’re sick, the pharmacy delivers prescriptions. The hardware store delivers materials, and so on. That is one of the things I love about this town. They still try to be a little old fashioned.

Deciding that now was a good time for a primer I grabbed a beer from the fridge. I stepped out onto the front porch to wait the arrival of my dearest friend and a few thousand calories in a box. The weather channel said it was supposed to stay in the upper seventy’s over night. Maybe I won’t need that sweater after all.

Hearing the engine of a Chevy Malibu coming down the road, I heard Megan blasting away to some Motley Crew song on the radio as she pulled into the drive. Getting out and bouncing up the walk she looked perfect. Straight blonde hair down to her tailbone, ice blue eyes, long slender legs popping out of very short shorts, and sandals with heels- like she needs them with her whopping 5’10" to make any guy drool. Her skimpy mid bare drift showing off her navel piercing left little on her, and little to be taken off later.

Why on earth are you wearing heels if we are going to be in sand all night? They will do absolutely nothing for you? I inquired.

Because my dear, they look better in my hand anyways. Being barefoot makes a man think of being naked. And why would I not want a man to think of me naked? was her reply. Man was she a slick one.

In comparison, Megan had the looks, the charm, and the personality of a hybrid model. How on earth she managed to stay in this dinky town surprised me, but I was glad she was still here. I seemed rather plain when standing next to her but I didn’t care. We were best friends through and through. Knowing that we would do anything for