Sorry for the extremely late update guys. I've just been really swamped with exams and last minute christmas shopping :( I will try to update more as soon as the holidays are over and my relatives stop hovering over me.
Now without further ado...
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Chapter 16
Allie didn't notice how lovely the little town was until she'd driven halfway through it. The four-hour drive down to Chaston had been filled with thoughts of dread, panic, and awkwardness of the situation Kate had put her in. Kate was sick and her grandmother was taking care of her which was why Allie was driving to Chaston alone. She was still trying to decide whether the best plan was to do a dignified sulk or to think of it as a chance for independence and develop a better attitude about the whole thing.
The picturesque old streets were lined with thick tree trunks and the antique store fronts were painted in baby blues and pinks and yellows with gold-edged lettering in the windows. The whole town of Chaston smelled of roses and honeysuckle, and Allie drove through it all and thought of icecream parlors and football games and horses and all the things her childhood was like before she was sent to her grandmother.
This would have been a really great place to grow up, she thought. This would have felt like a home. Maybe my family would have stayed together if we'd moved to a place like Chaston- a place full of dusty roses and sunlight and possibilities.
And then she shook her head. Pull youself together, Allie, she told herself. You have a goal and a plan. Concentrate.
She turned right at a wrought iron fence that had a low slung white sign that read 'Chaston Country Club'. The subtle light felt cool, almost sensuous as they drove slowly under the trees, savoring the woodsy smell. The woods were dim and secret, and when she shivered, it wasn't just from the chill of leaving the sun. There's something... magical about the woods, she thought. It must be fate. Maybe everything will work out here. Kate said all I have to do is choose. Well, I choose to be happy and successful and... unafraid. I'll be like Kate. Absolutely fearless.
The resort loomed over her like a log cabin with a thyroid problem. Much larger than it had seemed in the brochure. A lake bubbled on the side as children swam in it and streaks of paths fanned out of it into clustered cabins that rose like parts of a veritable ogre.
Oh, no, Allie thought. It's too big.
Even worse, there seemed to be at least a thousand people milling around. If she could manage to find Alaric, she'd probably embarrass herself and turn up in vacation slides all over the Coastline- "And here's a shot of a crazy lady trying to take advantage of a man. See how her legs are the size of cheesepuffs?"
I can't do this! , she thought.
"This!" she was sounding hysterical even to herself. "This is absolutely crazy!"
"Look, we'll just go in and ask the clerk a question. Then we'll handle it from there. Okay." she said with resolve as she steeled herself and walked through the big carved double doors into the lobby, looking pretty in her blue sundress, completely detached from everyone around her.
The desk manager smiled at her as she signed the register book. "Welcome to Chaston Country Club, Miss Louis. I'm William Clarke. Will Mr. Hollis be joining you?"
"Mr. Hollis?"
"Yes. The man I spoke to the phone with." he said then seeing the look on her face amended his statement. "My apologies. It was my misconception."
Allie nodded her mind whirling. Maybe it's another Mr. Hollis. It can't be Ike. But even as she thought that, her traitorous heart was bouncing up and down her chest. Stop it. You're here to see Alaric. ALARIC.
"Is there a guest here named Alaric?"
"Do you mean Mr. Harmon?"
"Yes."
"He's in the green at the moment but he will be having dinner at our restaurant 'La Vie En Rose' later. Maybe you can catch up to him there."
Allie nodded in response.
"You're in cabin 8C. We'll have a golf cart take you there along with your luggage. It's right across the croquet lawn, beyond the lake." he said handing her a key with a wooden handle embosed with 8C. "We hope you enjoy your stay."
I hope so, too.
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This chapter is dedicated to the victims of typhoon Haiyan. I hope everyone is safe.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
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