David was tall and muscular; Mike was
outgoing and aggressive, while David
was more serious and quiet.
Her thoughts were interrupted by
Shana’s sudden announcement. Shana
stood up and began to wave her arms
around. She shouted loud enough for
everyone to hear. “Let’s have a barbeque
on the beach for dinner. We could sit
around, watch the sunset…then decide
whether we should go to this party or not.
Maybe the new owner of End House is as
wealthy as the other residents on the hill.
I’m absolutely dying to see how the other
half lives.”
Linda wondered why Shana was
acting so chipper all of a sudden. One
minute she was acting annoyed, and the
next minute she was planning a
barbeque. Shana had to be planning
something, but no one else seemed to
notice the devious expression on her ohso-innocent face.
With plans to meet later, they
dispersed to their own apartments. Living
in the northernmost unit—directly below
End
House—Shana
reached
her
apartment first. She ran in and closed the
door. Linda stopped herself from following
her friend; she’d find out later what was
going on with her.
Louise’s apartment was next; she
also scooted inside without looking back
or saying goodbye. Louise used to have a
cheerful personality, but in the past week
she’s become moody and distant.
Mike and David waved goodbye and
entered their two bedroom suite. At least
they looked happy. The following
apartment appeared dark, which meant
that the sullen Gregg Harris was still
bartending
at
the
Oasis
Hotel’s
restaurant. Linda wasn’t too fond of him,
and had never understood why Judy, one
of Todd’s close friends, dated him.
Linda stopped to dart a quick glance
over her shoulder, only to find Todd
staring straight at her. This took her by
complete surprise. Her heart picked
up a quicker and happier tempo.
Traitor, she admonished her heart.
Todd had never before shown her any
hint of interest. So why should things
change now?
He met her searching look headon with a dark one of his own before
he nodded to her and turned to walk
away. While she watched his slow
retreat through the sand, she warned
herself to be more careful with her
heart in the future.
Todd’s suite was located in the
second set of apartments. His
neighbor and good friend, Ryan
Mason, was the manager of the Oasis
Hotel. Judy Broom lived in the
following apartment. She was the
receptionist at the hotel and Gregg’s
long-time girlfriend. The last unit
belonged to Edward Cross and Tom
Linley. They were college buddies,
who owned the town’s hardware
store. They were the youngest
members of their group, having only
recently graduated from college. Mike,
David, and Louise were twenty-four—
just like her and Shana.
Gregg, Ryan, Judy, and Todd had
grown up together in town. They were
in their late twenties but somehow,
Todd seemed older and wiser. His
eyes looked sad. What had those
eyes witnessed? She wanted to
understand Todd better. She wanted
to understand how he thought…and
what he thought about her.
According to many rumors
circulating through town, Todd owned
not only his own office building in
town, but all of the new stores along
Main Street—which were presently
being rented by Linda and her friends
—and the entire apartment complex
by the beach. Linda had never asked
Todd whether the rumors were true or
not; he had never volunteered