Jayne Ann Krentz Dreams, Part 1 Harlequin Temptation, No. 229 by Unknown

everyone
    else.“
    Colby concentrated on an old tire that was lying in the front yard. He didn’t want to think about Margaret
    Fulbrook. “When did your father die?“
    “The year I finished my hitch in the army. Drunk as a skunk, as usual. Went out huntin’ and fell off the top of
    Chained Lady Falls. No loss. To tell you the truth, I was kind of surprised he bothered to leave me this place. Course,
    who else did he have to leave it to?“
    “That’s a fact. You were his only kin.“ Colby remembered the bastard who had been Eddy’s father. The man had
    been violent when he drank. Eddy had suffered from that violence frequently when he was younger.
    However erratic life had been with Aunt Jesse, however emotionally neglected Colby had been while Jesse
    pursued her poetry, at least he’d never been subjected to physical violence the way Spooner had.
    Eddy finished his beer. “You still hate this town as much as you used to?“
    “Yeah,“ said Colby. “I still hate it.“
    “Why’d you come back?“
    “I needed a place to finish the book I’m working on. And I decided it was time to get rid of Aunt Jesse’s place. Too
    much trouble keeping it rented to summer tourists.“
    “Larry Brockton down at the real estate office said once that you’d given him instructions to keep the place fixed
    up and rented out during the summer.“
    “I didn’t know what else to do with it after Aunt Jesse died.“
    “So you’re here to take care of that old business and finish another one of them horror books, huh?“
    “Right. I thought Fulbrook Corners might offer some inspiration for my writing,“ Colby explained dryly.
    “Inspiration! Here? That’s a laugh.“
    “It is, isn’t it?“
    “Come to think of it, Chained Lady Falls might be sort of inspirational for a horror writer,“ Spooner remarked
    slowly. “Remember that night we were gonna spend there?“
    “I remember it.“
    “You never told anyone I didn’t stay with you in that damned cave.“
    “No point.“
    “Guess I never thanked you for keepin’ your mouth shut about that.“
    “Forget it, Eddy. That was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter now.“
    “That’s kind of what I figured. It doesn’t matter much now. Nothing does.“
    Diana stood staring up at Chained Lady Falls. The billowing mist dampened her hair as well as the oxford cloth shirt
    she was wearing with her khaki trousers. The rocks at the base of the falls were slippery. She’d almost fallen once or
    twice, trying to get close enough to see the hidden entrance to the cave. She still couldn’t spot it through the
    thundering water.
    And she still wasn’t sure why she had driven out here to take another look at the falls this afternoon. Something
    about the place had drawn her back for another look. She peered upward, trying to envision a path behind the white
    veil. The cliff behind the falls looked sheer, offering no obvious footholds.
    But Colby had said he and Eddy Spooner had climbed up to the cave the time they had dared each other to spend
    the night in it. There must be a path. She just couldn’t see it.
    The legend of Chained Lady Cave had begun to fascinate her. She’d awakened this morning thinking about it, and
    now she couldn’t seem to stop.
    At her side. Specter whined softly. Absently, Diana reached down to pat his mist-dampened coat. “What’s the
    matter? Don’t like getting wet, do you? You’ve never been real big on taking baths. Well, come along, then. I think we’
    ve seen enough.“
    Diana made her way carefully over the wet rocks toward the car. “I wonder if Colby would agree to show me the
    inside of that cave?“
    She pondered her own curiosity all the way back to her cottage. It wasn’t until Specter gave a sharp, warning bark
    as they pulled into the drive that she realized someone was sitting patiently on her front porch.
    “Hello, Brandon. I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you today?“
    Brandon got to his feet and smiled