The Other Side of Forestlands Lake, page 1
Table of Contents
Synopsis
Praise for Carolyn Elizabeth
Other Books by Carolyn Elizabeth
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Epilogue
Synopsis
As kids, best friends Willa Dunn and Lee Chandler spend every summer together at the idyllic Upstate New York community of Forestlands Lake, nestled in the foothills of the Taconic Mountains. During the summer before they turn sixteen—just as the two are discovering that there might be something more to their friendship—a tragic accident befalls Willa’s family and without warning, Willa and Lee’s world is torn apart.
Twenty-five years later Willa is a successful author of the young adult ghost stories she loved to read as a child. She returns to the lake looking for a writer’s retreat and an opportunity to connect with her troubled teenage sister, Nicole.
Lee, now a single mother to her wise-beyond-her-years teenage daughter Maggie, is the director of the summer camp on the other side of Forestlands Lake.
Before Willa and Nicole even have the chance to unpack, their plans are upset by a mysterious young girl, a near drowning, and a surprise reunion. Soon Willa and Lee are working to protect the girls, reconcile their past and unearth the secrets surrounding Forestlands Lake—putting old ghosts to rest once and for all.
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Praise for Carolyn Elizabeth
Gallows Humor
At this very moment, my coffee cup is raised in Carolyn Elizabeth’s honor because she gave me the perfect blend of an angst-filled, budding romance with endless humor and an enthralling murder mystery that kept me up way past my bedtime. I still can’t get over the fact that this story is her debut novel because Carolyn Elizabeth has knocked my fluffy bedroom socks off with her flawless writing and the witty and entertaining dialogue between the characters along with the vivid descriptions of the Jackson City Memorial Hospital and environs.
If you’re looking for a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you doubled over with laughter, then this is definitely the story for you!
—The Lesbian Review
I always enjoy reading good debuts. It gets me excited to find new authors. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. I think people will enjoy this read. I hope there is a book two because I will be reading it. Almost forgot, I also like the oddball title of the book.
-Lex Kent’s Reviews, goodreads
Dirt Nap
Yes! This is how you write a sequel, you make it even better than the first. For those readers that were hoping for more of Thayer and Corey, including their relationship, you won’t be disappointed. Their connection keeps growing, the chemistry is in your face and every romantic scene is just as good as the most exciting scenes in the book. All the story lines of this book really hit for me. From a little relationship angst to Corey’s big problem with a trusted friend, there was always something going on that kept me flipping these pages.
—Lex Kent’s Reviews, goodreads
This is a perfect sequel to Gallows Humor and met all of my...high expectations. Sometimes sequels can be disappointing, but not this one. We have the same mystery, intrigue, and romance that we found in the first book. Corey, Thayer, and all the secondary characters are just as likable and easy to connect with. The romance is still as sweet, and it was fun seeing the two grow together through all the trials they had to endure. It was also fun meeting a few new characters and watching them develop. Ms. Elizabeth not only has the knowledge she needs in pathology and medicine for this story, she also shines in character development. This is what makes both of these books so great.
—Betty H., NetGalley
Great second book for Carolyn Elizabeth and a great second in the Curtis & Reynolds series. Just like her debut Gallows Humor, this one is also written in third person, from the point of view of both protagonists, Corey and Thayer. The plot is even more interesting, with a very well-done crime/thriller part, and continuation of a really good romance. The chemistry between the two well-defined and likable protagonists is excellent. Add to that a few other very well-written relationships, good pacing, nice ending...and you have a great read.
—Pin’s Reviews, goodreads
I must admit that this is the second time that I was blown away with this author’s captivating writing style. She has really outdone herself with this story because she gave me a riveting romantic thriller that has so many entertaining and laugh-out-loud moments embedded within it. This story kept me glued to my Kindle and hungry for more priceless wisecracks from Corey and Thayer. Even though Carolyn Elizabeth did a wonderful job of filling in some of the details and facts from her first book, I would strongly advise you to read Gallows Humor before you read this story so that you would get to know more about these lovely characters.
—The Lesbian Review
I reiterate from book one, the main characters of Dr. Thayer Reynolds and Corey Curtis are two of the most charismatic characters that I’ve had the pleasure of reading about in quite a while. Perfect leads in a book that begins in the foulest way, the discovery of a decomposed body. Although the remainder of the book unravels the answers to the mystery via good action and police work, the joy in the story comes from watching Thayer and Corey interact and grow as a couple and as individuals. They show tenderness and vulnerability in small intimate scenes that paint a picture of a couple falling hard and deep. I could easily read another ten of these Curtis & Reynolds books.
—Jules P., NetGalley
Other Bella Books by Carolyn Elizabeth
Gallows Humor
Dirt Nap
About the Author
Carolyn Elizabeth is an enthusiastic writer of Sapphic stories where serious camp meets upbeat macabre. Her debut novel, Gallows Humor, was a 2020 GCLS Goldie Finalist for Romantic Blend. Her love of sarcasm and pop culture are sprinkled throughout her stories and she would love to publish at least one novel in every subgenre.
Carolyn once bungee jumped in the parking lot of a bar in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. She’s been a bridesmaid five times and a bride once. She’s sailed a tall ship, spent a night in jail, gotten many tattoos, been scuba diving twice, and fired a handgun.
For fun, she used to play winter rugby 7’s in an indoor horse arena in New Hampshire. She’s been to Savannah, Georgia, for Saint Patrick’s Day, and been on a medical mission to northern Argentina.
Carolyn is a happily married mom of two rambunctious boys, living in London, Ontario, and working in cancer research. She enjoys weaving elements of her colorful and diverse life experiences, including her education in pathology, into her romantic blend lesbian fiction.
Copyright © 2020 by Carolyn Elizabeth
Bella Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
First Bella Books Edition 2020
eBook released 2020
Editor: Ann Roberts
Cover Designer: Judith Fellows
ISBN: 978-1-64247-164-9
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permi
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Bella Books for continuing to do the work to support authors and get our stories out into the world. Thank you to Ann Roberts for sticking with me. Your thoughtful critique is so appreciated and my books so much better for it.
Thank you to my beta readers—Tere, Cheryl, and Megan. This book wouldn’t have made it to publication without you. Thank you to the readers and reviewers whose thoughtful, insightful, and critical comments help inspire and motivate me in new ways with every project.
Thank you to my wife, Laurel, for your continued encouragement and willingness to laugh, not just with me, but at me. As ever, to my children, Henry and Grayson, thank you for helping me grow into my best possible person.
Prologue
Twenty-six years ago
Sasha Mathers looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching before stepping onto the empty school bus. She felt like she was always getting into trouble for wandering off and being where she wasn’t supposed to. Immediately the cacophony of voices outside—shrieking, excited kids, hollering, clapping parents, and shouting camp counselors—was muffled as she walked down the aisle. It looked just like the bus she took to school with the same rows of green vinyl bench seats and grimy windows, nearly impossible to open by little hands.
She trailed her fingertips across each seat as she worked her way to the back, eying the backpacks and other personal items belonging to the kids whose parents couldn’t make the drive for the last day of camp. All items were waiting for their owners to take their seats and bump along the hour-long return journey from Forestlands Camp to Troy, New York.
She stopped at the seat with a pretty pink and purple backpack with the fuzzy head of a stuffy poking out. When she saw the girl walk by with the stuffy in her arms it looked just like the one she had been begging her parents to buy her and she had to know for certain. She looked around again and peered through the window. No one was nearby or heading her way.
She carefully unzipped the backpack and wiggled the stuffy free. It was Spots the dog. She hugged the puppy to her chest briefly and stroked its ears before easing it back into its place and zipping it closed carefully. She hoped the other little girl wouldn’t be upset if she knew she touched him.
She hurried off the bus and looked around for her parents, feeling guilty about what she had done. She wasn’t supposed to touch other people’s things without their permission. Her parents were heading toward one of the cabins with her big brother. Her father was looking around anxiously, probably looking for her.
She ran to catch up with them, her father breaking into a relieved smile and holding out his hand for her. She took it and skipped along to keep up with their fast pace. There was a storm coming, he said, and they wanted to get home before it started to rain, so they weren’t going to spend a lot of time touring the camp.
She looked up to the sky and felt the chill across her skin. Her thin tank top and shorts were doing little to keep her warm. The bright, warm late summer day was giving way to darkening clouds. Gusts of wind blew through the trees while her brother chattered to their parents about his bunkmates, camp food, bugs, the condition of the bathhouses and his cabin’s kickball championship.
She was quiet and patient while they toured the mess hall, but then she started getting fidgety again. She pulled away from her father as they walked through the arts cabin and her brother showed them the whittling knives he got to use.
After a quick walk-through of his smelly boy cabin, she slipped away and headed toward the water and the distant sound of children splashing and screeching in fun. She kicked out of her flip-flops, leaving them in the sand of the small beach, and waded into the water past her ankles.
Across the small lake she could see a little lakeside village with rows of colorful cabins visible through the trees. Children ran along the beach and swam out to their floating dock. A handful of kids tried to outdo their friends when they jumped crazily into the water, only to swim around to the ladder and do it again. Parents supervised from the beach or from the shallows while holding the hands of toddling little brothers and sisters.
Sasha walked along the beach in the water, curling her toes into the gravelly lake sand as she walked to the one end of the small beach where the rocky shore began and the forest closed in.
On the other side of the lake was a dirt cliff with a tree jutting out of the water at the base, where it looked like it broke off part of the land’s edge when it fell. It could be perfect for a rope swing but maybe it was too high and that’s why there wasn’t one that she could see. She studied it for another moment before walking through the water to the other end of the beach.
Across the lake was a pier with a girl at the end, standing on the bottom rung of the safety railing and waving. She was too far away to see her face clearly, but somehow Sasha knew the girl was smiling and waving at her.
She shielded her eyes and waved back, smiling and wondering if in another life they could be friends. Maybe they already were and she didn’t know it. No, she would know if she had a friend with hair that light. The other girl’s head turned at a shout from behind her and she continued to wave for another moment while she walked backward down the pier. Then she turned to catch up with a woman and an older girl walking away along the road parallel to the water.
A gust of wind brought with it the smell of cigarette smoke and Sasha scrunched up her nose looking around for the source. She heard a sizzle of wet sparks and the squeak of rubber and lap of water. Peering into the tree line at the water’s edge she spied the dark green, inflatable boat.
“Hi,” a soft voice called to her.
“Hi,” she whispered back, brushing her dark hair out of her face, cocking her head this way and that to get a look at the speaker.
“What’s your name?” the friendly voice asked.
“Sasha.” She answered and stepped closer to the trees, seeing a flash of eyes and white teeth through the branches. “Do you go to camp here?” she asked.
“Sometimes, Sasha,” the voice answered. “Do you?”
“I’m only eight. Next year I can come.”
“I’m sure you’ll make lots of friends. I don’t have a lot of friends.”
“What are you doing here?” Sasha asked.
“The last day of camp is always so fun and no one ever notices me, so I like to just be somewhere out of the way and watch.”
“No one is paying attention to me either. Is that your boat?”
“No, but I’m allowed to use it. Would you like to see it? Maybe we can be friends.”
“Yes, please.” Her mother would be proud she remembered her manners. Sasha took the offered hand and stepped into the boat.
Chapter One
Twenty-five years ago
Willa Dunn picked her way along the well-worn path through the woods. She was so familiar with it that she was able to continue reading without a single misstep. She skirted the fire pit and the scattered stumps and logs that the teenagers of Forestlands Lake community used as chairs when they went out into the woods to party. She found the lesser-used path and ventured deeper into the woods, angling back toward the lake, winding steadily uphill for a hundred yards.
She glanced up to her favorite reading spot and settled against the massive oak rooted deeply on the wooded cliff overlooking the lake thirty feet below. Her bum fit perfectly into the depressed dirt seat she’d made after many hours in this spot.
She took a moment as she always did and trained her gaze on the other side of the lake. She could just make out the edges of the camp’s buildings through the trees. The camp across the lake, which had been so lively every other summer, was now quiet and sad. It had remained vacant since the unsolved disappearance of little Sasha Mathers the year before, and the property was now up for sale. No one wanted to send their child to a camp where the kids went missing. Apparently, no one wanted to buy it either.
