Lantern Lake Read Online Free PDF Page A

silent, narrow island roads. The tension between them hung as thick as the fog over the Scottish highlands where Cooper had done his first off-roading trek.
    That battered old Land Rover he’d driven through rushing creeks and up perilous hillsides hadn’t been as fancy as his Ferrari Testarossa, but it had been a damn sight more reliable. As the sportscar’s racing wheels spun uselessly against the gravel road at the end of what Vivian optimistically called her “driveway,” Cooper spared a brief moment to wish he’d brought the Rover instead.
    The convertible churned up the dual ruts of the pitted, pocked drive, curving through a winter forest of evergreen and pine. Its flip-up head lamps were the only light, apart from the graceful sickle of the moon.
    Cooper squinted at the pitch blackness outside. “Isn’t it a little dangerous, living this far from the center of town?”
    A tiny smile curled Vivian’s lips. “This from the man who BASE jumped off Angel Falls in a wing-suit, and filmed the entire stunt.”
    “Not dangerous for me,” Cooper argued, peering through the small windshield and wincing at the grating scratch of something sharp along the car’s undercarriage. “Dangerous for—a woman living alone.”
    Vivian’s smile widened fractionally, as if she’d heard the concern Cooper didn’t want to feel, much less speak aloud. “Don’t worry. Sanctuary Island is very safe. We have our own Sheriff’s department, but about the only calls they ever get are kids trespassing on the horse preserve and people running the one traffic light in front of the bakery on Main Street.”
    He wasn’t sure he liked that. Aside from the obvious dangers to a woman alone, cut off from easy access to emergency services, there was the personality angle. Viv had always been an extrovert, quick to laugh, the life of every party, surrounded by friends and admirers.
    “I just can’t picture you being happy to sit alone in an empty house in the middle of nowhere,” Cooper said bluntly.
    She turned her head slightly, as if glancing at something outside the passenger window. “I don’t mind a little alone time, these days.”
    There was something in her voice, some heavy meaning too vague for Cooper to grasp, and before he could ask about it, Vivian clutched his arm in excitement.
    “We’re here! Slow down, this is a good view of the property.”
    The Ferrari growled its way out of the woods at the top of a small hill, the beams of its headlights reflecting off the mirrored surface of a secluded lake. Set against the meandering shore, amongst the reed grass and cattails, was a small clapboard cottage. Warm golden light spilled from the lamps on either side of the door, like a beacon calling them home through the darkness.
    Shaking his head at his own ridiculousness, Cooper caught sight of Vivian out of the corner of his eye. Face lit by a soft smile, her midnight eyes seemed to reflect the twinkle of the stars over the lake. She looked more like the girl of his memories now than she had all evening.
    “Beautiful,” he told her, eyes never leaving her face.
    “Isn’t it?” She sighed, her gaze roaming almost hungrily over the tiny homestead spread out at the foot of the hill. “The minute I saw it, I knew I had to have it.”
    Forcing himself to look back at the property, Cooper acknowledged the magnetic attraction of the place. Even with the epic distraction of the woman next to him, he could feel the familiar tug of interest, the spark of desire to explore. He wanted to hike around the lake, climb a tree and see the view from up there, poke through the little, old cabin and get a sense of the people who’d lived there before.
    Maybe he’d even get a sense of the woman who lived there now, he reflected, carefully navigating the end of the drive and parking in front of the porch. As clear and vivid as his memories of Vivian Banks had always remained, he had to admit she was more or less a mystery to him