Love & Shadows

Chapter 5

Kiara sipped her coffee as she watched the sunrise. She was supposed to go river rafting with her sister and Brody, but she didn't feel like being thrown around in a canoe. She also decided that she was not going to be writing today. She will enjoy the sun and fresh air today and tomorrow she'll get her ass in gear. She walked down to the porch steps and sat down. She knew security would be around, and she felt safer than she had in months. She'd slept for the first time in a month and her mind was clear. Kiara listened to the sounds of the day coming to life and closed her eyes to take it all in.

A few hours later, she grabbed a book and made her way down to the beach. She'd seen a few beach benches that were isolated from the rest of the beach. With her book, a bag of snacks, water, and a cold drink, she settled down and got comfortable. Even if someone came across her, she knew what her cover would be. No one really knew what she looked like. When she does meet and greets, promotions, or book signings, she is always in disguise. She'd never wanted to be a public figure, she wanted to write her books and be left alone. Unfortunately, that wasn't how the business worked. To sell books, you have to promote them. And for some reason, people wanted to see the person behind the books.

Kiki was Kiara's friend, who came with her at the last minute and managed her appointments. She was just an assistant to the writer. There were sounds of kids and adults enjoying the beach and ocean. And somewhere on the other side of her, a woman was having a great time with her dogs. She hadn't seen dogs in the hotel when they'd arrived, or seen any around. Maybe they belonged to one of the workers. She took her sunglasses out and slipped them on, then settled back and started to read the book she'd picked up at the kiosk. It was a lesbian romance, not what she usually read, but the cover looked interesting. To her, the cover was just as important as the book itself. If the cover didn't get your attention, then you could miss out on a good book. She always made sure she had the last say on her covers. She needed to start the reader's experience as soon as they picked up the book.

Kiara heard the dogs bark, and the woman with them laughed. It made Kiara smile to hear the carefree sound. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt carefree. The damned stalker caused her sleepless nights. She was scared to go to the store without letting her sister know where she was going, and also when she got home. She looked over her shoulder wherever she went. Being at Blue Lunah was the first time in months she felt like she could relax. She wished she could just stay here and never have to go back to her life in the city where the stalker was waiting.

Kiara must have fallen asleep. She felt someone watching her, and panic set in before she opened her eyes and stared into soft brown eyes, a long black muzzle, and the biggest perky ears she'd ever seen. She froze, not sure if the dog was friendly or not. When the dog's mouth popped open and a lopsided, tongue-lolling panting started, she grinned. "Hey, boy." It was all he needed to hear. He jumped up on her chair, gave her a long, enthusiastic lick, and when she giggled, he went into full kiss mode. Kiara laughed and pushed his big chest. After a few minutes of struggling, he finally barked and sat down, tail wagging and tongue lolling to the side. "Do you want some water, boy?" She dug into her bag, pulled out the container she'd had grapes in, and poured some water. He lapped at it happily and then thanked her by dripping water all over her lap. "You are a messy man. Where's your human?" He wagged his tail and looked over his shoulder as two other dogs came running toward them. "Your friends found us." Kiara laughed as the two Retrievers did what the big brown dog did and jumped on her and licked her all over. She managed to get herself free of their loving attentions and looked up as a woman came running toward her. "Is that your human?" She asked the dogs and stood. The woman was a goddess. Her golden brown skin shone in the sunlight. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her blue eyes filled with laughter. She smiled as the woman bent over and tried to catch her breath. She reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of water and held it out to the woman.

"Hi," The woman said through labored breaths.

"Hey." Kiara watched as the woman took a deep pull of water. "Are you okay?"

"I am now. At least they found a friend this time. The last time I lost Feeney didn't end well."

"They're good dogs. I know those two are retrievers, but Mr pointy ears, I'm not sure."

"He's a Belgium Malinois. And he keeps me on my toes and fit." Madison straightened and held out her hand. "Madison."

"Ki..." Kiara swallowed. "Kiki, I'm a friend of Kiara's."

"The writer?"

"Yes," Kiara pointed behind her. "She's working, so I was taking a break out here. Catching up on some reading." Shut up Kiara, you're talking too much! She told herself and smiled.

"Okay, I knew she was here with her sister. I didn't know she had brought a friend."

"It was at the last minute."

"Right, okay. We'll get out of your hair. Let you get back to your book." She handed Kiki the water back and whistled at her dogs. "Come on guys, Kiki is on vacation, let's not bother her."

"It was a good distraction. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much."

"Well, then I'm glad we could brighten your day." Madison smiled and looked toward the cabin. She didn't want to run into Kiara. "See you around." Madison started walking away with the dogs at her heels.

"Yes, see you," Kiara said and watched Madison and the dogs disappear over the dunes. Still smiling, she packed up her things and made her way back to the cabin. She'd tell Alice about her experience, maybe she'd get off Kiara's back about getting out.