At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [48]
He wished Lexie had behaved more like that. Driving around, he couldn’t decide whether his anger was growing or dissipating; he didn’t know whether to head back to her house and try to get things sorted out or try to figure it out on his own. He suspected she was hiding something, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was. Despite his anger and the evidence, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that she had a secret affair going on with Rodney. Unless he’d been completely hoodwinked by Lexie, which he doubted, the idea was ridiculous. But something was going on between them, something that Lexie felt uncomfortable talking about. And then, of course, there was the e-mail. . . .
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. After circuiting the town for the third time, he headed into the country. He drove in silence for a few minutes, then turned again, and a few minutes later pulled to a stop in front of Cedar Creek Cemetery—home to the mysterious lights and the place that had brought him to Boone Creek.
This was where he’d first seen Lexie. After arriving in town, he’d come here to take a few photographs before beginning to research the article he’d intended to write, and he could still recall how she’d appeared suddenly, catching him off guard. He could still visualize the way she’d moved and how the breeze rippled through her hair. It was also in this cemetery that she’d told him about the nightmares she’d had as a child.
Getting out of the car, Jeremy was struck by how different the place was without fog. On the night he’d first seen the mysterious lights, the mist-shrouded cemetery had seemed unearthly, as if lost in time. Tonight, under a clear April sky and a glowing moon, he could make out the shapes of individual headstones and was even able to retrace the route he’d once taken while trying to capture the lights on film.
He moved past the wrought-iron gates and heard the soft crunch of gravel underfoot. He hadn’t been here since returning to Boone Creek, and as he made his way past the broken tombstones, his thoughts turned again to Lexie.
Had she told him the truth? Partially. Would she really have told him where she’d gone? Maybe. And did he have a right to be angry? Yes, he thought again, he did.
He didn’t like arguing with her, though. And he hadn’t liked the way she’d looked at him when she realized that he’d been following her. Nor, he admitted, did he like that aspect of himself, either. Truth be told, he wished he had never seen Lexie and Rodney together in the first place. All it had done was make him suspicious, and he reminded himself again that there was no reason to be suspicious. Yes, she’d gone to see Rodney, but Rachel was missing, and Rodney was without doubt the one she should have talked to.
But the e-mail . . .
He didn’t want to think about that, either.
In the silence, it seemed that the cemetery was beginning to grow brighter. It wasn’t possible, of course—the ghostly lights appeared only on foggy nights—but when he blinked, he realized he wasn’t seeing things. The cemetery was growing brighter. As he frowned in confusion, he heard the unmistakable sound of a car engine. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the headlights of a car rounding a curve. He wondered who would be driving out this