Whispers at Willow Lake (7 page)

“Good morning, Alison.” John dipped his hat as he climbed from the driver’s seat. “Fine day, isn’t it?”

“A perfect day.”

“Saw a couple fishing up at the inlet. Do they have a license?”

“They don’t need one, John. That’s still my property.”

“Your property?”

“That’s right.”

“You have no intention of selling this place, do you?”

“No. I haven’t changed my mind. I
won’t
change it. I told you I love it here.”

“I don’t see why.” He reached into his pocket, tamped a cigarette from the pack he’d stashed there. “You’re mired in some bad memories here.”

“Good ones, too.” Ali stepped back as he lit the cigarette and the breeze blew smoke in her direction. She suddenly realized that smoking was just one of his many habits that annoyed her. “More good than bad.”

“If you say so.” He took a step toward her, the cigarette dangling from his mouth. “Are you sure you don’t want—”

“Yes, I’m sure.” She couldn’t step away fast enough. “Is that Ryder’s motorcycle?”

“It is.” He nodded sharply. “I suppose I’ve kept it long enough. His story checked out.”

“Just like he said it would.” Temper nipped at Ali’s throat, making her words high and sharp. “You put him in a holding cell, John. You made him spend the night. He missed Mama Stallings—he wasn’t there with her, and it was his intention to be.”

“Sometimes even the best intentions are dashed to smithereens.” His gaze narrowed pointedly. “I was simply performing the duties expected of a police chief.”

“You’re not the chief, John.”

“Not yet, but I will be—soon.”

“Ryder’s here to stay. He’s come home.”

“We’ll see about that.” He placed the hat back on his head, pulling the brim low across his watery eyes. “Mark my words, Alison—Hawk will run again. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. And when he does, I might decide to take you back. But on my terms—not yours. We’ll see who comes out on top.”

“You’re wrong.” She clutched her arms over her roiling belly. “You’re not a nice man, John Larder, and I’ll never go back to you now that I know what you really are.”

“If you say so.” He tossed the cigarette butt to the blacktop and ground the stub with the toe of his boot. “We’ll see.”

8

“What are you into now?”

Ryder glanced up to find Ali peering at him later that afternoon, one hand draped across her brow to shield her eyes from the sun. He’d been lost in his work, thankful that the task of reworking the landscaping around the inn kept his mind—and his hands—busy and out of trouble.

“I’m dead-heading.” He sat back to swipe sweat from his face with a bandanna. The flats of wave petunias added a splash of color to perennials strategically placed along the drive and around the back of the inn.

“Dead-heading? What’s that?”

“I’m pulling off the shriveled buds so new ones can grow.” He demonstrated. “Sometimes you have to get rid of the old to make way for the new.”

Ali squatted beside him, tugging a few of the dead buds loose. “It’s cathartic.”

“Yes, it is.” He nodded toward the drive. “I see my cycle has made a return.”

“John brought it right after you left this morning. He said he’d kept it long enough.”

“Is that so?” Ryder reached for his water bottle. Ice clinked as he guzzled. Water dribbled down his chin, and he swiped it away with the back of his hand. “What else did he say?”

Ali shrugged and Ryder sensed she was holding back. He’d seen the little dip of her shoulders enough times to know.

“You can tell me anything, Ali. No more secrets.”

“He said”—she plucked another dried bloom and then tossed it into his weed bucket as she stood—”that you’re going to run again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’ve done a beautiful job here, Ryder.” She motioned to landscape timbers that spanned saw horses, waiting to be cut to size and the pile of river rock that had been delivered just that morning. A chunk of work remained, but not much compared to where he’d started. Tears filled her eyes as the next words came. “But, you’re almost finished. What will you do next?”

Her tears did a number on his heart. “Whatever I want.”

“And what might that be?”

“I like this.” He shrugged and motioned toward the river rock he’d laid. “I like making something new out of what’s dead and barren. Maybe it’s my calling.”

“And if it’s not?”

He stood and tugged off his work gloves, wiping his hands on his jeans before reaching for hers. “Come with me.”

“I have guests.”

“They left for town.” He twined his fingers with hers as he tugged her along. They rounded the corner of the inn and headed toward the lake. “I saw them just a while ago. The way Mrs. Lawson went on about the bookstore, my guess is they won’t be back for hours.”

“OK.” Her voice trembled. “Where are you taking me?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know.” She pressed a hand to her mouth. “But I don’t think I’m ready.”

“It’s time.” Ryder thought she might pull away and run for the shelter of the inn, but her stride remained steady at his side. “I have things to say…things I want you to hear.”

“Face your fears head-on, Ryder.”
Mama Stallings’s words whispered through his head.
“Because, more often than not, those fears are amplified by the unknown.”

He’d been eighteen at the time—on the brink of manhood—and concern plagued him that he’d end up like his father, drowning his disappointment in a bottle, mean and vengeful. Or, worse, he’d be more like his mother—devoid of feeling, and leaving those he should love behind. He didn’t want to be either, and the fear ate away at him like a virus.

“You’re different, Ryder. You feel things deeply.”

He did, and despite his gruff exterior—the tough-guy image he’d honed to perfection over the years—he couldn’t hide that fact from Mama Stallings.

Or from Ali.

“There it is…” Ali’s voice whispered on the breeze as willows danced along the lakeside. “Do you remember, Ryder?”

“How could I forget?” He gazed at the outcropping of rocks, sheer and glistening in the sun. Their position offered a natural jump-off and the water below was more than deep enough for a safe landing. “You taught me to swan dive.”

“And, from you, I learned the belly flop and cannon ball.”

Ryder laughed. It was true. It was also true that the sight of her in a bikini had been enough to send his pulse into overdrive. Dangerous territory.

“Josh loved to jump. You gave him that, Ryder, a sense of confidence when everyone else coddled him.”

“Maybe too much confidence.”

“No.” Ali shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have gone back for his inhaler.”

“
I w
as the one who promised my parents I’d look out for him.”

“But I was with you.” The grief nearly overwhelmed him. “I was so reckless, so impulsive. I made you—”

“You can’t shoulder that blame.” She shook her head, swiping her eyes. “We all carry a bit of it—Josie and Hunter, Mason, Catherine and Brody. We were all there, and I guess we all thought the other…”

“I stopped by the bookstore this morning. I saw Josie, spoke to her for a bit. She’s…different.”

“We all are, Ryder.”

“What happened to the others?”

“I’m not really sure.”

****

“Ali, can I come with? Pleeease?”

The voice, so sweet and innocent, skimmed over the breeze and Ali turned, expecting to find Josh behind her, his robin-blue eyes wide with wonder despite their unusual shape—uplifted at the corners, like slivers of almonds.

With a surge, the day replayed like a movie reel, the details crisp and sharp.

“Not today.” She’d turned to study her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied that the new bikini would catch Ryder’s eye, she shimmied into a cover-up and grabbed her beach towel along with a bag full of sunscreen and canned sodas. “This is just for grown-ups.”

After all, she was eighteen now. Time to move on from childish things.

“Alison, your dad and I have to go into town for an hour or so.” Her mother’s voice trailed through the living room. “Keep an eye on Josh for us.”

“Oh, Mom, can’t you take him with? I’m going to swim with Ryder. I’m sick of babysitting. I’ve been at it all summer.”

Even now, nearly eight years later, the whine of her voice, the callous words, shamed her.

“Alison,” Mom had come to the doorway to give her
the look
. “We have important business in town.”

“This is important, too.” Ryder was waiting for her. He’d told her he loved her. His words warmed her as the charm bracelet he’d given her jangled at her wrist. She had yet to remove it since he’d so lovingly draped it over her arm.

The others would be there, too. They had only a few weeks together until the summer would come to an end and they’d all go their separate ways. Hunter had earned a baseball scholarship to Ohio State. Mason had a full ride to Cal to study engineering while Brody and Catherine were engaged and planning to go into mission work overseas. Josie was the only one who planned to stay behind to study marketing with Ali at Tech. Maybe they’d go into business together one day.

Ryder talked about leaving for the military. He wanted out of Willow Lake, and since his father died the year before, that desire had merely intensified. The idea of being separated from him made Ali feel as if she was about to skydive—with her belly all jumbled and the world turned on its side. They’d been together their whole lives.

So, being Josh’s built-in babysitter was less than palatable on this particular day. She deserved this time for herself—and for Ryder.

“We’re going to the bluffs.” Ali lifted her chin toward her mother in a defiant tilt.

“No, you’re not.” Her mother’s tone left no room for discussion, yet Ali pushed.

“But, I promised Ryder and the others.”

“Stay away from those rocks. You know Josh isn’t a strong swimmer.”

“Ryder’s taught him, Mom. He does fine.” Alison sighed. Lately, talking to her mother was like struggling through a dropped call on her cell phone. “If I have to babysit, can’t I at least take Josh where
I
want to go?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not near the bluffs. No rocks, no jumping while Josh is with you.” She pointed a finger. “That means
all
of you—Ryder included. And, be sure to take Josh’s inhaler. I think he’s on the verge of another cold. And, with everything blooming, he might need it.”

****

“Ali, come back.” Ryder brushed his knuckles along her jawline, gathering tears. Her eyes held a familiar, faraway look, and he knew she was remembering. “It’s OK. It’s over now.”

“It was horrible.”

“I know.” He drew her close, felt her heart pounding in rhythm with his. “I should have been more careful, less thoughtless.”

…
seek His will. His will, not yours.

If only, back then, he’d possessed the maturity to heed Mama Stallings’s warning. He’d been remiss, and thus shouldered the brunt of responsibility. Reckless and short-tempered, with the passage of time bearing down on him, he’d come to Ali that day every bit his father’s son. The memory shamed him as his actions came flooding back.

“What’s
he
doing here?”
He’d jabbed a finger in Josh’s direction, grimacing. “I thought you said it was going to be just the two of us.”

“I thought so, too, but my parents have gone into town. I have to babysit—again.” Ali turned toward the lake and motioned downstream. “Besides, Josie called earlier to say she was coming this way, as well, along with Hunter and the others. I couldn’t say no.”

“Ali, you promised.” The words were clipped as Ryder peered down the lakeshore to see Mason and Josie, Brody and Catherine, already leaping from the bluff and splashing around in the water. Their laughter carried on the breeze as Hunter scaled the bluff on his way to another jump. Ryder grimaced and shook his head. Sure, he loved spending time with the others. But today was different—special. He’d wanted the day alone with Ali. He had things to say—important things to discuss.

“I tried. It was no use.” She shrugged and the hem of her cover-up skimmed her knees, exposing just enough tanned skin to launch his pulse off the charts. “Mom and Dad won’t be gone very long, though. Maybe when they get back…”

“Let’s head up to the bluff.” The sight of her in the cute little dress had his heart close to cardiac arrest and his brain scrambled.

“I can’t, Ryder. Josh can’t—”

“Your parents don’t have to know.” He reached for her hand. “I’m tired of living by everyone else’s rules.”

“I left Josh’s inhaler inside. I should get it.”

“He hasn’t used it all summer, but I’ll run back if we need it. We won’t be gone long.” He turned to Josh. “Keep up, OK?”

“Yeth, Ryder.” His thick tongue made it hard to speak clearly.

Ryder barely noticed the impediment any longer. Up ahead, he heard the snap of twigs and slap of tennis shoes over rock as Hunter raced up the bluff ahead of them. Josh heard, as well, and he craned his head toward the commotion.

“Gonna jump?”

“Not you, Josh. Not today.”

“But, I wanna jump.”

“Come on.” Ryder grabbed Josh’s chubby fist, clasping the stunted fingers more roughly than he meant to. Though he was ten-and-a-half, the kid had the stature of an eight-year-old and his swim trunks sagged around his waist. Short and stout, his legs struggled to keep up as Ryder turned to stride up the incline toward the bluff. With his pale skin, Ryder knew Josh would burn to a lobster-red within the hour if he and Ali didn’t douse him in sunscreen as soon as they made it to the clearing. “Come on, Ali.”

“You’re angry.” She’d followed him, her flip-flops slapping over rock. “Please don’t be, Ryder.”

“I’m sorry.” He drew a breath, slowed his pace, and urged his pulse to steady. The task was a lot easier if he focused on her eyes—kept his gaze above her shoulders. Anything else was just plain dangerous. “This just isn’t going as planned.”