A Moment in the Moonlight

by Kay Correll

  He sat back in surprise. This was all news to him. He didn’t realize Walt had gotten new zoning regulations approved. And he hadn’t known Walt was planning on building condos. There was just the simple document about a sale to a trust, and he’d been unable to turn up much on the trust. He thought it might just be someone’s family trust, but now he wasn’t so sure.

  His mother had told him that some new family was buying the cabin and land and hoped they’d love it as much as the Dobbs family had. But it appeared that wasn’t exactly Walt’s plan. He felt the wrinkles of a frown crease his forehead.

  Nora continued. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to block this. Some people in town would like a big condo complex and the tourists it would bring. But it will give a whole new atmosphere to the lake. I’m sure most of my regulars will quit coming back year after year. They come for the peace and quiet and beauty of the lake. Instead they’ll look across to a high-rise condo complex and listen to the drone of motors out on the lake. That will probably mess up the fishing, too.”

  Walt was always up to some kind of scheme that benefited him, not others. It appeared his cousin hadn’t changed one bit over the years, not that it surprised him. He doubled his resolve to dig deeper into this “great deal” Walt had presented to his mother.

  “Didn’t mean to drop my problems on you.” Nora stood. “I should probably go check and see if things are wrapping up in the kitchen.”

  “No, I didn’t mind listening. It does sound like a lot will change in the area if it all happens.”

  “Oh, it will happen if Dobbs has his way. I just have to figure out a way to stop him.” He’d rarely seen a more determined look on anyone’s face—not even in heated acquisition negations for his firm. Nora turned and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen. He sat and looked out into the darkness out the window, finishing his wine.

  Walt. Always looking out for himself.

  He now had no doubt that there was no way this was going to be a fair deal for his mother. His cousin hadn’t changed a bit.

  Late that evening, Nora crossed the well-worn pine-plank floor of her cabin with its familiar squeak in the middle of the room and headed to the mantel over the fireplace. She picked up her favorite picture of Ronnie and traced her finger over his grinning face. With a long sigh, she clasped the photo against her chest. “Oh, Ronnie. I’m trying my best to save this lake. I know you loved it so. I do, too.”

  She thought back on when they’d first found this ramshackle lodge at the edge of the lake. They’d taken a leap of faith—and all their savings—and put a down payment on the place. Ronnie had worked endlessly updating the cabins, doing repairs, fixing leaking roofs and dripping pipes. Until… one spring he just wore out with any little effort he exerted doing anything. After weeks of chiding him and imploring him to go to the doctor, he’d finally agreed. By the time they found out he had cancer, there wasn’t much time left.

  Those had been the hardest weeks of her life. Watching him suffer so, then slowly slip away. He’d felt so guilty that he was leaving her with all the responsibility of the lodge. She repeatedly told him she’d be fine. But the sad, tortured look in his eyes haunted her to this very day.

  She’d tried to keep up a cheerful front for Beth and Jason, but they’d known what was happening. She wanted to give them a chance to say goodbye to their father, even if they were just young kids.

  And Annie. Annie had been her savior, the only reason she hadn’t completely fallen apart. Sitting at her side, holding her hand, when Ronnie finally slipped away and found his peace.

  Ronnie’s death had robbed her children of their carefree childhood days. They’d both become more serious. Jason had tried bravely to be the man of the family, but he’d been just a young boy. Those years had been hard, so very hard. She’d struggled to make each and every payment to the bank, often going without any help at the lodge since there was no money to pay for help. Slowly, things had gotten a bit better, but she’d still struggled. Until Jason had come back from college and started helping her.

  But now? All that would change. Their rustic, charming, quiet lodge would sit on the banks of a crowded, noisy lake.

  She sighed again as she placed the photo back on the mantel. She kissed her fingers and touched them to the faded photo.

  “I’ll try to find a way, Ronnie. I will…”

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, Harrison headed into town to have that cup of coffee at Annie’s… and to try and avoid the enticing aroma of a huge breakfast at the lodge. He’d dressed in the jeans and a flannel shirt he’d bought in Mountain Grove and felt almost like a regular Colorado type of guy. He pulled his car into a spot in front of Bookish Cafe and grabbed his sunglasses against the glare of the morning sunshine.

  As he stepped out of the car and turned to enter the shop, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was Walt, lumbering down the sidewalk, not thirty feet from him. He’d recognize Walt anywhere. He’d put on weight, but he’d always been a big guy. Football lineman sized in high school, but more on the chubby side now.

  A scowl covered Walt’s reddened cheeks, and he hurried down the sidewalk, talking into this phone. “No, I need more time. It’s not signed yet. No, I’ll get it. I will.”

  Walt looked right at him, and Harrison caught his breath. But Walt didn’t even miss a step as he hurried on past him.

  He let out a long stream of air and turned to watch his cousin disappear down the street and head into city hall. Had Walt been talking about getting his mother’s signature on the sale?

  He chewed his bottom lip and turned around to get back in the car. If Walt was in town, he was going to take that opportunity to poke around the family property. He had every right to. His mother owned half the rights to it. With one last longing look at the bookstore and its promised cup of coffee, he climbed back into his car.

  He pulled away from the curb and headed back to Lone Elk Lake. He drove past the cabin and pulled off in a clearing farther down the road where his car wouldn’t be seen if Walt returned. He took an overgrown path through the woods. One he was surprised still existed. It had been the path from the cabin to an outcropping of rocks, farther down the lake’s edge. Away from any direct sight of the cabin. Those rocks were where he and Walt and some of the boys from town had hung out for hours on end during the summer months. Well, he’d hung out with them when Walt invited him. Which wasn’t very often.

  He pushed through the overgrowth and slowed when he came to the clearing around the cabin. Memories crashed around him, and he just stood and stared at it. It looked exactly the same with its eclectic additions that somehow worked to make it look like a cohesive, sprawling cabin. The old barn at the edge of the property was badly in need of a coat of paint. He remembered spending one summer painting that barn alongside his grandfather. Walt was supposed to help them but rarely showed up, which had been fine with Harrison. He’d loved that time he’d spent one on one with his grandfather, talking about life, the future, the family’s history.

  He looked left and right, then stepped into the clearing, annoyed he felt guilty for walking on property he had every right to be on. Granted, Walt lived here now, rent-free it appeared in his research. And the family trust paid for the upkeep. Nice deal—for Walt.

  He continued across the drive and went around to the lake side of the cabin and stopped abruptly.

  There, standing on her tiptoes and peeking in the window, was Linda Seabridge.

  “Hey.” He hurried forward.

  Her eyes flew open wide, and she stepped away from the window. “I—”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m just… I was on a walk… I saw this darling cabin.”

  “And decided to just come peek in the window of someone’s home?”

  She looked around guiltily. “I shouldn’t have poked around, though.” Then her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”

  Ah, the best defense was offense. But he didn’t r
eally know what to say to her without explaining who he was. “I was out walking around the lake and saw you peering in the windows.” Almost the truth. Kind of.

  She stepped away from the cabin. “I called out to see if anyone was home…”

  “Really?” He doubted that.

  “I’m interested in the property.” She squared her shoulders.

  “Somehow I doubt that’s the real story.”

  “I don’t owe you an explanation.”

  “Well, you could probably explain it to the sheriff…” He took a step closer, strangely protective of this cabin he hadn’t set eyes on in what seemed like a million years.

  “No, I’ll leave. I didn’t mean to bother anyone. I’m sorry.”

  He stared at her, unsure what to do. He should call the sheriff, but then he’d have to explain what he was doing here.

  “I’ll just continue on my walk… I didn’t mean any harm.”

  He just nodded, and she turned and hurried away, back in the direction of the trail to the lodge. Now, on top of the strange feeling that he should know her, he was suspicious about why she was poking around the cabin.

  He watched until he could no longer see her… and she could no longer see him. He climbed the deck stretching across the lakeside of the cabin and looked out at the familiar view. He ran his hand along the weathered knotty pine railing, connecting with the cabin and his past. The past came back and slammed over him. He had to clutch the rail to keep from tumbling. He took a deep breath, drawing in the present and exhaling the past.

  He turned and crossed the wide plank flooring. Slowly he reached out and put his hand on the doorknob… but couldn’t make himself actually twist the worn knob and open the door.

  He reminded himself that he had every right to enter the cabin, but it still felt wrong since Walt actually lived here.

  Dropping his hand, he turned back to look at the view again, lost in memories of the place, both good ones and… terrible ones.

  Chapter 9

  Annie and Nora sat on a wide wooden swing on the porch of the main building at the lodge overlooking the lake. “I heard gossip in town that Walt just needs a signature and his sale of the land will go through. Some kind of hold up with some other family member signing the sale paper.” Annie sighed. “It seems like no matter what we do, we’re not going to be able to block this.”

  “There has to be a way. There has to.” Nora couldn’t imagine that the peace stretching out before her could explode in jet skis and a view of towering condos across the lake.

  “The petition we started for the council to intervene and force the zoning committee to reconsider and hold community discussion on the issue is gaining signatures.”

  “But probably not enough, right?”

  “Probably not.” A sad look crossed her friend’s face. “Do you think it’s really going to hurt your business?”

  Nora stared out at the lake. “Probably. I think our regulars will drop off, and I’ll really miss that. We’ve had some of the same families coming here for over twenty years. I guess we’ll get a new, younger crowd. And we do have the chalet now. That will keep us busy with weddings and meeting groups.”

  But it just won’t be the same place. Sadness crept over her. She’d dealt with other difficult blows in life and weathered them. She’d weather this one, too. She just… well, she just didn’t want to. She wanted things to stay the same. Her kids were happily married. Her grandkids were healthy. The lodge was finally turning a profit so they didn’t have to struggle so much year by year.

  She knew she should count her blessings, not focus on this one change. This one major change.

  She turned at the sound of someone walking across the wooden planks of the porch.

  “Good afternoon.” Harrison stood in front of them wearing much more appropriate clothing than his usual attire and looking at her with those crystal clear eyes of his. She shifted on the swing and it started moving.

  “Hello, Harrison.” Annie smiled at him.

  “Uh, hi,” Nora said oh so eloquently.

  “You look like a real Coloradoan with those clothes. You look much more comfortable. We’re not very fancy dressers here in Sweet River Falls.” Annie steadied the swing with her foot.

  Nora noticed he looked troubled, not that she knew what could possibly trouble a person on vacation in this beautiful town. Maybe he was avoiding something at home. Running away from something. Her imagination ran wild again for a moment, still thinking he’d given her a half-truth about why he was here in town, but she reined it back in. “Did you get them from Chuck at Alpine Outfitters?”

  His eyes clouded momentarily, but then he shrugged. “I was out driving around, just exploring the area, and found a place in Mountain Grove.”

  Well, no matter where he’d found the clothes, they looked good on him. The jeans covered his long legs, and the flannel shirt stretched across his broad chest. Not that she was looking at his chest or his legs or his eyes…

  Annie glanced at her, then stared at her closely and suppressed a grin. Nora glared at her. Annie shook her head, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth, and turned back to Harrison. “So, are you enjoying your stay in the area?”

  “I am.”

  “I still owe you a cup of coffee,” Annie offered.

  “You mean for that one he dumped all over me?” Nora almost gasped, mortified she’d just blurted that out.

  But she was reassured by the easy smile that flashed across his features. “Yes, that one. But if I hadn’t run into you—literally—we might never have gotten to know each other.”

  Annie looked from Nora to Harrison and back to Nora. “I… should go. Got to get back to the shop.”

  “Don’t leave on my account. I’m headed back to my cabin to get some work done.” He nodded to them both, turned, and disappeared down the trail toward his cabin.

  Anne shifted in the seat and stared at her. “So… what’s up with that?”

  “With what?” She still peered toward where Harrison had disappeared.

  “You. Him.” Annie didn’t even try to hide her grin now. “I haven’t seen you this flustered in… well, in a lot of years.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nora lied.

  Annie shook her head and stood. “Right. Just keep telling yourself that.” With a quick wave, she disappeared too, a grin still spread across her face, leaving Nora alone and strangely out of sorts.

  There was nothing between her and Harrison. He was just a guest at the lodge. Nothing more.

  She scowled. She might as well try to believe that lie because she wasn’t sure she was ready for anything more than that…

  Nora looked around the dining hall that night, definitely not watching for Harrison. It was a busy Friday night, and most of the tables were full. As soon as they got one group finished and the table cleared off, another group sat down.

  She didn’t see Linda Seabridge either. She’d finally looked the woman’s last name up in the computer since she couldn’t keep thinking of her as Linda-from-Baltimore.

  No Linda. No Harrison. For a brief moment she wondered if they’d gone out together somewhere. She’d practically thrust them together last night. Maybe they’d hit it off. Maybe they’d gone out on a date.

  Well, that was okay. They were free to date. It didn’t matter to her one way or the other.

  She shoved her imagination away and turned to greet another group of new customers. As she led them over to a table and handed them menus, she noticed Linda standing in the doorway.

  Alone.

  That answered that question.

  She walked over and greeted her, tamping down the feeling of delight at seeing Linda here… alone. “Hi, just one?” Just to confirm…

  “Yes, just one.” Linda followed her to a table in the corner. “Looks like you’re busy again tonight.”

  “We are. The lodge is full of people here for a wedding this weekend. The wedding party is having a small rehe
arsal dinner at the chalet, but a lot of their guests came for the weekend.” She didn’t know why she was explaining all this to Linda. “I’ll send your server over.”

  She headed across the room to find the waitress and spied Harrison standing in the doorway of the dining room, looking across the crowded tables. Her heart sped up, which annoyed her, so she ignored it. She calmly, ever so calmly, walked up to him. “Hello, again.”

  He gave her a warm smile. That wasn’t helping her determinedly calm state of mind. “Hi.”

  “I just sat Linda Seabridge. I could see if she’d mind you joining her.” Now why had she offered that?

  A brief frown crossed his face. “No, I… ah… I think I’d prefer to dine alone tonight.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I have a table right by the windows if you’d like that.”

  “I’d love that. I do enjoy looking out at the view.”

  She was acutely aware of him following her across the room, just steps behind her. She paused when a server crossed in front of them, and Harrison gently bumped into her.

  “Oops, sorry.”

  “No problem.” She choked the words out and led him to a table, then reluctantly went back to work.

  Harrison lingered over his meal, not that she noticed. She dropped by his table after his dinner was cleared away.

  “Do you want another glass of wine?”

  “If I say yes, would you join me?”

  She looked around the room. They were still busy tonight. “I’d like to, but I really need to keep working.”

  “Maybe some other time, then.”

  Was that a look of disappointment on his face?

  She was imagining things.

  He got up from the table. “Another wonderful meal. I’m going to gain ten pounds if I keep eating like this.”

  He turned and walked out of the dining room, and she watched every single step he took. She turned as a waitress called her name.