Lakeside

by Davis, Mary

  His expression changed at her complimentary description of him. Oops! She could feel the heat spread across her face like a schoolgirl’s. She popped the menu back up in front of her.

  ❧

  Garth stared at the back of her menu. He smiled at the thought of her calling him handsome. She hadn’t meant to, but she did. He was making progress. After she had run away yesterday, he wasn’t sure he hadn’t scared her off completely.

  He would take whatever small strides he could get. This one would carry him through the week.

  ❧

  Garth arrived at his first class early on Monday morning as usual. He liked to be available to his students if they had any questions. Julie, Amanda, Ami, and Paige were the first to arrive. They sat down giggling and whispering, throwing glances his way. He ignored them and pretended to be busy.

  As more students filed into the room, Amanda, a junior and the leader of her little clique, disengaged herself from the group and sauntered up to his desk. She was tall, blond, and pretty enough to be a model. And she knew it, too. She sat on the corner of his desk and stretched her long legs in front of him. Garth rolled his chair back around to the other side of the desk and stood.

  “Mr. Kessel, I just don’t get chapter 1. I think I may need some special tutoring.”

  He had never had a student be as overt and forward as Amanda was right now. Then again he’d never had a student like Amanda before, bold and brash.

  “I don’t think it will take much for me to get it.” She sighed and tilted her head.

  “Julie seems to understand the material. I recommend you study with her.”

  “But I was hoping you’d help me,” she said in a coy baby-doll voice.

  “I suggest a study group with Julie.” Garth stepped away from his desk. “Class is about to start.”

  Garth stood behind the demonstration station and looked out at the sea of faces. All the seats were full. Three quarters of his class was made up of females, and half of them were looking up at him with wistful smiles and dreamy eyes. Doris and Lorelei were right. His cheeks warmed.

  He couldn’t be blushing. Quickly he looked down at the textbook in front of him and absently flipped pages. The bell rang to begin the class, startling him.

  How would he ever lecture to this class today? Not on today’s topic—cross-pollination!

  “Take out a piece of paper—pop quiz.”

  Moans and groans echoed around the room. By the time the quiz was over, Garth had pulled himself together enough to start his lecture, but the end of class couldn’t come too soon.

  When the last student left, he dropped his head down on the desk. This was going to be a very, very long day, not to mention the whole week.

  Five

  “Morning,” Gretchen said through a yawn.

  Garth looked up from the note he was writing as she shook the yawn free. His baby sister padded into the kitchen in her yellow robe and pink fuzzy bunny slippers. The ears flopped back and forth as she shuffled to the cupboard for a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. She had arrived unexpectedly in the wee hours of the morning.

  “I didn’t expect you to be up and awake until at least noon.”

  “Up, yes. Awake, no.” She cupped the mug in both hands as though she held a precious stone and sat at the table next to him.

  “Sugar?” He scooted the bowl in her direction.

  “No, thank you.” Another yawn. “I need a straight jolt of caffeine.” She sipped the hot brew and grimaced then added four teaspoons of sugar.

  Should he tell her the coffee was decaf?

  “Wipe that grin off your face. It’s too early.”

  He hadn’t realized he was smiling but made an effort to sober his expression.

  “That’s better.” She took another sip then set her mug down. “What are you writing? Killer test questions? I think teachers work far too hard trying to come up with obscure questions to torment their poor students. Go easy on yourself. You don’t have to work so hard.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Contrary to popular teacher belief, your students won’t hate you for being a little lenient on them.”

  It was obvious whose side she was on, being a college student. “Are you quite through?” he said.

  “Mm–hm.” She took another gulp.

  He handed the paper over to her. “It’s for you.”

  “You’re giving me a test?” She crinkled up her nose and tried to focus on the words. “This could lose you your favorite-brother status.”

  As if he, Blake, or Ryan lost any sleep over who was her current favorite. He guessed they were all her favorite. “The hardest question is, are you awake enough to read it?”

  “I can read it.” She furrowed her eyebrows and pointed to the first word. “There. That says ‘Happy.’ ” She turned her finger on herself. “That’s me.”

  “It seems to be more of a contradiction this morning.”

  She gave him a forced smile to prove her worth of the pet name. She took another drink of her coffee and turned to the note. “You’re going to Kalkaska! I’d love to go. Just let me change my clothes and run a brush through my hair.” She jumped up from the table.

  Garth caught the chair before it fell over. “Wouldn’t you rather go back to bed and sleep some more?”

  “With all that caffeine in me? I couldn’t sleep now even if I wanted to.”

  Should he shatter her delusion? Not today. It did his heart good to see his sister perked up. They could talk later about her late-night arrival.

  She broke all records and emerged in less than ten minutes dressed in jeans and a white embroidered blouse with her long blond hair drawn up in a high ponytail. Even though she had put on makeup, he could see dark shadows under her eyes.

  As expected, she commented when he headed in the opposite direction from Kalkaska.

  “The other way’s shorter.”

  “I promised a friend a ride into town.”

  She leaned her head against the window and yawned. “Oh.”

  Oh? That was it? She must be tired to utter so little. But she came alive when he turned down the Davenports’ drive.

  “Ah!” She sat up straighter with a slow grin. “Isn’t Lorelei still at the Davenports’?”

  Garth rolled his eyes.

  “It’ll be good to see her again. She seemed nice. How is she doing?”

  She asked so innocently, but Garth knew she was fishing to see if anything was happening between him and the beautiful redhead. “Fine. I guess.” He tried to sound casual, almost disinterested.

  “It must be lonely up here for her all by herself.”

  He put the vehicle in park and turned to her. “Gretchen—” She jumped out before he could tell her not to be pushy. He didn’t want Lorelei to be put off.

  “I’ll go get her.”

  Garth cut the engine and followed in her wake.

  “Look, Bash. Our shirts match.” Gretchen stood next to Lorelei. Her blouse was also white with embroidery, but instead of jeans she wore khaki-colored pants. She looked nice. A ray of sunshine on this cloudy day.

  “If you two ladies are ready, your coach awaits.” Garth made a sweeping gesture toward his truck.

  Gretchen abdicated the front seat to Lorelei. Garth held the doors for both ladies, and then they were off. First he stopped to get a muffin and a good strong cup of coffee for his sister, who had yawned in his rearview mirror the whole way.

  “I can’t believe you fed me decaf coffee and didn’t tell me.” Gretchen drained her remaining caffeine boost from the cardboard cup.

  “You drank the last of the regular coffee when you were here two weeks ago.” He pulled beside a parked car, preparing to parallel park.

  “And you didn’t buy more!”

  “I was going to. I wasn’t exactly expecting you to sneak in last night unannounced.” He put his arm over the back of the seat and maneuvered between the other two cars, resisting the urge to touch Lorelei’s shoulder or her hair. Instead he ga
ve Gretchen’s cheek a playful squeeze before bringing his arm back to the front. “I think you’ll live.” He glanced at Lorelei, who was trying to contain a smile.

  Gretchen leaned forward. “Lorelei, don’t ever accept a cup of coffee from this guy unless you first find out whether it’s leaded or unleaded.”

  “Okay,” Lorelei said carefully.

  “Don’t tell me you like decaf, too?” Gretchen said.

  Lori shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t like coffee.”

  “You’re outnumbered, Happy.” Garth laughed and climbed out, looking for traffic first.

  ❧

  They went to the pharmacy where Lori needed to have her prescriptions filled. The pharmacist was a tall, heavyset man with a strip of dark hair running from one ear around the back of his head to the other, and the top shined as much as the highly polished floor under her feet. After a few minutes of friendly catch-up chatter, Garth introduced her.

  She was grateful when Garth and Gretchen gave her some privacy by wandering through the store. She didn’t like to make a big issue out of her aches and pains and would like nothing better than to forget about them if she could.

  The pharmacist pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his shirt pocket and settled them on the end of his nose. He studied each of the prescription bottles. “Where are these from?” He peered at her over the top of his glasses. Just like a bug under a microscope.

  “Florida.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You’re a long way from home.”

  “It’s not home anymore.” Her throat tightened with the familiar feeling of melancholy.

  “I’ll have to call the prescribing physician on these. Since it’s Saturday he may be difficult to reach.”

  Lori pulled a letter from her purse. “Dr. Torren gave me this letter before I left Florida. He said it would make it easier to get my prescriptions filled. I don’t need them yet. I can pick them up later in the week.” She wished she didn’t need them at all, but she did and only took them when absolutely necessary.

  “This letter will help,” he said after studying it for a minute. “Let’s say Wednesday to be safe.”

  Lori searched the drugstore for her two companions and found them by the greeting cards. Gretchen appeared to be reading one out loud to Garth. His smile broadened, but he looked confused. Gretchen was practically doubled over from laughing so hard. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “What’s so funny?” Lori asked Garth, because Gretchen was in no condition to talk.

  Garth shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I think the caffeine has gone to her head.”

  Gretchen held out the card to Lori. She took it from her because she couldn’t focus on the jiggling object. On the front was a pathetic-looking man with a bouquet of roses behind his back ringing a doorbell. Inside it read, “I’m sorry.”

  Lori looked up at Garth. She didn’t get the joke.

  Garth shook his head and put the card back on the rack.

  “Oh, I want to buy it.” Gretchen plucked the card from its slot. “Don’t mind me. It’s just my warped sense of humor.”

  “That’s not all that’s warped,” Garth said as his sister headed for the cash register.

  “I heard that,” she called back over her shoulder.

  It would be an entertaining day spending time with this brother-sister team.

  Once back out at Garth’s vehicle, Gretchen rubbed her hands together. “Where to next?”

  “I’m finished in town.” Garth turned to Lori. “Is there any-place else you need to go?”

  “No.” She looked at him, curious. Other than buying coffee for Gretchen, he hadn’t done anything in town.

  Garth held her with his intense blue gaze. “Who’s up for lunch? My treat.”

  “Can we eat at the Dunes? I haven’t been there in ages,” Gretchen said.

  “Sounds great. Is that all right with you?” Garth waited for her reply.

  Her stomach did a little happy, skippy thing. “I guess. What are the Dunes?”

  “You’ve never been to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes?” Gretchen leaned forward over the seat. “Oh, Bash, we have to take her.”

  She had called him Bash earlier. What was behind the nickname?

  Less than an hour later, when they arrived at the Dunes, Lori was in awe at the mountain of sand stretched out before her. It was indeed a huge sand dune. “How did all this sand get here?”

  “God,” Gretchen said simply and headed for the snack bar and another cup of coffee.

  Before Lori knew it, the three of them were trudging up the sandy slope. The dune seemed to stretch on forever, and her weary legs ached with each labored step; but the destination was well worth the pain. It was magnificent, all this sand, dwarfed by the gleaming waters of majestic Lake Michigan. A touch of the Almighty. She made some mental notes of the inspiring sites she would write down later.

  After an hour of wandering around, Gretchen challenged them to a race down the hill.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Garth said, glancing at Lori.

  Did he suspect something about her hip?

  “Are you afraid a couple of girls can beat you?” Gretchen said.

  “No. I—”

  “Then prepare to be beaten, bro.” She crouched to a starting position as did Lori.

  Lori hadn’t raced since before the acci—in a very long time. This would be fun, and she would ignore her hip if it acted up.

  “On your mark—get set—go,” Gretchen said in a single breath. She and Lori sprang forward before Garth was ready.

  “You asked for it,” came Garth’s deep voice behind them.

  It didn’t take long before Garth passed them and was halfway down the hill. Gretchen also rapidly outdistanced her, but that didn’t put a damper on her fun. At the bottom they found a bench to empty their shoes of sand while they caught their breath.

  Later, when Gretchen suggested pizza and a video, Lori leaped at the idea. She was having too much fun for this day to end.

  When Garth went in for the pizza, Lori opted to stay in his vehicle, as did Gretchen. Gretchen leaned forward, resting her arms on the back of the seat. “So are you staying at the lake long?”

  She hadn’t a clue what she was doing. Healing for now, but what direction for the future? “For a few weeks.”

  “Great. You’ll have to go to Mackinac Island since you’ll be here for a while”

  “What’s on Mackinac Island?”

  “It’s a really cool place. No cars are allowed; everything’s horse and buggy or bicycles. There are a lot of cute little shops and tons of fudge. Have you seen the movie Somewhere in Time? It was filmed on the island.”

  She shook her head. A place with no cars? That sounded like her kind of place. “It sounds quaint. Where is it?”

  “It’s a couple of hours north from here between the upper and lower peninsulas.”

  Lori didn’t know enough about Michigan to know where the two peninsulas were. “How do I get there?”

  Gretchen shook her head. “I’m the last person on earth you want to ask for directions—unless you’re trying to get lost—then I’m your girl. Are you doing anything next Saturday?”

  Lori gave herself a mental shake at the rapid change in subjects. “I have nothing planned.” She wanted to find out where this island sanctuary without cars was. “What did you say the island is called?” Maybe she could find it on a map. Garth opened the driver’s door with a flat pizza box in one hand.

  “Bash, is Mom’s copy of Somewhere in Time still at the cottage?”

  Lori reached over and took the piping-hot pizza from him so he could climb in easier.

  “Yes. You know she only watches it up here.”

  “Lori has never seen it or been to Mackinac Island.”

  Garth looked at Lori. She shrugged her shoulders in response. She hadn’t lived in Michigan long enough to see the sights.

  “Don’t they close the island at the end of Septemb
er?” Gretchen asked her brother.

  He pulled out into traffic, what little there was. “I’m not sure. Either that or October.”

  “To be safe let’s say September. Next Saturday you can take her there.”

  Garth opened his mouth to say something, but Gretchen went on. “She’s not busy. I already asked her.”

  So that’s why Gretchen was asking about next weekend. She was setting up a date between her and Garth. Her face warmed, and she looked away.

  “I know you didn’t make it up there this summer, so you haven’t had your fudge fix.”

  “Gretchen, I don’t—”

  “You don’t have plans next Saturday, do you?”

  “No, but—”

  “Great. Then you can pick her up early, let’s say six thirty; catch the first ferry, spend the day there, and get the last ferry back.”

  Garth rolled his eyes in resignation.

  “You did say you wanted to go, didn’t you?” Gretchen spoke to Lori this time.

  “Well. . .yes,” she said hesitantly. Mackinac Island sounded enchanting. No cars, horse-drawn carriages, quaint streets lined with dozens of little shops. It sounded like the next best thing to heaven. She did look forward to visiting it but felt awkward being pushed into it this way.

  “Then it’s settled. Garth will pick you up at six thirty next Saturday morning.” Gretchen folded her hands in her lap and sat back, pleased with herself.

  Lori glanced at Garth. He nodded his approval. “The leaves will be starting to turn. The island should be beautiful. And they do have the best fudge.” He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.

  ❧

  Garth’s cottage was considerably larger than the Davenports’, and she noticed a stair railing leading down. With a piece of pizza in her hand Gretchen took Lori on a tour of the place.

  The kitchen was large and open and shared space with the dining area that was occupied by a huge oak table pushed up against the wall. Next to the dining room was the living room with two couches, a rocking chair, a fireplace on the far wall, and the extra dining room chairs scattered around the room.