Diving In

by Kristina Mathews

  “Yeah, but two million dollars is a lot of money.” Once again, Cody didn’t seem to realize what he had.

  “And he would have turned around and sold it for twice that.”

  “No shit?” Cody let out a low whistle.

  “Cool it, or I might just buy it from you myself.” Kyle was joking. Kind of.

  “You’ve got that kind of money?” Cody looked at him with skepticism, but also a small dose of respect—or maybe it was just envy.

  “Not in cash. I’d have to sell my condo and some stocks. But that’s not the point.” Kyle really wanted to end this conversation so he could go after Fisher. “The point is, I couldn’t do that to Fisher. I know how much this life means to her. Her job, her friends, her river family.”

  “You could always buy her her own company.” Cody tossed it out as a joke. But maybe…

  “You mean steal her away from you?”

  “Okay, yeah, that would suck.” Cody grinned and rubbed his short beard. “But there’s some property not too far from here. It’s been on the market forever. With your cash and her expertise, you could make it work.”

  “Wouldn’t we be competing with you?” The idea was starting to grow on him.

  “Look, it’s not as big as our place, about half the size, so you wouldn’t be able to do as much with the resort. But you could set up a nice little rafting operation.” Cody’s smile widened. “Yeah, there’d be some competition, and you’d be taking our best guide. But it would take you a year to get it up and running.”

  “You think?”

  “But if you think Fisher is worth it, I’d be willing to lose some business if it meant she was taken care of.” Cody must really care about her.

  “Of course she’s worth it.” Kyle’s respect for his brother began to grow. “But I still need to get her to forgive me.”

  “Why don’t you put a shirt on and some shoes.” Cody gave him a brotherly pat on the back. “We’ll go take a look at the property. Maybe something will come to you while we walk the acreage.”

  * * * *

  Fisher got in her Jeep and drove. She didn’t care where she was going. She just needed to get away. But she didn’t have anything other than her keys and some lip gloss in her purse. No cash. No debit card. She didn’t even have shoes on.

  Still, she couldn’t just turn around. Not when she needed a friend. A shoulder to cry on. But since she’d lost her best friend a year ago, she hoped her next best friend would have time for her.

  Fisher found herself turning up the highway toward Hidden Creek. Lily had a cabin on the banks of the small tributary that eventually connected with the American. Carson had moved in with her shortly before their wedding. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he’d just passed her on his way into town.

  At least she wouldn’t have to worry about disturbing their happy little family. Hopefully the baby would be napping or something.

  Lily must have heard her pull up, or else she was already on the deck, because she met her at the top of the steps leading to the front door.

  “Hey, Fisher. I’m surprised to see you this morning. I thought you’d be enjoying your day off with Kyle.” Lily had a big smile on her face and a steaming mug of coffee or tea in her hand. “Wasn’t that a beautiful wedding?”

  Fisher tried to make the expected small talk, but the lump in her throat rose as big as the full moon.

  Lily must have noticed the look on her face because she set her cup down and rushed down the steps to fold Fisher into a hug.

  “What happened? I thought you two were…” Lily stepped back, with a look of sadness on her face.

  “Yeah, me too. But I guess I was wrong.” The words barely escaped her quivering lips.

  “Come in. Carson made coffee, and I’ve got some muffins still warm from the oven.”

  Suddenly, Fisher’s stomach grumbled. She hadn’t eaten yet and she was so overdue for a strong cup of coffee.

  “Thanks.” She managed a pathetic squeak.

  “Anytime.” Lily placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’ve been there for me. Remember when Carson and Cody had their big fight? And Cody left, not telling anyone where he was?”

  “How could I forget?” She still had nightmares about the blood from the fight. Well, not recently, but it had been horrible.

  “And Carson was so torn up he wouldn’t even look at me, let alone…” Lily looked away, probably thinking about how she’d already conceived little Brandon. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through those days without you.”

  “Carson would have come around; he’s always been the most reasonable of all the Swift brothers.”

  “Oh, he has his moments.” Lily led Fisher into her warm and sunny kitchen. The smell of coffee nearly brought Fisher to her knees.

  “Coffee smells good.” Fisher tried to be gracious and appreciate her friend’s hospitality.

  “Yeah, I let myself have a half a cup after I nurse Brandon. But he’s sleeping in this morning. I guess the wedding was a big night for him, too.”

  “And I’m intruding on your quiet time.” Fisher felt like she had nowhere to turn.

  “No. Not at all. Carson just left to make sure everything got cleaned up from the party. He didn’t want to leave it all on you guys. He really wanted you to have the day off.”

  “I guess you were expecting to have a day off, too. But I’m going to ask you a favor. Could you cut one final check?” Her voice cracked. She couldn’t say it.

  “Oh honey.” Lily evidently knew who she was referring to without having to say it. She wrapped her arms around her and let her cry on her shoulder. “You need a muffin. And some chocolate. Then you can tell me what happened.”

  After two cups of coffee, three muffins, and dozens of tears, Fisher had told Lily everything, from Kyle knowing he was the half brother of Carson and Cody to his boss’s arrival and the deal he’d come up here to make.

  Lily had been great. She just listened, without judging, without defending Kyle or making Fisher feel like even more of a fool than she was.

  The phone rang. Lily looked at it as if it was an intrusion.

  “Go ahead. I’m fine.” Fisher picked at the crumbs on her plate.

  Lily grabbed the phone. “Hello. Yes. Uh-huh. Sure.”

  She gave Fisher a small shrug and a smile before stepping out onto the deck.

  All that coffee went right through her, so Fisher took the opportunity to hit the ladies’ room. She was splashing cool water on her face when she heard Brandon’s cries from his room.

  After poking her head into the kitchen, she noticed that Lily was still outside on the phone. Maybe she hadn’t heard the baby. Fisher debated going out to interrupt her friend’s phone call or checking on him herself.

  Through the glass doors, she could see that Lily was deep in conversation with someone. Probably her husband. She didn’t want to disturb the lovebirds, so Fisher decided to check on Brandon. Just to make sure he wasn’t in distress.

  Carefully, she pushed the door to his nursery open. Brandon was lying in his crib, wailing. He stopped crying when he saw her, reaching his chubby little fists into the air. His sobs lessened with the hope that she’d rescue him from his misery.

  With her heart hammering in her chest, she approached the crib. She could do this. She could pick him up and take him to his mother. Her hands shook as she reached down for the baby.

  His face broke into a wide-open grin. His blue eyes sparkled with sheer joy as she lifted him from the mattress. He was heavier than she’d anticipated, and soaking wet. She held him out away from her, praying he didn’t start to squirm and make her lose her grip. He just giggled, kicking his little feet and laughing as if it was some kind of game to be held at arm’s length, as if he was a bomb that would go off if she made any sudden movements.

  Somehow, Fisher manage
d to get him to the changing table. He continued to smile at her, shoving a fist into his drooling mouth. He lifted his legs in anticipation of having his soggy diaper mercifully removed.

  She put her left hand on his chest, hoping to steady him as she unzipped the cotton pajama thing he wore. She tried to tug the footed part off his squirming legs, but the material didn’t quite stretch enough. So she wrestled one arm out and then the other. She shoved the material down his back. Then she was able to get the feet off and undo the flaps on the diaper. No wonder the kid was so heavy. The diaper must have weighed five pounds.

  The diaper pail at the end of the changing table looked like some kind of space capsule. She didn’t have the first clue as to how to open it. So she just wadded the diaper up and pushed it as far from Brandon’s kicking feet as possible.

  The clean diapers were in a cloth-lined basket on a shelf just below the changing pad. She grabbed one and was thankful for the Mickey Mouse designs that helped her determine the front of the diaper from the back.

  After what felt like an eternity, she managed to get the diaper on, the flaps fastened, and she was actually starting to feel like she’d pulled this off. But then she wondered if she was supposed to put baby powder down there. Or diaper cream. Should she have used the baby wipes to clean him up first?

  Well, she’d just have to confess her incompetence when Lily came inside. Until then, she thought about trying to put clean clothes on him but then thought better of it. So she grabbed one of those little flannel blankets and wrapped it around him like a beach towel and then she carried him into the kitchen.

  Maybe she wasn’t completely hopeless when it came to babies. He wasn’t crying anymore. And she’d managed to make it to the kitchen without dropping him. Kyle would be proud of her.

  Kyle.

  A tear slipped down her cheek and Brandon reached up with his little baby hand as if he was trying to comfort her.

  Then he shoved his fist down the top of her dress.

  “Brandon. No. You do not put your hands on a lady without her permission.” Lily stepped into the kitchen in time to witness her son grasping at Fisher’s chest.

  “He’s just a baby. He doesn’t know any better.” Fisher laughed and handed him off to his mother.

  “Yes, but if he hears it enough as a baby, when he is old enough to know better, he’ll have the idea ingrained in his subconscious.” Lily looked at the blanket wrapped around her son and smiled.

  “Now, Brandon, would you like your breakfast?” She opened her blouse and began to nurse him.

  “He probably needs a bath.” Fisher glanced away to give them some privacy. “He woke up soaking wet so I changed him as best as I could, but I really have no experience with babies.”

  “It’s fine.” Lily shifted in her chair, settling in for a long nursing session. “I’ll give him a bath after he eats. He doesn’t usually sleep this late.”

  “I didn’t want to disturb your phone conversation. I think it’s great that you and Carson have so much to talk about even after he just left you.” Fisher wondered if her friend could hear the longing in her voice.

  “It wasn’t Carson on the phone. It was Cody.”

  “Cody?” Why would Cody call here?

  “Yeah, he told me you would probably ask me to cut a final check for Kyle. And he also told me not to write it.”

  “Then I guess you could make my final check out, because I can’t work with a man who would betray his own brothers.”

  “But he didn’t,” Lily calmly pointed out.

  “He would have.” How could she love a man like that?

  “But he didn’t,” Lily repeated.

  “Only because I warned Cody.”

  “No. Cody told me everything that happened after you left. About how Kyle told his old boss to leave and Cody backed him up by threatening to call the sheriff.”

  “Wait. Cody had Kyle’s back?”

  “Yeah. He does.”

  “But Kyle was going to cheat him out of his business.” All she’d wanted was for the two of them to become friends. Brothers. No. That wasn’t all she’d wanted. She wanted to be able to trust Kyle. To love him with her whole heart.

  “For two million dollars.” Lily calmly switched the baby to her other breast.

  “No way.” Fisher stood up. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Two million dollars was a lot of money. Was she in charge of a multimillion-dollar company? She felt dizzy. “I think I should go home now.” Fisher gathered the empty coffee cup and plate and carried them to the sink.

  “Just leave them on the counter,” Lily said. “I’ll give Brandon his bath before I clean up. Unless you want to stay and help.”

  “No. Thank you.” Fisher was confused. She needed to think. “And thank you for the coffee and muffins. They were delicious.”

  “Anytime.” Lily offered a warm smile. “And, Fisher, I hope you can work things out with Kyle. I really do.”

  “Thanks.” Fisher walked slowly to her Jeep. She was surprised by how much money Kyle was going to offer for Swift River Adventures. So maybe he wasn’t completely out to ruin his brothers. But she realized there was too much she didn’t know about the man.

  And she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to find out.

  Chapter 20

  As Fisher drove home, instead of things becoming clearer, she became more and more confused. She had so many questions she couldn’t answer.

  Who was Kyle Swift?

  What did they have together?

  Was it just a summer fling that had run its course?

  Could it have been more?

  The miles whirred by, her thoughts blurring like the trees on the side of the road. Not just about Kyle, but also about baby Brandon. He was awfully sweet. And trusting.

  She blinked back more tears, shaking her head at the silliness of her overwrought emotions.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something in the ditch. She slowed down, wondering if on top of everything else, she was imagining things. But no, she’d definitely seen something. A nagging feeling caused her to turn around and slowly drive back to where there were indeed tire tracks in the grass. No skid marks, just bent grass leading to an old car sitting in a ditch.

  Fisher parked and carefully got out of the Jeep, wishing she had at least a pair of flip-flops for the trek down the gravel- and dirt-lined ditch.

  A man was slumped over in the driver’s seat, but she didn’t see any damage on the windshield. The small scratches in the driver’s side door were slightly rusted, as if they had been there awhile.

  The man’s head rolled to the side and she noticed the slight rise and fall of his chest. He was alive. Her training kicked in and she carefully tried the door, which was, fortunately, unlocked.

  The hinge creaked as she opened it and the man jerked awake.

  “Who? Who are you?” He looked disoriented, but at least he was conscious.

  “I’m Fisher.” She kept her voice as calm as possible. “It appears you’ve been in an accident. Do you remember what happened?”

  “I was driving back home. I drove all night but my sons, they… Well, can you blame them?”

  “Do you know your name?” she asked hopefully.

  “Yes. Joe. Joe Swift.” He looked up at her with weary eyes. Eyes every bit as blue as his sons’ and his grandson’s. “I must have fallen asleep.”

  He started to get out of the car and Fisher extended a hand.

  “How is your head? Did you hit the windshield or the steering wheel?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s just that I am tired.” He fell back against the car. “It’s a long drive from LA. Especially when…”

  He raked a hand through his thinning hair and let out a weary breath.

  “I forgot how pretty it is here.” His voice was thick with
emotion. Sorrow. Regret. Pain. “I never should have left. I shouldn’t have come back.”

  The man was hurting, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the accident or thirty years of grief.

  “Well, we’re going to need some help getting your car unstuck.” Fisher could do it herself if she wasn’t worried about him wandering off. And if she wasn’t barefoot and in a dress. “And maybe we should get you to the emergency room and have you checked out.”

  “No need for that. I’m fine. I just fell asleep, that’s all.” He did sound more coherent. And a little bit agitated. “Besides, I don’t have any health insurance. I still got a few more years before I can get Medicare.”

  He seemed much older than sixty-five, but life hadn’t been kind to him.

  “I don’t trust most doctors anyway.” No, life had definitely not been kind to him. “Nothing a strong cup of coffee can’t cure.”

  “I know just the place, then.” Fisher looped her arm in his and led him carefully back to her Jeep.

  Once he was buckled in, she put the Jeep in gear, using her four-wheel drive to keep from spinning out in the loose gravel. She drove carefully back to the resort. If she’d had her cell phone she would have called Tyler or Ross or whoever was around to come get Mr. Swift’s car unstuck. Instead, she’d just have to wait until she got back to the house.

  The man dozed on the short drive back home, and she made a note to keep a close eye on him. If he showed any signs of a head injury, she would take him to the hospital and worry about the cost later. She’d put out a tip jar at the store if necessary.

  When she pulled into the parking lot, she noticed Cody’s truck was missing. Carson’s too. But he could have been returning tables to the party rental store.

  She led Mr. Swift into the kitchen of the guides’ house and started a fresh pot of coffee. “Are you hungry? We have plenty of food here. I could scramble some eggs and make some toast.”

  “You sure you won’t get in trouble with your boss?” He must have noticed where she’d brought him.

  “I am the boss. At least, when the owners aren’t around. Besides, this is my kitchen. I just let the others use it.” She gave him a wink and was rewarded with a tentative grin.