Eagle River

by Isabelle Kane

  “Yeah, you’re a big boy now.” Kyle looked somehow dismayed at the realization. “Come on. Let’s get going. I want to be back on the road before dark.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  A Chance Meeting

  ~ Kjersten ~

  A few months later, on a bright but still cool October afternoon, Kjersten sat reading a romance novel at a table in the window of a sub shop that was popular with the college set in Milwaukee. She didn’t glance up when the bell jingled because the door had opened.

  “You doing some heavy reading, I can see,” a familiar voice teased.

  Kjersten spun around to face Ben, and a blush crept up the pale column of her neck. “Ben!” She jumped to her feet, hugging him. “You know I’ve always loved romances. Especially cowboy ones.”

  Ben laughed. “Yeah. I remember you dragging Galen and me to all of those rodeos. Little britches, semi-pro, pro. It never mattered as long as you got to see your cowboys. You only quit going when you figured out that girls couldn’t participate in most of the events. Thinking back, you never did mention that you wanted to go to see the cowboys.”

  “I didn’t think that would have gone over well with either you or Galen.”

  “True.” Ben chuckled, taking a seat at Kjersten’s table. “Do you remember that rodeo in Medford when the calf’s neck was broken? You went nuts. I thought you were going to run down into the arena. We never went again.”

  “It seemed so cruel to rope the poor little guys around the neck, then

  flip them off their feet...” She shivered at the traumatic memory. “What have you been up to lately, Ben?”

  “Well, I’m a communications major now. I want to get into broadcasting.”

  “I think you’d be great at it.”

  “I’ve always loved sports, just never been very good at them. How about you? You still pre-vet?”

  Kjersten nodded. “I needed a break from Organic Chem.”

  “Hence the heavy reading,” Ben commented. “You’ll be a good vet. Galen always said that you had a way with animals.”

  “Thanks. Mom and Dad weren’t too pumped at first. They wanted me to go into business or pre-law. But I realized that I want to work with animals.”

  “Sounds like you really have things together.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess it takes some of us longer than others. Have you been home, lately, Ben?”

  “I go home at least one weekend every few months.”

  “Do you see anyone when you’re back?”

  “I’ve seen a couple people,” Ben equivocated.

  “Like whom? Come on, Ben. Just tell me.”

  “No way. You have to ask the question if you want the answer.”

  She grimaced. “Fine. How’s Galen?”

  Ben grinned. “He’s good. He likes Chicago and Illinois University. But that’s not really what you want to know, is it?”

  “Since I’ve obviously left myself wide open here, I might as well get this over with. Is he seeing anyone?”

  “Galen’s dated some, but I don’t think that he’s gotten serious with anyone. Could be he still has feelings for an old flame.”

  “Give me a break, Ben. You aren’t still trying to patch things up are you? Galen got over me a long time ago... You know, I did try to call him a few months ago. He wasn’t very friendly.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “He broke up with me, remember. I wish that I could take some things back, fix things, but everyone makes mistakes. He made some big ones, too.”

  “I was glad to hear that you broke up with that jerk Cam.”

  “He is a jerk. You’re right. Lesson learned. It’s good to see you,” Kjersten shook her head and smiled. “What’s up with you? You seeing anyone?”

  “Nope. I can’t find anyone who can keep up with a dynamo like me. Actually, I just don’t seem to have any luck. There aren’t that many girls who find a trumpet playing Communications Major all that sexy.”

  “I don’t believe you. I’ve missed you, Ben,” Kjersten said.

  “I’ve missed you, too, Kjersten.”

  While she sat chatting with Ben, Kjersten’s thoughts kept drifting to Galen. No matter how much time passed, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, even though their relationship was ancient history.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dreams of Days Past

  ~ Galen ~

  He heard the alarm go off and sought to ignore it.

  “You gotta get up, man,” Marvin Richardson shook his shoulder. “Let’s go eat.”

  Just two more minutes,” Galen pulled the pillow over his head, closed his eyes and slipped away into his memories...

  The engine of the snowmobile burned hot against his calf and its roar obliterated every other sound. The icy wind bit into him where it penetrated through his clothing, helmet, and even his balaclava. It tasted like snow fresh with a faint hint of diesel. Dimly through the heavy snow, sixteen-year-old Galen could make out Kyle on the snowmobile ahead of him. It was one of those truly amazing winter days when the snow was brilliant and white and the air tasted so fresh and cold that it burned one’s lungs.

  “Hold on,” Galen shouted back to Kjersten, who, seated on the back of the snowmobile, was gripping him tightly. He was aware of every inch of her body against his, of her heat. The feel of her was thrilling.

  “What?” Kjersten shouted back.

  He turned his head. “Hold on!”

  Galen felt her nod against his shoulder. He revved the engine. The snowmobile rocketed forward in response. He muscled the surging monster off the path, around Kyle on the Odgers’ old snowmobile and then back on. Galen waved as he passed his brother. Predictably, Kyle flipped him the bird.

  Kjersten laughed and he felt it pulsing against him and through him. Mr. Solheim’s snowmobile was top of the line, powerful and fast, much faster than Kyle’s, which had been assembled from the refuse of other wrecked machines. His cheeks burned with the combined effects of the wind chill, the speed, and the ten below zero temperature.

  Faster, he kept going faster. He waited for Kjersten to make some gesture of protest but she didn’t. Her arms gripped him ever more tightly and he could feel the softness of her breasts pressing into his back. He felt incredible and she was totally with him, egging him on. Lean into the turns. Give it gas. Don’t hold back. It was awesome. Galen felt awesome. They were practically flying, swooping through the winter wilderness.

  Suddenly and unexpectedly, the path took a sharp right turn. He had a moment of objective clarity when he recognized that he was going way too fast to take the corner smoothly. He saw the pine trees as he bore down on them, inexorably. He swung the snowmobile hard into the turn. He felt the roaring machine fly out from under him, then felt every bone in his body disintegrate on impact with the earth.

  He didn’t know if he’d been knocked out. Suddenly, he was staring up at the grayness of the sky peeking through the pine branches. He struggled to breathe under the crushing weight that was pressing down on his chest. Breathe, small breath, in and out. Don’t panic. Slowly, the weight lessened. Gradually, he became more aware of his surroundings; of the coldness of the snow against his neck and cheek. He began to move each limb carefully, to make sure nothing was broken. Limp. Sore as hell. But nowhere near dead and nothing broken. Kjersten! Where was Kjersten? Was she okay?

  “Kjersten?” His voice came out in a raspy whisper that he could barely hear himself. “Where are you?” He managed to sit up. He saw her body, tossed like some brightly colored, discarded rag doll against the white of the snow. She was not moving.

  Galen began to crawl. Every inch sent needles of pain shooting through his body. He tasted the coppery saltiness of his own blood. He probed the tear in the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

  “Kjersten?” He got right beside her, but she still hadn’t moved. Galen felt the panic, the fear pooling in his stomach. “Kjersten.” He was afraid to touch her, to move her. What if she was seriously hurt? �
��Kjersten?” Then, he realized that her chest was moving up and down. She was breathing. He felt an enormous surge of relief. He took her hand as her eyes fluttered opened. Her eyes moved wildly about. She began to suck and choke for air. Galen saw the panic, the tears in her eyes.

  “It’s okay. You had the wind knocked out of you. Breathe slowly in and out. It’ll pass.”

  She followed his coaching and slowly the fear diminished in her eyes. Gradually, her breathing calmed and slowed. He watched the tears streak their way slowly down her cheeks. He pulled his gloves off and brushed them gently away.

  “Galen?” Her voice was a shaking rattle, as she reached up and gripped his hand. Galen felt a sob forming in his own throat. He collapsed back down onto the snow beside her and embraced her carefully. She patted his shoulder. “I’m okay,” she whispered with a weak smile.

  “I could have killed you,” he choked on his own words. A world without her, in which he had hurt her gaped before him. “I could have killed you,” he repeated.

  She nodded. In a hoarse whisper, she muttered: “From now on, I’ll drive the snowmobile.”

  Despite the discomfort that encompassed his body, despite his awareness of the near tragedy, he felt himself begin to laugh. She, too, began to giggle. Then, they lay back in the snow, weakly laughing while cringing and holding their bruised ribs. They laughed until the adrenalin, fear and the excitement subsided. Finally, they settled down.

  “Where’s Kyle?” Kjersten asked.

  “He must have turned onto another trail. He should have come up on us by now.”

  “Well, I hope we don’t have to peel him off a tree on the way back... So much for your lightning fast reflexes,” Kjersten teased Galen.

  “Nah, his snowmobile probably broke down. You wouldn’t have been able to make that turn either. We were going way too fast.”

  “You were going way too fast,” Kjersten corrected him dryly. “I’ve never wiped out on a snowmobile. I should have listened to your brother’s warning. You are a terrible driver.”

  “I doubt anyone could have handled that turn.”

  “You sure couldn’t.”

  Galen noticed the small cut oozing blood on her cheek. Automatically, he reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. “Mom always puts these things in my pockets. Never made much sense to me. Until now.” He picked up some snow with the handkerchief, allowed it to melt in the heat of his hand, then pressed it so gently to her cheek.

  Kjersten’s eyes were riveted on him as he held the handkerchief to her cheek and stared back. He felt his breathing go shallow again. She leaned towards him. He saw her eyes close. Then, he felt the butterfly brush of her lips on his. Her lips began to move against his, slowly, delicately. Just as Galen began to savor the delicate sensation, Kjersten pulled back. He opened his eyes in time to see the warm color flood her cheeks. Then, he lifted her hands and moved them up to rest on his shoulders. Next, he pulled her body closer to him. Leaning, his head down to hers once again, his lips encountered the more yielding softness of hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip and felt her lips move in response. Her tongue...

  “Galen. Come on, man. Wake up.”

  Galen shook his head, resisting the masculine tones invading his memory. Desperately, he reached back with his mind to that elusive January day years ago that was already drifting just out of his reach.

  “Galen.” A hand jostled him impatiently. “Wake up.”

  He felt it slipping away. The memory, the sensations, all slipping away, eluding him as only a half forgotten memory can. Gone.

  With a sigh, he opened his eyes to face the new day.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Another Birthday

  ~ Tom ~

  Tom Murray looked out over Pleasant Meadows graveyard. It was Jessica’s birthday again. Another year come and gone without her. Where did time go? He laid the bouquet of lilacs on the plot. “I know you love the smell of lilacs. The ones you planted at the back of your house are a wall now. I saw them when I was over at the house for dinner with Kyle, Sandra and her family and Galen, of course.”

  Every spring, it was with a tugging poignancy that he observed the lush purple-blue blooming of the lilacs. It took him back to that last argument they’d had, when she’d ended things between them so many years before. For a moment, he closed his eyes, remembering. It was all right there, as if it had happened only yesterday.

  Tom reached out to touch the softness of Jessica’s cheek. “You can’t mean that. Not now.”

  “Especially now, Tom.” Jessica grasped Tom’s hand. She took it in her own. “I love you or I did love you for a while.” Tears pooled in the large, green-brown eyes. “But we can’t change everything just to suit ourselves. I have two other children.” Jessica exhaled slowly. “And I have a husband who is no position to take care of anyone.”

  “Because of his own stupidity. Jess, don’t do this to us. I need you.” Tom’s voice quivered. “I can’t live without you.” His tone grew desperate.

  Jessica Odgers’ face hardened. “You can and you will. Don’t blame me or threaten me. We’re both adults here. We both knew what we were getting into. This is where we’ve ended up and that’s all there is to it.” She put her hands to both sides of his face and stared into his eyes. “You’ll be just fine. You’ve always been fine. Jim, he’s not fine now.”

  “Odgers did it to himself. We deserve a chance. You were done with him before the accident. We were going to be together. He’s not even a good father.”

  Jessica pulled away from him. “I know and I don’t want this to end any more than you do, but what can I do? He won’t even be able to take care of himself. What will the kids think if I leave him now? It wouldn’t be right.”

  “You threw that worthless bastard out. Now, he wrecks himself and you think you have to take care of him. For Christ’s sake, I know how hard it is to stay sober. You think he’s going to stay sober now, after that accident? How will it be for your kids to grow up with an even more worthless alcoholic father?”

  “They’ve been growing up with a drunk for a father for years. But they don’t need to have a mother who’d leave a disabled man to run off with her lover.”

  “But that baby’s mine.” He looked down at her belly.

  “Tom.” Jessica’s voice was softer. “You say that you’ll stay in Eagle River for a while, but I have no way of knowing whether you will be gone tomorrow, whether you will just take off when things get too dull for you here, when you get bored with me. No, don’t shake your head at me. Consider your track record. You’ve never stuck. Why should I believe that you will this time?”

  “For Christ’s sake, it matters. I’m good with kids, you know that. We’d be fine. I get along well with your other kids.”

  “We’ve been magic for each other, but you’re not a family kind of guy... I don’t want this to get ugly now. It just wasn’t meant to be, the day to day and the forever part, that’s just not you.”

  “Give me a chance... Wait a minute, you’re bullshitting me.” Tom grabbed Jessica’s arm and pulled her up close against him. “What is this?”

  “You don’t have any roots here. I can’t just drag my kids all over the place. Not after all that they’ve been through, and Jim needs me now. This baby needs me. You don’t need me. You don’t need anyone.”

  “What the hell do you mean by that? I need you. I love you, Jess. I want this baby.”

  “Tom, you’ll be okay on your own. You’re a survivor. Jim clearly isn’t and there’s Kyle and Sandra to think about.”

  “What about me? What about you? You think that you are so noble, giving up your little weakness for your family. But you’re wrong. You are incredibly selfish. You got some good cock. You’ve been satisfied, and now you want to wash it all away. Forget about it. You can’t just close your eyes and hope I’ll disappear. You say you choose this life. Well, I sure as hell don’t.”

  “Tom, stop, please.” Jessica’s voice was infinitely t
ired. “I don’t know what to do. Maybe this is wrong. God, I don’t know, but I don’t know any other way. I have to take care of my family.”

  “What if I stay here in Eagle River? You could pass me in the street once a week for the rest of your life. Do you honestly believe that you could forget me then?”

  “I could never forget you, Tom. Not now, especially not now with this baby I’m carrying.”

  Tom pounced. “Are we just going to pretend that he or she doesn’t exist?”

  “You’ll have to.”

  “I could just tell Jim the truth about you and me.”

  “I already have. He understood or didn’t care. I don’t know. I’m not sure what he understands at this point.”

  “Understood what? That his wife fucked the living shit out of another guy and is now pregnant by him. Oh yeah, that would go over great with most guys.”

  “I can’t hear this. You just want to hurt me.” As she drew her tear drenched face up, Jessica faced Tom unflinchingly.

  For the first time, he saw a coldness in those exquisite eyes meeting his own. There was a distance now. Jessica Odgers always arranged life so that it worked out as she wanted it to. She was no victim. Tom realized then that she wanted their relationship to end.

  “I can’t believe what a cold, selfish bitch you are.”

  “Stop it, Tom. It’s over and you are just making a fool of yourself.”

  In shock, he stared at the chiseled lush beauty of that so familiar face, a face that had smiled in love at him and rarely spoken in anger. But he recognized that she had already cut him out. For her, the time for sentimentality was clearly over.

  “I’m going now, Tom.”

  “You’ll come crawling back.”

  She hadn’t even bothered to answer. She had walked to the hotel room door, exited, and closed it firmly behind her.

  As Tom straightened up, resting his hand on the grave marker, his right knee buckled. Automatically, he shifted his weight off of it. He had seen Jessica often enough after final confrontation, at school functions, at Galen’s football games. But that episode had been the end of them.