“Stay out of this, Kjersten,” Galen shouted.
“Do you suck his cock the way you did mine, Kjersten?” Cam taunted. “She can make your eyes roll back in your head, can’t she, Odgers. I taught her that.”
“Please, Cam,” Kjersten broke in again.
“Stay the fuck out of this.” He brushed her to the side more roughly than he’d intended. He felt a moment’s remorse when, out of balance, she fell and struck the wall with her shoulder. For a moment, he paused, turned to help her, but then Odgers was on him.
The two were well matched. Galen had a longer reach, but Cam was thicker and more seasoned. Both were enraged with a lifetime of anger and hate. Cam assaulted Galen with a combination of punches to his head and his chest. Galen ducked and dodged and bided his time. Then, launched and landed a heavy blow to Cam’s side and followed it with another.
Cam fell back, and Galen followed up with a few more landed blows.
“Stop them, Ben,” Kjersten pleaded.
“Let them go, Kjersten,” Ben directed, leaning casually against the wall. “This has been a long time coming.”
“I don’t want Galen to get hurt.”
“He can handle himself,” Ben commented dryly, pulling her down the corridor, away from the fighters.
The blows flew, and within a few minutes, several other Bearcat and Coyote players having stepped out of their respective locker rooms, gathered around to watch the fight and cheer on their quarterbacks.
The free for all continued, neither man getting the upper hand until several security guards burst upon the scene. Seeing the security guards, their respective teammates pulled Cam and Galen apart.
Bleeding and panting heavily, held back by their teammates, both men glared at each other.
“This isn’t over, Galen,” Cam promised.
But Galen shook his head. “It’s okay, guys.” His teammates released him and when Kjersten returned, he pulled her to his side. “You were the one who made up this contest between us. I’m done, Cam. I’m through with you and all of this bullshit,” he waved his hand. “I’m done letting you mess up what matters to me.”
“Boys, is this finished, or do I need to call the police?” One thick set security guard asked.
“You’re gonna get them out of here?” the other guard asked of the assembled players.
“No more trouble,” Ben inserted. “You get your guy out of here,” he spoke to the Coyote players. “We got ours.”
“Get ‘em out of here,” the other security guard agreed.
So Galen and Cam were escorted out of the building and to their team buses.
“Where’s Kjersten?” Galen demanded once outside. “Where did she go?”
“Man, don’t worry about that.” Marvin stepped forward by the bus, took in the situation at a glance, and directed Galen up the steps. “Let’s get you out of here before you get into any more trouble.”
“But I have to speak with Kjersten. Now.”
“You want to end up in jail tonight? Get in the bus, Galen.”
Looking over his shoulder, he stepped up into the bus. As he did, he glimpsed a tall, thin blond figure standing alone by the main gate. He was leaving her yet again. This time, I’m gonna make things right between us, somehow. Things aren’t over between us, Kjersten. They’re just beginning.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Fishing
~ Ben ~
“I promised my mom that we’d be back before eight,” Ben said as he reeled his fishing line in. “My feet are freezing anyway.”
“Come on, Ben. It’s only seven,” Galen protested. “I want just one more walleye.”
“We’ve been out here forever and I haven’t caught shit. You’re at your limit anyway. Let’s just be done.”
“What’s wrong with you, Ben?” a perplexed Galen asked. “You used to love to fish.”
“I still do. It’s just that we’ve been here for hours and nothing is happening. Besides,” Ben blushed and looked away, his voice went soft in embarrassment. “Cat said that she might call tonight.”
Galen shook his head. “We’ll be back in plenty of time.”
“I want to take a shower and—”
“It’s a phone call, Ben. She can’t see you.”
“We’ve been out here long enough.”
Galen reflected for a moment and then nodded his head. “All right. One more cast.” He drew his rod back and cast it high out over the lake. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to risk you missing out on a phone call even to go fishing with your old bud, even though that friend almost never gets a chance to come home much less go fishing.”
“Come on, Galen. It’s not like that. Don’t be like that. I really like Cat and we’ve already caught plenty of fish. I’m hungry and my neck feels sunburned.”
“You’re whipped,” Galen chuckled.
“Maybe.” Ben put the lid on the worms and set his rod in its holder. “She’s thinking about coming up and visiting.”
“Why didn’t you have her come up for this weekend?”
“Nah, you and I have spent Memorial Day together for so many years. It’s good, and I want to prepare Mom for Cat. It’s getting kind of serious between us, so I have to sort of break it gently to my mom.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Galen began to systematically jerk the line with his wrist.
“I mean, Mom knows that I am seeing someone.” Ben rolled his eyes. “Mom’s been hell on wheels since I got home... I just hope that she’s not too tough on Cat. You know how Cat is.”
“Unconventional,” Galen offered.
“Yes, and no girl is good enough for my mom. I just don’t want her to mess things up with Cat.”
“You guys pretty serious?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ben tried to sound cool. Then, he added, “I’ve never dated anyone like her.”
Galen knew his friend well and recognized that Ben was obviously head over heels for his first real girlfriend. He jigged his pole a little then leaned back and rested his sandaled feet on the side of the boat.
“We got set up,” Ben hedged.
“Who set you up?”
“Kjersten did,” Ben finally admitted. “They’re friends.”
“I knew that.” Galen acknowledged with a nod. “I met Cat at Tom’s wedding.”
“Oh,” Ben responded.
“You two talk much?”
“Cat and I? Almost every night.”
“No, I mean you and Kjersten.”
“Not lately. I think that she is supposed to get back from her semester in Italy soon.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You do?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. We talked a couple of times before she left for Italy.”
“Oh?” Ben glanced over at his friend.
Galen didn’t elaborate. Instead, he leaned back in his seat. “It’s so beautiful right now. Let’s just sit here for a few minutes more. I don’t think that I’ve been so still in forever. It’s peaceful here. We’ll head on in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, Galen.”
Not a minute passed before Ben shifted anxiously in his seat.
“This feels wonderful.” Galen closed his eyes and slid his baseball cap forward.
“Come on, Galen,” his friend protested anxiously.
Galen burst out laughing. “You are so gone.” He started the boat’s engine. It gurgled and then turned over. “Don’t make it easy on a girl. They get bored that way. You gotta be a challenge.”
“Oh yeah, and I’m supposed to take your advice seriously. Since when did you become a lady-killer?”
“Girls go for the strong, silent type, like me.”
“Give me a break.”
“I’m serious. I do the me, Tarzan, you, Jane routine, and I have them swooning at my feet,” Galen teased.
Ben just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that really worked for you and Kjersten.”
“I wrote her a couple of letters,” Galen offered. “She wrote me back. That�
�s something.”
“Yes, it is,” Ben agreed.
Galen lapsed into silence.
“Come on, Galen. Let’s get going now,” Ben anxiously prompted.
Galen nodded and then steered the boat slowly around and headed back in the direction of the Happe cabin. “It’s too bad your parents didn’t have this cabin when we were kids. It’s awesome.”
“It took them twenty-four years of saving to get it. They’ve been coming up every weekend since they bought it. I’m glad you could get away for the weekend... Besides, when we were kids we had the Solheims’ cabin.”
“We used to sleep in that pop up camper.”
“Good times,” Galen agreed with a faraway look in his eyes. “This weekend was exactly what I needed. It feels good to get away from campus.” He turned the rudder and they proceeded into an area where the lake narrowed into a channel that was shaded by trees. Both young men’s eyes were drawn to the large, glass fronted cabin further down on the opposite shore. Here the trees receded from a shoreline that boasted a sugar sand beach. A T-shaped dock extended out into the water where a pontoon boat and two jet skis rocked gently in the current.
“The Lund’s out,” Ben commented. The Solheims are here. He swallowed.
“Yup,” Galen commented laconically. He appeared unruffled.
Silently, they glanced up at the familiar lake house, for it was far larger than a cabin. It remained still and quiet. They motored on, past still closed up summer cabins. The lake was unusually quiet with the restless peace of still cool, late spring. The sun was just beginning its descent and splashes of bright fuchsia pink and a soft purple glow adorned the darkening sky. They cruised slowly past a small island on which Ben and Galen had often played as kids. Both young men remained lost in memories of long past summer days. The only sounds were the gentle purr of the engine and the soft lapping of the water against the small boat’s hull. Around another bend and Galen slowed the engine, so as not to frighten the fish, for two other fishermen were anchored in boat off to his left.
A tall, lanky, tow headed teen turned in the boat, peered at them, and then waved to them. “Hi, Ben. Hi Galen,” the boy called out.
Galen stared blankly at the kid not recognizing him, but there was something very familiar about the chiseled lines of his features.
“Hi, Soren,” Ben echoed, smiling with genuine warmth as he greeted Kjersten’s little brother. “You and your parents here for the weekend?”
It was then that the other fisherman turned and Ben recognized Kjersten’s delicate features below the brim of a Twins baseball cap. He hadn’t recognized her because of the bulky life jacket and the baseball cap she was wearing, under which her pony tail was tucked.
“Ben, Galen,” she acknowledged. “Hi. You two up for the weekend?”
“Yes,” Ben answered, glancing nervously between his two oldest friends. “We came up last night.” He looked over at Galen, expecting him to say something, anything, but Galen was frozen, staring at Kjersten. “When did you get back from Italy?
“Just last week, and we came up to the cabin yesterday.” Kjersten proceeded smoothly enough. “We’re doing the family thing this weekend. The whole gang’s here.”
“How are your folks?” One quick glance at Galen made it clear to Ben that he would be responsible for observing the social niceties in this situation. Say something, Galen. Anything!
“Everyone’s good,” Kjersten responded.
“How was Italy?” Galen finally managed.
“Wonderful.” Kjersten’s eyes lit up. “The whole semester was incredible. A once-in-a-lifetime.”
“Are you going to be around tonight?” Soren asked eagerly. “Because if you’re going to be around, you could come over. I know Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind.”
Kjersten was glaring at her brother like he had sprouted horns.
“We could play some video games,” Soren continued. “Also, I wanted to talk to Galen.”
“About?” Galen asked abruptly.
“Football, you know, and playing in college.”
“Sure. I can do that. I’ll be heading back to Chicago tomorrow morning. So, if you want to, we could talk some football tonight,” Galen agreed.
Ben nearly groaned aloud. He kicked at Galen’s shin. Shut up. Not tonight. “It’s good to see you, Kjersten and Soren, but we’ve gotta be getting back,” Ben said. “Mom said that she was going to start throwing things on the grill around seven and it’s already seven thirty.”
“We had some luck earlier,” Galen offered. “Ben had a good sized northern and I had a small mouthed bass. How did you do?”
“Krissy got two decent sized walleyes and I caught a couple, too,” Soren answered.
“One was huge,” Kjersten gestured with her arms. “A monster.”
“This must be a good spot. I’ll have to remember it,” Ben bantered.
“Solheims are superior fisher people.” Kjersten smiled mischievously and one dimple was charmingly accentuated in her left cheek. “It’s our Swedish heritage.”
“Then what's wrong with Galen here? He's Scandahoovian, too.” Ben countered.
“Not as much as I once was,” Galen grumbled.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Nothing.”
“Come on, Galen. Let’s go,” Ben whispered under his breath.
Dutifully, Galen gave the engine a little gas and they eased past the other boat. "I'll call you later tonight if it works.”
Soren waved.
Kjersten merely nodded silently as Galen and Ben glided around another bend, and then they were gone.
“I remember that kid when he was little. He always had snot on his face,” Galen commented.
“Soren’s a good kid. I like him... You’re not really going over there tonight, are you?”
Galen grinned at him. “You bet your ass I am. This opportunity is golden.”
“Just don’t screw this one up.”
“I don’t intend to.”
They travelled in silence for a few minutes, then Happe's little lodge came into view. The cabin was recessed back from the lake, lost in a forest of blue spruce. Two giant weeping willows shielded a rustic and aging pier. Smoke rose from the grill set in the clearing behind the house Mrs. Happe was already frantically waving from the shore.
“We're late,” Ben groaned. “She's going to be upset. You'll have to charm her out of her mood.”
“I'll have to charm her?” Galen snorted. “She's your mother.”
“Exactly. She can see through my bullshit right away.”
Galen and Ben pulled up to the Happe dock, tied the boat down and headed up to the picnic table by the cabin.There, Mrs. Happe had dinner ready and waiting for them on plates wrapped in aluminum foil while a fire crackled cheerily in the fire pit. Mr. and Mrs. Happe were very pleased to see them, and so it was a pleasant meal and conversation flowed. But all through the hamburgers and then the angel food cake with blueberries, Galen couldn’t stop thinking about Kjersten, about what he wanted to say to her. Finally, the seemingly endless meal was over.
“Mom, thanks for dinner,” Ben said, pushing his chair back. “Do you need any help with cleaning up?”
“There’s not much to do,” Mrs. Happe responded with a happy smile. “Just throw your paper plates in the fire and I’ll put away the angel food cake. Are you sure that you have had enough? Galen? Ben?”
Galen patted his stomach. “No, thanks Mrs. Happe. I’m done. It was delicious. Thank you.”
“Mom.” Ben rose to his feet. “You mind if I disappear for a while?”
“Are you going to call your girlfriend?” Mr. Happe teased.
Ben blushed red.
Mrs. Happe swatted her husband in the arm. “Behave yourself, Gus. Leave the boy alone. I think it’s sweet he wants to call Cat.”
“You sure you don’t need any help?” Galen asked his hostess.
“No, I’m just fine, Galen. It feels good to be cooking for you boys again. We
’ve missed you.”
“Well, then, I think I’ll go for a little walk, burn off some of this delicious dinner.”
“Don’t go far,” Mrs. Happe advised, shaking a finger. “There could be bears out there.”
“Bring a flashlight in case it gets dark,” Mr. Happe advised.
“Yes sir. Thank you both.” Galen headed back to the house where he picked up a windbreaker and the suggested flashlight which he tucked into his pocket. Then, with determination, he headed out the gravel driveway toward the road.
Though it was nearly eight o’clock at night, it wasn’t dark. As he walked the well-remembered trail, occasionally he glimpsed the flash of early-in-the-season fireflies. The only sounds to be heard were his own footsteps on pine needles, the croaking of frogs, and the chirping of crickets. The air smelled fresh and rich in the way that only a breeze coming off a lake does. He moved quickly and definitively. I have to see her. I have to talk to her tonight. This is it.
After about a fifteen-minute walk, he arrived at Solheim lake home. He headed straight up to the front door and knocked.
A dog barked, then the door swung open.
“Hi, Galen.” Soren stood there, a grin, lighting his face. “Come in. Where’s Ben?”
“Hi, Soren. Thanks. Ben isn’t here and it’s just me... Look, I do want to talk about football with you, but tonight I really need to speak with your sister. Is that okay?”
Soren looked serious for a moment, reflective. “You aren’t going to get her upset, right. I mean, you are... well, Kjersten is my sister and I don’t want her hurt. Okay?”
“I want to make things right this time.”
Soren pondered this for a moment. “Okay.”
“Would you tell her that I’m here?”
“She went back down by the dock. Just walk around back. You’ll run right into her.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a jerk.”
“Go ahead.” Soren waved around at the back of the house. “My parents and I are playing cribbage. Kjersten doesn’t like card games so she’s outside. Probably on the swing.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure,” the boy countered. “No big deal. Just don’t hurt her. Okay? Then I’ll have to kick your ass and I’m not sure that I can, but she’s cried enough over you.”
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