by Lena North
I turned to look at Miller and found him grinning.
“My life just got a hell of a lot easier,” he said and followed his leader and friend.
I heard him say something to Hawker about his new habit of apologizing for everything, which apparently was some kind of insult, and watched as they rounded the house, pushing each other around. Men, I thought with a grin.
Chapter Twenty-one
Downhill
I expected to feel calm and at peace after talking about my parents, but in the days that followed, Nick and I argued more than usual, and it was mostly my fault. I knew that I was impossible, snapping at him about the smallest things only to follow up with whining about him not being careful enough with his injuries. I couldn’t seem to help myself, though.
“I’m sorry, Nicky,” I murmured. “I don’t know why I’m such a bitch all the time.”
“Babe. I knew this would be rough on you, and staying holed up inside like we do doesn’t help. I grew up with three sisters and a mother, though, so I can handle it.” he said calmly. “Now get the hell out of here.”
“You’re throwing me out of the house?”
“Yup.”
“But it’s my house?” I asked, at the same time informing him of something he knew.
He stared at me for a beat, and then he sighed, “Jesus, Snow, I was joking. I expect you back in time for dinner, idiot.” Then he turned and walked away, muttering a long string of ugly words that seemed to include a liberal use of the f-word.
Yikes.
The doorbell rang as I stood there staring at his retreating back, and when I opened the door, a smiling Jamie waited outside. Nick’s car was in our parking lot, so he’d probably taken the time to drive it to Norton for us.
“The hell?” I muttered, turned toward the house and yelled, “Domenico. The geek is here with your car, I’m taking it.” Then I pushed past Jamie, snatched the keys out of his hand, and muttered, “Thanks, Jamie. I’m not in a good mood, so I’ll leave.”
Jamie blinked slowly, and I could see laughter in his eyes.
“Laugh, and I’ll slap you,” I warned.
“I’ll spend some time with Nick,” he said solemnly, and wisely. “Have a great day, Snow.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said sourly and got in the car.
As I drove into Norton, I wondered where I’d go. I did not want to browse the shops in my current mood because insulting everyone in a very small town was never a good idea. Then I saw the low building by the main square, indicating that a bar called Johns was open. It wasn’t even lunchtime, and I had a few more months to go until I was of legal drinking age, but if Hawker decided to use his status as sheriff and tried to stop me, then I’d clock him.
“Whiskey,” I said to a man that I vaguely remembered as Hawker’s younger brother Hare.
“Sure thing,” he said, and my brows went up.
Then he put a mug in front of me, placed a tea-bag in it and while I stared dumbfounded at it, he filled it to the rim with hot water.
“Um,” I mumbled.
“You girls all come in here with your mood swings and your temper, asking for whiskey,” he said affably. “Ain’t happening but tea works too.”
“It does,” Wilder said as she sat down next to me. “What’s up?”
“Nick is an idiot,” I said and stared into the murky brown water in front of me.
I hated tea.
“Is he now?” she asked.
I sighed, and added truthfully, “I’m probably a bigger idiot.”
“Wanna go hiking?” she asked.
I turned to look into her calm eyes, and as I did, my insides settled.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Go get your gear, I’ll be outside your house in twenty,” she said, slid off the barstool and walked out through the rear of the bar.
I looked at the tea and wondered if I should pay for it. Hare answered my unasked question by taking the mug and dumping the tea in the sink.
“See? I told you it would help,” he chuckled.
“I hate tea. Next time I ask for whiskey, you should probably give me a double espresso,” I said. “Or sparkling water with a slice of lemon.”
“Duly noted,” he said and ambled off to continue filling up the fridge behind the other end of the counter.
Nick and Jamie were in the living room, drinking coffee when I got back.
“Hey,” I said as I walked through the room. “I’ll go hiking with Wilder, don’t know when we’ll be back.”
“Okay,” Nick said. “Take your phone?”
“Sure. No coverage up here, though. I’ll write down Wilder’s number, she might have a phone that works.”
“Have it already,” he said.
I stopped and stared at him.
“You have it already?” I echoed.
It wasn’t that I minded, but I was surprised. Exchanging phone numbers was such a girly thing to do, and neither Nick nor Wilder were girly. At all.
“Yeah. Hawker gave me a list.”
What?”
“Hawker gave you a list?”
“Is there an echo in here?” Jamie said and grinned at me.
“Shut up,” both Nick and I said.
“Yeah. Definitely an echo,” Jamie snorted. “Snow, go hiking. You can’t seriously argue with Nicky about having some phone numbers, can you?”
I could, actually, but it would be silly so I wouldn’t. Instead, I went to get my boots. Since I didn’t know what kind of hikes Wilder went on, I also packed a small backpack with a few ropes and anchors. Nick waited by the door and handed me a couple of bottles of water, and a stack of energy bars.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry I’m such an idiot.”
His face softened, and he murmured, “It’s okay. I’m an idiot too.”
“Guess we’re a match made in heaven,” I said with a small grin.
“That we are,” he agreed.
Then he kissed me, and as I moved my arms around to his back, I started to count the number of days we still had to cross over in the calendar hanging in the kitchen.
“Nineteen,” he murmured when his mouth left mine.
He’d been counting too.
Wilder and I went south from Norton until she pointed at a small, gravel road leading up to the mountain.
“There it is. Mary told me about a cave up there that she and a bunch of her friends used to sneak away to when they were kids. They used to sit there and drink hooch, apparently.”
I turned and followed the road until it ended in a small open area, and then we started walking. The area was peaceful, and we were silent as we followed a narrow path up the mountain. The forest was denser than I expected, and a few tree-trunks wider than I thought would be possible at that altitude, but the green leafy plants growing beneath them seemed to thrive anyway.
Then we were above the tree line, and after a while, Wilder stepped through a few boulders to continue on an even more narrow path that seemed to lead straight into the mountain.
“Cool,” she said. “Would have missed it if Mary hadn’t told me what to look for.”
“How come it isn’t marked out properly?” I asked. “Surely the Rangers in the area or the park services would –”
“The Rangers are from Thend, so they know about it,” she said. “Official people, managing the National Forests – no way they have a clue. The people down in Thend are not too fond of having outsiders lurking around in their forest. Mary lived there as a teenager, and I don’t think she’s told anyone but me how to get to this place.”
We walked through a narrow, dark, tunnel, and then we were in the cave, so suddenly my eyes burned from the bright light. It was huge, and there were only a few openings in the roof that let in light, but the whole cave seemed to be carved out in a way that made rocks form faucets which reflected the light.
“Wow,” I breathed. “This is amazing.”
&
nbsp; “Yeah,” Wilder said, looking around.
I got the strange sensation that she recognized what she was seeing.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Read about it,” she murmured. “Did Sven give you copies of some old stories I found in my grandfather’s house?”
“Yes, but I haven’t read them,” I confessed. “I’ve been in a sour mood for days. Didn’t want to read them pissed.”
She grinned and said, “We all deal with that, Snow. Energy builds up, and the wildness escalates from it. We don’t know why, but we’re all the same. Da and Miller usually end up in a fight. I mostly try to hurt Olly as much as I can or go to the shooting range. The others have their tricks… You just need to find yours.”
I thought about that for a while. Aunt Byrd had said something similar, and considering the past few days, it made sense. Poor Nicky, I thought. I wouldn’t be easy to live with.
“Da told everyone to not talk about your parents, but I’m gonna ignore that,” Wilder said and sat down cross-legged on the floor.
“Okay,” I said and sat down too.
“I lost my mother,” she started. “She was a shitty mom any way you look at it.”
“I know,” I said. “I grew up in Marshes, remember? I probably met your mother more than you.”
“Right,” she muttered. “Still hurt when she died. I thought it was Grandpa Willy I grieved for, and it was. Took me a while to realize that I grieved for her too.”
She turned to me and smiled a sad smile.
“When I have kids, I will never, not ever, let them doubt that I love them. I’ll tell them every day. Hug them every day…” she still held my gaze, and continued gently, “When I realized that I could do that, Snow, and that she hadn’t destroyed that part of me… that’s when I could finally let go and forgive her for being a shitty, horrible mom.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive Mama,” I whispered. “I know I should but maybe I can’t.”
“Then don’t,” she said calmly. “Not a law that you have to love your parents.”
Was it as easy as that?
“The thing is,” she went on. “You think you did a lot of crazy shit, and that you had mood swings from hell because of what happened, and I’m sure it intensified things, but it wasn’t just that. And it won’t go away.”
“Shit,” I murmured. “Nicky will –”
“He loves you?” she interrupted.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Did he fall in love with you when you were a mellow, easygoing and giggly girl?”
Oh.
“Exactly,” she smirked. “Your dude seems like a pretty complex guy, with his own demons to battle. Jamie wouldn’t have been good for you, he’ll want someone who’s low maintenance. Does Nick want that?” she asked and answered her own question immediately. “Not so much.”
I turned that around in my head and knew she was right.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” she answered.
We sat in the cave for a while longer, talking about the village we both belonged in, but where neither of us had spent much time.
“Read the stories,” she said suddenly. “They’re about three friends that lived here a thousand years ago, and they’re fascinating. Explains a lot.”
She went on to give me the basics about what had happened to the two girls and the boy, and I decided to start reading that night. She finished by sharing that the cup that she’d given me, the metal one with blue stones around the rim, was from that time and that it was one out of three that was a part of some ancient prophecy.
“Shouldn’t it be in a museum?”
“Nah. We can’t exactly explain about the dragon part or Sloane’s connection to dragonflies, so they wouldn’t really mean anything in a museum. They might get lost, or buried in an archive somewhere. So, you have the one from the sea, we have the one from the Thend settlements in the Norton church, and Sloane’s father has the one from Dragoncourt on display in his hotel.”
She suddenly started laughing.
“He’s a crazy old coot, that one. Da has a time of it with his father-in-law, that’s for sure.”
“Really?”
“They had a break in, and loads of the shit they have on display was stolen, including the cup. Da was furious and worried that it’d be lost forever. The old man waited three full weeks before he told Da that he’d had a replica on display. The real one is still in his safe.”
I started laughing too, and snorted, “Hawker must have blown a gasket.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said with a satisfied smile and got to her feet, brushing off her pants.
I got up too and looked at the cave floor.
“There’s a lot of sand in here,” I murmured. “Hope the ceiling isn’t eroding.”
We both looked up, but it seemed smooth.
“Guess the teenagers from Thend are dancing in here,” she said. “They’ll have heavy boots, bringing shit in here or maybe scraping it off the floor.”
“Maybe,” I said, thinking that it sounded weird.
“Let’s go,” she said.
I followed her through the narrow tunnel, and through the forest toward Nick’s old car, thinking about what she’d said. So, I had some genetically prompted bad temper. I could deal with that, I decided. The forest suddenly seemed less dense and the sunlight brighter. I felt relieved.
We only had the long, steep, downhill road to Norton left to go when Wilder turned around and started waving.
“Mill and Mary are right behind us,” she explained. “They’ve been to Twin City dropping some of Mary’s art at a gallery down there.”
“Shit,” I barked.
“What?”
“I have no breaks,” I said calmly.
“Shit,” she echoed. “We’ll come home faster than expected then.”
I snorted out surprised laughter and tried to remember if there were any fields or some open area where I could turn off and slow us down. I looked in the rearview mirror to see how far behind Miller was and suddenly I knew what to do.
“Get Mill on the phone, put him on the loudspeaker,” I ordered.
She fiddled with the phone, and then his calm voice echoed in the car.
“Hey, girls.”
“My breaks are out, Mill. Can you pass us?”
“Sure,” he said calmly.
I heard his engines rev as he pushed the gas, and then he flew past us. I noticed Mary’s stunned face in the corner of my eye but kept my gaze forward. The road was turning, but after that, there’d be a long straight part.
“After the next corner, Mill,” I said.
“Sure,” he repeated, knowing exactly what I needed him to do.
When we were at the top of the straight and steep stretch, Miller slowed down until we were approaching him. He timed his speed with mine, but I was accelerating, so we’d hit them within seconds.
“Jesus,” Wilder breathed, only then understanding what we were up to.
“Here we go, hold on,” I said loudly, for her but also to warn Miller.
We bumped into them with a loud thump, and I heard Mary yelp over the phone. Then we bumped into them again, although this time we remained pressed up against Miller's car. He started slowing us down, and I focused on keeping the steering wheel locked in place. If we began swerving, then we’d go off the road and into the big trees lining it, probably taking Miller and Mary with us.
It felt like forever, but then we started to noticeably decrease speed.
“Jesus,” Wilder repeated, sounding more relieved this time.
“You okay, Snow? Miller asked.
“Am now,” I replied coolly. “Wouldn’t mind stopping altogether.”
He barked out laughter, and I heard Mary giggle although it sounded a bit hysterical.
“We’ll stop at the bottom of the slope,” he said.
“Apprec
iate it,” I replied, and heard him chuckle.
We stopped easily at the side of the road, and I got out of the car. Wilder jumped out and came toward me with her hand raised, clearly intending to do a high five. I slapped her palm and crouched down to look under the car. I had no clue what I’d be looking for, but it seemed an appropriate thing to do. It also hid the fact that my legs were shaking a little.
“I’ll tow you back to Norton,” Miller said and opened his trunk.
Everything had happened so fast and adrenaline pumped through me, so my head spun a little when I straightened. All I wanted was to go home, though, so I nodded slowly and helped Miller attach the towline. Wilder was silent all the way through Norton, but as we approached my house she muttered a curse, and the seat creaked a little as she turned toward me.
“You’re ridiculously cool under pressure, Snow.”
“Thanks.”
“You think fast.”
“Wasn’t thinking,” I replied, and when she made a sound, I explained. “It happened too fast, Wilder. I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted.”
“You’ve got good reactions then.”
“That I do,” I said with a small smile.
Nick waited outside the house, and when I saw his face, I knew that Miller had called him.
“The breaks stopped working?” he asked before I’d even jumped down from the car.
I was focused on Nick, but he ignored me completely. When he slowly crouched down, and it looked like he’d try to crawl under the car, both Miller and I yelled at him, and he made a frustrated sound. Then he pointed at Miller, who stood next to me with an arm around Mary.
“Stay,” he barked, turned and walked into the house.
“What the hell,” Miller muttered.
“Mill,” Mary said, and it sounded a little like a warning.
“Does he think I’m a fucking dog?” Miller snarled, but added slightly calmer, “I have to take you home, baby.”
“We live six houses away, and I have legs,” Mary snapped. “Also, baby,” she said with considerable acidity in her voice when it looked like he’d protest, “Our girls are right there.” She pointed at my neighbor’s house. “I’ll go check up on them, and let Vera know we’re back.”
Then she swung around, and sauntered off, giving me a small wink as she passed me. I had to press my lips together to keep a surprised giggle from slipping out. I liked Mary, but she was always so sweet, so I’d thought Miller was the one calling the shots in their relationship. She clearly held her own.