Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance)

by Harley Brooks

  I stayed silent. Suddenly, my head snapped, a searing pain covered my right cheek.

  “What the hell was that for?” I shrieked, placing my hand over my burning cheek. “Why did you slap me?”

  “I don’t know! I’m so angry at you for putting me in this situation. Jaxson’s one thing, but you, Riley? I expect more from you. I certainly didn’t deserve to have that woman rub my nose in the fact I didn’t know what a rubber was. I’ve never felt so stupid.”

  She punched my shoulder. “And sucking her granddaughter’s breast? Honestly Riley!”

  “Mom! We are not having this conversation. I’m eighteen. My life is my business.”

  “Unless it screws with mine. Then son, it becomes my business. You boys don’t seem to get that.”

  Neither of us said another word. When we got home, I marched up the stairs, giving my dad a deathly glower as I passed. Mom followed close behind, pretty much giving Dad the same look. I slammed my bedroom door. She slammed hers.

  Dad’s feet padded heavy on the stairs. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?

  “No!” we both screeched.

  **

  It felt like I’d stared out the patio doors into the blackness for hours. Each time the lightning flashed, the scene changed as Nature played hide-and-seek. If I’d let my imagination have its way, I could have sworn at some point I saw something running along the ditch bank at the back of the property. Possibly Sasquatch or a werewolf.

  When the phone rang at the same time a loud clap of thunder boomed, we searched for the hearts we’d coughed across the room. Mom held her book against her chest, acting out a heart attack.

  “I don’t which I hate worse—thunderstorms or the phone ringing this late Never good news.”

  The unspoken rule was that once the sun disappeared and Dad still roamed the house, he answered doors and phones.

  “It’s only 9:15, dear. Not midnight.”

  No one said anything, but we all shared the same thought wave. Jaxson. His shift at the train yard ended at 8:30. It took twenty minutes to cross our booming metropolis behind a slow school bus. Jax was late.

  Dad pulled a long, steady breath and picked up on the third ring. “Sheriff Martin.”

  A couple seconds later, Jaxson barreled through the garage door into the laundry room, drenched. I swore the drapes hanging next to me rustled from Mom’s sigh of relief…or my own.

  “Dad, the water was rising fast under the bridge on Highway 40, when I crossed over. If this rain keeps up all night, it might take out that old bridge and the rail yard will be cut off from town. Not that I wouldn’t mind a few days off.”

  My father raised a hand Jax’s direction, his gaze settling on me. “Hang on, Lydia. Riley, phone’s for you. It’s Taylor’s grandma.” Dad turned to Jax, “What’s that again about the bridge?”

  The two disappeared upstairs. Mom looked up when she heard who was on the phone. I walked to the farthest corner of the kitchen and leaned against the counter, hoping to be out of earshot. Lightning flashed again and thunder chased almost immediately. Hell of a night for anyone to be out.

  “This is Riley.”

  “I know I’m the last person you want to talk to, but I need your help. Can you come over to the house?” Lightning flashed again and the power flickered.

  “Mrs. Daniels, I don’t know with the weather—”

  “Riley, Taylor’s gone. I don’t want to bring your father into this, if I don’t have to. Please.”

  “I’ll be right there.” I grabbed the keys off the hook by the laundry room door.

  “Where are you going?” my mother asked, crossing the room in superhuman speed.

  “I’ll be back. Taylor needs me.”

  “Riley, I don’t—”

  “Mom, can you trust me just once? It’s not like I’m driving down the interstate. I’m only going a mile away.”

  “Okay, but don’t be long.”

  “Do me a favor? Don’t tell Dad. Let him handle the bridge thing, not micromanage me right now.” She nodded and kissed the cheek she’d slapped earlier. She pulled the laundry room door shut so no one would hear me sneaking out the side door.

  The rain soaked through my sweatshirt just running from my truck to Mrs. Daniels’s front porch, where she waited in the open doorway. Once inside, I took in her swollen red eyes and blotchy face. My inner radar told me more than an argument took place after we left. The wilted yellow roses scattered in a wet puddle on the floor beneath the piano confirmed it.

  “Where is she?” I asked trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice.

  “I don’t know,” Mrs. Daniels answered, a slight warble of fear in her voice. “We had a horrible fight after you and your mother left. She stormed out of here and I figured she needed some space. When the wind picked up, I went into the garage to get some plastic to put over my tomato plants, and found her car still there. The hood felt cold to the touch. Wherever she’s gone, she’s on foot. I’ve called everywhere I can think of, but with it being a Sunday, not too many places are open.”

  “Exactly how long has she been gone?”

  Her eyes fell away. “Almost four hours.”

  “Four hours? In this weather? Why the hell didn’t you call earlier?”

  “In all fairness, Riley, I thought she left in her car. It never occurred to me she’d take off walking.” Her fingers trembled when she touched the tip of her chin. She looked past me into some other dimension. “She’s only wearing that thin cotton dress from church and sandals.”

  The color drained from her face and she teetered. I helped her to the sofa in the living room. “Okay, let’s not panic.”

  Let’s freak out instead.

  I pulled my cell out and dialed Barney’s private number. “Barn, its Riley. Taylor didn’t happen to show up there this afternoon, did she?”

  “No man, I haven’t seen her since Friday night when she came in with you.”

  “Do me a favor? Walk around the building and see if she’s tucked out of the weather under the eaves or something.”

  “You in trouble? She run away from you?”

  “Something like that. If you see her, don’t say anything. Just call me-K?”

  After he agreed, I paced, trying to figure out Taylor’s mind set. The lake was too far. Maybe the church? Shit, after four hours, she could be anywhere.

  “Can I check her room?”

  “Sure, but I didn’t see anything missing.”

  Without answering I raced the stairs, two at a time. I wasn’t looking for what might be missing, but more so, what could be left behind giving me some clue. Her room appeared neat and organized. Nothing out of place. The total opposite of my haphazard lair.

  Her tiny bathroom even appeared spotless. I picked up her cologne and sprayed it into the air. Hollister’s So Cal. A knot twisted in the pit of my stomach. I checked my watch. 9:30. Where the heck could she be?

  I stared out her window, seeing the lights of my house off in the distance. The lightning flashed again and the same strobe-light scene appeared in its white-hot glow, but no gnarly creatures lurked along the stream.

  Settling on the edge of her bed, I grabbed a pillow to hold. Her diary lay open under where the pillow lay. Cardinal rule—never, ever, read your girlfriend’s diary. Technically though, it appeared Taylor belonged to someone else, so the rule didn’t apply. I picked up the black and pink polka-dot notebook and “committed sin.”

  Dear diary. That always sounds so stupid, but I guess it’s tradition. Today, I met the most amazing, pig-headed, gorgeous hunk. His name is Riley Martin. He rolled down this little hill and landed on the banks of the pond I swam in. When he stood up, I was in awe and wanted to wrap my body around his. Gorgeous! When he kissed me, I ached in places I didn’t know existed and I wanted him to touch me all those places. I think I’m in love! Coming here is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Well second best. Kissing Riley Martin is the first. I decided my little tree covered hi
deaway with the pond is magical. It’s my gift from my guardian angels. My sanctuary. It’s where I found Riley and gave away my heart. ‘Nite diary.

  My body jerked, connecting to my feet already in transit down the stairs. My voice came out in a rush. “Do you have a flashlight and an umbrella? Oh, and a blanket.”

  “Why, what’s wrong?” Lydia scurried down the entry hall, gathering the items I requested. To me, she moved in slow motion.

  Blood thrummed loudly in my ears. “I think I know where Taylor is. I just don’t know why she’s still there. She’s got to be freezing.”

  She piled the quilt on my arms. “What can I do?”

  Turn on all the lights on the back of the house so I can follow the trail back. Wait for my signal. I’ll wave the flashlight. If you don’t see the light in thirty minutes, call my house and tell my mom to send Jax to the pond…and to call my dad.”

  “Pond?” An unmistakable alarm rang in her voice. I fought to keep my thoughts from following hers. I couldn’t let myself believe Taylor would do something stupid like purposely hurt herself, but after today, I wondered if I knew Taylor at all.

  My feet slid over wet stalks of wild wheat as I ran through the field. The werewolf running along the creek earlier must have been Taylor. Panic gripped when I realized over an hour had passed since then, and when the storm was its angriest.

  The beam from the flashlight bounced on the ground in front of me. Tiny puffs of steam escaped with my labored breaths. I stopped at the edge of the property before disappearing over the ridge to the streambed below. The back of Lydia Daniels house lit up like a carnival ride. Good. I would use it as a beacon to aim back toward. The creek would serve as my guide in the darkness. I just prayed I didn’t stumble onto a hurt, or worse, Taylor. My Taylor.

  Positive thought, Riley. Taylor’s smart. She found a place to wait out the storm, that’s all. She’s fine. She’s fine. Please…be fine.

  The mud may as well have been a sheet of ice. I slid down the small embankment, losing my grip on the flashlight that proceeded to roll ahead of me.

  “Damn!” I hissed, feeling my ankle to make sure I hadn’t twisted it. I’d managed to keep the quilt out of the mud, but broke the umbrella when I landed on it.

  When I reached down to pick up the flashlight, my gaze followed the beam fanned out to the banks of the pond. There lay Taylor, curled up against a rock. The branches from the trees overhead, kept most the rain out. Inside the thicket, only a slight drizzle fell instead of the monsoon pouring from heaven outside.

  “Taylor!”

  Running to her felt like being stuck inside a cartoon slide show, not moving until the next page flipped. She still wore the dress from church, the flimsy cotton drenched and clinging to her body. Her leggings had a hole with a long raked run stretching over her calf, and the heel was broken off her sandal.

  I brushed her wet hair away from her cheeks, stained with streaks of mascara. “Taylor? Baby, it’s me. Riley.”

  “Riley?” Her voice sounded feeble, her eyes searching the darkness for my face. When our eyes met, she grabbed my sweatshirt and pulled her trembling body to me. “Riley, I’m so sorry! I don’t know why Grammy did that? Why she embarrassed you and your mom? That’s not like her.”

  “Taylor, I don’t give a shit about your grandma right now. She’s back at the house scared to death something’s happened to you.” I wrapped the quilt around her and lifted her into my arms. “Why are you down here, anyway?”

  Her wet nose nuzzled into my neck and I swaddled her tighter. Even though the quilt was wet, it served as a layer between her and the cold air. I sat on the rock cradling her in my lap.

  Her lips tickled my throat when she spoke. “After you left, Grams and I fought and I said some awful things. I threw the vase of roses on the floor and I ran out in a tantrum. When I got down by the river, I lost direction. It started raining, so I headed for the thicket when the lightning started. I didn’t want to be in the open, although after today, God is probably looking to barbeque me.

  I couldn’t help laughing. “If God was looking for someone to roast, he’d have fried up my brother, Jaxson, a long time ago.”

  The flashlight dimmed. Not a good sign. Taylor sneezed and I suddenly pictured our bodies being found sometime next week, shriveled and turned to stone.

  “Come on, I need to get you back.”

  “No! I won’t go back. I refuse to talk to her until she apologizes.”

  “Taylor, you’re going to be sick if I don’t get you indoors.”

  The flashlight flickered again then died, leaving us in pitch blackness. I knew I’d never find my way back to Lydia Daniels, especially carrying Taylor. The terrain was too rocky and the riverbank steep. Even if her house burned like a torch, I wouldn’t see the flames for at least a quarter mile, and that’s if we didn’t slip off one of the drop offs and smash our skulls on the rocks.

  I only had one choice—to go the one way I knew. Home. I’d take Taylor there, then call her grandmother.

  “I’ll take you to my house.” She sneezed again. When I tried to set her on her feet, she yelped and I lifted her instantly.

  “I twisted my foot on some loose rocks. I’m not sure I can walk very far. Maybe you should go get help. There’s no way you can carry me up those steep banks.

  “Leaving you here is not happening.” I bent down, “Climb on my back and hold the quilt over both of us.”

  Taylor shifted onto my hips and I locked my arms under her thighs. The weight of the wet quilt pulled me off balance and for a second, I panicked we’d tumble into the mud. She fumbled with the blanket, pulled it over both our heads with one hand and wrapped her free arm around my neck.

  She kissed my cheek. “Thanks for saving me. I do love you Riley.”

  Thoughts of this afternoon, reeled in my head. “Don’t say that. I’m too confused right now to believe you.” She tried to squirm out of my arms, but I held tight. “No! Stop it!” I shouted. “I’m getting you someplace warm and dry. We can argue later, if you don’t die from pneumonia, first.”

  She started crying and all my macho posturing vanished.

  “Taylor, I’m sorry. Let’s just get you somewhere warm, okay? My house all right?”

  “Yeah. But promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t leave me. Not tonight. Not ever. And keep my grandmother away from me.”

  “Okay.” There wasn’t time to argue the finer points of our verbal contract. My back ached and large, flat drops of rain pummeled us.

  I literally crawled over the rise from the pond, keeping Taylor tucked under the quilt. When I stood again, I adjusted her weight and started across the meadow. Heavy gray curtains of rain blurred the lights to my house in the distance. The waxy leaves of drenched sunflowers turned the ground beneath my feet slippery. We stumbled to the ground once, but I managed to take the hit from the hard ground first.

  When we finally stepped onto the back deck, Lucky barked wildly inside. The lights came on one by one, starting upstairs, down the stairwell and through the house, illuminating the kitchen.

  Jaxson looked half crazed with his hair matted to one side of his head, his gray T-shirt crinkled over pajama bottoms. He approached the door, baseball bat in hand. We both knew where Dad kept the shotgun, but were instructed bat first. Bullets second.

  Jaxson wrestled Lucky by the collar, holding her back while he flipped on the outside lights. He let out a high pitch squeal when the light shined on us. Apparently, I couldn’t be recognized as “Riley with a girl on his back.” We looked more like a mass of mud with pink rosebuds peeking beneath the filth.

  “Jaxson, it’s me Riley. Open the door, quick!”

  Between wrestling Lucky and fighting the sticky door latch, Jaxson pretty much used every swear word in his vocabulary. Finally the door opened and I pushed through the opening, hissing at Lucky to stop barking. I felt Taylor’s legs wrap around my waist away from Lucky’s mouth.
/>   “Shut the fuck up!” Jaxson yelled, grabbing her collar and hauling her to the laundry room.

  “Well, that woke everyone,” I scowled. ‘

  “Dirk’s downstairs watching a movie, but more than likely, asleep. Once that kid shuts his eyes, he’s in a coma.

  “Where’s Mom?”

  “She went to Lydia Daniels to wait for you. Dad’s checking the bridge, so she left me in charge of the ‘mini Martin’.”

  The quilt fell to the floor and Jaxson sized up my back pack.

  “Well, well. My guess is you’re Taylor, Riley’s secret and the cause of a chain of events rivaling my last crime spree.”

  “Taylor, this is Jaxson, the blackest sheep possible belonging to our family. Jax, this is Taylor and she’s off limits, understand?”

  “Nice with the whole ‘trust thing’ bro. No worries. I’m sworn off girls.” Taylor slithered down my side and I curled my arm around her waist to keep her steady. Jaxson gave her his usual once over, tallying the numbers in his head to rank her on boobs, face, legs, and butt.

  “Maybe I’m not. I give her a ‘nine’. Nice work. Let me know when you’re done with her.”

  “You’re disgusting!” Taylor snapped, launching into a coughing spell with a bark offering stiff competition to Lucky’s.

  I bent to lift her in my arms again, but hissed against a jab of pain on my right side. “Damn, I must have pulled something when I fell.”

  When Taylor teetered on her sore ankle, Jaxson swooped in and lifted her effortlessly. “I presume we’re going upstairs?” I followed behind them, trying to not focus on Taylor’s hands locked around my brother’s neck, or his hand poised to the side of her breast, his other arm secured under her thighs.

  At the top of the stairs, Jaxson carefully placed Taylor on her feet at the bathroom door, letting his hand slide a bit too slow across her rear. She shot him a look that should have vaporized him, but didn’t say anything.

  “There are towels in the cabinet. Get in a hot shower and I’ll put some dry clothes outside the door.” I paused, noting Jaxson still lingered and motioned for her to step closer so I could whisper. “What do you want to do about underwear?”