Summer by the Lake

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘Dad, what are you doing here? You’re not well enough,’ Robyn said, ignoring his remark. ‘I can’t believe you’re here to see this. I must get Nancy.’ Robyn looked around for her soon-to-be stepmother.

  ‘No you won’t. She knows I’m coming, she and Pam arranged it for you. You’ve worked so hard building this place back up in such a short time. Your dad couldn’t miss opening night,’ Eddie told her, his eyes welling up with tears.

  ‘Jeez, don’t you weep on me, Dad, you’ll kill my ribs,’ Robyn answered quickly, sucking in the urge to cry.

  ‘I ain’t gonna cry yet, Buttercup, but I might if I don’t get any fries or rings,’ Eddie told her.

  ‘Griddled with no oil and no salt,’ Pam ordered.

  ‘I’ll get you a table,’ Robyn said with a smile.

  ‘Hey, Robyn. Listen, I just wanted to say,’ Brad started, taking hold of Robyn’s arm before she moved away.

  ‘Not tonight, Brad. Tonight’s about Robyn, not you. Look at the place… It’s never been this busy, not even back in the day. Now come and sit with us. I know you were on the sidelines for the last game so I want to hear what the captain is gonna do to up his game and get back on track for a win on Saturday against Cincinnati,’ Eddie said.

  *

  ‘Are you okay? You must have served close to a hundred tables,’ Cole said as he passed Robyn on the way to the stock room.

  ‘I’m fine. In fact, I’m great. Look at the roadhouse, look how the town turned out for me. When I got here, when I took on this challenge, I never believed it would be like this. I always hoped it would, but well, you know, I wasn’t sure,’ Robyn admitted.

  ‘You’ve done so well,’ Cole agreed, smiling at her.

  ‘And you’re a part of that. A big part,’ Robyn told him and she slipped her hand into the pocket of her jeans.

  She took out her engagement ring and she slipped it back onto her left hand.

  ‘It’s time it stayed on—for good,’ Robyn said, looking up at him.

  Cole took hold of her hand and smiled at her.

  ‘In fact, it’s time everyone knew,’ Robyn announced suddenly.

  ‘What? Well, I thought you wanted to wait. You said the day before,’ Cole reminded her.

  ‘I know and I’ve changed my mind. Come on,’ Robyn said, pulling him toward the stage as Special Guest belted out a number by Bryan Adams.

  The song came to an end and Robyn took charge of the microphone.

  ‘Hi everyone, I’m Robyn. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna sing,’ she began tentatively.

  The diners all whooped their appreciation, but the loudest was the hockey team who started banging on the table. Mickey let out a wolf howl before Sarah slapped his arm and made him stop.

  ‘I just want to thank you all for coming tonight and supporting Eddie’s Roadhouse. My dad’s here, just over there, eating as many of the free nuts as he can get his hands on, thinking I can’t see! I see you, Dad! Anyways, I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the people who helped me get the roadhouse ready for tonight. Nancy, my almost stepmom… you’ve worked so hard, you’re still carrying plates and stuff now…and I know besides all the hard work you’ve put into this place, you’ve also had to put up with my bad attitude, so thank you. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but well, it’s forgotten. And then there’s Milo, he’s my head bartender over there—the cute one with the curly hair and the dimples. Milo, you’ve been fantastic, you’ve been here constantly when I couldn’t, and you even found ice cream when I demanded it was produced immediately. And the lack of mustard was an oversight on my part and you did remind me, and I said I would handle it and I didn’t. So, sorry folks about the whole lack of mustard thing, tomorrow we will have mustard!’ Robyn announced.

  A cheer went up and people laughed.

  ‘And this, by the way… this is Cole,’ Robyn said, looking at him and smiling as his cheeks flushed and people turned their attention to him.

  ‘I met Cole just over a week ago at the airport and since then…well, he’s upturned my life,’ Robyn informed her audience.

  ‘Woo hoo!’ Henrik hollered in appreciation.

  ‘Not only did he buy me a car, he gave me a place to stay, and he’s been steering my Panthers to victory ever since. To be honest, I can’t imagine my life without him,’ Robyn said, turning to look only at Cole.

  Mickey let out another howl and this time Sarah let him carry on.

  ‘So, tonight I want to tell all of you that—Cole and I… we’re getting married, October 2nd, and you’re all invited!’ Robyn announced loudly.

  There were shouts of excitement, and the whole room erupted into a frenzy of shock, surprise, and delight. Special Guest began a rendition of Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ as Cole put his arms around Robyn and kissed her.

  *

  ‘This has got to be a joke,’ Brad stated through gritted teeth.

  ‘I can’t believe it! Getting married next week!’ Wade said with a smile.

  ‘Is anyone listening to me? I’ve never heard anything so messed up in my life. She’s known him a week!’ Brad exclaimed.

  ‘Hey! Robyn knows what she wants, always has. You keep your opinion on it to yourself,’ Eddie warned, looking sternly at Brad.

  ‘You knew! How long have you known? You should have told me,’ Brad blasted angrily, his face reddening.

  ‘She told me this afternoon and I reacted the same way you just did for the same reason. We only just got her back and we don’t wanna lose her. The difference is Brad she was never yours in the first place,’ Eddie reminded him.

  ‘Come on man; be happy for them. Look at them, they’re so into each other,’ Wes remarked as he watched Robyn and Cole being congratulated by well-wishers.

  ‘It sucks! The whole thing sucks!’ Brad yelled angrily.

  ‘Hey, what about that announcement then! Sarah didn’t even know! A Portage wedding next week and another one in the spring,’ Mickey announced as he and Sarah joined the hockey table.

  ‘Two weddings?’ Henrik queried, puzzled.

  ‘Two?’ Pam questioned.

  ‘I asked Sarah to marry me and she said yes—oh and we’re having a baby,’ Mickey told them all.

  ‘Are you sure it’s yours?’ Brad snapped, drinking greedily from his glass of beer.

  ‘Bradley, that’s a horrible thing to say,’ Pam said.

  ‘Just asking. I mean it was only last week she was trying it on with me,’ Brad informed the table.

  ‘Mickey, it wasn’t anything. It was after we had that fight at the barbecue,’ Sarah began, tears forming in her eyes.

  ‘Well I think wedding is good—wedding means party,’ Henrik told everyone as he downed the remainder of his drink in one gulp.

  ‘You Dutch know how to party Henrik, don’t ya?’ Wes spoke.

  ‘He’s not Dutch, he’s Swedish,’ Wade replied.

  ‘I think you need to go,’ Eddie told Brad.

  ‘Yeah? Well I’ll go when I’m good and ready. I want a few words with the bride-to-be before I go anywhere,’ Brad snarled as Robyn and Cole made their way over to the table.

  ‘You knew about this? Aren’t you gonna put a stop to it? I mean I wasn’t happy with her moving in with him so fast—but marriage!’ Pam remarked to her brother.

  ‘She’s twenty-five Pam, what do you want me to do? Ground her? Give her a slap?’

  ‘Well, no, but…’

  ‘Look at her. I’ve never seen her look so happy and if that’s his doing then we should be welcoming him into the family, not wondering whether he’s an escapee from Death Row,’ Eddie replied.

  ‘Congratulations, my girl, it’s wonderful news. Will there be a reception?’ Ada asked, enveloping Robyn in a hug, the gin fumes almost making her cough.

  ‘Yes, Ada, at West Lake, I think. We haven’t really finalized everything yet,’ Robyn said, looking at Cole anxiously.

  ‘Straight after the ceremony, we have one of those huge, open party tents
and Eddie’s Roadhouse is providing all the food,’ Cole answered.

  ‘You’ve organized it,’ Robyn said, smiling at him.

  ‘I told Nancy it was a surprise party for your birthday just so I had something booked,’ Cole admitted.

  ‘Can I speak to you?’ Brad said, stepping in front of Ada and addressing Robyn, a furious look on his face.

  ‘Are you going to offer your congratulations?’ she asked.

  ‘You are kidding me. This whole marriage thing is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard about,’ Brad raged.

  ‘No one cares what you think about it,’ Cole said.

  ‘You’re totally out of your mind. If you feel insecure because Jason’s dragging everything back up again, I can help you. I can get a restraining order so he can’t come near you, I can get my dad to…’

  ‘A restraining order? I don’t want a restraining order. I don’t want anything like that,’ Robyn said, her mind being forced back to the past again.

  ‘Brad, I think you’d better go,’ Cole warned.

  ‘If it’s security you need, I can give you that.’

  ‘I don’t want security and I don’t want you. How many times do I have to say this, Brad? I don’t want you; I never have wanted you, not like that,’ Robyn stated loud and clear.

  ‘We were together once,’ Brad told her.

  ‘We were high school kids. I’m not getting into this, not again. I’ve got people to serve and washing up to do and—just go if you’ve got nothing good to say,’ Robyn said, heading back toward the kitchen.

  *

  ‘If you really feel anything for her you’ll leave her alone, you’re upsetting her,’ Cole told him.

  ‘What’s upsetting her are people dragging up the past. Eddie said she gave her statement again yesterday,’ Brad said, watching Robyn as she took some plates from Nancy and helped serve them.

  ‘She’s fine and it’ll all be over soon. They’re obtaining new DNA evidence, so we’ll know one way or another whether it was Jason who attacked her—no matter what his witness says,’ Cole informed him.

  ‘What new evidence?’ Brad questioned.

  ‘Concrete evidence. Listen, I mean it, unless you want a bruise on the other side of your jaw, you need to leave,’ Cole ordered him.

  Forty-Three

  ‘It was awesome, wasn’t it? The whole night was awesome!’ Robyn shrieked happily as Cole drove Leonora back toward home.

  It was almost three in the morning. The roadhouse had been a complete mess and had taken two hours to get half straight again. Pam, Bob, and the twins had stayed on to help, but there was still more cleaning up required before they opened for lunch the following day.

  ‘It was totally awesome,’ Cole agreed.

  ‘And the band was just as amazing as I remembered.’

  ‘Well, I have news for you. I booked them for our wedding,’ Cole told her.

  ‘No! That’s the best news!’ Robyn screamed and then laughed out loud.

  She was so happy. Everything in her life was finally coming together. Her dad was getting well, the Panthers were holding their own in the league, the roadhouse launch had gone better than anyone could have imagined and she had Cole. Wonderful, gorgeous Cole.

  ‘Stop the car,’ Robyn ordered him.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Stop the car. Pull in there, right by the lake,’ Robyn instructed him.

  He followed her directions, stopped the car and turned off the engine.

  ‘So, here we are, just like you asked. What now?’ Cole asked, looking at her.

  Robyn just looked at him, drinking him in.

  ‘You’re trembling,’ Cole said, holding onto her fingers.

  ‘I’m scared,’ Robyn admitted with a swallow.

  ‘What of?’

  ‘How I feel about you and how fast it’s happened.’

  ‘Me too,’ Cole said, looking into her eyes.

  Robyn edged closer to him until their faces almost met. Her heart was racing as she gazed at him and realized the intensity of what she felt for him.

  ‘I want you to kiss me. Then I want you to take my clothes off and I don’t want you to stop,’ Robyn said with conviction. She was ready.

  ‘You mean? Like now? Here? In Leonora?’ Cole asked, looking out of the windscreen at the blackness hanging over the rippling lake.

  ‘I’ve never done it in a Mustang before,’ Robyn admitted with a swallow.

  ‘Me neither… but… just wait there,’ Cole said, releasing his seatbelt and opening the door.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Robyn asked him.

  ‘Just wait there,’ Cole repeated, shutting the door behind him.

  She shivered a little as the cool air from outside blew into the car. Rubbing her hands together, she caught sight of her engagement ring. Tonight she’d told the whole town she was getting married. With Ada knowing, it would be all over the state by the morning and might even make CNN. That thought didn’t even concern her like it might have done. She’d hollered the announcement out in Eddie’s Roadhouse because she’d wanted the world to hear.

  Her door opened and Cole appeared.

  ‘Okay, come on out,’ he said, taking hold of her hand.

  ‘You’re kidding right? You do know how cold it is out there? It’s stopped being late summer and Fall’s here. And I’m wearing a T-shirt,’ Robyn reminded.

  ‘Come on, the more you think about it the colder it’ll feel,’ Cole said, pulling her out of her seat and waving a torch around with his other hand.

  She stepped out of the car, swinging the door shut behind her, and followed him off over the side of the road and down onto the sand that edged the lake.

  ‘I’m getting algae on my shoes,’ Robyn called to him as he paced ahead.

  ‘Take them off!’ Cole yelled back.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Robyn shouted in response.

  ‘Keep up. I’ve got the torch remember!’

  The night was so dark and Cole’s image was disappearing in front of her. She pulled off her tennis shoes and hurried across the sand to catch up to him.

  She rounded a small dune and then stopped as she discovered him in front of her, sitting on a blanket on the ground.

  An emergency flare and a warning triangle were glowing a few yards away from the blanket, bathing the area with light. She put her hand to her mouth in surprise and smiled at the scene.

  ‘No candles in the trunk, maybe we need to get some, you know, for moments like this,’ Cole spoke as she moved closer to him.

  ‘Moments like…?’ Robyn asked as she sat down on the blanket and looked at him.

  ‘Like this,’ Cole said.

  He kissed her lips, softly at first and then harder, with more intent. She rose up on her knees and pulled at his T-shirt. With his help, she brought it over his head.

  ‘Robyn, I want you to be sure. We don’t have to do this… hey you’re shaking,’ Cole said, taking her hand in his again.

  ‘I want to do it. More than anything,’ Robyn said, pulling at the buttons on his jeans.

  ‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ Cole whispered, lightly kissing her neck.

  ‘You won’t,’ she replied, taking his hand. She eased her jeans down over her hips, taking her underwear with them.

  He’d been right. If you didn’t think about the cold you didn’t feel it. All she could feel was her heart beating hard in her chest as she looked at Cole looking at her.

  ‘You are so beautiful,’ he whispered, helping her take off her T-shirt.

  He took a deep breath as he watched her unclasp her bra and discard it on the sand.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Robyn asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

  ‘Nothing,’ Cole said with a swallow.

  ‘Tell me.’

  ‘Being with you, it means so much… you mean so much,’ Cole said, his hand tracing the line of her left breast.

  His fingers, his touch was setting light to something deep inside her that had been hidden away
for so long, never daring to surface.

  He put his mouth on hers and kissed her so slowly she thought she was going to die from arousal. The inside of his mouth tasted so sweet, his tongue was so smooth, his lips were so softly swelled she almost couldn’t bear for them to leave hers. But they did leave and he moved his mouth to her neck, her chest, her breasts. She arched her back in pleasure, coming alive in the moment, forgetting everything else.

  She held his shoulders and pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel the hardness of him. He hesitated, looking at her with his dark sincere eyes. She knew he didn’t want to do anything she wasn’t ready for.

  She touched him, drawing him into her, slowly, tentatively. Then desperately, needful.

  He closed his eyes and gathered her into his arms, slowly rocking her toward him. She held onto him, matching his rhythm, almost burning with the sensuality. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced before.

  He slowed, opened his eyes and looked at her. The passion, the depth of his feelings for her were all there, set in his expression. She wanted to share everything with him, forever. He leaned her back until she was laid on the blanket, her hair in the sand and then he moved further into her. With every motion, she felt freer. She gripped his back, wanting to feel him inside her more and more, never wanting him to stop. And then suddenly, without any warning, she was freefalling. It was like her whole body had been coated with space dust, inside and out. She couldn’t stop it; it was like being wrapped up in the warmest blanket waiting to be thrown off the top of a glacier. And that’s when the first wave hit her. She shook. It was almost too much. She screamed his name and she held him tighter, her nails digging into his back.

  ‘Cole!’

  ‘I know, Robyn… I know,’ Cole replied, holding on to her as she trembled and waited for the next wave. ‘I feel it too.’

  ‘I can’t stop it,’ Robyn said as she drifted between sweet agony and ecstasy.

  ‘I know,’ Cole exclaimed, and he drew her into him as he shuddered, his breath quick, his body wet, his emotions spent.

  *

  ‘Your heart’s still hammering,’ Robyn remarked, putting her hand onto his chest.