“Come on big and much older sister. Let’s go see where we can put you to work.”
18
The weekend was a flurry of activity, mostly people who were on the lake before sunrise and fished until after dark. A man and a boy about Cooper’s age were fly-fishing in the creek that ran along the far edge of the property. Gabriel taught Cooper how to tie flies and promised to teach him how to fly fish during the week when it wasn’t quite so busy. Cooper was so excited he was nearly breathless as he told Abby about it.
Evenings found the fish-cleaning house busy with people cleaning their catch of the day, or helping each other, making it a party. It seemed as soon as one left and space opened up, two more would squeeze in. Loud, obnoxious laughter drifted through the windows of the cleaning house until well after dark, along with an occasional raunchy joke. She hoped Cooper didn’t hear the jokes. The last thing she wanted was to get a call from the school principal because Cooper was repeating them in school. Besides, she’d worked with kids long enough to know that those jokes would probably be coming from his mouth soon enough. He didn’t need encouragement before that time came. Hearing them the first time was bad enough. She didn’t need to hear them again as her son re-told them to everyone else.
One evening when she was passing beneath the window of the fish-cleaning house, she opened the door and stepped up into the crowded space.
“Did you come to help us, Abby?” Stewart laughed and held out the filleting knife toward her.
“Not quite.” She looked at the white meat of the fish splayed open and grimaced. “Just hoping you guys can keep it down a little. There are little ears that shouldn’t be hearing what you guys are saying. And big ears that don’t want to hear.”
She looked at the blood on their hands as they expertly maneuvered their knives, her stomach doing a little jitterbug dance, the smell of the fish helping it along. She gagged.
“You got it, ma’am,” one of them said and smiled. “Sorry ’bout that.”
“No need to be sorry. Just keep it down.” She forced a smile through the stench and quickly exited. Cleaning this building would definitely be a job for Sam or Cooper.
She turned around and bumped into Piper.
“Can you get any closer?” Abby half-laughed.
“Don’t you go getting all grumpy on me or I’ll kick your—”
“Hey! I just got done asking them to watch their mouths. Now you.”
“Lighten up. I was just trying to look around you to see what was happening in there.”
Abby closed the door and whispered to Piper, “Why is it that boys at a very young age are so enamored with bodily functions and anything that has to do with them. And when they grow up, they’re just men with the same infatuation.”
“You’re not about to give me the ‘boys are gross’ speech, are you?”
“I’m not making any promises.”
Each night they all nearly fell into their respective beds from exhaustion and smelling of campfire smoke. Abby was sure she had never been so happy. Maybe her fears about Hunter finding them were unwarranted after all.
Sunday night after the last of the campers pulled out, save the few who were staying into the week, one of them being Gabriel, Victoria and Sam left with the promise to return the next day by noon to clean. New guests were scheduled to arrive and check into all of the six cabins at two o’clock the next day. From now until after Labor Day, all the cabins were booked every weekend, as well as throughout each week. Only an occasional night remained open throughout the summer. The campground was booked at capacity until well past Labor Day when it dwindled down to nearly nothing. The four winterized cabins were booked most of the winter months. She noticed Stewart’s name on the reservation book three more times over the course of the summer. She had hardly seen him over the weekend, and when she had, he was mingling with the other lodgers, helping where he could. Gabriel, on the other hand, kept Cooper entertained or helped Sam.
They built a roaring bonfire Sunday night. Abby and Piper stretched out in lounge chairs around the fire, Cooper and Jeremiah each perched on big old tree stumps that served as chairs, and they shared their weekend experiences. Jeremiah relived the events by listening quietly to the rest of them talk. He was the first to turn in, followed by Cooper, leaving Abby and Piper alone.
Each stared into the bright orange-yellow flames, blue as one looked closer toward the center of the burning mass of crackling pine. As the fire popped, sparks swirled up into the air, carried away on the wings of the gentle night breeze, extinguishing into the night.
“So what do you think?” Abby asked.
“I think my baby sister has turned into a girl scout who is raising a boy scout.” She was silent for a moment. “Actually, I think this whole wilderness gig really suits you. I’m happy for you, I really am.”
“I think Dad is enjoying himself. As much as he has since Mom died, anyway.”
“I have to admit this was a good move for him.”
Abby lay one arm behind her head and reached down with the other hand to scratch the top of Gus’s head. He lay by her chair completely content with what he was doing at this exact moment. Nothing.
Suddenly his head snapped up as he alerted to something off in the darkness at the edge of the woods, the opposite side of the creek. Abby strained to see something in the pitch blackness, yet hoping she saw nothing. A low growl sounded from Gus’s throat. Piper shot straight up in her chair and she stared into the thick darkness.
“What was that?” Piper whispered, a harsh sound in the silence. Abby kept her fingers buried in Gus’s fur, hoping to keep him calm. She felt his back vibrate from a continuous barely audible growl.
“Probably a bear,” Abby whispered.
“Bear?” The reflection of the flames from the fire danced in Piper’s eyes that were now as wide as the moon that shone across the lake.
“I’m kidding! I think.” Abby let out a nervous giggle. “Calm down. It was probably just a squirrel or something.”
“Yeah, right. I’ll calm down as soon as you can be a little more convincing that it wasn’t a bear.” She continued to stare into the woods until she finally turned away and lifted the back of her lounge chair, putting her in an upright position. “I guess if it is a squirrel and it’s making noise it means it’s alive. That’s a good thing, I guess.”
“Yes, it is,” Abby agreed, laughing.
They fell into silence. Abby guessed Piper was silent simply because she was too scared to make a sound. She watched as her sister shot the occasional glance off in the direction Gus had just moments ago been interested in. They heard the sharp snap of a twig, and Piper screamed. Abby stiffened.
“What the heck?” Piper whispered as she sat sideways on the lounge chair, her feet on the ground, ready to run.
Abby tried to remain calm so she didn’t frighten her anymore than she already was. That is until they heard another snap, closer than the last one.
“Did you just hear that?” Piper whispered, now on the edge of panic. “Someone just cussed.”
“Run!” Abby’s voice was a harsh whisper that sent both Piper and Gus hurtling for the kitchen door, Abby right on their heels.
She quickly closed and locked the door behind them, Piper out of breath from the sprint to the house. Gus began to furiously lap water until he alerted again and began pacing between the large picture window and the door. Piper pulled the curtains closed.
“That oughta keep an animal from seeing in here.”
“Should have left your attitude in Oakland,” Piper said with a scowl. “Besides, what if it wasn’t an animal? Last time I checked, animals don’t issue curse words.”
“The last time you checked? When exactly did you check that out?”
“Abby! This is not a joking matter.” Piper’s arms wrapped around her middle. “We’re being stalked by something and it’s not funny.”
“Something?” Abby teased, trying to ease her sister’s fear. “It�
�s not like Bigfoot is real.” But truth be told, she was certain she had heard a voice in the distance as well. Gabriel or Stewart trying to scare them by playing a prank? If so, it worked.
“Well, it wasn’t an animal that tagged your boathouse or killed the squirrel and placed him on your steps.”
“Cat’s leave mice on their owner’s doorsteps. They consider it a gift.”
“Abby!” Piper said, completely exasperated. “Stop trying to reason with me like I’m a child. Or making fun of me, whichever it is you’re doing.”
“I’m sorry.” She hugged Piper as a peace offering. “But think about it. If it were a person, it would have been a camper who was out and about. Not everyone goes to sleep by ten when they’re camping.”
“Good point. But I’m still not going out there at night for the rest of the time that I’m here. Got it? I’ll be more than happy to sit by the fire in the fireplace.”
“Deal.”
“Maybe I should be more concerned about your fear that Hunter will find you. What if—”
“It wasn’t Hunter.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because. I just know.” But she wasn’t sure at all. If hope counted for anything, though, she could be sure.
She made a pot of chamomile tea, adding a touch of milk and honey, and they each sank deep into the soft cushions of the couch in the living room.
“So what do you think about Stewart?” Piper asked.
“I wasn’t thinking anything about him. I hardly saw him the whole weekend.”
“He’s pretty handsome. Maybe you could let me know when he’s here again.”
“I’m pretty sure stalking is illegal.”
“You’re just a laugh a minute,” she said dryly.
They sipped their tea, the room silent, until Abby finally spoke, more to herself than to Piper. “He reminds me of someone.”
“Who?”
“Don’t know. Can’t put my finger on who it is.”
“As long as it’s not Hunter, we’re good.”
“Ugh. No, not Hunter.” She made a face.
“Then it’s all good.” A few seconds passed. “Abby?”
“Yeah?”
“It really is good to see you so happy.”
The next day Cooper’s friend from school, Johnny, came to visit. Abby watched as they fished off the dock and paddled around the lake in one of the paddleboats. Gus waited patiently on the shore for them to come back in. After Gabriel helped Cooper and Johnny clean their catch of the day, Abby fried the trout for dinner. Johnny was a polite young boy, only a year older than Cooper, but he was a lot more street-wise. It was a little unnerving, but she tried her best to trust Cooper’s instinct. He had never been wrong yet. Not that she knew about, anyway.
Late that afternoon, she and Piper were preparing the cabins for the new arrivals, each standing on opposite sides of a bed putting on clean sheets, complete with square hospital corners. Abby broke the rare silence that had fallen between them.
“What do you think about Johnny?” Abby asked her.
“What do you mean, what do I think of him? What do you think?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question. You know how much I hate that.”
“I think he’s a typical tween kiddo. Nothing extraordinary. Why do you ask? Do you see something I don’t?”
Abby hesitated. “It’s probably nothing. Just protective of my kid is all.”
“Cooper has a good head on his shoulders. Give him space to use it. Quit hovering.”
After they finished cleaning the cabins, they moved on down to the dock where Sam was finishing up lake duty of cleaning the floating devices, including boats, canoes, and paddleboats. Victoria was in the store, and Cooper was washing out the fish-cleaning house. Abby suspected he was finding several things he needed from the store so he had an excuse to go see Victoria.
“Hey, Pip, let’s take a quick stroll through the woods. I’ll take my camera so I can get some shots of you roughing it. I want solid proof.” She grinned like a child up to no good.
“Pip?” Piper chuckled. “You haven’t called me that since high school.”
“You want to?”
“No bear, right?”
“We’ll have Gus with us. He’s big.”
“No offense, but just because he’s big doesn’t mean he’d protect us.”
“You’d be surprised. He wasn’t exactly friendly with Stewart when he checked in. Besides, no one else knows how friendly he is. They’d run when they saw how big he is.”
“Yeah, right.”
Abby ran the rounds letting Cooper, Jeremiah, Sam, and Victoria know she was leaving for a bit, that she was taking Gus and Piper.
“I’ll have my phone if you need anything,” she told each of them.
“Mom, can Johnny come over again?”
“I suppose that would be okay.” She smiled at him, happy he was making friends, even if it was just one for now. One friend was a darn good start. Even if that one was someone she wasn’t entirely comfortable with yet. As Piper had said, she needed to trust Cooper. “It will have to wait until your aunt and I get back, though.”
“Why?”
“Cooper? Stop whining.”
“But you leave me here alone—”
“Only if Grandpa, Sam, or Victoria are here with you.”
“Can we go fishing?”
“No going by the water unless me or Grandpa are with to keep an eye on you guys.”
“Forget it. We don’t need a babysitter.”
“Apparently you do,” Piper said. “Toddlers pout and you’re pouting. Toddlers and your mother,” she added, followed by a snicker.
“Don’t listen to her, Coop,” Abby said. “We’ll get back at her later when she’s not expecting it.” She held up her hand, which Cooper slapped half-heartedly.
“We’ll just play video games instead. Johnny’s teaching me some tricks for my new PlayStation game.”
“Are his parents able to bring him over?” Abby asked.
“Probably.”
“Okay. Remember, I have my cell phone with me if you need us for something that Grandpa, Sam or Vic can’t help you with, okay?”
Abby called Gus to her side and they headed for the woods, Abby’s camera strap looped around her neck. She let Gus free of his leash and he took off on a fast trot up ahead, sniffing as he went along. “Gus is a lab who thinks he’s a hound,” Abby said, shaking her head.
“Yeah? Well, I’d be okay if he thought he was a pit bull out here. At least he could protect us then.”
“Pit bulls are actually very mild mannered dogs unless they’re trained to be fighting dogs.”
“Well, there you go. That’s your job between the time I leave and when I come back here again. Train Gus to be like a pit bull.”
“Yeah, right. Not gonna happen.” She picked up a tall stick, broke off the thin, brittle end, tossing it off to the side, and used the thick stalk as a walking stick.
Piper laughed. “Shall I call you Moses?”
“I’ve been called much worse.” She chuckled and walked on ahead to see what Gus was sniffing on the ground.
Catching movement from the corner of her eye, her reflexes kicked in, and she snapped her head to the right. She moved several steps to get a closer look until she saw that it was just a piece of fabric caught on a twig in the brush, flapping in the breeze. Inching closer, she saw that it was fairly new and hadn’t been exposed to the elements for any length of time. She carefully disentangled the brown and olive green flannel fabric and slipped it into the front pocket of her jeans.
“Whatcha got there?” Piper called over to her.
“Um…nothing.”
With as freaked out as Piper was, she didn’t want to creep her out even more if she thought someone else was out here. Especially after last night at the bonfire. Chances were it was absolutely nothing at all, but Piper would probably make it into something. She tucked it deeper into her p
ocket and looked up to see her sister watching her. She struggled to come up with a plausible explanation when Mother Nature came to her rescue. There, watching them closely and standing completely motionless, looking like a statute with its wide eyes, ears alert, and impressive antlers, was an enormous elk.
Piper froze and Abby grabbed hold of Gus’s collar a split second before he bolted after the elk. She hooked the leash back to his collar as Gus attempted to pull away from her. “Sorry there, pal, but your freedom is temporarily suspended.”
She looked at Piper who was in a frozen karate stance. Abby laughed loudly, startling Piper out of her fear. “Relax there, Rambo. He’s more afraid of you than you are of him.” The elk, which abruptly bolted at the sound of Abby’s amusement, was long gone. “Next time maybe you could be more useful and hold onto Gus so I can actually use the camera around my neck to get those shots.”
“Like that was the first thing I would have thought to do. I’m not used to this country stuff. I’m a work in progress.”
“With lots of room to grow.” Abby laughed, her voice echoing in the forest. One look at Piper, though, and she forced herself to swallow the rest of her laughter.
They continued down to the lakeshore that butted up against the woods on one side, the mountains standing tall and majestic all around them. They sat at the lake’s edge as Gus lapped at the water, thirsty from his lost hunt. He finished drinking and sprawled down beside them, resting his head on his front legs. He looked at Abby with apologetic eyes that begged her to reach over and stroke his head.
Waves gently lapped the rocks against the shoreline, the sound pleasing and serene. Birds chirped nearby. Bushes in various shades of green and the towering pines behind them were so lush and beautiful. The water rippled from a fish that had just jumped a few yards out.
“Abby, this is so peaceful and beautiful,” Piper whispered. “I think I’m in love.”
“That’s not what you thought last night by the bonfire and earlier today.”
“That was then.”
Finding Abby: A Romantic Suspense set in the Colorado Mountains (Whispering Pines Mysteries) Page 15