“Run through,” Liam repeated.
“Is there an echo in here?” Aiden rolled his eyes toward the knotty pine ceiling. “What did you think? We’d be making s’mores for all the contestants when they got to the end of the race?”
Judging from their expressions, that was exactly what his brothers had thought.
“You expect people to run through fire,” Brendan said slowly. “On purpose.”
“If they want to win. Hence the word challenge.”
A smile played at the corners of Liam’s lips. “It will definitely be that.”
“It will also send our liability insurance premiums through the roof,” Brendan muttered.
“Everyone has to sign a waiver,” Aiden reminded him.
“Fine...but that doesn’t mean s’mores are a bad idea.”
Aiden hadn’t expected Brendan to go along with it. Did his big brother trust his judgment? Or did this fall under “humoring the patient”?
There was no way to know for sure until Aiden could sneak the side-by-side out of the garage when no one was looking and take a drive back into the woods himself.
Being under constant surveillance had joined the list of things that made Aiden feel twitchy. And speaking of constant surveillance...
“Where’s Mom? She mentioned something about going out for dinner tonight.” Aiden didn’t look forward to being on display for the whole town to see, but sitting at the table, underneath the family microscope, was taking its toll on him, too.
“She is, but not with you.” Liam got a goofy, lovesick grin on his face. “She and Lily are meeting Anna at The Happy Cow tonight to work on the wedding plans.”
Aiden tried to hide his relief. He’d be alone.
“So we ordered a pizza.”
Or not.
“Sausage with extra mushroom,” Brendan added.
Aiden’s favorite. “Humoring the patient” it was.
“Sounds great. I’ll meet you in the family room.” At least there wasn’t a wall of glass framing the river, reminding Aiden that he could look but not touch.
Liam shook his head.
“You stay put. We’ll bring it here.”
Aiden kept the smile in place until his brothers left the room, and waited until their voices faded before he took out everything on the coffee table—including the map—with one swipe of his crutch.
Because the reminder that Liam and Anna would be exchanging their vows in a few short months reminded Aiden of a vow he’d made. He’d stood in this very room a few weeks ago and announced to his entire family that he would track down their missing sister before the wedding.
What had he been thinking?
Right now, the task seemed as impossible as sprinting through the ring of fire Aiden had designed for River Quest.
Hiring a private investigator wasn’t in the budget, and the thought of spending hours on the computer made Aiden feel twitchy all over again. He’d never understood why people would rather stare at a screen than the sky, anyway. A person should experience life, not read about it.
Aiden bent down to collect the items on the floor before his brothers returned, and he picked up the book Chloe had been reading during her “entertain Aiden” shift the day before.
A bookmark, stamped with gold and copper leaves, poked out between the pages.
Fall into a Good Book. Visit Your Local Library.
Aiden’s lips twisted in a smile.
Maybe he didn’t know where to start the search for their missing sister...but he knew someone who might.
Chapter Three
For over an hour on Friday evening, Maddie had been pounding her head against the proverbial brick wall, trying to coax even a spark of interest from the three high school seniors who’d gathered around the table in the library’s conference room.
A feat Aiden Kane accomplished simply by walking through the door.
Tyler Olsen slipped his cell phone back into the pocket of his hoodie, and Justin Wagner, whose chin had been fused to his chest from the moment he’d sat down, pushed upright in his chair. Skye Robinson, who’d been doodling on the cover of her notebook during Maddie’s opening introduction, took one look at Aiden and her cheeks turned the same shade of bubble-gum pink as her lip gloss.
Not that Maddie could blame her.
The guy took faded denim and flannel to a whole new level.
The patch that had covered Aiden’s eye was gone, and Maddie felt the full impact of his cobalt blue gaze. Her heart began to perform a series of crazy little pirouettes inside her chest that might have, under different circumstances, warranted a call to the heart specialist Maddie saw once a year.
“The sign in the window said Closed, but the door was unlocked...” A casual shrug punctuated the statement, hinting that Aiden was the kind of man who viewed posted hours as a guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule. “Sorry for interrupting.”
Maddie hadn’t bothered to lock the front door because Castle Falls rolled up its streets after six o’clock this time of year. And the only thing Aiden had interrupted was the silence that had been hanging over the room like a blanket of fog since the teenagers had arrived.
It was the second time that week Maddie had met with the three students, but she’d never met a group so resistant to her help. Maddie had a hunch it was because these particular seniors, unlike the others she’d worked with in the past, hadn’t asked for it.
When the principal had called and given her the names of the teenagers she’d be working with, he’d asked Maddie to have them sign an attendance sheet. Maddie naively assumed it was a new policy, until they’d slinked through the door.
One look at the expressions on their faces, and Maddie knew they didn’t see the library as the starting point that would set them on an exciting course to their futures. No, in their minds it equaled two hours of detention, and Maddie was their warden.
The icebreaker she had chosen for the opening session on Monday night had been a complete failure, and they didn’t seem particularly interested in this evening’s presentation about the importance of research, either.
As a matter of fact, the three teenagers didn’t seem to be interested in anything.
Until Aiden crashed the study session.
Maddie had no idea why he was here, but she closed her laptop. “You’re not interrupting. We’re almost finished.”
A collective sigh of relief traveled around the table and Maddie tried not to take it personally.
“Great.” Aiden smiled his quicksilver smile. “Do you mind if I hang around for a few minutes?”
Fortunately, he didn’t wait for her answer.
Because the musky scent of autumn leaves and fresh balsam clinging to Aiden’s jacket as he claimed an empty chair was overriding the “walk in the woods” diffuser on the mantel—and apparently Maddie’s ability to put together a coherent sentence, as well.
Focus on your notes, Maddie.
She put a checkmark next to The Importance of Research. “On Monday, I’d like everyone to bring a list of possible topics, and we’ll try to narrow it down to your top two.”
“Why can’t you just tell us what to do?” Tyler asked.
“The faculty wants your senior presentation to be more personal than a term paper or essay,” Maddie said. “They’re not only interested in what you’ve learned over the past four years, they’re interested in you.”
“Yeah, right,” Skye muttered.
Maddie knew better than to engage in something that could potentially turn into a debate. “If you’re having trouble finding a topic, I’ve encouraged other students to look at the results of their career assessment surveys for ideas.”
Her suggestion was met with blank stares.
“You haven’t taken it yet?” Maddie asked cautiously.
“What’s a caree
r assessment survey?” Skye wanted to know.
Well, that answered her question.
“It’s a series of questions that helps you determine what career might fit you best.”
Skye’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds like a test.”
“Actually, it can be kind of fun,” Maddie said. “The questions are designed to help you pinpoint your interests, discover your gifts and abilities. And the results can help you decide what degree you’ll pursue in college.”
“College?” Tyler scoffed. “I’m not even sure I’m going to graduate from high school.”
Maddie made a mental note to call the guidance office first thing on Monday morning and find out more about the students she’d volunteered to help.
“Okay.” She exhaled a silent prayer for wisdom. “If you can’t find time to take it at school, I’ll see if you can take the test online at the library during our next session. Trust me—it will make choosing a topic for your presentation much easier.”
The word presentation elicited another group sigh.
Maddie stifled one of her own. Unless the principal had made attendance for the study sessions mandatory, there was no guarantee she’d ever see them again.
“I think that’s it for tonight.” Maddie waited for the inevitable stampede out the door, but suddenly the teenagers who’d fidgeted through her entire PowerPoint no longer seemed to be in a hurry to leave.
Justin drifted over to the plate of chocolate chip cookies Maddie had set out before the meeting, and Skye began to apply another layer of lip gloss. Tyler, who hadn’t paid any attention to the folder Maddie had given him, took his time sliding it into his empty backpack. When he finally got it positioned just right, his eyes locked on Aiden.
“I saw your picture in the paper.”
“Yeah?” Aiden stiffened, but Tyler didn’t seem to notice.
“Yeah. That rope bridge you’re building over the river...it sounds pretty sweet, man.”
The confused look on Aiden’s face told Maddie he hadn’t seen the most recent issue of the local newspaper. She retrieved the copy draped over the wire rack in the corner and set it down in front of him.
“It’s an article highlighting the activities for the fall festival.” Maddie had read it, too. Castle Falls Outfitters would be hosting a new event called River Quest during the weekend-long celebration, and the reporter had interviewed Aiden because he was the one who’d come up with the idea.
Some of the challenges sounded downright dangerous to Maddie, but she supposed that was part of their appeal. Until now, the most risky event in town had been the Five Alarm Chili Cook-Off.
Aiden’s gaze dropped to the black-and-white photograph on the front page. It had obviously been taken before the accident. He was leaning against the Castle Falls Outfitters sign, wearing jeans, a T-shirt with the Castle Falls logo on the front, and his signature grin.
“The headline is clever,” Maddie said, then read it out loud. “River Quest Promises Thrills, Chills and Possible Spills.”
* * *
Aiden might have agreed—if a knot the size of a baseball wasn’t clogging his throat.
He remembered the day the reporter had called and asked if he would be available for an interview.
“Let me check my calendar,” Aiden had joked. What he’d really needed was time to absorb the fact that the reporter wanted to meet with him instead of Brendan or Liam.
Aiden’s name was listed on the home page of the Castle Falls Outfitters website, but unlike his brothers, it wasn’t as if he’d accomplished something significant enough to earn his spot there.
River Quest was supposed to have changed that.
The interview had taken place a few weeks ago, and Aiden assumed the reporter had scrapped the whole thing after the accident, but here he was. On the front page. And apparently it didn’t matter that some of the details were no longer accurate.
Aiden had told the reporter that he planned to test the entire course himself before the fall festival, and now he’d be watching from the sidelines as a spectator.
On top of the world one day. Trapped underneath his pickup truck the next.
I don’t get it, God...
“Is there really a cave behind the waterfall on your property?” The girl with the lavender stripes in her hair pressed closer for a better look.
The fragrance she was wearing made Aiden’s nose sting, but he jerked his chin in a nod. “The cave is the starting point for the competition. Each team has to go through the tunnel and retrieve their flag. The one with the best time gets to skip the next challenge.”
The kid sitting next to Aiden shrugged. “That doesn’t sound very tough.”
Aiden found himself staring into the restless, prove-it-to-me eyes of his younger self. “It’s not. Just really, really dark.”
“No flashlight?”
“No light at all,” Aiden said. “Just you and a space about two feet wide.”
The buzz of the kid’s cell phone extinguished the flicker of interest in his eyes. He was on his feet before he’d even finished reading the incoming text and, without a word to Maddie or his friends, bolted for the door.
The other two exchanged a look, snatched up their backpacks and followed.
“If you have any questions before our next meeting,” Maddie called after them, “don’t hesitate to email me or stop—”
The door snapped shut.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I won them over.” A dimple that had been hiding in Maddie’s cheek came out to play. “Are you waiting for someone again? Or did you want to check out a book?”
Aiden was still distracted by that intriguing dimple, and it took a moment for the words to sink in.
“I don’t read.”
“You don’t...” Maddie stopped. Cleared her throat. “Then why—”
“I came to see you.” Aiden suddenly realized that hadn’t come out quite the way he’d intended it when Maddie’s big green eyes got even bigger. “One of the women who was here on Monday morning...she said you’d helped her find someone named Adelle.”
“Janette Morrison.” Maddie tipped her head, and a strand of pale blond hair slipped free from the bun at the base of her neck. “You’re interested in tracing your family genealogy, too?”
His family genealogy?
“Never mind.” Aiden planted his crutch against the floor and levered himself out of the chair. “It was stupid...”
And so was he. For eavesdropping on a conversation. For totally misunderstanding said conversation.
For thinking this was a good idea.
He made it two steps before Maddie landed in front of him, cutting off his escape.
“Aiden...wait.”
Even with a broken wrist and two cracked ribs, Aiden could have brushed Maddie Montgomery aside with no more effort than it would have taken to shoo away a butterfly. But because Sunni insisted her sons use good manners, he produced a grin instead.
“Look, no worries. I’m sorry for barging in on your study session tonight.” Aiden tried to ease around her and found his path blocked again.
“Who do you want to find?”
Aiden opened his mouth to tell Maddie that he didn’t want her help after all, but what came out instead was, “My sister.”
“I...I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“I didn’t either, until a few months ago.” Aiden couldn’t prevent the bitterness from seeping into his voice.
But Maddie didn’t gasp or pelt him with questions. She waited, her silence giving Aiden the freedom to retreat or explain.
Retreat seemed like the better option. Until now, it hadn’t occurred to Aiden that asking for help would mean opening the door to the past and allowing someone to see the skeletons rattling around in the Kane family closet.
He and his
brothers had moved to Castle Falls when they were kids, but the past cast a long shadow. People still didn’t understand why the Masons had become foster parents and opened their home—and their hearts—to three troubled boys. And when Rich had unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack six months later, some of Sunni’s closest friends had encouraged her to send Aiden and his brothers back to Detroit.
Sunni had listened to God and adopted them instead, although they hadn’t legally changed their last name to Mason. Aiden hadn’t questioned the reasons behind that decision—or who’d made it—until Brendan had finally gotten around to telling the rest of the family they had a sister out there who might want to find them someday.
And family meant everything to Aiden.
He hadn’t been wanted—something Carla Kane had reminded Aiden often enough—but it was tearing him apart inside that their younger sister might have grown up believing the same thing.
“Our biological mother gave the baby up for adoption after she was born,” he finally said. “I thought...”
“I might know how to find her,” Maddie finished.
“Right.” Aiden touched the bandage on his forehead, hoping Maddie would dismiss the crazy notion as a side effect of his injuries. Playing the concussion card had worked pretty well with his brothers, after all.
“Maddie?”
They both turned toward the doorway, and Maddie’s face lit with a smile.
“Dad! I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow night.”
A man with thinning gray hair and a frame the width of Aiden’s fly rod stepped into the room.
“I didn’t mean to intrude.” His gaze bounced from Maddie to Aiden and then back again. “I found some of those apples you like at the grocery store and thought I’d drop them off on my way home.”
“That wouldn’t be because you’re hoping I have time to make a pie for dessert tomorrow night, now, would it?” Maddie teased.
“Of course not.” Her dad flicked a look at Aiden. “I know how precious your free time is, sweetheart.”
Aiden didn’t miss the subtle implication that there were people in the room who didn’t.
“The door to my apartment is open.” Maddie’s smile didn’t waver. “I’ll meet you upstairs in a few minutes. Aiden just had a question for me.”
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