Whispering Pines (Celia's Gifts Book 1)

by Kimberly Diede

  Grimy from their morning work, all three stripped down to swimming suits under their clothes and jumped into chilly lake water. Yelps of shock and laughter rang out. It sounded like summer: kids swimming, boats out on the water, insects buzzing, and a lawnmower in the distance. The family renting Cabin #1 had already made their way down to the beach. Their kids were building sand castles. A screen door slammed and a shirtless guy trotted down the steps of Cabin #3, scratching his belly and rubbing his eyes. He was one of the three cuties Renee checked in the day before. She suspected he was drawn outside by the racket the girls were making. The other two followed not far behind, and all three wandered down to the water’s edge.

  After a perusal of the area, one of the three sauntered over to Renee, where she was weeding a bed of flowers near the lodge. “Say, Mrs. Clements, you wouldn’t happen to have any canoes or kayaks we could borrow or rent, would you?”

  “Please, call me Renee. Mrs. Clements is my mother-in-law,” she insisted with a smile. “I did see an old canoe leaning against the back side of that cabin over there. Why don’t you guys go take a look and see if it’s sea worthy? If so, you’re more than welcome to take it for a spin. But please make sure it seems sturdy enough first. There are life jackets hanging in the shed. I’ll go grab some while you check the canoe.”

  “Awesome, thanks!”

  Renee needed a stool to reach high enough to pull the life jackets down. She brought three out into the sunlight. The jackets would serve their purpose but should probably be replaced. Like so much around here, she thought. She also noticed a set of old wooden oars and grabbed those as well, piling it all where the grass met the sand.

  The guys found the old canoe. It was made of heavy fiberglass. Renee laughed as they tried to make it look easy as they hauled the boat down to the beach; a few curt words whispered between them and stilted progress was evidence enough that it was no easy task. The girls lounged in old webbed lawn chairs along the water’s edge, drying off and enjoying the show.

  Renee had the boys rock the canoe up on its side and she grabbed a broom to sweep out all the debris. Nature had a way of taking over, especially back in the trees. The canoe’s cavity was full of cobwebs and something resembling an old nest, but of what Renee wasn’t sure. Thankfully, nothing crawled out to avoid her broom.

  One of the little kids on the beach, a boy of about five, filled his sand bucket with water and brought it over.

  “My name’s Sam. Can I help you clean up your boat?”

  “You bet, Sam, we could use some help,” answered the blond in sunglasses, crouching down to be at eye level with the younger boy. “My name’s Ben. These two guys are Craig and Denny. Dump your pail in here and then go grab more water. This canoe is filthy.”

  Sam smiled and agreed with a fervent “Filthy!”

  Craig, a redhead with freckles, and Denny, tall and dark, held the canoe while Renee, Ben, and now Sam worked to get rid of the grime. Not wanting to miss out on the action, a little toddler waddled over to see if she could help, too.

  Sam was not happy.

  “Mom, get Olivia out of here! These guys need my help and she’s gonna get in the way!”

  Sensing her kids were about to disrupt the peaceful beach atmosphere, their mother came over and scooped up Olivia, tickling her as she took her down to the water to splash around.

  After they had done their best to clean up the faded red canoe, and since Renee didn’t see any cracks or holes in it, she allowed the three older boys to push it out into the water to see if it leaked. Sam hung close, watching their every move. He obviously wanted nothing more than to get in the boat and float off with the big kids.

  Seeing Sam’s expression, Ben came over and said, “We’re gonna take this old boat out for a test drive, OK? If we don’t have any problems, and if it’s OK with your parents, we can take you out for a boat ride, too. But let us take it out first and make sure it floats. Deal, buddy?”

  The look Sam gave the older boy when Ben promised to give him a ride left no doubt Sam would be Ben’s number-one fan for the week.

  Denny and Craig were busy trying to climb into the canoe in knee-deep water without tipping. Once they were seated, Ben shoved into deeper water and jumped in, all in one quick movement. The boat barely rocked; apparently this wasn’t his first time in a canoe. They paddled around, staying close to shore, until they were certain they weren’t taking on water. When they gave Renee a shout and thumbs-up, she waved them off. The boat was crowded, with three big bodies in it, but Renee had to trust they knew what they were doing.

  True to his word, Ben steered the boat back toward shore a half hour later. Craig jumped out when they got into shallow water and motioned for Sam to come over, as long as it was all right with his mom. She waved her approval and Sam bounded over, grinning from ear to ear. He was already wearing a life jacket Renee had found in a smaller size. Craig helped him get in and Ben got him settled on the bench seat in the middle of the canoe. Off they went again.

  “That was pretty cool of you to let that little boy go out in the canoe,” Anna said to Craig as he walked back up out of the water. “You do know you made his week, right?”

  “Yeah,” Craig laughed, “leave it to Ben. He’s great with kids, works at a camp for autistic kids. One of us had to get out so Sam would fit, so I volunteered. I hate to admit it, but I think I’m starting to burn.”

  “Julie,” Renee hollered at her daughter when she heard Craig, “toss him your sunscreen! It’ll be a miserable week for him if he starts out with a bad burn.”

  The redheaded boy smiled bashfully. “Thanks, Mrs. C, I totally forgot to bring some.”

  Julie tossed a tube to Craig, and he smeared the coconut-smelling lotion on his face, arms, and chest. He tried to reach his back, but it was useless.

  “Here, give it to me,” Anna ordered. She took the sunscreen and quickly applied it to Craig’s back. He was turning beet red, to match his hair, and Renee suspected it wasn’t all from the burn. Anna hadn’t given him a chance to say a word. She was a take-charge kind of girl, leaving Craig flustered. Finishing up and tossing the tube back to Julie, she invited Craig to join them on the beach.

  The family took Olivia up to their cabin for a nap. Julie promised to bring Sam up when they got back in. Wanting to give the kids some space, Renee went back to her weeding.

  Robbie finished mowing, looking hot and tired. He grabbed a loaf of bread, a package of sandwich meat, a big bag of chips, and a six-pack of Cokes from their kitchen and took everything down to the beach. He knew the older kids would let him join them as long as there was something in it for them. Renee smiled to herself. Smart kid.

  It stayed warm and sunny all afternoon. After Ben and Denny brought Sam back, others took turns going out in the canoe. Renee was going to have to look into getting a few other small boats for guests to use. The canoe was looking to be a huge hit.

  Renee smiled, feeling that surge of excitement again.

  “All aboard,” she said to herself.

  Chapter 46

  Gift of New Friends

  The week passed quickly. The girls managed to get the lodge cleaned up by spending their mornings working inside and the rest of each day playing. Even the young men in Cabin #3 pitched in—in the cleaning and the playing. They cleaned out gutters and scraped and repainted the outside trim, then happily joined the girls out on the lake.

  “Let me pay you guys something for helping out around here,” said Renee. “I feel guilty letting guests work on renovations.”

  “No way, Mrs. C,” Ben said—apparently still not comfortable calling her Renee. “We don’t want your money. How about if you feed us dinner tonight, and we call it even? I don’t think I could eat another hotdog, and that’s all we have in the fridge.”

  Renee smiled, shaking Ben’s hand, who was brokering the deal on behalf of his buddies. “Deal. How about steaks and baked potatoes for dinner then?”

  Renee’s suggestion was met with e
nthusiasm, so she finished what she was doing and went to clean up a little so she could make a trip to the grocery store.

  ***

  When she got back to the duplex, she was surprised to see the door of the west unit stood wide open. One of the girls or Robbie must have run back to grab something and didn’t get the door shut all the way when they left.

  “Hello . . . anyone in here?” she hollered, poking her head in the open doorway. The only answer was Molly barking in the adjoining unit, letting Renee know she was there. But everything else was quiet, so she pulled the door shut and quickly forgot about it. No sense scolding the kids for carelessness; mistakes happen.

  The teens spent most of the afternoon hiking in the nearby woods. By the time they returned, Renee had steaks grilling and a huge dispenser of lemonade ready. They were famished after their work on the lodge followed by an afternoon walking in the fresh air. Renee was glad she bought plenty of meat; the guys were big eaters. They tried to help clean up after the meal, but Renee wouldn’t allow it.

  Soon, they had a volleyball game going over an old net Robbie dug out of the shed and strung between two poles Denny helped drive deep into the ground. Sam was invited to play, too, so there were four on each side. Competition was fierce.

  “That serve was out!”

  “No way, it was right on the line!”

  “Come on, you pansy, what’s wrong with you?”

  Renee was about to run over and tell them to cool it—little Sam might learn some new words if they weren’t careful—but before she could, she heard Ben beat her to it and scold the rest of the group.

  After that, the laughter and shouts continued, but the heat dwindled. At dusk, Sam’s mother called him in for a bath, and the group decided to call it a draw, leaving the net up for the next day. Because it was such a beautiful night, they all congregated around the fire pit, laughing and having a good time.

  Renee left them to their fun and headed home. Home, she thought. Funny how she had started to think of the duplex as home over the past month. Apparently its charm was growing on her. Molly followed Renee home. Together they wandered around back, and Renee checked to make sure she turned off the propane on the barbeque. They went in the back door and Renee flipped on a light.

  Molly and Renee both saw it at the same time: lying in the middle of the kitchen floor was a squirrel.

  A dead squirrel.

  Renee’s screams and Molly’s barking brought the kids running. Julie bounded into the kitchen through the front with Ben, the others close on their heels.

  “Mom, are you OK?”

  “What’s wrong, Mrs. C?”

  Everyone talked at once. Renee felt behind her for one of the kitchen chairs and blindly dropped into it, not taking her eyes off the mess on her kitchen floor. Robbie grabbed Molly by the collar and pulled her back.

  “Um, there’s no way that crawled in here on its own,” one of the boys said, stating the obvious. “Something must have dragged it in.”

  “Oh God,” Renee groaned, dropping her head into her hands. Was some critter lurking in the shadows inside the house right now, frightened back when they came in?

  Craig left the kitchen through the back door, but was back quickly, carrying the shovel Renee had propped next to the back stairs when she’d finished with it earlier. “I’ll get rid of it. Ben, Denny, why don’t you guys look around and see if you see anything else unusual?” he suggested. He didn’t come right out and tell them to see if there was another animal in the house that might have carried the squirrel in, but they were all thinking it already.

  Anna tagged along with them. They checked the basement, main, and upper levels but found nothing. Craig chucked the dead squirrel as far back into the woods as he could with the shovel.

  “The back door was shut when we got here,” Renee said. “When you kids came in the front, was the door open?”

  “No . . . shut, but not locked.”

  “This is so strange. How did it get in here?” Renee wondered aloud, then remembered the open door from earlier. “Hey, the door to the unit next to this one was standing wide open this afternoon when you kids were all down at the lake. I figured somebody didn’t pull it shut hard enough. Do any of you know anything about that?”

  If anyone did, they didn’t fess up. If the squirrel had somehow gotten in the other unit when the door was wide open, it would have made more sense. But it got in her unit. It hadn’t been in the middle of her kitchen floor when she cleaned up after dinner, but it was there when she got back from the volleyball game barely an hour later.

  Julie used a rag and pine-scented cleaner on the spot where the squirrel had been found. There was nothing more they could think to do. The dead squirrel ruined the festive mood. Ben, Craig, and Denny headed back to their cabin.

  “Thanks, guys, you were a big help tonight,” Renee yelled to them as they walked across her front lawn.

  “See you tomorrow,” they shouted back, and then they were swallowed up by the darkness.

  The girls were on edge after they learned their front door had been wide open in their unit earlier. They gathered their duffle bags and decided to bunk in Julie’s room, back on Renee’s side, even though it was tight quarters. Renee felt more comfortable having them all together, too. Something had felt . . . off these past few days.

  ***

  There was no more drama that night, other than Renee’s dreams.

  The dead squirrel stirred her previous dream back to her subconscious. She again found herself in the gray cabin, inexplicably drawn toward the back bedroom and the muffled scratching sounds. When she pushed the bedroom door open, furious squirrels bounded off the bed at her, faster this time. Her feet felt cemented, and she couldn’t move. A squirrel was reaching her, ready to launch itself for her leg, when something cold pushed against her hand.

  She bolted up in bed with a gasp.

  Molly must have sensed her distress and was trying to comfort her. Normally the cocker spaniel slept in Robbie’s room with the door shut, but Renee had asked him to let her roam tonight in case they had any more strange visitors.

  Moonbeams streamed into her room, slanting through the side of the closed curtains. There was so much light it must be a full moon. Not that Renee was going to get up and check. She settled Molly up on the bed next to her and pulled the covers tight. It took a long time for her heart rate to level out and for sleep to come. The house was quiet. Molly fell back to sleep curled up next to her. Finally, she relaxed enough to drift off.

  Moonlight was replaced by sunbeams when Renee next opened her eyes. It was stuffy in her room and Molly was gone. Renee swung her feet to the floor, meandering over to push open a window. Below, Emma and Julie relaxed on the patio with coffee. Molly was playing with her ball in the grass, grabbing it in her mouth, tossing it in the air, and chasing after it.

  Throwing her old ratty robe on over baby-doll pj’s, Renee headed downstairs, grabbed her own cup of coffee, and joined the girls out back.

  When Julie saw her, she exclaimed, “Oh hey, Mom. Did you get some sleep? We didn’t want to wake you. That was so scary last night. We figured you could use some rest.”

  “Yeah, I slept some. I keep having these strange dreams and waking up, but I feel good now. So, girls, what are your plans today, since it’s your last full day together?”

  “This morning we’ll see what more we can get done in the lodge. Then we thought we could hang out here this afternoon. Hopefully it’ll be hot. We can relax by the water, maybe play some more volleyball. The guys mentioned a street dance in town tonight. They heard it’s a tradition to kick off the week of the Fourth. They invited Anna, Emma, and me to go with them. Would you mind?”

  Renee stared at the three expectant teenage faces. “Mind? I think that sounds like a blast. But none of you are twenty-one yet. Does the dance have an age requirement?”

  “Nah,” Julie said. “It’s open to the public. Sounds like there are beer gardens, but those are separat
e.”

  “I don’t want any of you drinking. It’s way too dangerous. Craig, Ben, and Denny seem like nice guys, but if any of them start drinking I want you to call me and I’ll come pick you up.” Renee stared at each of the girls in turn. “I am dead serious about this. Do you understand?”

  “Of course, but don’t worry,” Julie said, and the others nodded emphatically. “They’re pretty cool, Mom, and they already said they don’t plan to drink. But if there’s any trouble at all, I promise I’ll call you.”

  Knowing they were used to being on their own after a year at college, Renee left it at that. They needed to take responsibility for themselves. She couldn’t force them to do anything. She would have to hope and pray they behaved. She knew she wouldn’t get any sleep until they were all home; no way around it.

  Well, she thought, at least I have Robbie.

  Chapter 47

  Gift of Protectors

  Renee relaxed in bed, still awake despite the hour, sitting against the old headboard. She tried to call Matt, but he didn’t pick up. Probably working. Robbie was in his room on his iPad. Molly was somewhere wandering around.

  Friday had been a long day of preparation, working until the light started to fade outside. It was hot, still in the low eighties. Renee’s window was open, and she could hear people around the fire pit. Sound carried on the still night air. Little Olivia was singing a song from The Wizard of Oz, and Sam was hollering at her to stop. Renee hoped both families in the first two cabins enjoyed their week. The weather had been beautiful, and no one complained.

  She finally started to drift off, tired from her day. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open so she set the alarm on her phone for 1:00 a.m. She had expected to be wide awake, worrying about the kids’ safe return from the dance, but she was just too tired. Turns out she had gotten used to Julie being away at college, too.

  A low growl from downstairs brought her out of a light slumber. Something had Molly uptight. Maybe the kids were back? But a glance at her watch showed it was only 11:30. She’d be surprised if they were done at the dance already. Through leafy foliage, she could see a bit of flame dancing in the fire pit but couldn’t hear any voices. Everyone must have turned in. The little kids had to be exhausted. Robbie’s room was quiet, too, but she supposed he could be using his headphones.