Lake Magic

by Fisk, Kimberly

  But what choice did he have?

  “Son of a bitch.”

  He caught up with her before she’d taken another step. He blocked her path, forcing her to stop. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Tomorrow, oh seven hundred. I’ll see you at the office. And, Cotton Tail, make room for my desk.”

  FIVE

  Night settled on Hidden Lake. In the darkness, Jenny sat on her front porch, staring out across the moonlit water. Most nights she found an inner peace sitting out here, a peace she couldn’t find anywhere else. In the quiet darkness, the lake possessed a serenity that was lost in the bright light of day. But tonight, no matter how hard she tried, the tranquillity she craved was nowhere to be found.

  The wind rustled through the trees, and she drew her legs up, wrapping the afghan her grandmother had made around her. The rocking chair swayed at her movement. She rested her chin on her bent knees, wondering not for the first time how her whole life could be turned upside down in one short day.

  Tomorrow, oh seven hundred. I’ll see you at the office. And, Cotton Tail, make room for my desk.

  She looked down at her left hand, to the diamond ring she still wore. Steven . . . But instead of the memories that usually filled her when she thought of him, tonight, she was full of questions. Why hadn’t he told her about that loan? But before she finished the thought, she knew the real question wasn’t why hadn’t he told her, it was why she hadn’t asked. She had access to all the books, to the business records and documents. There had been nothing preventing her from gaining full knowledge of Blue Sky’s financial obligations. So why hadn’t she?

  Because it had been easier to leave it all in Steven’s hands, to let him make the tough decisions. She had been an equal partner on paper but not in truth. And that reality was a hard pill to swallow. But Steven had seemed to prefer it that way. And so had she. While he’d been building Blue Sky, she’d been building their life. She had ideas for the business, but there were more important things, like dreaming of soon. Soonthey’d be married. Soonthey’d start a family. But soon had turned out to be as far away as the moon and just as unattainable.

  A car pulled off the main road and made its way down her driveway. Headlights arced across the yard, momentarily illuminating the still lake before the car parked and the lights were doused.

  On any other night, Jenny would have been surprised by a late-night visitor. She knew that by avoiding her mother’s calls ever since the scene in the restaurant, it was only a matter of time before someone from her family showed up. Her only question was which one of her family members it would be. Her bet was on Dad. The peacemaker.

  But it wasn’t her dad, Jenny noted a few moments later as her sister made her way up the stairs. The porch was dimly lit, but even in the faint light, Jenny could see that Anna was as impeccably dressed as always. Only her sister could work a fifteen-hour day at the hospital and still look like she’d just stepped out of the pages of a high fashion magazine. Only Anna and their mother.

  Anna’s high heels clicked against the wooden porch as she made her way toward Jenny.

  “Hey,” Jenny said, trying hard not to tense.

  Just for a day, she wondered what it would be like to be her sister, to be someone for whom everything came easily. Marriage. Career. Raising her son. All Anna had to do was want something, and it was hers.

  Her sister sat down in the rocking chair nearest Jenny. With only a small table and a couple of feet separating them, it was easy to see the perpetual look of disapproval and disappointment on Anna’s face. “Hello, Jenny.”

  “Are you hungry?” she asked quickly, before Anna could start firing questions at her. Jenny wanted to turn the conversation far away from the topic her sister had undoubtedly been sent here to discuss. “There’s some leftover dinner on the stove.”

  “You cooked?” Her sister didn’t bother to hide her surprise or her alarm.

  “Soup. From a can.”

  “Thank God,” Anna said with a solemnity that bordered on hysterical. “The last time I ate your cooking, I was sick for a week.”

  “It wasn’t a week.” Only a sister could say something like that and get away with it.

  “You’re right; it was four days.”

  Jenny couldn’t help it, she laughed. It was well-known—and a well-trotted-out joke at each family gathering—that she was a bad cook. No, not bad, horrid. She’d never given cooking much thought until after she and Steven had gotten engaged. Wanting to be the best wife she could possibly be, she’d set out to learn. The third time the fire department had shown up at her house, she grudgingly accepted defeat. Or, almost. Every once in a while she mustered up the nerve to give it another try. And each time she was met with the same disastrous results. It was humiliating, but at least now she was humiliated in private.

  “If you won’t eat my cooking, how about a glass of wine? Even I can’t screw that up.”

  Anna smiled. “Sounds great.”

  Jenny disappeared inside the house and was back outside a few moments later, wine bottle and glass in hand. She handed Anna the glass of chardonnay.

  “Thanks,” her sister said, watching as Jenny refilled her own near-empty glass, which was sitting on the small table between them.

  “Rough day?” Anna asked when Jenny took her seat.

  “You have to ask?”

  “No.” Anna took a sip of wine. “Mom’s worried about you.”

  “She doesn’t need to be.”

  “Grow up, Jenny. She worries about you so much she doesn’t have time to think about anyone else.”

  The reproach in her sister’s tone was nothing new, but it stung nonetheless. “That’s not true.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Jenny fell silent. No matter what she said, her sister would find fault. But this time she knew there was fault to be found. She had a partner—one she had known nothing about. Revealing that to anyone was humiliating; admitting it to her perfect sister was unthinkable.

  But Jenny knew she wouldn’t have to admit anything. No doubt her whole family knew the entire story by now, thanks to her mother and brother.

  Jenny sipped her wine. She knew her sister was expecting a recap of all the events from the moment Jared Worth had walked into her mother’s restaurant and announced he was her partner to five minutes before Anna showed up. But Jenny wasn’t in the mood to rehash all the mortifying details. If her sister wanted to know something, she was going to have to ask.

  An uneasy silence descended between them. In the near distance, shallow waves washed against the wooden pilings, an owl hooted, and the widening distance between two sisters who’d once been so close became all the more clear.

  “Jenny, I only have a half an hour,” her sister said finally, breaking the silence.

  “So go.”

  “You know I can’t do that.”

  She could, but she wouldn’t. Jenny wrapped the afghan back around her, still hurting from her sister’s earlier comment. When she spoke, she lashed out. “How is my nephew? Flunked out of any other classes lately?”

  “He didn’t flunk.”

  “I thought a B minus was as good as failing in your house.”

  “Refusing to live up to your potential is as good as failing. Cody understands this. Learning to work hard from an early age is the only way to achieve success. What do you think Phillip and I should do? Wait until he’s fifteen? Twenty?” Anna’s gaze turned hard and direct. “Twenty-five?”

  “I’m twenty-six.”

  Her sister’s look said it all.

  Jenny should just shut up and drop the subject. What did she know about raising kids? But lately her nephew had turned into a little monster, a fact only she seemed to notice. The one time she’d tried saying something to her mother, Mom had gotten so upset that Jenny would even suggest such a thing, Jenny had quickly and permanently dropped the subject.

  “I went to Cody’s last baseball game,” Jenny said. “Mom told me he was going to be the starting
pitcher, but he wasn’t there.”

  For a moment, Jenny thought her sister looked rattled, but when she continued in her same condescending tone, Jenny was sure she must have imagined it.

  “Cody had a prior school commitment and had to miss the game. But discussing my son is not the reason I am here; you know that. This is about you, Jenny. And your business. Success is not something that just happens. You have to be willing to work hard.”

  “And you think I don’t?”

  “No,” her sister said with a brutal honesty. “I don’t.”

  She should have been prepared for her sister’s answer. Should have, but wasn’t.

  “Mom’s upset you haven’t returned her calls.”

  Jenny took another drink of her wine seeking fortification, finding none. “I’ve been busy.”

  “So I’ve heard. Just who is this Jared Worth?”

  “I’m sure Paul told all of you exactly who he is.”

  “Of course he did,” Anna said without the slightest pause. Discussing Jenny’s life was a favorite pastime with her family. “But I’d like to hear it from you.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  “That’s not what I heard.”

  Of course it wasn’t.

  “When you and Steven started the business, you took out a loan from him?”

  Jenny eyed the front door, wondering if she could make her escape. But she knew even if she made it inside, her sister would just follow. Anna hadn’t become one of the country’s leading neonatal obstetricians by backing down. Giving into the inevitable, and hoping it meant her sister would leave all that much sooner, Jenny answered. “Yes.”

  “And a condition of this loan was that he was made a partner?”

  “Silent partner,” Jenny amended, feeling a small bit of satisfaction.

  “It doesn’t sound like he’s silent any longer,” her sister pointed out, and what tiny bit of triumph Jenny had felt instantly evaporated.

  “So, Jennifer, what are you going to do?”

  Jennifer. Like she was two years old. And when was that damn wine going to kick in? “Anna, I just learned about the loan. I think I’m allowed a day or two to mull things over.”

  Her sister sat all the way back in the rocker and crossed her legs. “That’s always been your problem, Jenny. You think and dwell but never act. You can’t go through life sitting in the bleachers.”

  “Blue Sky Air is not some sideline hobby.”

  “So then, you have the money to repay this loan.”

  They both knew she didn’t. Anna, being Anna, was just making her point. “I will,” Jenny said with as much conviction as she could summon.

  “Jenny,” her sister said softly, “your record on running a profitable business is far from stellar. How many times have Mom and Dad had to bail—”

  “Not this time,” she interrupted, remembering her failed vintage clothing shop, the coffee stand that had gone bust almost before it got started, and the secretarial job she’d lost because she’d misfiled a petition and the delay it caused had been costly. “Blue Sky Air is different. Besides, I have four months until the loan is due. I spoke with Mr. Howard at the bank, and everything is arranged. In a few months, when I show him how profits are up, I’ll be able to get a loan and repay Jared Worth.” She prayed she sounded more confident than she felt.

  “Jenny . . .” The look on her sister’s face left little doubt as to what Anna thought of that statement.

  “This time is different,” she said emphatically. She was different. Or, at least on her way to being different. Stronger. More determined.

  “How’s the website coming?” Anna asked.

  Jenny’s rocking chair came to a sudden halt. How was it Anna knew exactly where Jenny was most vulnerable? She struggled to find her voice, wanted to remind her sister of the new advertising plan she’d launched and the weekend getaway packages she had put together. But emotion clogged her throat, made it impossible for her to speak. The website. Like so many aspects of Blue Sky, the thought of returning to a project she and Steven had started all but crippled her.

  “Fine,” Jenny lied, finally able to speak. Thankfully, Anna let the subject of the website drop.

  “Paul said this partner of yours was in the same squadron as Steven.”

  In the space of a day, her family had said Steven’s name more times than they had in the last nine months. After the accident, as if by some tacit agreement, her family, neighbors, and friends had avoided any mention of Steven whatsoever. It was as if they believed that by acting as if he never existed, somehow her pain would go away, and she would forget. But Jenny would never forget. Each time she climbed into his car, smelled his cologne, or remembered how his arms felt wrapped around her, her heart cracked a little bit more. That was something she had learned since losing Steven—a heart didn’t break all at once. It happened over time, bit by painful bit, until it completely shattered, leaving nothing left. Jenny could only pray that hers would shatter soon, because the pain was becoming more than she could bear.

  “And here I thought you were done with flyboys. Is he at all like Steven?’

  Like Steven.

  The question took Jenny aback. She swallowed hard, fought to breathe. “No,” she said, her voice hollow and achy. “He’s nothing like Steven.”

  For a moment the pain of losing him lifted, and she saw him in her mind. She saw his bright open smile, heard his laughter, felt the warmth of his breath as he whispered something into her ear. Whenever they went out, he was the life of the party, telling joke after joke in his loud, booming voice that captured everyone’s attention. He was as all-American as they came: handsome with his sandy blond hair and green eyes and a personality so open everyone loved him. Her most of all.

  “Jenny? What’s this Jared like? Mother seemed quite impressed, and you know what it takes to impress her.”

  Jenny tried to cling to the vision of Steven, but it drifted away, and another man took his place. She tried to block the image, but the effort was as futile as ignoring the man.

  Against her will, her sister’s question kept coming back to her. What’s he like?

  Honestly, she couldn’t think of a way to describe him. She knew if one of her girlfriends ever saw him, they’d sum him up in three words: raw sex appeal.

  But Jenny needed only one: unsettling.

  Everything about him unnerved her. He was tall, with hair as dark as the night sky. And his eyes . . . Eyes that blue should hold warmth, or at least a hint of softness. But there was nothing soft about Jared. There was a hard ruthlessness about him that hinted at a life she couldn’t understand, nor did she want to. Beneath that leather jacket, he wore a confidence like most men wore custom-made suits. And when he spoke, iron determination fortified his words. It was almost as if he was from another era, from a time when warriors ruled the land, and their cunning and strength determined their survival. Jenny had little doubt that if Jared had lived back then, he would have been a force to be reckoned with.

  Who was she kidding? He was one now.

  A shiver of apprehension ran through her. Even though she’d only met with him twice, somehow she knew: he was a man accustomed to getting his own way. And right now, Jenny was a roadblock he was determined to move.

  Tomorrow, Jennifer.

  She shivered again. One way or another, she was going to have to do the impossible. She was going to have to find a way to deter Jared Worth from his path.

  She looked once more to her sister and said the only thing she could. “No. He’s nothing like Steven.”

  Jared was mad as hell.

  Not upset. Or furious. Or even pissed off. He’d passed those markers around three this morning.

  Yesterday when he’d given Jenny his ultimatum, he’d known it was his only option. The only way for him to see his investment repaid. But that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. Plus, he’d thought Miss January would cave. When she hadn’t, she’d surprised the hell out of him. Somet
hing that didn’t happen all that often, if ever. But if she thought he was going to lie down and accept her terms, she had another think coming. For over fifteen years he’d been intimidating men who outranked, outsized, and flat-out outnumbered him. And he’d always come out on top. If she thought she could bluff her way past him, she was in for one rude awakening.

  The conversation he’d had last night with his realtor came back to him, and he all but growled in frustration.

  I’ll try to stall and buy you some time, but get the money to me as soon as you can.

  That’s not how it was supposed to go last night. Last night was supposed to be about wire transfers. Sealing the deal. Signing on the bottom line. And getting the hell out of this town. Instead, he spent another night in lavender hell cursing the bargain he’d been forced into making. The more he thought on it, the more pissed he got.

  Partner. In a tourist-taxing, travel-at-the-speed-of-a-snail, stuck-in-Mayberry, seaplane charter business. Christ.

  With more speed than necessary, Jared pulled into Blue Sky a few minutes before seven. The bike’s engine rumbled in the quiet, echoed off the lake. The first thing he saw was that wannabe plane at the end of the dock. The second, the Corvette.

  His dark mood went to ugly black in less than a second.

  What a goddamn waste of money. His money.

  He parked in the same spot he had yesterday. The place was as deserted as a minefield. It was obvious no one was up. No one was working. No wonder there was no money to repay him. How did she think a business could survive—let alone thrive—if the owner didn’t get her delectable little ass out of bed before noon?

  Disgusted with the whole situation, he made his way toward the hangar. Briefly he’d toyed with the idea of going to the house and pounding on the door until Sleeping Beauty answered, but he discarded the idea as quickly as it had come. For one reason, he doubted she’d wake up. And second, even he realized he was too pissed-off to face anyone.

  From his visit yesterday, he knew the office was located in the far corner of the hangar. His footsteps rang out against the concrete floor as he made his way through the dark, cavernous space. The office was unlocked. Big surprise. Letting himself in, he turned on the lights and looked around.