Lake Dreams

by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  Cole went fishing but for once failed to enjoy it. Even the wide swept panorama of sky and water with the Ozark Mountains in the background failed to engage him. He gave up early and headed back to the cabin where he nuked a frozen dinner although he wasn’t hungry. He headed out to the porch to gaze down at the rest of the resort, hoping for a stray glimpse of Maggie or her kids. Although a new bunch from Cabin Four splashed in the pool, he didn’t see any of the Browns. For the first time in days Cole poured himself a stiff drink, Jameson’s whiskey tempered with a little Coca Cola. He sat outside for a long time, considered calling his mother but didn’t and went to bed, tired but far from sleepy.

  In the morning he watched them head off to church but made no effort to join them. Maggie didn’t invite him although Cole figured he’d be welcome. He didn’t want to intrude on their small family unit, not yet. The last thing Cole wanted to accomplish would be to piss off Kiefer or Kaitlin by pushing too hard or intruding too far, too fast so he held back. Sunday afternoon, Maggie came up to his cabin and they indulged in a quick but electrified session of loving. The possibility of getting caught titillated Cole but it annoyed him too. He preferred to enjoy her at a slow, unhurried pace instead of sharing a quickie but at the moment, there wasn’t much option. No sooner than they’d finished and dressed with the kind of speed usually reserved for adulterous couples during lunch hour, Kiefer burst into the cabin without knocking.

  “Hey, Cole, wanna go fishing?” he asked.

  Although he’d rather enjoy a little more time with Maggie, he said, “Sure, buddy. Let me get my stuff and we’ll go.”

  When Cole headed down to the dock with Maggie’s son, she trailed them with a little Mona Lisa smile. Cole thought she might join them but she didn’t and around five o’clock, she called Kiefer in for supper before they headed off to church.

  “You can come with us, you know,” she told Cole when he passed by on his way to his cabin.

  “I know,” he said and did. “Thanks, Maggie. I’m trying to play this cool and not be pushy so I think I’ll sit this one out.”

  Over the next few days he did the same things he’d been doing – little repairs around the resort, helping Maggie with chores, fishing, and swimming in the pool when no one else did but nothing remained the same. Although he saw Maggie every day, often for hours, they spent little time alone. Her kids popped in and out without warning so the chance for anything more than a stolen kiss didn’t exist.

  If he hadn’t remembered they would soon head off to spend July with her parents out in California, Cole might’ve gone crazy but he tried to be patient. He liked both kids. In Kaitlin, he saw echoes of her mother at the same age. Kiefer became his fishing buddy and sometimes he took the kid along when he headed into town on some errand. By the time Maggie picked the day they’d all go to Silver Dollar City together, Cole had decided he’d miss the kids when they went.

  Maggie and Cole planned to go the amusement park on Sunday, missing church for once. The kids would fly to California the following Saturday from the regional airport. All the plans changed, however, when Maggie got a frantic phone call from her mother late Friday and the summer visit ended before it ever began.

  Cole’d just gone back to his cabin after a long afternoon fishing when Maggie came up the hill, not hurrying but moving in a downcast way. He knew something must be wrong and without thinking, he dropped his fishing gear on the porch and dashed down to meet her. When Cole saw the worry wrinkle in her forehead, the tears in her eyes, he knew he’d been right.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “My dad’s in the hospital,” she told him, big tears rolling down her cheeks. She’d been a daddy’s girl when he knew her years back and Cole could tell she still was. “He had a heart attack.”

  “Aw, honey, I’m sorry to hear it,” Cole said and hugged her.

  “Me, too,” Maggie whined in his ear, her head against his shoulder. “He’s going to be fine, Mom says and so did Craig when I talked to him but now they don’t want the kids to come out. I understand it but I was looking forward to being alone with you again for awhile.”

  She burst out sobbing against him and he held her, talked to her in a gentle voice and stroked her hair until she calmed down. “Come on, Maggie,” he said. “Hush, honey. I wish you wouldn’t cry. I know you’re worried about your dad but it sounds like he’ll be okay.”

  “I know,” she said, as she settled down. “But I must be an awful mother because I looked forward to the kids going away. That’s the first time I ever did but now they’ll be here.”

  Cole anticipated their trip, too, and for the same reason but as an adults, they could deal with the change. “That’s okay, Maggie. Yeah, I wanted more time with just you and me but we’ll manage. The important thing is your dad’s health, right?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “That bothers me too. It’s hard to be here, so far away and not really know what’s happening. If I could see him, I’d probably feel better about the whole deal.”

  Cole didn’t hesitate. “I’ll buy you a plane ticket if you want to go.”

  What he’d do here with two teenage kids wasn’t something Cole wanted to imagine but if it happened, he’d do whatever might be necessary.

  Her arms crept around his neck and she hugged him so tight he thought he’d suffocate. “Oh, Cole, you’re so wonderful. Thank you but I can’t. I couldn’t leave the resort and the kids. Besides, truth is they don’t want me out there, I don’t think. I’d be in the way.”

  “If you change your mind, the offer’s good,” he told her. “I’ll buy tickets for the kids, too.”

  “Oh, no, no, but thank you for offering,” Maggie mumbled. “The thing is, what do we do now?”

  Cole pushed her wild hair out of her tearstained face and smoothed it back. “After you talk with your dad and relax, knowing he’s going to be fine, we go to Silver Dollar City Sunday. We’ll take it a day at a time from there. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a plan,” she said, her last sobs becoming half laughs.

  “Good,” he said. “Come on up to the cabin and you can wash your face. I’ll pour you a drink if you’d like.”

  Maggie shook her hand. “I can’t. I need to go tell the kids. I’ll come up tonight. I need to be with you, Cole.”

  His crotch tightened with anticipation and he grinned. “I’ll be waiting, honey.”

  Hours later, long after dark Maggie arrived and he greeted her with a kiss. Off to the west, lightning flared and the heavy heat warned there’d be a storm soon. The air prickled with the coming weather and Cole figured it’d be a heavy duty thunderstorm when it hit. He wouldn’t have said anything but he felt the fine tension thrumming through Maggie.

  “There’s a front moving in,” he said.

  “I know,” she sighed. “There’s a severe thunderstorm watch out until midnight. If I didn’t want to see you so bad, I would’ve stayed home but I had to come.”

  “I’m glad,” Cole told her. “Come on in, I poured the wine a few minutes ago.”

  He slid his arm around her waist as they walked inside then handed her the goblet. He lifted his glass in a toast, saying, “To good times and good health for us all.”

  “Hear, hear,” Maggie said but downed her glass in two swallows.

  He studied her, a little worried but steered her to the couch. “Did you get to talk to your dad?”

  She nodded, “Yeah, I did. He sounded really strong, Cole. I think he’ll be all right.”

  “Then what’s got you so worked up, honey? Are you scared of the storm?”

  “Weather makes me nervous, you know that,” Maggie said. “No, it’s something else but I don’t know what. I just have a bad feeling something’s going to happen soon, something terrible.”

  Dread sapped away some of his pleasure at having her in the house. He believed Maggie’s fey ways and if she said something negative would happen, it probably would. Still, he hoped she might just be influenced by he
r father’s illness. “Nothing specific?”

  “Not yet,” Maggie said. “Kiss me and maybe I’ll feel better.”

  Cole obliged her, his mouth tender until she returned the kiss with smoldering fire. Her burning lips ignited his desire and he kissed her back, powerful and with need. Everything else vanished as Cole lost himself with Maggie, passion rising faster than the wind outside. He’d just trailed his lips from her mouth down along her throat, tasting and nibbling when the door burst open with a bang.

  “Mom, you need to come home now!” Kaitlin appeared in front of them, arms waving. “OMG, what are you doing?”

  Maggie sprang back with a little cry and Cole turned, furious at the interruption. He throttled back his anger and hoped the bulge in his pants wasn’t visible.

  “What’s up?” Maggie said, with a huge sigh.

  “There’s a storm warning out,” Kaitlin said, glaring at them both. “Besides, I thought you’d want to be home in case anyone called with more news about Grandpa.”

  “I’ll be there in a little while,” Maggie said, as calm as her daughter was wild. “Go ahead and stay with Kiefer, okay?”

  “So you can do what? Smooch with your new boyfriend?”

  Cole counted to ten to keep from saying something he’d regret later but Maggie, emotions already high, jumped up and smacked her daughter’s cheek with an open hand. “That’s enough, Kaitlin Sue!”

  “Yeah, right,” the girl jeered, surprising Cole. Until now, despite being a teenager Maggie’s daughter seemed to be even tempered and sweet natured.

  “Go home,” he said, forcing his tone down to a mild level. “Your mom’ll be there before long.”

  He thought his suggestion rational but Kaitlin exploded.

  “You’re not my father!” she shrieked. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

  Thunder rumbled in the distant, ominous and full-bodied as she wheeled around and ran outside, her long hair flying behind her like a witch’s cape. Maggie stared at Cole and then put her hand on his face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “She’s got no right to speak to you like that. I don’t know what’s got into her but I need to find out. If I can, I’ll come back later.”

  With that she spun out of the door and into the approaching storm with the same speed as Kaitlin. Lightning cracked the sky with jagged bolts and wind rushed over the lake with force as the first rain began to pound the ground with fury. Cole started after her, realized it wasn’t his fight and sat back down.

  He poured another glass of wine and drank it, then finished the bottle.

  The storm passed by the time he finished the last dregs and although he waited, Maggie didn’t come back.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By Sunday morning when the four headed out to Silver Dollar City everything was back to the new status quo. Kaitlin apologized to Cole on Saturday and he accepted it. They hugged to show there were no hard feelings and there weren’t on his part. On Kaitlin’s, he wasn’t too sure but Cole would give her the benefit of the doubt for Maggie’s sake. On the way over to the park both kids listened to IPods and gave him the chance to talk with Maggie uninhibited – or almost.

  Although Maggie smiled often, her weariness remained evident. Cole thought her premonition weighed heavy. But he refrained from mentioning it, though, and so did she. This time, they parked – for an additional fee – in the preferred parking for season pass holders, much closer to the entrance and walked right in through the gates. This time, things were much more familiar to Cole. After the same patriotic opening ceremony, the kids took off to ride Thunderation but Cole declined.

  “Mom, are you coming?” Kiefer asked with a yearning look toward the short line.

  “I’ll sit here with Cole,” Maggie replied. “Go ahead and ride.”

  As soon as her two headed down the path to embark, she linked hands with Cole and they headed for a little area he thought must be designed just for those who wanted to watch roller coaster. Beneath the trees in the morning shade a cool wind brushed their faces and he sat down beside her, happy to be alone together for a brief time. Cole enjoyed the soft rustling the wind made through the leaves but he appreciated even more the way the sunlight filtered through the green to highlight Maggie’s auburn hair.

  “I’d give you a penny for your thoughts,” he told her and she glanced up with a small smile.

  “They’re not even worth a penny,” Maggie said. “I’m enjoying this moment, that’s all.”

  He put an arm around her. “You’re pretty quiet, honey. You still have that bad feeling?”

  Her grey eyes met his and she nodded. “Yeah, I do, sometimes. I can’t put my finger on anything though.”

  “Can you try to forget about it and have fun today?” Cole asked, gentling his voice.

  “I’ll try.”

  “Maybe this’ll help,” he said and kissed her, just a quiet kiss, nothing too sensual or extreme.

  “I think it might,” she said with some of her normal Maggie fire when he stopped. “I’ll need more, later.”

  “You can have all you want,” Cole said. “Here come your kids.”

  Their rollercoaster blast blew away any remaining inhibitions and from then on, Kiefer and Kaitlin threw themselves into having fun with whole hearted abandon. They rode every rollercoaster in the park more than once, got soaked to the skin on all the water rides, ate cotton candy, popcorn, and pork rinds as if they’d never eaten before, and laughed almost all the time. All four of them rode Fire In The Hole and Lost River. While Cole and Maggie rode the train around the edge of the park, the kids took off to ride Powderkeg and then Wildfire, the two wildest coasters of all.

  Late morning they toured Marvel Cave, something else Cole remembered from the past. He appreciated the coolness of the cavern after the heat building outside but Maggie didn’t seem to like it much. Although she didn’t say anything, he tapped into a memory from their teens. She hadn’t liked it then, told him ‘terrible things happened here’ and they never returned. The rugged hike through the narrow spaces provided the occasional chance to hold her hand or put his hand over the small of her back as they passed single file through tight places. When the guide shut off the lights, Maggie surprised him with a quick kiss, brief and sweet in the utter darkness. After they rode out of the cave on trams, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

  “Remind me not to do the cave again. I still don’t like it.”

  “Your wish, lady, is my command.” Cole didn’t care much for the place either, he realized, the chill seeped into his bones and he sensed some darkness he’d rather not delve into any deeper.

  They met up with the teens midday at the Lumber Camp. The tantalizing aroma of meat sizzling on an open grill filled the air beneath the trees and patches of sky. Cole bought them lunch. Over the tasty burgers and fries, he asked what else they’d like to do since California was out of the picture.

  “I’d like to go to Shepherd of the Hills, go up in the tower, ride the trams around the farm and stay for the play,” Kaitlin said with honest enthusiasm. “We’ve been to the tower a few times but we’ve never done it all. Maybe we could even ride the horses.”

  Cole recalled the novel written sometime in the early 1900’s. He’d read it one summer and he’d wanted to go. His grandparents took him to see the then new Inspiration Tower and Old Matt’s Cabin but nothing else. “I’d like that,” he said. “It sounds fun.”

  Maggie smiled. “I would, too. I used to pretend I was Sammy Lane.”

  “I wish I’d known. I could’ve been Young Matt,” Cole teased.

  “I don’t know,” Maggie teased, “You’re from the city. I might’ve made you be Ollie Stewart.”

  They locked gazes and laughed.

  “I want to go to White Water,” Kiefer cried. “I’ve always wanted to go and Mom always says ‘no’.”

  Maggie’s happy expression wilted like a flower without water. “And Mom still says ‘no’, Kiefer.”

  “Mom!” Kiefer cried.r />
  “No,” Maggie said, brusque as he’d ever heard her. Cole wondered what lay behind her harsh response then remembered she’d said her son couldn’t swim. He didn’t know what rides they offered at White Water but if it resembled the water parks he’d visited, the chance of her son drowning on site would be slim to none. Maggie tended to be cautious, though, where her kids were involved. Cole jumped in with other suggestions in an effort to defuse some of the tension. “How about Ripley’s Believe It or Not?” he asked. “Or the Dixie Stampede. Isn’t there a wax museum too?”

  Kaitlin grinned. Cole figured she liked horses, recalling from her earlier comment. “I’ve always wanted to go to Dixie Stampede,” she said. “I bet Kiefer would like Ripley’s.”

  Kiefer, sullen after his mother’s solid rejection of his single suggestion, brightened a little at the idea. “Yeah, it might be cool.”

  Beneath the outdoor table, Maggie rested her hand on Cole’s leg and he dropped his hand down to cover it. “Cole said he might teach you to drive, Kaitlin,” she said. “Did your grandpa try at all?”

  “Once,” the teen said. “But he got mad and said I wasn’t ready. Cole, would you really?”

  “I would,” he said. He had almost forgotten he’d told Maggie he could but he would. A few driving lessons might improve the relationship between him and Maggie’s daughter. “We could start tomorrow if you want.”

  “Awesome,” Kaitlin cried. “I’d love it. Thanks, Cole.”

  “De nada,” he said.

  After lunch the day became marvelous, the kind each one would remember for years. They rode most of the rides, attended several shows, and ate homemade ice cream, corn on the cob, and kettle corn. They watched lye soap being made, the blacksmith at work at his forge, and other craftspeople. While the kids wandered off to ride the huge water slide, many stories high, Cole and Maggie headed for the Wilderness Church. They sat together in a pew, gazing outward through the huge glass wall behind the altar at God’s wilderness. The panoramic view offered both solace and inspiration. Cole enjoyed the down time, the peaceful comfort of Maggie at his side. When a park employee arrived to lead a round of old fashioned hymns, they remained and sang along. He delighted in Maggie’s pure voice and when they left the church, they walked hand in hand without any embarrassment at all.