by Emily March
They sat without speaking for a while. Caitlin did her best not to think. Nevertheless, her mind spun. What had just happened in her mother’s kitchen?
After throwing at least three handfuls of pebbles off the cliff, Chase broke the silence. “When are you moving, Caitlin?”
“As soon as possible. I have to be out of my apartment in the city by the first of November, so I don’t have a lot of time. I hope to find a rental in town tomorrow.”
“It doesn’t take long to look at rentals in Eternity Springs. You’ll find something tomorrow.” Chase glanced at his sister. “You don’t want to buy a place?”
“No. Not a place to live. Not right away. I’ll buy property for the daycare and I want to concentrate on one project at a time. I have my eyes on that empty lot on Aspen between Second and Third.”
Chase pursed his lips and considered it. “Not a bad spot.”
“The bank owns it and I think I could get it at a decent price. I have a supper meeting with a builder tomorrow night to discuss plans.”
“Whoa. No dust on you, is there?”
“I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while.”
“But it didn’t occur to you to say anything to the folks about it?”
On the defensive, she stiffened her spine. “It occurred to me. It’s my decision, though, and I wanted to make it on my own. Besides, Mom was going to have a cow about it whenever I told her, so I figured it was best for everyone if I waited until it was a done deal.”
“And it is a done deal?”
“I gave notice at work.”
“Okay then. Well…” Chase rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, Goober, Mom just wants what’s best for you. That’s all she’s ever wanted.”
Caitlin swallowed a lump her throat and shrugged. She pretended that her bottom lip didn’t tremble. Her emotions where her mother was concerned were so conflicted. Ali was both her biggest cheerleader and her harshest critic. Caitlin wanted to please her mother, but she didn’t want to live her life for her.
Chase shook his head, then took pity on his sister and changed the subject. “Well, here’s what I think. I think you’ll find a place to live tomorrow before ten a.m. That gives you extra time, so you should come up to the Rocking L and help paint the mural we’re doing on the cafeteria wall.”
She shot him a look that questioned his sanity. “What?”
He repeated his suggestion.
She couldn’t help but laugh. Leave it to Chase to interject the mundane into an insane situation. “No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to spend my day painting a mural on your cafeteria wall.”
“But think of the children!” Chase exclaimed, his brown eyes flashing with amusement. “I love Lori dearly, but it’s not that she simply colors outside the lines, she doesn’t see the lines. She’s obliterating Sage’s design. If she’s left in charge of the mural, rather than it brightening the children’s mealtime, it will turn their stomachs.”
“You’re ridiculous.” Caitlin dismissed her brother, gazing back toward the waterfall where the reflection of the afternoon’s fading sunlight created a rainbow in the mist. Seeing it, she smiled. Some of the tension in her bones melted.
She loved Heartache Falls—the sounds, the scents, the sight of such majestic beauty. She loved so much about Eternity Springs and its environs. It inspired her. How quickly it had become home to her.
She willed back tears. Why can’t Mom and Dad see that?
Chase threw an arm around her shoulder and gently tugged a lock of her hair. “C’mon, Goober. Don’t tell me you’re going to go back on your promise.”
“What promise?” As always when he pulled her hair, she elbowed him in the side.
“I seem to remember that when I got home from my Middle East adventure, you promised if I ever needed anything, all I had to do was ask.”
Caitlin shrugged off his arm and whipped around to shoot him an incredulous look. The incident Chase referred to was their family’s biggest nightmare, the time when he’d gone missing in the terrorist-infested mountains of Chizickstan and their family had feared him dead.
“Seriously?” She shoved him. “You’re playing the I-thought-you-were-dead card for an afternoon of mural painting?”
The laughter glittering in his eyes intensified. “Yep. Sure am.”
How could she have forgotten how infuriating her brother could be? “That’s taking advantage.”
Chase shrugged. “How old are you? Thirty?”
Her eyes narrowed. Forget shoving. Now she wanted to use her self-defense skills and take him to the ground. “I’m only twenty-nine.”
“And for how many of those twenty-nine years have I, as your beloved older brother, taken advantage of you?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Exactly. That’s what brothers do.”
She sniffed loudly with disdain, even as her lips fluttered with a begrudging grin. “I’m not sure ‘beloved’ is the proper adjective in this instance.”
“Sure it is. You love me big as the moon.”
The reminder of the declaration of their childhood warmed her heart. So did the wink he gave while playing his winning card. “And you’ll love it when I return the favor by helping you after you change your mind about where you want furniture in your new digs.”
Caitlin always had trouble deciding where she wanted things to go. She didn’t hesitate. “What time do you want me at the cafeteria?”
Chase laughed. “Let’s make it two. That way you’ll arrive before Lori, and you might be able to clean up some of her mess before she gets there.”
“I can’t believe she puts up with you.”
“Honestly, I can’t either, but the woman is head over heels for me.”
“I know,” Caitlin responded with an exaggerated sigh. “She always has been. Too bad you wasted so many years being stupid.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
They both fell silent as a hawk lifted from his perch atop a fir tree, his powerful wings pumping the air as he rose high above the waterfall. Caitlin tried to recall the last time she’d watched a hawk take flight. It had been way too long.
Finally, she’d found enough calm within herself to be able to say, “I knew Mom and Dad wouldn’t be happy with my decision, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting this.”
Chase slung an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Me either, Goober.”
“It hurts my feelings. They didn’t even give me a chance to explain. Dad’s making up stuff out of thin air, and Mom is tossing back booze. Talk about Bizarro World.”
“Dad’s had a thorn in his paw ever since they saw you in Telluride.”
“Obviously, since he’s decided Josh knocked me up.”
Chase started to say something, then apparently changed his mind. He shut his mouth and rolled his tongue around his cheeks.
“What?”
“Nothing. I like Josh. He’s a good guy.”
“Are you friends?”
“I wouldn’t go so far to say that we’re friends. More like acquaintances. I know him through Brick—Josh worked for him at the Stardance Ranch RV Resort—but we haven’t socialized together much. He’s quiet. Seems content to be by himself. I like what he’s done with the renovation of his garage. Built a new house, too.”
“But you said he’s a good guy. How do you know?”
“Brick says he is and Brick knows him. They’re foster brothers.”
“Yes, Dad mentioned that. So, what happened to Josh’s parents?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, he’s a quiet guy, but my veterinarian bride thinks he’s fabulous. He adopted a special-needs dog. That says quite a lot about a man.”
“That he’s crazy?” Caitlin asked with a laugh, recalling the three-times-a-day bladder expression Josh was required to do for Penny.
“‘Dedicated’ is the word I’d choose.”
Caitlin thought back to the care Josh had taken of Penny during the
gondola stoppage. “He is sweet with her. That is appealing in a man.”
Chase gave her a sly look. “So was he sweet with you, too? What did happen between the two of you? Care to give me the lowdown?”
Caitlin sighed. “I’m sure you heard all about it.”
“Yes, but from the ’rents. Not from you. I’d like to hear your version.”
She told him with more detail than she would have anticipated and finished with the decision she’d made in the moonlight following a barefoot dance. “I’m going to marry him, Chase.”
“What?”
“I’m going to marry him.”
“Holy crap.” In the midst of gathering up another handful of pebbles to throw, Chase froze. He looked at his sister with shock in his gaze. “At the risk of sounding like Dad, you’re being straight with us about the pregnancy thing?”
She gave him another elbow to the side, a little harder this time. “I’m being straight. I haven’t slept with him yet.”
“Yet.”
“I hope to rectify that soon.”
“So Dad is right about one thing. You are chasing him.”
Caitlin unfolded her legs and leaned back on her elbows. Watching rainbows of light float in the waterfall mist, she said, “Technically, that might be correct, but it’s not an attractive charge. I’d prefer to say I intend to make a run at him. Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I just know he’s the one. I can’t explain it.”
Chase’s tone was incredulous as he asked, “On the basis of one broken-down gondola ride? That blows me away, Goober.”
Sunshine warmed her skin, and she lifted her face toward the sky. “I know. I can hardly believe it myself. I’ve never been one to believe in love at first sight, and honestly, I still don’t. I’m not in love with him. I don’t know him well enough for that. Yet. But I believe I will be in love with him. It will come in time.”
“Would you be moving to Eternity Springs if he didn’t live here?”
“I think so. Maybe not quite this soon, but I’ve been headed here for quite some time. Everything changed when you went missing.”
“So this is my fault now?” He asked, a bit of a bite to his voice.
“Only if you agree with Mom and Dad and think I’m throwing away my life. I’ve been looking for an excuse to come home ever since you did, Chase. I miss my family. I want to play summer baseball with you and Lori. I want to go to yoga class with Mom and Dad. And after you get around to knocking Lori up, I want to babysit your little girl.”
“Boys. I told my wife we’re going to have five boys. I want a basketball team.”
“And I see marbles rolling out of your head even now.”
They shared a grin, then Chase rolled to his feet and went in search of something bigger than pebbles to throw into the water. He gathered a half dozen fist-sized stones and pitched them one by one toward the waterfall. When his hands were empty, he turned and faced Caitlin.
“I get the family part of this decision. That aside, mind if I play Devil’s advocate regarding Tarkington?” Without waiting for her answer, he pressed on. “I know you’re not like most girls—”
“Women.”
“Excuse me. I know you’re not like most women, but this whole marriage idea … don’t you think this is probably the common new-relationship high? You know what I’m talking about. That gaga dippy dreamy-eyed emotion that lasts six weeks or so before fizzling out?”
“I know what you’re talking about and this isn’t that.” She wrapped her arms around her knees. “He’s the one, Chase. The one. I know it in my bones.”
Chase shook his head. “That’s just weird. You spent … what … two days with him?”
“Not even that much. Look, I know it’s weird. I also know I’m meant to be with him. Be here, with him. In Eternity Springs.”
“That’s woo-woo, Caitlin. You’ve never been a woo-woo kind of person.” He paused a moment, then added, “I hate to see you risk your heart this way. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”
Caitlin rose, walked over to her brother, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Michael Chase. Honestly, I’m a little afraid that I’ll get hurt, too. But I’m convinced I must follow my instincts in this instance. I just need to convince everyone else in my life that I’m right.”
Chase’s smirk signaled his surrender. “Probably need to let Tarkington in on it, too.”
“Oh, I will.” Now it was Caitlin’s turn for a sly smile.
Seeing it, Chase laughed out loud. “I almost feel sorry for the guy. He doesn’t stand a chance.”
“I can be a little determined.” Caitlin made a dusting motion with her hands.
Chase snorted. “And the summit of Murphy Mountain can get a little cold in January.”
“Yeah, well, so can Mom’s smile.” Caitlin closed her eyes and groaned. “I slammed the door when I left the house. I can’t believe I did that.”
“Yep. She’ll make you pay for that one. So, are you going to go back to the house and face the music or throw yourself into Heartache Falls?”
Caitlin massaged her brow with both hands. “Sometimes it’s hard to be a grown-up.”
“Don’t you know it.” Chase’s smile softened to tender. “One reason to take heart, Goober. Celeste rode up shortly after you left the house. Nobody calms choppy waters like Celeste.”
“True.” Caitlin sighed and turned toward the path that led home. “Unfortunately, I feel like I left a hurricane behind.”
Journal Entry
They sent me to a therapist for the first time one week before I turned twelve. The doctor asked me what I wanted for my birthday.
I didn’t explain that every year, my mother threw a huge party for my birthday. Hundreds of people came, but they were always all adults. No kids. And the party always had a theme. “A night in the jungle” when I turned nine. I got life-sized stuffed animals—a giraffe and a gorilla and a zebra. Somebody gave me a live monkey. Guests wore Tarzan and Jane costumes and before I finished opening all my gifts, someone had rigged a rope swing from the second floor into the pool.
I liked the sweet, fruity drink the waitstaff served. Jungle juice, they called it. I drank a lot. I fell asleep on a lounge chair beside the pool.
I woke up surrounded by naked people having sex. The sound of a Tarzan yell still scares me.
I told the therapist I wanted a tent for my birthday.
I wanted to run away for real that time, to go up into the hills and camp out. I wanted escape.
Chapter Six
Mac Timberlake stood in front of the big picture window at the front of his house and watched Celeste Blessing give his wife one final hug before pulling on her helmet and mounting her Gold Wing. Thank God for Celeste. She had a way of saying exactly what a person needed to hear, when he needed to hear it.
In today’s brief ten-minute visit, she’d managed to remind him that the Timberlake family support system was dedicated and deep, that he’d married a woman of uncommon strength and fathered three children who would never turn their backs on family. “It’ll be okay,” he murmured, shoving his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “No matter what, it’ll be okay.”
Ali waited, waving, as Celeste topped a hill and disappeared down the other side. Not for the first time, Mac half expected that the woman dressed in gold-trimmed white leathers would sprout real wings and she and her motorcycle would rise up into the sky. If anyone could manage that little trick, it would be Celeste.
Ali turned and met Mac’s gaze. The smile she offered was bittersweet, and she didn’t try to hide the tears rolling down her cheeks. He turned away from the window and started toward the door, intending to walk outside and join her, but a shooting pain in his leg had him reaching for the support of a chair back and gritting his teeth instead.
By the time the pain eased, Ali was reentering the house. Mac did his level best to hide his pain, but his wife of almost forty years knew him too well. The brittle worry in her smile s
howed him he hadn’t fooled her, so he attempted to distract her instead.
“Any sign of the kids on the trail?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Could I have handled it any worse, do you think?”
“Of course you could have handled it worse.” Ali waited a beat and added, “Though you’d have had to put some real effort into it.”
Releasing a half laugh, half groan, Mac crossed the room to his wife and took her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair and sank into the comfort of her embrace. “Should I go after Caitlin?”
“No. Chase will herd her back after she’s calmed down.” Ali sighed heavily. “We forget because we’re not around her all the time, but our girl can have a hair-trigger temper upon occasion. No sense risking making matters worse.”
“True.”
“Not that I handled the situation any better than you, Mac. Caitlin living in Eternity Springs? Now? I’m not sure I have the energy for this.”
Mac took a long look at his wife. These past few weeks had been hard on her. She did more tossing and turning than actually sleeping at night. The lines on her brow etched a little deeper, the creases at her eyes stretched a little longer. He honestly thought this whole thing was harder on her than it was on him.
Oh, Ali. I’m sorry to be doing this to you.
He cleared the sudden lump from his throat. “No matter what happens, you need to take care of yourself, Alison. I’m going to insist on it.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him. “Right back at you.”
“With that in mind, since our daughter is apparently home for more than a quick visit, maybe we should go down to yoga class tonight after all.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Ali’s mouth flickered in a grin as she added, “We could catch dinner at the restaurant afterwards. Tell Caitlin to fend for herself.”
“Yeah. Right. Ali Timberlake opts out of feeding one of her chicks on said chick’s first night home? And I’m going to wear hot pink yoga pants to class, too.”
This time Ali actually laughed. “If you had hot pink yoga pants to wear, I’d definitely do it. I’d want a camera set up in the room first.”