Sage shrugged. 'Didn't see his face. The hood was up.'
She dropped the keyboard on the floor and scooched back down under her covers. Freesia wasn't going to push her anymore, but knew she'd have to talk to her again as soon as she calmed down enough.
She turned on Sage's stereo to the Beatles part of her CD, tiptoed out of the room and shut the door halfway. She turned around to see Rudy sitting by the fireplace. She tilted her head at the dog.
"Go on in. Just be quiet."
Rudy wagged her tail and padded into Sage's room. She heard the squeak of the springs in Sage's bed from Rudy jumping up. When she heard nothing but the soft sounds of 'Blackbird' humming from the stereo, she returned to her own room.
She crawled back into her bed, smooshing herself as far as she could under her comforter. The curtains were left open and she could see the dark sky filled with pricks of tiny sparks of light over the tops of the pine trees. Her chest hurt. Was Sage's dream a piece of the puzzle? And if it was, how would she fit it in with the other things they knew? She didn't even know where to turn.
They were getting closer. She felt it. But something ate at her gut. She was scared. Not really of what she'd find out, but more of who was involved.
We're coming, Mom. She allowed warm tears to fall. Then she slowly slipped into a deep sleep.
Morning came way too fast. "Freesia, this is the last call for breakfast," Gran yelled from the dining room. "Get up or you'll have to wait until lunch to eat."
Freesia's eyelids felt like they each weighed a hundred pounds. She squinted. The sun streaming in her bedroom window actually hurt. She rolled over and threw her covers back. It felt like she'd gone through ten rounds with Mike Tyson. She made her way to the dining room table, plunking herself beside Sage, who was eating a bowlful of corn puff cereal.
Freesia held her heavy head up with her fist. No memory of the night before? Fine with me. But we're still gonna talk.
"We thought you'd never get up." Gran placed a plate with eggs, sausage, toast and hash browns in front of Freesia. "It's almost ten."
Freesia picked up her fork and poked the sausage. Clear, greasy streaks dripped from the links, pooling under them. Nausea stole her appetite. "Sorry. I didn't sleep well."
"Well, that's understandable. We decided to let you girls sleep in a bit." Gran leaned down in the pass-through between the kitchen and the dining room. "So? Any ideas of what to do today?"
Sage's face lit up and she signed, fishing.
Freesia nibbled on a piece of toast. "I guess we could do that. I dunno. I don't really feel like doing anything right now."
"That's just because you're tired," Gran said with a wave. "I think that's a great idea, Sage. Why don't we go over to Hunt Lake, throw some lines into the water and see what happens? We'll talk to Granddad about it when he comes back from walking Rudy."
Sage gave a thumbs-up. Freesia repressed a yawn. "Oh, c'mon. Do we seriously have to do that?"
"Yes, I think we do," Gran said, wiping the counter. "If you don't want to go, fine. But the rest of us are going to do Sage's choice today. Why don't you go down and have a swim? Maybe the cold water will shock the crankies out of you. After that, you can decide."
A swim actually sounded like a good idea to Freesia. She shoved a spoonful of hash browns into her mouth before passing the plate through the window to Gran.
"You didn't eat much. You be sure to have a snack after your swim or you'll burn out by early afternoon."
Freesia nodded and then changed into her bathing suit. On her way down the Stairs of Doom, she heard arguing through the bushes coming from the Oakleys' place.
"Well, your mother needs some help around here today and I can't do it all by myself. Can't you just take the day off?" asked Frank.
"Dad, I can't just not show up," Rick answered. "They're short-staffed over there and it's busy. Mom said she'd be okay. I'll come back home on my break to check in on her."
Frank snorted. "That's real big of you, son. You know what? Just forget it. Get out of here, you selfish jerk. I'll help her. You just be sure you get back here immediately after your shift."
Their door slammed. Seconds later, she heard it open again, Frank's voice bellowing in the direction of their dock. "You slam that door like that again and I'll slam you." The door banged shut again.
Through the clearing in the brush, she saw Rick speed-walking down their stairs to the dock. She hurried her pace on the off-chance of catching him before he left for work.
When she walked out onto the dock, the door to their boathouse was slowly creaking open. She walked up to the end of her dock, spread out her towel and sat down, dangling her feet in the water. She didn't want Rick to think she'd overheard his fight with his dad. And there was no way she was taking her bathing suit cover off until he wasn't there.
She heard the boat motor start up and rev a few times. She looked over her shoulder and saw Rick backing the boat down the rails into the shallow water surrounding their boathouse. Even from where she sat, she saw his face twisted in anger. But as the boat drifted down, he looked up at her and he brightened into a smile. She blushed.
He steered the boat over to her. She caught the side of the boat with her feet, pulled it closer to the dock, holding it there by hanging her legs inside the boat. He was wearing his mirrored sunglasses and she couldn't tell where his eyes were. She fidgeted.
"You look tired," he said. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Sage had a nightmare. I was up with her for a bit. After that, I had trouble falling back to sleep right away."
"Poor kid. And poor you. Going for a swim?" He wiggled his eyebrows. Her legs, from her hips down to her toes, turned to liquid. She was so glad she was sitting.
"Yeah. Gran said it might scare the crankies away."
Oh, for the love of all that's good. Why did I say that? If she could kick her own butt, she would have. She tried to look calm on the outside.
He laughed. She couldn't tell if he laughed at her or simply at what she'd just said. Either way, she felt like a horse's rear.
"You are hilarious. Well, it's a good idea. That water is cold enough to scare anything out of anyone."
There was a short lull in their conversation. The motor rumbled gently. The boat bobbed under her calves. The water under the motor looked bluish-green with a rim of purple.
"So, I guess I'd better go. Don't know if you heard earlier, but…work is waiting."
Anything must be better than sticking around your house, I'm guessing.
"Yeah, right," she said, lifting up her legs.
"Did you want to hang out later? I'll come by at the same time and maybe we can go for a walk up to the small beach. Would your Gran let you go out?"
An excited scream exploded in her head. "I'm sure it'll be cool. I'll ask her when I go back upstairs."
"Okay. Have a nice swim. See ya later."
She tucked her feet into a cross-legged position and waved. He gave the boat some gas and sped off around the corner. She waited a couple of minutes for her legs to feel less rubbery, stood up and removed her cover-up.
If I'm like this just from talking to him, what would happen if I finally kissed him? She laughed at the thought and dove into the cold water. She swam underwater until her lungs screamed for air and she could no longer see the rocks on the bottom. She broke the surface and treaded water, staring over at Rick's dock.
As if that would ever happen.
Chapter Fourteen
Freesia hummed as she walked down the road with her grandparents and Sage to Hunt Lake. She carried the fishing poles, Sage had the bait and Gran toted the mini-cooler filled with sandwiches, fruit and a thermos of fresh lemonade.
"Well, looks like the swim brightened your mood, after all," Gran said.
A smile lit up Freesia's face. "Yeah. The swim was great." She swooned at the memory of her encounter with Rick.
"Sure, the swim." Granddad took Rudy off her leash before getting to the path th
rough the woods to their favorite fishing rock. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with a chat with a handsome young fella from next door." He nudged her.
The color in her face drained. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, of course not." He shoved the leash into his sweatshirt pocket. "I saw his boat wander over before he left for work. He's smitten with you."
Oh no. She so didn't want to have that conversation with her grandfather. "I seriously doubt that."
"Oh, I know 'smitten' and he's smitten," Granddad teased. "He looks at you the way I look at your Gran."
Freesia cringed. "Granddad, please."
Gran repressed a giggle. "All right, George, stop torturing the poor girl." She pointed ahead of them with her chin. "Go catch up with Sage and make sure she gets to our destination."
Granddad cackled and rushed ahead.
Freesia thought death would be easier than being teased about boys by her grandparents. She didn't know what was worse, being poked by her granddad or knowing that her gran was about to ask about Rick too.
Please don't say anything…please don't say anything…
"Did he ask you to meet him again tonight?" Gran asked. She watched the worn down path in front of them as they walked.
Ugh.
"Yeah. He wants to go for a walk to the beach. He's going to come over about the same time. Is that okay?"
Gran nodded. "Not a big deal. Just be in by dark. And make sure you don't go too far with that bear wandering around."
That was it? Whew
She was expecting the Spanish Inquisition or something. She was positive it would happen soon.
There was a split in the path. To the left were a short few steps to the oversized boulder they'd used for fishing since Mom was small. It was big enough for all of them to sit in a different spot with plenty of room for their fishing lines, without any of them touching.
Straight ahead, the path wound around Hunt Lake to the edge of the bay where, if someone climbed up on the rocks, they'd be able to see almost the entire lake. She'd only gone up that far twice, once with her mom and again last fall, after her mom disappeared, when her grandparents went up the last weekend in September to lock the cabin up for the winter.
Even though she was surrounded by nothing but trees and brush, Freesia felt like someone was watching her. A slight breeze caressed her neck, making her scalp tingle. She hugged herself to repress a shiver.
When they reached the rock, Granddad was helping Sage put a wiggly worm on her hook. Freesia cringed. She honestly didn't know what was more disgusting, shish-kabobbing the worm on the hook or touching it in the first place. It didn't seem to bother Sage, though.
"Well hello, ladies." Granddad tossed Sage's line into the water and eased her into her sitting spot. "Can I hook you both up?" He laughed at his own joke.
Freesia rolled her eyes. "Hilarious. Gran's right. You really shouldn't give up your day job."
"Well, since I'm retired, there's nothing to worry about, is there?" He held up the worms. "Bait ya?"
"No thanks. I'll just cast a few."
She grabbed her rod and cast her favorite spoon lure into the water, slowly reeling it back in. As the hook came closer, she saw it spinning under the water, flashing as it caught the sun's glare. She'd caught a lot of fish with that lure.
She reeled the line up until the lure was halfway up the rod and pressed the button down on her reel. Leaning the rod just behind her shoulder, she flipped it forward, releasing the button so the lure flew out into the water.
It was a mesmerizing motion—casting, watching the lure spinning and reeling. After about fifteen minutes of casting and joining in the excitement of Sage catching two fair-sized perch in a row, Freesia was bored. "I'm going for a walk up the path." She leaned her rod against the tree next to the lunch cooler.
Gran and Granddad looked at each other.
"Going up to the rocks?" Granddad asked.
Freesia shrugged. "I don't know if I'll go that far."
"Take Rudy with you." Gran passed her a bottle of water. "At least she can scare away any potential danger lurking about."
Freesia didn't even have to call the dog. Rudy bounded after Freesia, seeing her walk toward the path. Then she ran down the path, disappearing around the curve.
"Rudy!" Freesia called after her. With no response from the dog, Freesia picked up her pace. The path grew rougher the farther she went down since there wasn't as much foot traffic. The bush was thicker and the path was overgrown and uneven from the tree roots sticking out of the soil. After a while, Freesia actually had to push branches out of her way or risk being scraped up from the knees down.
"Rudy!" she called louder. She heard the bells on Rudy's collar tinkling somewhere in front of her. She stopped. Listened. "Rudy?" The silence crushed her. It was one thing to drink in the quiet around her cabin…that was familiar. The same quiet out in the open bush when she didn't know what else she'd meet up with was just, well, unsettling. She looked behind her, not seeing the path anymore. The bells tinkled again, this time to her left. She whipped her head in that direction. Suddenly, Rudy bounded out of the bush, taking Freesia by surprise, knocking her backward onto the forest floor, her water bottle catapulting out of her hand and bouncing off a tree beside her.
Freesia had the wind knocked out of her, but due to the mossy blanket covering the ground, she had a soft landing. "Rudy, you doofus," she said through gritted teeth. She held the dog's face between her hands. "You scared the crap out of me."
The dog had something clamped between her teeth. Freesia sat up, straining to see. "What's in your mouth, girl?" She pulled, but Rudy released a playful growl. "C'mon, you dumb mutt. I'm not playing. Let go." She pried the dog's jaw open.
The dog finally let go of the object and sat, her tail flying from side to side, batting the ground brush around. Freesia pulled herself up to her knees and studied the object Rudy brought her. It was a small jewelry box…a ring box. She opened it up and gasped. It was a diamond ring.
And it had an inscription. Separate for now, together forever.
"Where did you get this, old girl?"
The dog's ears perked up and she jerked around in circles. At first she thought the dog was chasing her tail, but it looked more like she was…happy to see someone?
Freesia yanked herself to standing and was about to walk forward when she heard Gran calling her behind them. "Freesia, Rudy? Come back for lunch."
Freesia frowned ahead of her. The path was even more overgrown as it went on. It seemed to be worse than when she'd ventured out there last year. Rudy kept wagging her tail, looking back in the same direction. She sat down on her haunches, let out a playful ruff and took off in the other direction. Freesia's water bottle rolled out from under the brush Rudy was spinning around in.
Freesia shook her head and bent down to retrieve the bottle. That dog needs the Dog Whisperer or something.
Her eyes scanned the area in front of her for a few more seconds. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she walked backward a few steps, turned around and hustled back to catch up with Rudy. She stared down at the ring box still in her hand. She frowned as she shoved it in her pocket.
Weird. It felt like eyes were everywhere.
Her body prickled with goose bumps. Behind Freesia, the bushes a few feet in front of where she'd fallen down rustled and then stilled.
They caught two perch, a smaller jackfish and a bass. The water at Hunt Lake was so warm by midsummer the perch were usually infested with worms. But Granddad announced after gutting, scaling and deboning all the fish, no worms were present. So they ate them for supper with jasmine rice and fresh corn on the cob.
After helping to clear the table and washing the supper dishes, Freesia cleaned up the fishy stink off her hair and skin and changed her clothes for her walk with Rick. It was funny. She hardly felt nervous with the thought of being alone with him anymore. Well, at least not until he started talking to her.
She finished getting ready and then sat in the living room watching Granddad and Sage play gin. She looked at the time. Seven.
Where was Rick?
He was an anally punctual person. When he said he was going to be somewhere, he was there. But when seven-fifteen came and he still wasn't there, she worried that something was wrong. The image of his dad screaming at him flashed in her mind.
"Gran, I'm going to meet Rick down the driveway, okay?" Freesia pulled on her favorite hooded sweatshirt.
"Spray yourself with bug repellent," Gran said without looking up from her book. "You know how hungry the mosquitoes get when the sun goes down."
Yay. I'm meeting the hottest guy ever while I'm reeking of Off! mosquito spray. That should drive him wild.
But it would have been more embarrassing to be swatting mosquitoes away the entire time, so she opted to spray. She put on her sneakers and said goodbye to everyone, promising Sage she would check on her when she returned home. Freesia slipped out the back door, trying to keep all the bugs out of the house.
She shuffled down the rocky driveway, pausing and listening when she made it to the main road that everyone else's driveways backed onto. No yelling. She took in a deep breath and walked to the bottom of the Oakleys' driveway. Still not hearing anything, she decided to go over and knock on their door. What's the worst that could happen?
Don't ask stupid questions like that.
As she walked over the small hill going into their parking lot, she saw lights on in the living room. She stopped, looking at the cabin. Something about it made her skin crawl. It was dumb, she knew. But the feeling was so strong. She wrote the sensation off as nerves and slowly made her way up to their front door.
Rick's mom's green Volvo was gone. She walked up the small flight of stairs to the huge veranda that surrounded the Oakleys' cabin. Peeking in the kitchen window beside the door, she saw a pair of legs on the couch in the living room, just past the kitchen. She lightly rapped on the door. The legs didn't move. But she heard someone shuffling in the room to the left.
She saw Rick doing a fast tiptoe through the kitchen. He peeked out the door, smiling when he saw her.
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