"Uh, sorry," she said, "but when you didn't show up, I thought I'd come see if you were still interested in that walk. Sorry if I'm bothering you."
He shook his head and looked over his shoulder. "You're not. Things were a bit wild around here and I couldn't get away. Things are cool now. I was about to come over. Here. Come in. I just have to get a sweatshirt."
She really didn't want to go inside. When she saw the legs still hadn't moved, she entered, but decided she'd stay in the kitchen.
"You want something to eat or drink or something?" he asked, still not letting his voice rise above a whisper.
"No, I just finished eating a little while ago."
"Okay. Let me just get my shirt and we can go." He disappeared around the corner.
She kept her eyes on those legs, ready to bolt out the door if they even flinched. Scanning the kitchen, she noted that there were dishes piled in the sink, newspapers all over the kitchen table and clothes spread out in the room. She hadn't gotten to talk to Rick's mom very often, but he told her that she was a real neat freak. The mess didn't seem to sit right with that notion. Something compelled her to take a look in the living room. She took three steps forward and strained her head around the fridge.
His dad looked awful, as if he hadn't shaved in a while. He had always kept in shape—pumping weights, running—but he looked as though he'd let himself go a bit, judging by the small beer belly poking out from under his shirt. A few empty beer bottles sat on the side table next to the couch. Freesia was about to Hokey Pokey herself three steps back when a picture on the shelf just outside the kitchen door caught her eye.
It was a picture of Frank in the middle of his boys. They were holding a fish as long as all four of them, standing shoulder to shoulder and smiling. Freesia smiled. It had been a long time since she'd seen them together and all happy. As she leaned closer to the picture, her smile faded and her eyes widened. Frank was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt that looked so familiar. Where had she seen that before? She covered her mouth with her hand to repress a gasp.
Mizu wears a sweatshirt like that.
But it couldn't be the same sweatshirt, could it? She risked stepping a little closer to the picture. The one that Mizu wore looked older, more worn and faded. The one in the photograph looked practically brand-new. And it had a patch of the Canadian Air Force symbol on the right shoulder. Rick didn't look much different, so the photograph couldn't have been taken too long ago.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her back and she nearly screamed.
Rick put his hands up. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to startle you. Great picture, eh? That was last year on a fishing trip we all went on. That's when things were still good." He jerked his head to the door. "Let's get out of here. If he wakes up, I'll have to stay in."
She took one last look at the picture and then moved to the door. They slipped out, not saying a word until they'd gotten all the way down the driveway to the main road. He breathed out and smiled. Freesia was going to ask if he was okay, but thought it was a better idea to let him talk first.
He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Let's go down to the beach."
She nodded but still didn't say a word.
They made small talk all the way down to the beach.
Rick slowed his pace. "Let's go up to the bridge that goes to the big cabins on the other side. It's really quiet there."
"Sure." A warm slosh gurgled in Freesia's stomach as they walked across the sand to the other side of the beach. When they got to the bridge, Rick stopped halfway across to lean on the railing and look out at the lake. She stood beside him, taking the same stance.
"My mom went back to the city," he said without looking at her. "I came back from work and found my dad sitting in the middle of the living room. He wasn't even drunk or anything. He was just sitting there rocking and crying, you know, like something scared the crap out of him. The place was trashed—crap was everywhere. When he realized I was there, he grabbed me and rambled on about not leaving a man behind. It was horrible seeing him like that. It was worse than before…"
He paused. "My mom sort of hinted that she was sick of how my dad was acting. Can't say I blame her. My brothers won't even come out here anymore."
"What happened?" Freesia asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. They probably had a fight or something. She came to see me at the Tiki before going to let me know she'd be back. I think she's trying to get one of my brothers to come back out here with her so they can get him to go back home." He looked down at her, his normally happy face etched with sadness. "There's something seriously wrong with him…has been for a long time."
She'd never seen him that upset before. "Yeah, I can understand that." She didn't know what else to say at that moment to make him feel better.
"All I want to do is save up some money for a car so I can get a good job in the city and get out of there. I'm tired of being his shrink, you know? And so was my mom."
Her heart sank. She didn't realize things were so bad for him. She wanted to hug him or something, but she was afraid that would seem weird. So she gathered every ounce of courage she had and reached over and put her hand on top of his. He looked down at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to pull his hand away. But instead, he took her hand, placed it in his palm and laced his fingers with hers.
Oh, my God. Are we holding hands? We are.
A tingling sensation burst from her fingertips, raced up her arm and down her body all the way to her thighs.
Okay. Now what?
He cupped his other hand over their hands entwined together. "I'm sorry to dump all of this on you…especially with everything you're going through, looking for your mom and everything. But, thanks for listening."
She smiled. "Anytime. You've always listened to me."
They gazed at each other until it felt uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. "The sun is almost down. If I don't get back before dark, Gran will put me under house arrest for the rest of the summer."
He laughed. "I love your sense of humor." Rick brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. "You always seem to know how to cheer me up. Come on, let's gets you home."
She shuddered. Her heart fluttered when he moved to walk off the bridge and head back home, still holding her hand. She bit her lip, remembering what Granddad had said about being smitten.
Darn you, Granddad. What if you're wrong?
They made their way back down the main road until they reached the fork where their driveways started. They paused, looking at each other. He gave her hand a couple of gentle squeezes. "Here, I'll walk you up to your parking lot and cut through the bushes back to my place. If I let you walk up there by yourself with this bear running around, your Gran will come after me."
"Maybe she'll put you under house arrest too." Freesia wanted to slap herself for saying something so dumb yet again.
He smiled. Even in the dim light, she saw his beautiful white teeth. He was smiling so wide, his dimples showed. "Maybe she'd put us under arrest together. That would make it easier to serve the time."
They inched up to the top of her driveway and stopped. "Well, I'd better get in. I promised Sage that I'd check in on her when I came home. You know, to make sure Gran and Granddad remembered all of her bedtime routine."
"You're an amazing sister." Rick's voice was barely above a whisper. "And a great friend."
Great. Friend. See, Granddad? Nothing going on here.
He touched the side of her face. "You have to be one of the most beautiful people I know—inside and out."
He drew his face closer to hers and paused. His lips parted slightly and he moved in even closer. He slid his fingers from her face into her hair, pulling her closer.
She felt his breath on her lips. He smelled like peppermint and Cool Water cologne. She instinctively parted her lips and he pressed his gently on hers.
It was the moment she'd dreamed about since she was younger than Sage. And i
t didn't feel weird or awkward. It felt…right.
Electricity surged from her lips down to her stomach. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was the most amazing thing she'd ever felt. For those precious moments, she wasn't a girl mourning the loss of her dad or a daughter trying to find her missing mother or an older sister to a girl who couldn't cope in the world without her. She was a regular teenager experiencing the sparks of young love.
He pulled away from her and smiled. "I've wanted to do that for a long time. I hope you weren't offended or anything."
Was he for real? Not!
"N-no, it's all g-good," she stammered. "And for the record, I've wanted you to do that for a long time."
"I have the day off tomorrow, so let's get out there and see if we can find some clues, okay?"
She nodded and he kissed her one more time just as the outside light blared on them like a spotlight.
She sighed. Gran really needs to take a workshop in subtleness.
Rick gave her hand a few more gentle squeezes and went off into the bushes toward his house. As she walked to the cabin, Granddad walked out to take Rudy for her before-bed pee.
He looked at her with a knowing smile. "Smitten?"
She rolled her eyes and shoved his arm. "Smitten."
She went inside to check on Sage, touching her lips with her fingertips and grinning. Her hand smelled like Cool Water.
Chapter Fifteen
Mizu pulled her legs up into her oversized sweatshirt, hugging her knees into her chest. Something seemed to pull at each part of her, trying to tear her apart. The pain was unbearable.
Another wave of pain washed over her. She flopped sideways onto the mossy forest floor, still holding onto her legs. Her teeth chattered. She breathed through it, like women breathe through labor, and then relaxed as the wave of pain flowed back down.
A cold sweat beaded on her forehead and under her arms. The moss rustled above her head and the Watcher's soothing voice surrounded her like a protective blanket.
"You haven't allowed yourself to soak, have you?"
She opened her eyes to slits. "What's the point?" She shivered, her teeth clenched. "It doesn't last as long, anymore. I'm having to do it more and more often and I still feel sick."
"Unfortunately, this is the way it happens. It requires tremendous energy to keep going and you haven't much time left. The soaking not only reenergizes and helps to heal the body, it also reenergizes your soul and clarifies your vision so you understand what is left for you to take care of. Without the soaking, your time will surely pass much more rapidly. Then I cannot help you."
She didn't move, streaks of tears creeping down her cheeks.
The Watcher placed his hand on the side of her face and whispered, "Come, child. Take time to soak now that you have put so much into this. Allow them to work with the pieces of the puzzle you've given them so far. By the time they have put together this portion of the whole picture, you will be strong enough to guide them once more with the rest of the pieces."
She squeezed her eyes shut as another wave began to rise in her feet.
The Watcher didn't wait for her response. He gathered her up in his wiry but comforting arms and slowly walked over to the shallow water. He knelt down, his robe spreading out around him like a parachute, slowly lowering her into the water. He laid her on her back, her arms by her sides, her legs straight. He pooled water in his palm and then poured it over her forehead.
She closed her eyes as the water streamed down her face, forming puddles in her eye sockets. Her body seemed to drink in the cool water and its calm, healing effects.
"Stay here this time for as long as your body needs to completely reenergize," the Watcher said. "In this case, there is no such thing as 'good enough.' I will be back to check on you soon."
He leaned down and pressed his lips to each of her eyes, then slowly pushed down on her chest so that she was completely submerged in the water.
She opened her eyes, seeing the distorted figure of the Watcher above her and smiled. She felt better already.
I just hope what I've given is enough for now. There is still so much more to do before the journey's end.
She allowed the tingling sensation of the water's love to ease her into a deep, motionless rest.
Chapter Sixteen
A week had passed since Freesia shared that special moment with Rick. She hadn't been able to spend as much time with him because he had taken on extra shifts. Freesia wasn't one of those girls who needed to be with her boyfriend every second or who freaked out when she couldn't be with him. Rick had told her he appreciated it.
Boyfriend. It still felt weird for her to call him that.
He needed to get his car and save for that ticket to freedom he so desperately wanted and needed. She worried about saying goodbye to him each day, watching him go home to the chaos he had to face there. And she had her hands full with helping Sage and Granddad, who'd sprained his ankle.
Gran propped up his foot on a couple of throw pillows. "Imagine someone your age trying to do tricks on the mini-trampoline."
Granddad winced as Gran accidentally dropped his foot down a little too hard. "Someone my age was doing just fine until his foot slipped into the holes around it. Besides, the OTs told us to do the games with her and not just watch to make it more fun."
Gran raised an eyebrow. "The OTs told us to play alongside her, not try doing air-guitar jumps with our eyes closed."
Granddad huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
Freesia couldn't hold her laughter in any longer and burst into hysterics. "Oh, my gosh, Granddad. I don't know what's funnier, how you looked when you were pretending to be a rock star or the look on your face when you fell." She bent over, holding her stomach, tears streaming down her face.
Sage, who had also been trying not to laugh, released her giggles too.
"That's wonderful. Kick a guy when he's down. Look at the respect I get around here from you girls. Just how are you going to make it around here without my muscles? I'd like to know."
Gran let out a huff. "You and your muscles need to rest. The doctor said you need to stay completely off the foot for at least a week. After that, we'll get you moving again."
"You'd better hide Sage's mini-tramp, Gran," Freesia said through hiccup laughter. "The temptation might be too much."
She and Sage rolled around on the couch until Sage fell on the floor.
Granddad stared at them, finally giving into giggles himself. "Okay, okay. That's enough. You heard Florence Nightmare here. I need my rest. Why don't you two take Rudy for her walk? When you come back, you can use that extra energy to help your Gran with supper."
Gran put her hands on her hips. "'Florence Nightmare,' am I? Girls, I suggest not taking too long. This is one nurse who isn't known for her gentleness with patients after being on the receiving end of their sarcasm."
Granddad held one of his crutches up at her. "Keep your distance, you. These are lethal weapons."
Freesia grabbed Sage's hand once she finally regained her composure, leading her younger sister to their assigned task. "Let's go before this turns into a WWF smack-down."
Sage let out one last giggle and then ran to the door to take Rudy's leash off the hook. She shook the leash and Rudy came bounding out of their grandparents' bedroom, her tail wagging so fast her backside swung in time.
Sage signed 'sit' and Rudy lowered her rear to the floor, allowing Sage to clip on the leash. The second she was hooked up, the dog yanked Sage to the door.
"Take it easy there, girl," Freesia said. "I'm sure Sage would like to keep both of her arms."
The girls started out on their walk and decided to go back to the trail at Hunt Lake. Freesia still kept what Mizu had given her hidden with the metal file box, as well as the ring she'd found in the woods, under her bed. She was so tempted to break into it, but someone was always around and she couldn't risk getting caught. She had the right to know what was in that box first befor
e the Detective and other investigators got their hands on it. So she had to find just the right moment to attempt any kind of mini breaking and entering tactic.
Rick said he hadn't had the guts to talk to his dad about the hat, either. They'd planned to get together later on that day to talk about everything.
Rick had some more things to tell her that he'd heard and they were going to put their heads together to see what else they could come up with. They still hadn't decided whether to hand the items over to the detective. Freesia was starting to think it was the best option. Maybe he could send everything away for the testing they did on CSI. The detective told her he'd done the same thing for a few other things the team had found already.
Just before they arrived at the trail they took to their fishing rock, Freesia grabbed the leash and unclipped Rudy. The dog didn't waste the opportunity of her freedom and sped off into the woods, followed closely by Sage. Freesia struggled to cram the leash into her back pocket while running after them.
Jeez! They can go pretty far, pretty fast.
She dodged protruding tree roots and other natural obstacles on her way. "Wait up, you guys!"
The only response was the sound of her own voice bouncing around the rocks. She checked on their fishing rock, but the two of them weren't there. She heard Rudy barking down the path, so she kept going. Remembering how the path thickened, she slowed her pace to a quick walk. After a few minutes, she reached the spot she'd gotten to the last time.
"Rudy?" She whistled the way Granddad always did.
No response.
"C'mon, Sage. I know you can hear me."
Nothing.
She sighed, plowing forward, shoving the brush aside with her feet. The farther she went, the higher and thicker the growth became until it was up to her waist.
This is so weird. I don't remember all of this bushy growth here last year.
She didn't even think the ground was capable of producing vegetation that thick and lush. She rubbed a leaf between her fingers. It felt almost rubbery like from a plant that should be in the rainforest, not something lining the rocky shores of a Canadian lake.
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