Take a Deep Breath (Lake of the Pines)

by Shar Dimick

  “Hey, is that you up there Cameron?” A loud voice boomed from below them. Cam and Liv quickly jumped back from each other. Cam hadn’t heard the powerboat come back in. “Who’s that with you?” Max called. “For a second there I thought I might have to dump this bucket of fish water on you two. It looked like things were getting pretty heated up.” He laughed loudly.

  “Okay, Dad, very funny.” Cam put his arm protectively around Liv. He could sense her embarrassment and wished he could spare her this scene. For that matter, he wished he could spare himself the scene.

  “Well aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Max continued as he walked up to them. Cam could see the other men down below unloading the fishing gear from the boat.

  “Dad, you remember Liv?”

  “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Preston.” Liv offered him her hand, but he didn’t seem to notice. She dropped it back down by her side.

  “Good to see you again too, Livvy. You’re looking good. No wonder Cam …”

  “Dad, it’s getting late and it looks like Uncle Roger could use a hand with the fishing basket down there. Looks like you got quite the haul.”

  “We sure did! You should see how many fish we got. I was really pulling them in!” Max bragged.

  “That’s great, Dad.” Cam successfully changed the subject. His Dad could never pass up an opportunity to talk about himself.

  “Well, I should be getting home.” Liv reached over to open the car door.

  “Okay, I get the hint. When you’re done saying goodbye to Liv, how ‘bout coming down and helping us clean those fish.”

  “Sure Dad.” Cam watched as his father made his was back down to the dock. He turned back toward Liv. “I’m really sorry about him.” Cam apologized as he stroked the inside of her arm with his finger.

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I really should get back, though…”

  “I know...” Cam kissed the palm of her hand.

  “Will I see you tomorrow?”

  “Count on it.” He let her hand go and brushed his lips against her forehead before he found her lips one last time.

  Liv broke the kiss before Mr. Preston made good on his promise to throw a bucket of fish water on them. She slipped through the opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. She pulled the door close and rolled down the window. “Bye Cam.”

  He leaned in through the window and kissed her again. “Good night, Liv.”

  “Good night…”

  Liv shifted her car into reverse and backed out. Cam stood in the driveway watching until her tail lights disappeared into the dark.

  Chapter Eight

  “Mom, Mom…” Liv rolled over and cracked open one eye to see her daughter standing illuminated in the doorway by the hall light.

  “What’s wrong honey?”

  “I’m scared. Can I sleep with you?”

  “Sure. Turn out the light and come on in.” Liv moved over to make room for her daughter. Sara flipped the light switch off and scurried over to the bed. Liv held open the covers and Sara scooted in. She snuggled in close to Liv, pressing back against her mother and tucking her head under Liv’s chin.

  “It’s okay.” Liv wrapped an arm around Sara. “Did you have a bad dream?”

  “No, but I heard a noise outside my window. It sounded like ‘chhh, chhh, chh…’”

  “It’s probably just the wind blowing a branch against the window. It sounds like it’s really picking up out there. It used to scare me when I was a little girl too. Try to go back to sleep.” Liv waited to hear the sound of her daughter’s quiet, even breathing before she closed her eyes again.

  “Mom, are you still awake?”

  “I’m trying not to be.”

  “Were you and Cam best friends?”

  “Yeah, we were, but that was a long time ago.”

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Well, our lives just took different paths, Honey. That happens sometimes,” Liv said as sleep pulled on her eyes.

  “But if you were best friends, why didn’t you marry Cam instead of Daddy?”

  Good question, Liv thought. “Well, if I hadn’t married Daddy, I wouldn’t have you.” Liv kissed the top of Sara’s head.

  “Well, I like Cam. I want you to marry him now that you’re best friends again. I want him to be my new Dad. Can I be a bridesmaid? I want to wear a blue dress and carry a basket of flowers.” Sara turned over to face Liv as she made plans.

  “Wait a second, Sweetie. I like Cam a lot too, but it’s way too soon to talk about getting married. We’ve only just started to get to know each other again. It’s only been a couple weeks since he came back into my life.” The best two weeks of my life, she thought before continuing. “Besides Cam lives in Chicago and we live in Ohio. We’ll each be going back to our own lives once the summer’s over. But for now, we’ll spend as much time as we can with Cam. And I promise we won’t lose touch with him this time.” Liv’s heart squeezed at the thought of them going their separate ways in only a matter of weeks.

  “But, I want a new Dad. I like Cam better. He’s more fun! The boat ride last week was the best!”

  “Now Sara, that’s not a very nice thing to say about your father. Your Dad loves you very much.”

  “I know Mom, but it’s true.”

  “Well Dad and Cam are two very different people. They each have their good qualities and their bad ones. Everyone does. That doesn’t make one better than the other. Just different.” Liv didn’t want to be accused of turning the girl against her father; he was capable of doing that all on his own.

  “I guess so, Mom. But, Mom…”

  “Shh! It’s still night time. Go back to sleep now.”

  “Okay, Mom. I love you.”

  “I love you back, Sara.” A few moments passed and Liv finally heard the quiet breathing that told her Sara was asleep. A few minutes later, so was she.

  A bright flash of lightning immediately followed by a huge crash of thunder woke Liv only a few hours later. The storm was right on top of them. She could hear the wind roar as the rain pelted the windows. A few moments later she heard hail ping off the roof. She put the pillow over her head to block out the sound to no avail.

  “Mom! I’m scared! Is there going to be a tornado?” Sara was awake and from the whining and scratching coming from the kitchen so was Pup-Pup.

  “I don’t think so. It’s just a little thunderstorm. It’ll be over in a few minutes. In fact, I think it’s already passing by.” Liv rubbed her daughter’s back. She looked over to see what time it was. The clock read 3:23 AM and then went dark just as lightning lit up the room and thunder crashed again shaking the cottage.

  Sara started to cry. “It’s okay, baby girl. Mama’s right her.” Liv soothed Sara, blocking out her own fear of storms.

  “Will you tell me a story, Mommy? One about me? I love your stories. They always make me feel better.”

  “Okay. Let me think here…” Liv paused. “Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess with long brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Hmmmm. What was her name?”

  Sara giggled in anticipation.

  “Oh, that’s right. Her name was Sara. Princess Sara had three little dogs. A black one, a white one and a brown one. She just loved dogs.” By the time Liv finished the story, the storm had blown over. Somewhere in between, they both dozed off again. The next time Liv woke up it was to the smell of bacon cooking. She rubbed her eyes and stretched as she looked around for her robe. The clock was now flashing 12:00 AM. At least the electricity was back on. Careful not to wake Sara, Liv got out of bed.

  “Good morning, Gram.” Liv kissed her grandmother on the cheek. Pup-Pup sat patiently waiting at her feet, hoping for a bit of dropped bacon. “What time is it?”

  “Oh, it’s about 8:30.” Hannah placed the bacon on a plate and put it on the table next to the scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast. Liv went over to the refrigerator and got out the milk, butter and orange juice. Next, s
he started gathering plates, cups, silverware and napkins to set the table.

  “That was quite a storm this morning,” Liv commented.

  “I’d say. It looks like we’ve got quite a few branches down out there. The large birch tree out front has a big limb off it. Good thing you parked off to the side last night.”

  Liv pulled the curtain back over the kitchen sink to assess the damage.

  “Mom?” Sara called.

  “We’re in the kitchen Sweetie. Grandma almost has breakfast ready.”

  Sara padded down the hall, dragging her bedraggled stuffed teddy bear with her.

  “You better make sure you put Boo-Boo bear up before Pup-Pup chews her up.”

  “I will,” Sara said and set the bear up on the kitchen counter. Liv frowned.

  “I’ll take him back to my room after breakfast.” Sara slumped into one of the orange vinyl chairs around the kitchen table. She scrunched up her nose and made a face. “I don’t like eggs.”

  Great, Liv thought. She’s in a mood. “Well, I at least want you to try a couple of bites.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, you do. Grandma went to a lot of trouble making breakfast for us and the least you could do is taste it.”

  “But, I hate eggs.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I can get her some cereal or something else,” Hannah said.

  “No Gram. I mind. She’s going to at least take one bite of eggs.” Just then they heard the gravel crunch in the driveway as someone pulled in. Sara jumped up and ran to the door.

  “It’s Cam!” Sara reported. Moments later he was standing in the kitchen.

  “I thought you guys might have some storm damage.” Cam smiled when he noticed Liv was still in her pajamas. “I brought my chainsaw and thought I’d help you clean up. It looks like the east side of the lake got hit hardest this time. We only had a couple of small branches down at our place.”

  “That’d be wonderful, Cam. We’d really appreciate your help,” Hannah said. “Why don’t you sit down and have some breakfast first. We’ve got plenty of eggs left.” She winked at Sara.

  “Thanks, but I already ate.”

  “I’m sure you could eat a little bit more.”

  “Well, maybe just a little. Everything sure smells good.” Cam took the empty seat next to Liv.

  “Would you like some orange juice?”

  “Sure.” Their fingers brushed as she passed the pitcher over to him. Liv ate her last bite of eggs and set her fork down. It feels so good to have an appetite again, she thought.

  “I’m going to go throw on some clothes and then I’ll be ready to help you outside.” Liv picked up her breakfast dishes and placed them in the sink.

  “Do you have to? I kind of like what you have on now.”

  “Ha. Ha. I’ll be back in a minute. Sara I want you to go get dressed too.”

  “Okay, Mom.” Sara raced down the hall past her. That was too easy, Liv thought. Then she realized that Sara had gotten away without taking her bite of eggs.

  When Liv returned to the kitchen, Cam was just finishing the dishes. “Where’s Gram?”

  “She ran up to the store to get some groceries for lunch.”

  “What about Sara?”

  “She and Pup-Pup are outside picking up the sticks in the front yard.” Liv peeked out the window and saw her pulling a red wagon around the yard with the puppy at her heels. She had a bundle of sticks in her hand and dropped them in the wagon. She picked up another stick and threw it for Pup-Pup. The little dog trotted around with the stick in her mouth as Sara continued to pick up more sticks and small branches. She was wearing her purple flip-flops again. They were her favorite shoes of the moment. Along with the flip-flops, she had on her purple denim shorts and a pink and yellow flowered tank top. She’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail without brushing it. Liv smiled. Her daughter had a fashion sense of her own.

  “So it’s just us, then?” Liv turned back to Cam.

  “Yep, it’s just us.”

  Liv reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the sink.

  “What should we do about that?”

  “What do you want to do?” Cam raised his eyebrows as he raked her body with his eyes. She’d left her hair loose. The light blue, V-neck t-shirt she wore revealed a hint of cleavage. The color looked good against her tanned skin. The paleness that had clung to her only a week before was gone. Instead of baggy capris, she wore a pair of khaki shorts that hugged her bottom perfectly. Still in her bare feet, Cam noticed she’d painted her toenails a bright pink.

  “Come a little closer and I’ll show you.” This is not like me, she thought. But she couldn’t help herself. “I think you got a little egg or something on your shirt there.”

  As Cam looked down she tweaked him on the nose and just as quickly planted a lingering kiss on his mouth when he looked back up.

  “Gotcha,” she whispered.

  “I like your style.” Cam kissed her gently on the mouth weaving his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes and leaned it to him, pressing her body against his chest. She felt his body respond to hers and smiled. She angled her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss, moaning as his tongue entered her mouth and he sucked her lower lip. His hands cupped her bottom and drew her even closer to him. He backed her up against the counter as she moved her hands under his shirt and tugged it upward over his head. She longed to feel his flesh against hers. Sara or her grandmother could walk in on them at any moment, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. Her body wanted more. She wanted more. Cam pulled her tank top up. His eyes widened when he realized she didn’t have a bra on underneath.

  “The tank top has a built-in bra.”

  “I like tank tops.” Cam lowered his head and left a trail of hot kisses from midriff to her neck and back to her mouth. If they didn’t quit now, they’d be making love in the middle of her grandmother’s kitchen. Liv came to her senses and pulled back.

  “We better go outside, before someone comes in and finds us…”

  “I know.” Cam kissed the side of her neck again, tickling her with his tongue. “That would be so bad.”

  “Very bad.” She kissed him on the mouth one more time.

  “We have to stop,” he agreed, returning her kiss.

  “We really do.” She forced herself to step back from his embrace.

  Cam helped her readjust her clothing. She finger-combed her hair and took a deep breath. She found her shoes, while Cam put his shirt back on and finished cleaning up after breakfast.

  “Ready?”

  “Always…”

  Cam held the door open for her. “Lead the way darling.”

  Liv glanced around the yard, while Cam headed to his truck to get his chainsaw. Gram was right. There were quite a few branches littering the yard. Luckily none of them landed on the cottage. The large birch tree in the side yard took the biggest hit. One large broken branch was trapped in another branch of the tree. It teetered, precariously balanced, ready to fall. They needed to cut it down so that it didn’t hurt someone. Another of the birch tree’s large branches lay on top of the tire swing that was tied to it. Liv felt nostalgic looking at the mangled swing and tree limb. She’d spent many hours swinging in that tree. Hopefully, they’d be able to find another branch to hang the swing on. Sara would be disappointed if they didn’t. Sara. Where was she anyway? Liv suddenly realized she hadn’t seen her when they’d come outside.

  Something didn’t feel right to Liv. In fact Liv instinctively felt something was very wrong. Fear began to prick her as she scanned the yard looking for Sara. The little girl wasn’t in the front yard anymore and her wagon of sticks was abandoned by a fallen branch near the edge of the yard and the woods.

  “Sara! Sara! Where are you?” No response came. “Sara! Sara!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find Sara.”

  “Maybe she went back inside?”

  Liv made a dash for the house.
“Sara! Sara! If you’re in here, please answer me.” Liv was frantic. She went from room to room, but Sara was nowhere to be found. Liv ran back outside and almost plowed Cam over.

  “She’s not inside.” Tears flowed freely down Liv’s face.

  “We’ll find her. She and Pup-Pup probably just took a little walk down the road.”

  “Okay, yeah, you’re probably right.” Liv took a deep breath, staving off the panic before it took hold.

  “You go around back towards the Big Loop trail and I’ll check the park.”

  Liv walked down the road toward the hiking path, but there was no sign of Sara. Liv thought she might throw-up, but knew she had to hold it together. Giving into the panic would not help her find Sara.

  “Did you find her?” Liv called to Cam.

  “Not yet.” Cam came back to where Liv was standing. “She’s not at the playground.”

  “Oh, God! Where could she be, Cam?”

  “We’ll find her, Liv. She couldn’t have gone that far.”

  Liv looked down toward the dock. Cam knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “She knows, better than to play near the water without me.”

  “Yes, she does. She’s a smart girl. I’m sure she didn’t go down by the lake.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Let’s go take a look, just to be sure.” Cam draped his arm over her shoulders as they walked down the hill toward the dock together. The lake still churned from the storm. The waves hit the shore hard and pulled back, a tangle of seaweed and drift wood left in its wake. The wind caught Liv’s hair and blew it in a halo around her head. Her face full of worry, she scanned the small strip of beach. Unmarred no footsteps or paw prints marked the sand.

  “It doesn’t look like she’s been down here this morning.” Cam pointed toward the smooth sand.

  “Thank God. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her.”

  “Don’t even think that way. We’ll find her. I’m sure of it.”

  “It’s just not like her to wander off like this and not tell me.”

  “I’m guessing she wandered into the woods with Pup-Pup and got turned around. Let’s call 911 and get a search team out looking for her. She hasn’t been gone for more than an hour. We’ll find her.” Cam punched the number into his cell phone and handed it to Liv.