Reunion at Crane Lake

by Robin Bayne

  Then he could see. The carriage house stood in a haze with a misty heat hovering near it. His future super-size garage now had smoke billowing from the top floor, and as Colt neared, his lungs filled with the stench, his shoes sliding in the damp grass, a window shattered outward as a chair flew through it.

  George’s head appeared in its place.

  “Hey! Someone’s in there!” Jake and another guest had already taken the outdoor stairs and yanked the door open.

  Colt hadn’t equipped the place with an extinguisher yet, and yelled to Matt that he had one in the stable.

  He crossed the grounds in seconds to find Tia at the stable’s entrance, breathing heavily as she thrust the red extinguisher into Colt’s arms.

  “Here,” she said. “Go.”

  “How did you know it was there?”

  “Later! Go!”

  He wasted no more time and dashed back across the yard, knowing Tia had never been that close to the horses before. But he was glad she was there just now.

  With the small flame drenched in foam, and a short talk with his father done, Colt escorted his friends and guests back to the inn. He offered them drinks, but the party was pretty much dead and goodbyes were said.

  “You sure know how to throw a hot party,” one of them quipped.

  “Yeah, it was smokin’.”

  “I had a blazing good time.”

  “Thanks for having us.”

  The group dwindled and Liz and Tia pick up cups and bottles, their faces weary now. Tia had a smudge of something on her cheek.

  “Yeah, Reece, you doused my flame but good.” Jake gave him a fake punch to the ribs.

  Colt shook his head, trying not to smile. “You can see Liz again, once her old flame is gone.” He took his own fake punch at Jake’s gut. “No fighting on my property. I’ve got enough to worry about.”

  “Yeah, I noticed.” Jake went to the grill and shut all the controls off. “Don’t want to start a fire.”

  Around them the twinkling lights shut down. Tia must be inside, he realized, closing up.

  Jake’s grin faded. “What are you going to do about your dad?”

  Colt turned the ice chest over so the water could run out. “I don’t know. I don’t know why he thought I’d told him to move into the carriage house, but it’ll be at least a year before I can fix that loft up. I know I told him ‘maybe’ someday he could live there. There’s no electricity up there yet, so he decided candles were the answer.” He kicked the chest back into place, its plastic lid flopping into place.

  The music silenced next.

  Jake grabbed a bag of charcoal. “So where’d he go?”

  “I asked one of the guys to drop him at his apartment.”

  “Maybe you should take him in. Give him a room here, maybe a job? Then you could keep an eye on him.” With his free hand Jake grabbed a bowl of potato chips and headed for the door.

  Yeah, that would go over great. He followed Jake with a case of empty pop bottles. He could just imagine telling Tia that the man who told her she shouldn’t be here was now moving in himself.

  That would cause a whole new, flaming explosion.

  ~*~

  Whew,” Tia sighed, flashing Colt a phony smile. “What a night.” She put away the last of the dishes and ran a damp rag over the butcher-block counter.

  “Yeah.” Collapsing in one of the kitchen chairs, Colt tugged off his boots and propped his feet on the table, his expression daring Tia to make a comment.

  Tia ignored him, wrung out her rag, and hung it over the faucet. She glanced out to the courtyard for one last check, and then sat next to Colt with a glass of water.

  “Can I tell you something about Matt?” Tia sipped from the frosted glass. Colt’s assumption that Matt had been here for her was fun at first, but had begun to bother her conscience.

  He leaned back farther in his chair, his long legs stretching as the chair tilted. “He told me.” Lacing his fingers together behind his head, Colt grimaced. “He also told me about Derek.”

  Tia winced. Derek? Or the whole boring tale of Tia’s endless nights alone with her best guy, the dog. “He did?” A smiled crossed her face; she couldn’t help it. She looked around the room to avoid Colt’s intense gaze.

  “Yeah. You still like him?”

  “I do.” She met his eyes then.

  Colt’s feet hit the floor with a thud as he stood. “Goodnight, Tia.”

  “Colt, wait!” She caught him in the doorway, grabbing his arm. “It’s not what you think.”

  “I guess I don’t have the right to think anything.” He sighed, and touched Tia’s cheek. “But let me ask you something. You were at the stable when I got there; you had the fire extinguisher. Don’t get me wrong, I was relieved because every second counts in a blaze.”

  Tia felt her tension easing. “I noticed it the other day. When you went into town, I stopped by the stable, just to look at the horses. Liz asked what kind they were and I had no idea. Of course, I still don’t, but I know they’re not all brown now.” She gave Colt a grin, hoping he wouldn’t be upset by her snooping around his animals. For some reason, she needed to make him feel better. She still really liked the man, even after all that had happened.

  “And tonight?”

  “And tonight I didn’t see you around, figured you’d went off somewhere with Matt, and headed for the animals in case the fire was there. I know it was stupid to rush off like that, but I’ve read in stories that you have to throw something over horses’ eyes to lead them out of a fire. That they won’t get out by themselves, and I felt...I mean, if I’d had to...” She quieted, realizing how much of herself she’d just revealed.

  Colt touched her hair, gently twisting one strand that hung loose by her face, letting his fingers brush her skin.

  “Thank you. I know that had to be hard.” Leaning closer, Colt pressed her back into the door frame, their bodies filling the opening. His lips touched hers, barely, but she felt the sparks she’d held in her memory so long. Like the fire in the carriage house, he seared her, melting her. Her mind protested, but her mouth betrayed her. She remembered so much of him. It was her turn to reclaim.

  With his hands bracing her waist, Tia leaned toward him to deepen the kiss. She heard only the ticking of the parlor clock and smelled Colt’s woodsy scent mingled with the sooty smoke that clung to him.

  He pulled back at last, easing out of the door frame, and when Tia opened her eyes, he was staring down at her. “Good night.”

  He had pulled away! She couldn’t believe it; her own legs wiggled like the jelly they’d become. Since when had he been able to resist her? Was her pride merely hurt or had she really been into him?

  She nodded, her head bobbing as if her neck was a spring, and broke away fully from their embrace. Five steps later she turned back to Colt, now shadowed by one dim lamp.

  He hadn’t moved. He stood there as wooden as one of his carvings.

  “Um, Colt?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Derek is a golden retriever.”

  ~*~

  Tia’s knees bent inward as the events she’d just lived through hit her in full force. She collapsed on her bed, glad for its support. She’d not only sniffed around the horses by herself, those huge, scruffy animals, but she’d been prepared to save their scary, hairy butts if necessary.

  If someone had asked her a few months ago if she had it in her, she would have laughed. Now it seemed...that it had been her only choice.

  Getting a whiff of the smoke in her hair, Tia knew she should shower, but her nerves decided otherwise. She hadn’t even been close to the fire, and with the crisis past, she felt the pent-up panic begin to ooze into her bloodstream. Kneeling, she prayed away the emotions and thanked Jesus that the fire hadn’t been worse.

  A knock sounded as the door pushed open. Liz appeared, in a baby doll nightie of blue satin. “Hi,” she said, making the hemline swirl as she made a dramatic entrance. “Oops, sorry, you’re praying.�
�

  Tia sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. “That’s OK. I thought you’d be out with Jake. Or Matt.”

  Liz shook her head, taking the opposite end of the bed. With her gown tugged tight to her knees she sat crossed-legged, and folded her hands under her chin. “Nah. They both took off. Putting out fires tends to freak people out. But that’s OK, I’m beat. And you know,” Liz said, lowering her voice, “I’m not really sure which one I would have left with.”

  “They’re both great guys.”

  “You know, there are two of them, and you need a boyfriend.”

  “Yeah, right. Say, when did you give up football jerseys for baby dolls?”

  “Don’t change the subject. You do. And if I can’t get you to date the Coltster again−”

  “Forget it. My number-one priority is getting this inn up and running at full capacity. And don’t forget you’re coming back in six weeks to help with the first Crane and Cardinal wedding reception.”

  Liz’s eyes rolled. “How could I? You haven’t stopped mentioning it. I already called my boss and arranged it.”

  “Sorry. It’s that important.”

  “Yeah, I know. Listen, you want to ride with me tomorrow? I’ll give you a lesson. The horses are grateful for your caring about them tonight, you know.” Liz grinned.

  “You’re so cute, but I’ll pass.” Tia felt buoyed by her friend’s playful mood and realized the tensions of the evening had evaporated. “Why don’t you invite Matt?”

  “Hmmmm.” Liz twirled her hair, her expression thoughtful.

  “Lizzie, you think Derek’s still alive somewhere?”

  “What? Your dog?”

  “Yeah. I left him with the Conrads, but he’s so old by now. I miss him.”

  “I know. I miss a lot of things,” Liz said, slowly, her tone softening. “But we can’t change the past.”

  Tia sighed, wondering if Liz was thinking of Matt. “No, I guess we can’t.” She made fists to enclose her nails. “You know, giving up Derek was the second-hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

  Neither spoke until Liz completed three mini-braids. “See ya tomorrow, sweet dreams.” She disappeared in a flurry of satin, leaving Tia alone.

  The fussy nightgown was so out of character for Liz, Tia had to close her mouth. Tonight had certainly revealed a mess of surprises and had been a success, right up until the abrupt ending. Now all Tia could do was lie awake and recall what had been the number-one hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

  ~*~

  Colt’s father hadn’t been at his apartment, and Colt figured he’d been up and out early, so Colt headed for his next stop, Grable’s Hardware. Then, recalling the inquisition he’d recently faced from the store’s owner, he made a U-turn and headed into the next town.

  The local home improvement store was only fifteen minutes out of his way, and it was worth the inconvenience to speak with salespeople who didn’t ask personal questions. Plus, he’d have a bigger selection here. After parking his truck, Colt strode into the warehouse-sized store, looking up at the hanging aisle-marker signs for a hint about where smoke alarms and fire extinguishers were kept.

  A man in an orange apron offered assistance, but Colt needed no directions to find his way. Aisle 12-A. He plucked three packaged smoke alarms from the shelf and stuffed them under his arm. These three could be installed and running by the end of the day.

  Colt decided to take a quick look around the store in case something he needed showed itself. Fire extinguishers were on order, so he’d have to come back, but Colt needed so many things for the inn.

  Thank God, which he did regularly, for Tia’s money. He turned up the next aisle to the rumble of paint shakers, changed his mind, and headed for the next row. Paint would wait.

  Sheryl Coombs stood there, her arms full of packets that looked like switch plates. Fancy ones. Could he slip away before she noticed him?

  “Colton Reece!” Sheryl could have been the store’s P.A. system.

  Trapped, he moved toward her, nodding. “Hey.”

  She juggled the packages until Colt offered help.

  “Gosh, no, I have a cart here somewhere.” She spun in a circle, packets flying and then headed for a red plastic cart farther down the aisle. She dumped her wares with a flourish.

  Colt bent and retrieved the castoffs.

  “So, everything OK at the inn?” Sheryl looked genuinely concerned as she eyed Colt’s items.

  He thought she must be a nice person, even if she was a friend of Matt’s. “Fine. Are you redecorating your mother’s house?”

  She shook her head, a blush forming on her cheeks.

  Colt had no idea why his question would embarrass her.

  Until Matt came around the corner.

  “Hey,” he called, dumping an armload of stuff in the cart. Matt approached Colt then, hand extended.

  “I’m helping Matt redo his condo,” Sheryl said, waving at the cart.

  “Yeah?” Colt smiled. He liked Sheryl a whole lot now, keeping Matt busy this way. “Well, we’ll have to have you two over to dinner again soon. Hopefully, the evening will end better.”

  “That sounds lovely,” Sheryl chirped, her gaze roaming over a display of stained glass and ceramic light switch cover plates.

  “Look at the children’s plates...with golden retrievers on them. They are absolutely darling.”

  Golden retrievers? Colt looked at Matt, who suddenly looked guilty as sin. “Um, Colt, I meant to explain something.”

  “Derek?”

  “You know?”

  Colt nodded, tried to look irritated, but broke into a grin. He could take this man’s ribbing as long as he kept his doggy paws off of Tia. “Man, I was real glad to hear Derek was dog.”

  Matt smiled then too. “Yeah, Tia had him around in school. They were buddies. I told her that she should get his head as her tattoo, but she wouldn’t listen. She got a−”

  “See you soon,” Sheryl said, grabbing Matt’s arm as she interrupted. With her free hand she pulled the cart. “Hope your repairs go well.”

  Colt grunted, turned, and nearly walked into a store employee.

  Was he the only one who hadn’t seen that tattoo?

  8

  Sunday morning roared to life for Tia with the sounds of the lawn tractor. Colt had hired Jake’s brother Tim to run it around the yard, and the boy must be trying to beat the midday heat.

  She felt her heart skip a beat when she reached the pool; Colt was there, with Meg, her small body supported by his arms as she flailed. Cute little fish. Tia found herself studying Colt’s chest. His browned chest with the muscles defined in sections.

  “Coming in?” he asked, keeping his attention on Meg’s soggy efforts.

  “Yep.” Tia whipped her long T-shirt over her head and kicked off her sandals. She was later than usual this morning and missed her privacy. On the other hand, she realized, easing into the water to not distract the lesson, having a little company was also nice. Colt looked as if he had taught swimming before, and she made a mental note to ask him about it later.

  Holding her breath, Tia dunked her head and surfaced, reaching to smooth back her wet hair. She could do her laps down at this end of the pool and stay clear of the others. Between laps she looked their way, wondering how a man so at home in chlorinated water ever came to fear the lake. Well, she knew how. She just didn’t know how to fix it. Or if she should.

  Finished with her daily swim, Tia went inside, glancing at the message machine as she passed the front desk. The light blinked in irritation until she put it out of its misery, hitting rewind, and then listening to the message. Her nails tapped the counter, moving faster as the message played, the young bride-to-be’s voice wavering. Tia froze, but inside her heart raced. They had to be kidding. She wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it.

  But she would. Breathe deeply. She grabbed a pen and pad to start making new lists. The O’Hara wedding had been pushed up, something to do with the bride’s irate
father polishing the proverbial shotgun, and Tia had only seven days to prepare.

  Oh, Tia knew she could refuse; they did have a written contract. But what kind of reference would that give her? She needed more jobs. And she could throw them the party they wanted, if she concentrated. After all, with the bride so very pregnant, it was probably a good change in schedule. The last thing Tia needed was for the bride’s water to break as she tossed her bouquet.

  Even worse, she could end up going to the hospital to see the baby, and these days she avoided hospitals. The last time she’d left one, she’d been fleeing the worst heartache of her life. The memories rose unbidden in her mind.

  Colt had pulled her into a blue plastic chair in the lobby of St. Ignatius, whispering that he was sorry. Their knees had brushed as he’d brought her chair close to his, oblivious to the comings and goings of other visitors. She didn’t remember how he’d gotten her to sit. She’d fled from his room, pushing past her traitorous sister so she could escape with the dignity of a tearless face.

  The accident would never be over. She was recovering, and Colt looked nearly normal. They were both thinner. It had been the old Colt who’d growled at the intern and his “hospital policy” wheelchair, and who had followed Tia to the automatic glass doors and prevented her from leaving. Wouldn’t allow her to be alone when the crack in her heart showed on her face. And he still hadn’t used the right words.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Lame. Tia smelled the hospital, the industrial strength disinfectant, the lukewarm chicken soup they’d served for lunch. But Colt had sat in the lobby chair, in front of her now, his own scent overpowering the others. He held her cold hands in his warm, larger ones, and he stared into her eyes like he had a million times before.

  There was no glimmer of recognition. No warmth lighting the color. Only a concerned, puzzled gaze, one he might have for anyone, a stranger, which was what she was to him then.

  “Cami promised we’d sort it all out later,” Colt had told her, his voice deep, his face sincere. “What she said made sense, and George backed it up.” He pushed a hand through his hair, a gesture which told Tia some traits were innate. “I don’t know where I belong. I’m sorry, Tia, but until it gets clear again−”