Stronger Within (The Silver Lake Series Book 1)

by McCallum, Coral

  “I’m not sure,” began Lori hesitantly.

  “Trust me,” said Jake, putting his arm around her waist. “I won’t let you get hurt.”

  Keeping his arm around her waist, he led her into the shallows then took her hands. It took a few minutes, and for a few small waves to go by, for her confidence to grow. Lori couldn’t deny that the water felt good. Gradually, Jake led her out a little further until the water was just above her knees. He could see the fear in her eyes but was also picking up on her inner determination to overcome it. The waves were growing a bit stronger as the result of the wake from a boat that had gone past further off shore. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw a much bigger wave coming towards them. Instinctively he scooped Lori up into his arms and turned his back to the oncoming wave. She let out a cry as the wave broke over Jake’s back, drenching them both.

  “Lori,” gasped Jake, spitting out salt water. “Are you ok?”

  “Yes,” she replied, her voice wavering. “Just wet.”

  He carefully carried her back up the beach and laid her down on the towels. Her sodden sarong had ridden up round her waist. Before she could pull it down, Lori saw Jake catch his first glimpse of the scars on her thigh.

  “Not as pretty as your body art,” she said quietly.

  Jake knelt beside her and gently traced his finger over the thick purple scar that ran the length of her thigh. She flinched at his touch. Slowly he bent forward and delivered light feathery kisses along the length of the scar. He kissed each of the smaller knotted scars in turn, then kissed her softly on the cheek. There were tears in her eyes as he moved closer and kissed her tenderly on the lips, tasting the salt from the ocean.

  “They are a part of what makes you you,” he whispered gently. “And nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “They’re ugly.”

  “Nothing about you is ugly,” he argued, kissing her again. “You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”

  “Now that’s cheesy,” she giggled, before kissing him back.

  “Cheesy but true.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” said Lori, with a hint of mischief.

  “Such flattery,” laughed Jake. “Now are you sure you’re ok?”

  “Wet but fine,” assured Lori, covering her thighs with the damp sarong. “Why don’t you go for another swim while I dry off in the sun, then we can head home?”

  “Deal,” grinned Jake. “I won’t be long.”

  Lori propped herself up on her elbows as she watched him lope down the beach and dive back into the water. Subconsciously, she reached to finger the scars then sighed. It was almost a relief that Jake had seen them. Another barrier removed from between them; another step on her way to the acceptance of things. She watched him swim another ragged circle out in the ocean and smiled. There was something special about Jake. As she watched him swim ashore, Lori realised she had fallen in love with him and she suspected he felt the same way.

  Jake ran up the beach to re-join her, sending a spray of sand over her as he dropped down onto the towel beside her.

  “Do you have a BBQ?” he asked randomly. “And some coals?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “I think there’s some coals in the storage box.”

  “And burgers?”

  “Mm, not so sure about that bit.”

  “I fancy a BBQ,” declared Jake. “You?”

  “Fine by me, but you might need to run out to the Giant for some burgers and rolls.”

  As the sun set a few short hours later, Jake stood over the BBQ grill cooking burgers and a couple of pieces of chicken. He took a swig out of his beer bottle and glanced over at Lori. She had stretched out on the lounger and had dozed off in the last rays of sunlight. While he had been out at the food store, she had showered and changed into a plain deep red maxi dress. The folds of the material were now draped over her, her blonde hair was spread out around her face and to him she looked like a sleeping Disney princess. Once the food was ready, he went over and knelt beside her, kissing her gently on the forehead. As she stirred, he kissed her full on the lips, allowing his tongue to gently caress her lower lip.

  “Time to wake up, sleeping beauty,” he said with a warm smile. “Dinner’s ready.”

  With a yawn, she sat up and sleepily made her way over to the table. As she sat down, Lori commented that the sea air had worn her out.

  “I guess you’ve had a pretty full on weekend,” said Jake, passing her a burger.

  “True,” she admitted. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a “normal” weekend. I’ve loved every minute of it.”

  Grinning, as he bit into his burger, Jake said, “So let’s plan the next one.”

  “Well, you said about the tattoo thing,” began Lori. “When’s that booked for?”

  “About five on Saturday,” he replied. “I’ve got an early shift on Saturday and finish at four. Then a late on Sunday starting at four.”

  “No gigs?”

  He thought for a moment, then said, “Shit. Yes. A wedding in Dewey Beach on Friday night.”

  “What about during the week?” she asked between bites. “Do you have a day off this week?”

  Jake shook his head, “Because I was off this weekend, I’m in twelve hours Monday and Tuesday then half shifts Wednesday and Thursday. Both lates. Punishment I guess.”

  “When do you get to rehearse for the wedding gig?”

  “I don’t,” he muttered, with almost a growl.

  “Oh, ok,” she said, focussing on her burger. “I guess this is it until Saturday, then unless you want to run over for breakfast Wednesday and Thursday. I’ve got therapy on Wednesday at ten.”

  He shrugged, “Let’s play it by ear if that’s ok?”

  “Its fine,” she assured him. “I’ve got a few things to set up work wise this week too. I’ve decided to resurrect Mz Hyde officially. I put the feelers out last week for some commissions and there may be a couple of projects I could be tempted by.”

  “I loved the look on Rich’s face at lunch when he realised,” laughed Jake, his mood suddenly lightening. “Priceless.”

  “It was funny,” she agreed with a giggle.

  When their meal was over and the BBQ coals had crumbled to ash, they moved indoors to the sun room. It was growing late and, much as he wanted to stay, Jake said he really had to make a move. Before he left, Lori made him promise to drop by on Wednesday. He relented but said it would need to be early. Gently he kissed her on both cheeks, then the forehead and promised to call her. He slipped out through the patio doors and was gone into the darkness. A few moments later, she heard the engine of his truck give its throaty growl and he was gone.

  On the drive back into town, Jake twice nearly stopped and turned back. The thought of not seeing Lori for three days was eating at him. She was such a beautiful, fragile person in so many ways, but then the persona of Mz Hyde showed a core of steely determination. Those scars had spoken volumes to him of what she must have been through. By the time he parked outside his apartment, he had lyrics and a new melody swimming round in his head. All the gear from Surfside was still in the back of the truck and it took him three trips up and down to the apartment to move it all. The lyrics and melody were growing louder in his head, positively screaming to be let out. A glance at his phone told him it was after eleven. Sleep could wait a couple of hours. He grabbed his acoustic guitar and his notebook and sat working out the song. Both lyrics and music flowed effortlessly from his mind into the guitar. He scrawled the lyrics onto the first blank page in his battered notebook, then added a title – “Lady Butterfly.” He played and sang it all through another few times making minor tweaks and lyric changes before he was satisfied. Just before three thirty he played it through a final time, recording it onto his phone. Content with the result, he laid down his guitar and crawled off to bed.

  ♪

  All day Monday and Tuesday, Lori was restless and fidgety. She had finished setting up her workspace next to the lounge and acc
epted two small projects with lengthy deadline dates. Her drawing board was covered in doodles and half started ideas, but she couldn’t settle on one theme. The first project was for an album cover for an established rock band based on the west coast. She had been sent some video footage of the band rehearsing the album tracks to help her get a feel for the material she was to illustrate. It was a band she had worked for before when she designed their logo. The other project was a different venture, a new direction for her, and involved designing the dust jacket for a fantasy novel. Again, she had been given a synopsis of the book and the first couple of chapters. The theme was obvious – swords and dragons and a princess, but she was trying to see beyond that.

  Before she finished for the evening on Tuesday, Mary came through to the study with Lori’s cell phone and a glass of wine. She sat both down on the desk and said simply, “Call him. I’ll see you in the morning,” then left. Taking a sip of wine, Lori smiled to herself. Maybe Mary was right and that she wasn’t focussed because she was moping about like a lovesick teenager. Instead of calling, she sent Jake a text message. “J breakfast on the sun deck 7.30 L x” then turned back to her drawing board. A few moments later her phone chirped like a cricket – “Make it 7 and you’ve got a deal J x”

  “Deal.” She messaged back before turning her attention back to her work.

  As she sipped her wine, she continued to doodle and play with some ideas. Gradually a theme began to emerge and she focussed on the task in hand. The drawing for the book cover took shape as she created depths to the folds of material. In front of her, she had a clear image of the folds of the princess’ velvet dress. In the dark shadow folds, she brought themes from the story to life in miniature. Totally engrossed, her wine forgotten, Lori worked away, painstakingly teasing life onto the piece of paper in front of her. As the light grew dimmer, she reached over and switched on the desk lamp. The shadows it cast over the drawing added to the atmosphere allowing her to create a little dark menace to an otherwise pretty, delicate piece. By midnight, she had cramp in her hand, but was satisfied with what she had produced so far. Her glass of wine still sat on the desk half full.

  When the alarm rang out wakening her next morning, Lori could hear rain pounding down outside. Definitely not a morning for breakfast on the deck. C’est la vie, she thought as she wandered through the sun room. She unlocked the patio doors and slid one open slightly, then went through to the kitchen to start breakfast. Trying to move about the kitchen to set the table and use her canes was frustratingly impossible. Swearing under her breath, she leaned one cane against the table and tried to continue using just one. Eventually she had the table set and the coffee pot on. She had just sat down at the table, with a glass of juice, when she heard the squeal of the patio door opening.

  “Morning!” called Jake from the sun room.

  “In the kitchen,” she called back.

  His wet shoes squeaked on the wooden floors as he made his way through the house to join her. When he walked into the kitchen, she saw instantly that he was drenched. His hair was dripping and his grey T-shirt was stuck to his chest.

  “Wet out?” she teased tossing him a towel.

  “Slightly,” admitted Jake as he dried himself off. “I don’t mind running in the rain. It’s good for cleansing the soul.”

  “Does your soul need that much cleansing?”

  “You’d be surprised,” he muttered, taking a seat. “No Mary?”

  “She won’t get here till after eight. I hope bagels and coffee will do,” said Lori, passing him a glass of juice that she had already poured for him. “If you want bacon, I’m afraid you’ll have to cook it yourself.”

  “You ok?” he asked, sounding concerned.

  “I’m fine,” she replied. “Morning’s aren’t great if I’m honest. Takes me a while to get moving.”

  “Bagels are good,” he said, before draining his juice glass. “I saw you’d been working. Sorry, I peeked on my way through.”

  Lori scowled at him disapprovingly, then shrugged, “It’s a start. I made some progress last night. How’s your week been?”

  “Shit,” he declared bluntly. “I’m waiting for a call from Rich about teaching some classes till summer break. If he gets me into school, I’m quitting the pizza place.”

  “I wish I could help,” she said softly.

  Jake reached over to lift a bagel from the basket in the centre of the table. “Maybe you can.”

  “How?” asked Lori, suddenly curious.

  “Rich’s been raving about you to anyone who’ll listen. He’s planning to ask if you’ll talk to some of the students at the school. Seniors, I think.”

  He got up to fetch them both a coffee. “If you don’t want to do it, that’s ok. No one’s going to be offended, but those kids will be disappointed.”

  “Talk to them about what?”

  “Art. You. Getting started,” said Jake, pouring the hot liquid into the two mugs Lori had left out on the counter top. “He was on the phone last night while I was on a break. He might drop by after school.”

  “I’ll think about it,” conceded Lori quietly. “Not really my thing.”

  “Don’t let him pressure you,” warned Jake, adding half and half to his coffee. “Rich can easily get carried away with an idea.”

  “I won’t,” said Lori, as she buttered her cinnamon bagel. “So is anything else new? Any feedback from the weekend?”

  Jake went on to explain, between mouthfuls of bagel and coffee, that the radio station, who had sponsored the Surfside event, wanted them to play three more events over the summer. All three would be paying gigs and they could have their own merchandise stand. Already they had pulled resources and committed to another run of their CD plus a fresh batch of T-shirts. Once he was talking about the band, the dark cloud that had hung over him all week lifted. His hazel eyes gained an extra twinkle as he told her about the new song he had worked on, after he had left her on Sunday. They exchanged email addresses and Jake promised to mail her a copy of the music file. Both of them were on their second coffee when Mary arrived. She entered through the back door, muttering and shaking water off her umbrella.

  “Good morning, one and all,” she declared brightly.

  “Hi,” said Jake, still wary of the matriarchal older woman.

  “Where’s your truck?” she asked, as she slipped off her rain jacket.

  “I ran along the beach,” explained Jake. “The rain doesn’t bother me.”

  “Mad boy,” she muttered, as she went through to start tidying up the sun room.

  Both of them laughed, then went back to their breakfast. All too soon it was time for Jake to leave. Lori walked him through to the sun room. It looked as though the sky was growing lighter and that the rain was easing off a bit but it was still wet out.

  “I’ll ask Mary to run you back into town,” offered Lori.

  Jake shook his head, “I’ll be fine. I’ll walk back along the shore.”

  “You sure?”

  He nodded, then wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Gently he held her close for a moment or two.

  “I need to ask you a favour,” he began. “Can you make your own way into town to meet me on Saturday?”

  “Sure,” she agreed. “What time and where?”

  “Meet me outside of work about four thirty,” he suggested.

  “OK. I’ll be there.”

  With a gentle kiss, he took his leave and jogged across the deck into the rainy morning. Suddenly Saturday afternoon felt like a lifetime away to both of them.

  By mid –afternoon, the rain had cleared, the clouds had burnt off and the sun was shining. At the first glimpse of the cloudless sky, Lori decamped from her study out onto the deck for some air. She brought her sketch pad and her iPod, hoping that by listening to the music of the band, she was to design for, she might get a flash of inspiration. Earlier, she had emailed photos of her rough draft for the dust jacket off for approval. She had forwarded them on with a degre
e of nerves – the first official design work that she had completed for almost two years.

  The cushions for all the chairs were still damp after the rain. Having spread them along the railings to dry in the sun, she went back into the sunroom for the blanket. Quickly she folded it up as a makeshift cushion and settled herself at the table. Before she became too engrossed, Mary brought her out a juice, then asked if she could finish for the day. The housekeeper had been quiet all day and now explained that her sister was ill.

  “Do you need a few days off?” asked Lori, seeing Mary’s concern and worry in her eyes.

  Mary shook her head, “A few shorter days might help. Can I start at ten and finish at three for the rest of the week till I see how she is?”

  “Of course,” agreed Lori warmly.

  “Thank you, Lori,” said the older woman, giving her a brief hug. “I’ll be honest. I’m worried about her.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine with you looking after her. Now go,” said Lori, with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Go!” chastised Lori smiling.

  As she drank her juice, Lori played with a few Celtic knot designs, then, almost subconsciously, began to work on a small butterfly design. The delicacy of it absorbed her as she drew in the detail of its gossamer wings, then added some swirls to the wing tips. Carefully, she added in some colour – blues and a tiny hint of yellow. When it was done, she surveyed the design and smiled. An innocent but pretty bit of fun. Still smiling, she turned the page and began to gather her thoughts again for the album artwork. A loose screw lying on the sundeck caught her eye and gave her the flash of inspiration she had been searching for. Visions of nuts and bolts; cogs and gears filled her head and she began to formulate a plan.

  The crunch of car tyres out the front distracted her some time later. She paused and listened as she heard the engine stop, then the door slam. Suddenly she remembered that Jake had said Rich might drop by.

  “Lori!” called a male voice from the side of the house. It was Rich.