He took another step on the rock, keeping his eyes on the figure hiding behind a tree. The wispy gray boy had turned, looking over his shoulder and gesturing for Cole to follow. A mesmerizing curiosity had him moving forward again, abandoning all sense of caution, and his foot slipped on a patch of algae.
“Cole!”
Just seconds before he could fall into the freezing water, Julia grabbed her son by the arm and yanked him back to the shore, heart pounding. “Cole! What’s the matter with you? I told you not to go any farther! Do you know how dangerous those rocks are?”
Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. A combination of fear, shame, and embarrassment tore at him. He wasn’t a very good swimmer, and the thought of falling into the cold river terrified him. He knew his dad would say that if he wasn’t so afraid of the swimming pool that he would be able to swim. Cole hated it when his dad bugged him about not being able to swim, and he hoped his mom wouldn’t tell him what just happened.
“I’m sorry, Mom. But…I thought I saw…something. Over there.” He pointed towards the opposite riverbank, where the gray mist had disappeared. “There…there was a ghost, I think. A little boy ghost. He wanted me to play with him.”
Julia followed his finger, but saw only trees. This was Cole’s first trip to the mountains, so it wasn’t surprising that he was seeing things in the trees, especially considering the fact that as a toddler he’d had a strange fear of the woods. She supposed it was because rather than cartoon books and comics he’d been interested in nature stories and animal encyclopedias, and so he knew what deadly creatures lurked in the forest.
Instead of being concerned over ghosts, she hugged her son until she could catch her breath. Seeing her little boy tumbling off the rock absolutely terrified her. If she hadn’t been keeping a close eye on him, he would have gone in for sure. “I don’t see anything, Cole. Maybe you just saw a deer. There’s lots of them around here, and they’re good at hiding in the trees. That way they can escape the hunters.” She pulled him to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pants. “Come on, let’s go see if your Daddy’s got the tent up yet.”
They made it back to the campground much quicker than the time it took to get to the river. Julia was determined not to speak of the incident, while Cole was eager to share his thoughts. But by the time Cole saw food at the table he had almost forgotten about it entirely. At their site, Ian was pulling a pack of hamburgers from the cooler. The two-room tent was set up, sleeping bags and pillows already inside.
“Anyone hungry?”
“Me!” Cole raised a hand with excitement. He loved hamburgers fresh from the grill slathered up with ketchup and pickles, and eagerly followed his mother’s orders to get the rest of the lunch items from the car and set the picnic table.
Julia approached Ian’s side as he began grilling. The relaxed look on his face comforted her. The brief break must have taken good care of his foul mood. She watched Cole for a moment as he climbed up on the bench and started setting out plates. A sudden gust of wind had him scrambling to recover the lost napkins and secure them with a box of cookies.
“We need to keep an eye on him,” she told her husband. “He almost fell into the river.”
“Why?”
Julia sighed and shook her head at the accusatory tone. Apparently Ian wasn’t as relaxed as she’d thought. “He said he saw something in the woods on the other side of the river. He jumped up on the rock and before I knew it, he slipped. I grabbed him before he fell, but it scared me. Those rapids, and with his swimming……we just need to keep an eye on him.”
The worry in her voice concerned Ian. He’d known her a long time, almost eighteen years to be exact, and she rarely got worked up over such trivial matters. Despite the fact that they seemed to be growing apart lately, he didn’t like the tense expression spread across her face.
“Anything else happen I should know about?” Julia was quiet, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger, a nervous habit. Ian flipped the hamburgers and shifted so that he was facing his wife. He lifted a hand and rubbed her arm. “What else happened?”
The touch startled Julia. Ian hadn’t shown that kind of gentle concern in awhile, and she welcomed the strange yet familiar sensation. “Cole said he saw….” she sighed again, feeling ridiculous. “He said he saw a ghost in the woods, of all damn things. The ghost of a little boy.”
Rather than being worried, Ian was humored. He chuckled and turned back to the grill. “He’s just a kid, Julia. That’s nothing to get worked up over. Hell, I used to pretend I saw Indians in the woods when I was young so I could plan a battle. Kids see all kinds of crazy things when they want to, let their imagination run wild.”
“Not our kid,” Julia argued. “He doesn’t make things up, and he doesn’t see ghosts. If you remember, he decided at four years old that ghosts weren’t real after seeing that special on the Discovery Channel. And hell, the only video games he plays are educational ones. The whole walk back he kept talking about finding the little boy and asking him what he wanted. I don’t know, I’m just worried that he might actually try to find this ghost.”
His wife was right, he hated to admit. Cole was a very serious, down-to-earth child. He usually chose Animal Planet over cartoons, books over his PSP, and loved to chatter on about what he learned about science in school. Talk of ghosts, monsters, fairy tales, or any other source of magic was not in his typical vocabulary.
“Tell you what,” he said as he placed the cooked hamburgers on a paper plate, “if he keeps bringing up the ghost, I’ll have a talk with him. He was probably just goofing around. He’ll forget about it. For now, let’s just try to have a decent time.”
Julia relented and joined Cole at the picnic table. As Ian predicted, Cole seemed to have forgotten about the ghost and instead talked about a dinosaur show on television last night. Julia listened intently, though not able to follow the long dinosaur names he threw at her. She snuck a peek at Ian, and her smile faded when she saw that he was busy scribbling down something on a pad of paper.
Ideas for plants, she figured, just another excuse to ignore their son.
Chapter 2
The next morning Ian woke early and took the time alone to get some work done before Julia got up. It was promising to be a beautiful day, already a cloudless blue sky and a cool breeze, and if he could devote an hour or so to his business then he wouldn’t have to feel guilty about blowing off the rest of the day. Or better yet, he could finish before anyone even knew he had done any work at all. He hated the disapproving stares Julia cast his way whenever he brought out his sketches, and so to avoid a potential fight he decided to attempt to finish just the front walk of the hotel before his in-laws arrived from Georgia.
His plan was spoiled when Cole, dressed in shark-decorated pajamas, stepped out of the tent, rubbed his eyes, and sauntered over to the picnic table, sitting across from his father. He placed a thin book on the table. “Wanna see a T-Rex?”
“Not now, Cole.”
“Can we eat breakfast?”
“When your mother gets up.”
“Can we go to the playground and play on the swings?”
“Not now.”
Cole huffed and crossed his arms. His dad was no fun at all, and never let him do anything he wanted to do unless it was about yard work. In fact, the boy couldn’t remember a time when his father wasn’t working. In protest to Ian’s standoffishness, Cole kicked dirt up and made sure he got his shoes dirty. They were new, so he knew that getting them all scuffed up right away would irritate his dad.
Cole’s foul mood didn’t last long. A navy-blue truck pulling a pop-up trailer drove up in the campsite next to theirs, honking energetically, and an older woman with curly gray hair stepped out with arms wide open.
“Granny!” Cole scrambled off the bench and ran to his grandmother, wrapping his arms around her neck. “You’re here!”
“How are you, Sweetie?” Olivia Bard, a nearly identical, older version of her daught
er hugged her grandson with a laugh. She slowly lowered herself to Cole’s level and pulled a handful of caramel candy from the pocket of her corduroy jacket. He gladly accepted. “Don’t you go telling your momma on me, now. I know you’re not supposed to have sweets before breakfast. So where is she, anyway?”
“Sleeping.”
“Well, go wake her lazy butt up!” Olivia straightened, old bones cracking, watching Cole with a wide grin. She hadn’t seen her grandson in nearly six months, far too long. When he disappeared inside tent, she walked over to Ian. “And how are you, my handsome son-in-law?”
“Just fine, Olivia.” Ian consented to a hug, then shook his father-in-law’s hand when the old man approached. “David,” he greeted.
“Ian,” David Bard said in return, his deep voice friendly. “You look good. Business must be doing well.”
“Can’t complain.” Neither David nor Olivia knew of any problems between Ian and Julia, as far as Ian knew anyway, so he figured that for the moment he was safe from any scrutiny. His in-laws were very fond of their son-in-law, but the moment their daughter’s heart broke would be the same moment their fondness turned to disdain, and Ian was not going to provoke that.
A retired military man, David was still strong in his late-sixties, healthy and fit with a quiet confidence that demanded respect. His age didn’t seem to have caught up with him yet, for his smooth skin and sharp eyes defied the real number of years he had seen. He kept his hair cropped short and his clothes neatly pressed, his black boots polished, looking very much the part of the Armed Forces.
Olivia, though a bit overweight and looking a few years older than she actually was, had an air of authority that matched her husband’s, as she was a retired professor who was used to taking control. She too kept her gray hair short, neatly and tightly curled without any artificial coloring, and had angled wrinkles across her forehead and at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Unlike the professional dress of her husband she chose a more casual look, wearing faded jeans, a loose lavender sweater, and ratty sneakers.
“Mom!”
Julia, fully dressed in khaki pants, a dark green T-shirt, and hiking boots, stepped out of the tent and jogged to her mother, hugging her tightly. “You’re early!”
“We just couldn’t wait to see you. And there was no traffic.”
“You look thin,” David observed, face stern. “Have you been eating right? Can you afford groceries?”
Julia let out an amused chuckle and ran her fingers through her messy hair. “Yes, Dad, we can afford groceries. And yes, I’m eating right. Don’t I get a hug?” She hugged her father, though he wasn’t one to show much emotion, and after being released David headed back to the truck to unpack. “Where’s Lisa?”
“Oh, your sister won’t be here for another day or so. You know how she is.”
Julia did know. Her sister was ten years younger, but she might as well of been ten years old, in her opinion. Lisa was known to be reckless, flighty, and completely oblivious to the world around her. Blessed with striking good looks, thick blond hair that fell in waves down her back, piercing green eyes accented by high cheekbones, full lips, and a trim yet muscular frame, she often got by on appearances alone. She was supposed to arrive at Big Creek Campground that night, which meant she would probably show up sometime in the next three days. It was impossible to depend on her, but Julia loved her sister all the same. Flighty or not, she was good at heart.
“Your aunt and cousins will be here tonight. Jerry’s coming tomorrow morning.”
“Is he bringing the new girlfriend?”
“New girlfriend’s been replaced by wife number five.”
“Oh. Interesting.” Love them as she did, Julia couldn’t deny that her family had its faults. “Well…how about I help y’all set up your tent.”
Olivia laughed loudly, waving a hand at her daughter. “Oh, honey, that’s a hoot. Your father and me in a tent.” Still laughing, she walked back to their truck to get her camera, and it was then that Julia saw the brand new pop-up trailer that was hitched to the back. Her father was already cranking it open. Leave it to the Bards, she thought with amusement, to go camping with air-conditioning.
While David was getting the trailer fixed up, Julia and Olivia started making breakfast. Cole stood by with wide eyes, stomach growling. They prepared bacon and eggs, and cooked toast over the grill. Cole made the process a bit faster by getting out the paper plates and pouring juice for everyone, though he spilled a good amount in the process. Ian remained at the table, working.
“He’s dedicated, isn’t he?” Olivia asked, glancing over her shoulder at Ian as he tore a sheet of paper off of the pad and crumpled it into a ball with a frustrated sigh.
“He’s got a big commission at some new hotel going in downtown. They begin the installation about a week after we get back.”
“And is he planning on having any fun on this vacation?”
Julia broke an egg over the pan and shrugged. “That’s up to him.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Ian saw Olivia glancing his way every now and then, and he wondered what the women were talking about, if they were talking about him, and if so, what was being said. The last thing he needed on this trip was trouble from the in-laws, or any other members of the family who would stand behind Julia no matter what. No one else needed to know their problems, and that was that. He might have to talk to his wife about keeping things to herself.
“Daddy? Can we go play at the park today?” Cole settled himself next to his father and tapped his arm. Ian looked up from his work, but before he could reply, Julia set down a large plate of bacon in front of them.
“I think that would be a great idea,” she said pointedly, giving Ian a look that warned him against arguing.
Ian glanced at David, who had his arms crossed, then at Olivia, who was standing at his side. He closed his notebook and nodded, bullied into agreement. “Sure, buddy, we can go after lunch.”
“Cool!”
The rest of the adults joined them at the table and began eating. The grandparents chose fresh coffee over juice, and Olivia stayed away from the bacon and butter for her toast. She had recently decided to put herself on a diet, and painful as it may be she was going to stick to it, even on vacation.
“So how was your first day here?” David asked, folding his napkin and placing it neatly across his lap.
“I almost fell in the river,” Cole announced, a twinge of pride in his voice.
“And what were you doing that close to the river, young man?”
Before Julia could stop her son, he was already telling them what he saw. “There was a ghost in the woods. A little boy ghost playing in the trees, and I wanted to talk to him. But I slipped on a rock and Mom grabbed me and made me come back to the tent. So I couldn’t talk to the ghost.”
At her mother’s stare, Julia shrugged and lifted a hand. “He’s certain he saw a ghost. I can’t convince him otherwise.”
“I did see one!”
“Okay, Cole.”
“I did!”
“Okay, I believe you.”
“He may very well have seen a ghost.”
All eyes turned to David. Not one for the supernatural and typically excruciatingly serious, the former military man had never bothered with talk of ghosts before. Everyone was surprised by the affirmation. He took a sip of coffee before continuing. “These are very old woods, very old trees. They’ve seen a lot of death.” His voice was serene with a hint of warning as his eyes took on a faraway expression of remembrance. “I used to come here all the time with my father. There are a lot of stories about hunters, hikers, kids who wander away from their parents, who get lost in the woods and never return.”
“And how do ghosts come into those stories?” Ian asked, determined to prove that his son’s imagination was simply running wild.
David thought back to his teenage years when he’d spent so many hours hiking and camping with his father. “There used to be a small vi
llage deep in the mountains, what was left of a band of Cherokee that had settled long before any European ever set foot in this country. I doubt they’re even still here, since they were old men and women when I was a boy. Anyway, they used to tell stories about the souls of the dead. They have old beliefs about death. They say that when a person dies and is buried, they go to the Spirit World. But if the person dies and the body is never found, never buried, then their souls are left to wander the earth eternally. Some find their way to the Land of the Dead, a place for lost souls. If I remember correctly, they say it’s somewhere behind the Western Sun.” He looked down at his plate sadly. “I used to think about that when I saw my comrades fall during battle, and knew we would have to leave their bodies behind.”
Caught up in the moment, David cleared his throat with a quick shake of his head. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that ghosts aren’t such a strange thing in these parts. You never know what you’ll see in woods that are home to many battles and bloodshed.”
No one said a word for a long time. Julia and Ian were both thinking that now their son’s beliefs would be reinforced by his grandfather’s tale and they would never hear the end of it. Olivia was surprised as well, for she had never heard her husband talk of ghosts. He was a down-to-business man and not prone to imagination. Nor was he a religious man prone to spiritual creeds. The admission about old Cherokee beliefs, she pondered, must be true, at least to his understanding.
Only Cole was thrilled by the stories, because they meant he really did see a ghost. He’d never before thought they were real, but now he could actually tell his friends that he knew for a fact what ghosts looked like. They were gray, see-through, and moved like the rain.
“Enough talk about ghosts,” Ian ordered then, picking up his fork. “Let’s enjoy our breakfast.
Beyond the Western Sun Page 2