by Evie Nichole
“Why do I have to go?”
In unison, both of her parents grabbed their beer cans and downed the remains in hurried gulps. It still took them half a minute and Harbour passed the time stewing.
“Mummy and daddy have been drinking, sweetie,” George said when he finally came up for air.
Harbour rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen.
“I hate you both,” she called back in a sweet voice.
Kimmy finished her last mouthful, “We’re okay with that.”
***
The rumbling growl of the aged engine signalled the truck’s arrival long before he could see it. Derek had plenty of time to slip from the balcony, put his shoes back on, and turn on the floodlights. He leaned against the doorframe and watched the truck round the fountain. It lurched to a stop a second before it hit his suitcases. Maybe he should have moved those things.
Harbour jumped down from the cab and rounded the back of her truck. Instead of her work uniform, she now had on a thick flannel jacket and Ugg boots covering what appeared to be duck printed pyjamas.
“You know leaving them there is a safety hazard,” she snapped.
He felt a smile fall easily into place. “Or they improve my home security.”
“You can just admit that you’re lazy.”
“Says the woman making house calls in her pyjamas.”
“Hey, you’re the reason I’m not soaking in a bubble bath right about now, so don’t give me any more reasons to kick your well-sculpted arse.”
He could pinpoint the moment her mind caught up with her mouth and couldn’t help but smile as frustration twisted her features. As if it could distract him from the blush creeping up her neck, she thrust a casserole dish into his chest.
“My parents instructed me to bring this to you. Eat in good health.”
He couldn’t really say that he was unable to keep himself from poking at her for a reaction. And in all honesty, he never really tried to control the urge. This was such a perfect set up. So he turned from her and headed towards the kitchen.
“Let me see if there’s a container I can put it in.”
Still standing in the doorway, dish in hand, she called out to him with a groan,.“Or you can give me back the dish tomorrow.”
If she ever considered her word choices, this game would be a lot harder.
“So you are picking me up tomorrow? Good to know.”
She released a low growl, making it hard not to turn around to see the faces she was undoubtedly making. The floors made it easy to keep track of where she was and eventually she began to follow Derek.
“Wow. You know, I’ve never actually been inside this place.”
He smiled as he flicked on the kitchen light. The whole house was pretty much a time capsule, more or less the same as it had been when they had lived there. Cooking had been one of his parents’ passions, so the kitchen was well-stocked with pots and pans. Now he just had to remember where they had kept the Tupperware.
“So what do you think?” he asked as he opened a cabinet.
“It’s . . . big.”
“And I haven’t even given you the grand tour.”
A few more cabinets and he found what he was looking for. He popped it on the counter and waited for her to edge closer. There was a little bit of awe in Harbour’s eyes as she took in the well-polished marble and silver that made up the kitchen. There were a few old family photographs still pinned to the fridge and she was trying to get a better look at them without him noticing.
“How did you never go through a dumpy phase?” she mumbled.
Her back tightened at his chuckle and he realized that she hadn’t expected him to hear her. The tiles squeaked under her boots as she quickly spun around and dropped the casserole dish onto the counter.
Derek reached over the space and peeled back the cling wrap. It smelled pretty good, although he had no idea what was in it. The ‘basics’ had never really interested his parents. They had craved a challenge and had been determined to raise him with what they deemed to be a refined pallet. As such, he had grown up eating things like tongues en papillote and spiced red wine poached pears with vanilla mascarpone whipped cream. It was always quicker to let them cook the dish than actually ask them what it was.
“Smells good. What’s in it?”
“Whatever was about to go bad, I guess.” Harbour shrugged.
Derek could almost hear his parents’ screams of torment. Biting back his smile, he searched for a spoon to maneuver the contents into the container.
“Would you like some?”
“No, thanks. I have my pizza going cold at home.”
“I like how you make it sound like that’s my fault.”
She impatiently drummed her fingers around the counter top.
“It kind of is. If you had taken a few minutes to run to the store, I wouldn’t be here.” She turned to him with renewed energy. “And then you had to be at the door too.”
“So?” he asked as he found a mixing spoon, “Were you just going to ring the doorbell and run?”
Even as she shrugged with a dismissive air, it was clear that that had indeed been her plan. Suddenly, everything in the room that wasn’t him was amazingly fascinating. Derek waited until her eyes finally came back to him and offered her a slight smile.
She huffed and tried to hold onto her annoyance, but a matching smile pulled at her lips. A melody began to play, rolling through the house, and they exchanged a confused look.
Then it clicked. “That’s my phone.”
He had to jog to snatch up the cell from the sofa before the call ended. Annoyed at the interruption, he checked the caller I.D. to see if it was someone he could ignore for a while. He frowned. Who did he know that had their number withheld?
“Hello?”
No one spoke, but he could hear slight shuffling. He pulled back the phone to check the screen again. The seconds clicked by. It was definitely a connected call.
“Hello?”
A sharp click and then nothing.
“Did it drop out?” Harbour asked as she entered the living room. “Cell service out here is still pretty sketchy. Don’t expect any reliability until you get back into town.”
Yet another thing Derek really hadn’t missed about Nowhere. His eyes dropped down to the plate in her hand.
“You’re heading off already?”
“You can’t compete with pizza, Derek.”
“Should I be insulted?”
“You mean now, or just in general?”
She threw him a teasing smile but an unsettled feeling still seeped into the pit of his stomach.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
That was enough for her to spin around fast enough that her golden hair fanned out around her.
“Okay, we need to clear up a few things.”
Settling back against the side of the couch, Derek crossed his arms over his chest. The gesture was enough to make Harbour’s face turn an interesting shade of red. She stopped when only a foot remained between them, and crossed her arms. A split second later, she realized how similarly they were standing and shifted her hands to her hips.
“What’s on your mind, Harbour?”
“This town does have a taxi service; you know?”
He smiled. “That’s so impersonal, especially when I have friends to rely on.”
She huffed a laugh and waved a hand between them. “You have a gross misconception of what our relationship is.”
“And what is our relationship?” Derek let his smile spread and was rewarded with a momentary flush.
It was impossible to resist flexing his arms just to see if it would provoke a reaction. Harbour’s eyes did dart towards his arms, but she remained on track. That was slightly disappointing.
“That is a good question,” she mumbled and pressed a hand against her forehead.
“Thank you.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she still wasn’t able to get any heat into the glare. A laugh b
ubbled up from his chest and it prompted her to speak.
“Look, I know that you used to have fun tormenting me.”
It was hard to stifle his growing laughter as he held up his hands and cut off her words. “What was that?”
“You tormented me.” She exaggerated each word.
“When?”
“How do you not remember that?”
“I remember us joking around a lot.”
“We weren’t joking,” she snapped. “Where are you getting this from?”
“You never tried to avoid me.”
“There were only fifty people in graduating class.”
Still smiling, he pointed out, “You never talked bad about me.”
“And commit social suicide? You were the most popular kid in school.”
“If you felt that way, why didn’t you ever say anything?”
She shuffled at that one. “You were intimidating.”
“So I was popular, intimidating, and mean?”
“You were pretty much a jerk,” she nodded.
The lack of humor in her voice brought him up short. “Harbour, did you really hate me?”
She fixed her gaze on his shoulder. “Hate is a strong word.”
“But is it an accurate one?”
He unfurled his arms and leaned forward, his eyes focused solely on her face. For a moment she just looked at him, her eyes slightly wide, but eventually, she huffed and rubbed the back of her neck.
“I don’t hate you, Derek.”
A relieved sigh escaped him as he stood up. The idea that Harbour had been spending all this time with such resentment for him had actually made his stomach churn. He waited until she met his eyes again. He needed for her to believe him.
“I’m sorry.”
Her eyes darted around the room and she rolled her shoulders. “It’s really weird when you’re serious.”
“I can be serious.”
“No, it’s actually kind of creepy. Stop it.”
“Stop taking you seriously? If that’s what you want,” he grinned happily.
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, you’ve made your choice and I will respect it.”
“I want to change my answer.”
A sudden crash made them both flinch back and within a second the front of the house was engulfed in flames.
Chapter Five
Harbour dropped the casserole dish as she shielded her eyes from the bright flames. The heat hit her like a wall and scorched across her skin. Before either she or Derek could react, the house was in flames. Derek grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to what she assumed was a side exit, but the fire beat them to it.
It was hard to see through the blinding light and gathering smoke. The heat burned her throat and each attempt to breathe boiled her lungs. Derek’s fingers tightened around her hand and together they bolted for the balcony door. His whole body jolted when they found the door locked. He let go of her hand and fumbled with the lock, but the door wouldn’t open.
He threw his shoulder into the doorjamb but it refused to budge. It was hard to resist the urge to push past him and do it herself. But before Harbour gave into the panicked voice in her head, Derek whipped around, picked up the nearest coffee table, and hurled it through the door. The glass shattered into a thousand glistening pieces that scattered across the floor.
Doubled over as a coughing fit racked him, Derek grabbed her arm and pushed her through the newly created gap. Fresh air circled around her, sweet and cool against her sweat- soaked skin. She heaved a few deep breaths before Derek stumbled out beside her.
“How do we get down?” Harbour croaked.
“There is no way off,” he said through a set of coughs. He glanced over the railing to the dark, coursing river deep below. “We’ll have to jump.”
He set his shoulders and began to lift his foot onto the railing. Was he insane? Harbour snapped out a hand, grabbed his forearm, and tugged him further down the balcony. The fire surged over the house and they didn’t have long before it would ravage the balcony. Still holding him in place, she glanced over the railing to check the patch of river below.
“We need to go further up,” she told Derek as she yanked his arm again.
“What’s the difference?”
“A whole lot of rocks.”
“Are you sure?”
“It was our most popular tour until your family bought up the land.”
She twisted over the rail and peered into the darkness. It wasn’t the best place, but they were quickly running out of time. She pulled him close and zipped up his leather jacket. “When you hit the water, cross your ankles and try to go feet first through the rapids. It’s going to be cold. Force yourself to breathe through it. Once the water calms down, get out on the left bank as quickly as you can. Left. Strip down fast to prevent hypothermia and keep walking to the left.You’ll find a road.”
His brows furrowed as he stared at her intensely. “What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.” She smiled, but it didn’t quell any of his growing suspicion. “Focus, Derek.” She wrapped her arm around his bicep as best she could, shoved him in front of her, and pointed to the patch of the river she wanted him to hit. “Right there. I’ll be a second behind you.”
The house groaned behind them and the balcony trembled with it. He looked over his shoulder and gripped her hand.
“You go first.”
“Hell, no. What if there are rocks?”
Her attempt at humor didn’t loosen his grip.
“Together then,” he said, “On three.”
The balcony rattled again and there wasn’t any time left to argue. Harbour’s fingers twisted with his. Her heart pounded against her ribs, and she could barely hear him count over the roar of the flames. They got onto the rim of the balcony and she squeezed her eyes closed. Derek yelled ‘three’ and they leapt into the abyss.
Her stomach lurched, her skin froze, and for a few heart-pounding moments it was as if the world had simply disappeared. The only point of warmth left on her body was Derek’s hand around hers. And then they hit the water and Harbour’s blood turned to ice.
Instantly the current grabbed them and hurled them around the stones. Years of training told her to remain calm, to assume the position and ride out the waves. The water churned, dragging Harbour down even as it pushed her to the surface. She grabbed air when she could, but always ended up with a mouthful of water.
The water carried an arctic chill that seeped into her bones and turned her muscles to stone. The surrounding houses offered little pinpricks of light that streaked past them in a blur. They were all she had to gauge how far they had hurtled through the ebony stream. Derek’s hand had long since left her own and she was unable to spot him in the crush.
A submerged boulder brushed across Harbour’s back before she lurched down a sudden drop. The current dragged her under the surface. She clutched at her shoulders with her numb fingers and repeated to herself that she needed to remain calm.
The stream slowed, the stones were fewer between, and she realized that they had made it out of the first set of rapids. They needed to get out now or they were going to reach God’s Tears, a set of waterfalls that were a sheer drop into a shallow pool. But the frigid water had invaded Harbour’s muscles and made it almost impossible to move. She forced herself up and caught a glimpse of the steep bank over the heaving water. But where was Derek?
She swam to the edge, her limbs blocks of cracking ice. Her waterlogged clothes pulled her down like lead weights and the torrent ripped her boots off of her feet. The bank came closer, the mud now littered with twisted trees that loomed over the water’s edge. Harbour latched onto a branch but couldn’t close her fingers tight enough to hold on. Her hand raked over the brittle bark and she was flung once more into the stream.
A hand grabbed the back of her jacket and she jerked to an abrupt stop. Over the swell she saw Derek, one hand twisted around a pliable tree branc
h, his other refusing to let her go. That branch wouldn’t last and even in the limited light she could see that Derek wasn’t faring well with the cold. Pain etched across his face as he strained to pull her free from the river and onto muddy bank. The second she was able, Harbour grabbed onto some of the mangled tree limbs and tried to take some of the strain off of him.
The frosty mud swallowed her feet and hands as she crawled higher onto the bank. Derek’s hand dropped. She spun around, her heart lurching to think that he might have been taken by the river.
Peering into the darkness, she found him clinging to a mangled cluster of branches. His arms trembled, robbed of the strength to pull himself free. The branches splintered under Harbour’s bare feet as she crashed through them.
Derek’s hand was like ice as she finally reached him. But he opened his eyes, body quaking, and lifted his head to look at her. It stilled some of the panic that had fluttered around her chest and she smiled at him.
“Come on, big guy. Let’s get you warmed up.”
She pulled at his towering bulk. If he had been beyond helping, there would be no way she could have moved him at all. As much as he tried, Derek couldn’t keep his weight from crushing her. Together they scrambled from the cluster of trees and up the embankment. He crumpbled onto the patch of grass and brought her down with him.
She could feel his body temperature dropping by the minute. His body shivered uncontrollably and his movements were getting sluggish and slow. If they couldn’t warm him up soon, this was going to get dangerous.
She yanked at Derek until he sat up and tore at his jacket. It would have been better if they were someplace warm to do this, but they didn’t have many options. The leather had done its job well. It had absorbed most of the damage the rocks had inflicted and only a few bruises had begun to bloom across his skin.
When Harbour had worked the jacket free, she leaned back on her knees and ripped off her own. She looked around and smiled. A few feet away, Piper’s house stood like a shiny beacon in the night.
“Okay, time to move.”
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked as she pulled his arm across her shoulders.
“I’ve spent most of my life in a state of mild hypothermia. I’m used to it.”
