by J. H. Croix
Eventually, Susie and Cammi left with hugs and promises to see each other in a few days, if not sooner. Hannah waited with Jessie on the front deck and watched the dust lift on the road behind Susie’s car, remaining on the deck for a while after they left. She thought of her conversation with Luke about how the view never got old. She counted the peaks of the mountains across the bay, an old childhood habit that had started the day she arrived. She’d never seen mountains that big, so she’d counted them and proudly reported to her mother that she could see seven peaks from the house. Today as she counted, she found herself whispering aloud, as if her mother could hear. A quiet joy mixed with sadness rose in her heart. She missed her parents deeply. Their presence was still a void in her heart and world. She didn’t know if she could ever fill it, but she was starting to feel a sense of hope that she could move through her grief.
The next few days passed quickly. Hannah kept busy working on the yard and slowly sorting through the house. She walked daily with Jessie, exploring just about every trail she remembered and a few new ones. Frank and June had finally stopped by the house after a call to check on her. Frank was as steady as Hannah remembered him. He was a few years older than her father had been, his hair graying, his hands roughened from work, but his brown eyes as kind as ever. June tended to mother-hen Hannah. She was round and soft, her blond hair always worn in a long braid that hung over one shoulder. If she was graying, you couldn’t tell. She had a timeless quality to her. June was one of her mother’s closest friends and had known how worried Hannah’s parents had been about her those last few years when Hannah was running amuck. Hannah felt a prick of embarrassment, wondering what June had known about how impulsive Hannah had been and how much her mother had worried over it. She wanted to tell June she’d become what her parents had hoped for—responsible and not chasing one man after another on the latest adventure. For a moment, it occurred to her that they likely hadn’t wanted her to live like a nun.
As they were leaving, June mentioned that she had a few file boxes of papers from Hannah’s mother. “Your mother gave them to me years ago actually. Your parents were in the midst of the master bedroom and bath remodel. She said she wanted these boxes in a safe place, so she gave them to me. She kept saying she’d come by and pick them up, but you know how that goes. It never happened. I can drop them off here, or you can swing by to get them. Whatever’s easier for you,” June said.
Hannah agreed to pick them up and had gone over the next morning. She was puzzled about the boxes. She remembered when the remodeling project was happening and tried to remember if she’d seen the boxes before. They were nondescript paper filing boxes. She had no recollection of seeing them and wondered where her mother had stored them before the remodel. Carting them into the living room, she left them by the couch to look through later.
Before she knew it, Saturday was upon her. When she woke in the cool dawn, she lay in bed and wondered about Luke. She was anxious to see him again and anxious in a different way about seeing the other friends who would be at Susie’s. Her thoughts also kept circling back to the file boxes. She couldn’t pin down why, but she had a strange feeling about them. Jessie’s cool nose nudged her hand, and she turned her head to see Jessie standing beside the bed wagging her tail. Pushing her questions and anxiety away, Hannah tossed the covers back.
Later that afternoon, Hannah went over to Susie’s early to help. She brought two bottles of wine, a red and a white. This was the first time she’d been to Susie’s place since she’d moved back. Susie had moved out of her parents’ home after she graduated from college and purchased a small home nearby. She lived on the other side of the hill from Hannah above town. Rather than driving down into town, only to drive back up the other side of the hill, Hannah took a back road across the top of the hill. Pulling into Susie’s driveway, her heart warmed at the sight of Susie’s house. It was quintessential Susie, small and colorful with a touch of whimsy. It was a small cottage-style timber home with a deck that wrapped around the entire house and purple trim on the windows. A small purple Jolly Roger flag flew from one corner of the house.
Susie came out and waved at her from the deck by the door. Hannah walked up the stairs to the deck. “I meant to get here a little earlier to help, but I got caught up working on the yard. It’s been a mess really.” She set the wine bottles on the deck railing and gave Susie a quick hug.
“You didn’t even have to come early to help. I just wanted you here so I’d have some time with you to myself. I’m selfish that way,” Susie said as she stepped back from returning Hannah’s hug.
“Just how many people did you invite?” Hannah asked.
“Not that many actually. If everyone shows up, it’s not more than twelve people. Don’t worry about it. You’ve seen most of them. You haven’t seen Maggie and Jason though. Maggie can’t wait to see you,” Susie said as she put the white wine in the refrigerator.
“I thought they broke up before I moved away.”
“They did. Then they were both living in Anchorage. When they both moved back to Diamond Creek, it was this big drama because Jason dumped the girlfriend he’d brought with him. Maggie said she forgot that Jason was her soul mate. The girlfriend he brought with him ended up staying in town too. Name’s Callie. She’s nice enough, but I don’t know her well. For a while, she dated Luke’s younger brother, Nathan. Not sure what came of that,” Susie said.
For the next half hour or so, Susie filled Hannah in on other happenings over the past two years. While some things had changed, many stayed the same. If anything, one thing Hannah could count on was that the gossip channels in Diamond Creek were alive and well. For now, she was soaking it in. She loved being back in town and feeling like she knew who was who and what was what. She helped Susie assemble a tray of cheese and crackers. Susie then assigned her to put together a tray of vegetables and dips.
“This isn’t really a dinner party by the way. It’s an appetizer party,” Susie said with a laugh.
As Hannah finished slicing vegetables, there was a call from the screen door that led onto the deck. She turned to see Cammi and Dara. Susie gestured for them to come in. Cammi and Dara came with hugs and chips and salsa. Not long after they arrived, Maggie and Jason showed up. They looked much the same as they had when Hannah last saw them. Maggie had shiny black hair that hugged her scalp in a short cap. Jason had retained the rugged outdoorsy look he’d had all through high school. His blond hair was a shaggy contrast to Maggie’s sleek locks.
Hannah was surprised to find how quickly it felt like she hadn’t been gone. Maggie and Jason had opened a construction business. Maggie handled the office side of it while Jason handled the building. Hannah was busy talking with them while Susie persuaded Cammi and Dara to help her rearrange the chairs away from the table. She looked up from her conversation to see Luke entering the kitchen with Jared and who she assumed to be Nathan behind him. They came with more wine, in addition to beer from the local brewery, Diamond Creek Brewery. She lost focus on what Maggie was saying for a moment. Her heart stepped up a beat, and her stomach had the hollow, fluttery feeling that seemed inevitable when Luke was nearby. She forced herself to pay attention to Maggie.
After Luke greeted Susie and the others, he came in her direction, tugging Nathan with him. Nathan was clearly Luke’s brother. They shared the same black curly hair. Nathan’s was longer and messier and paired with sharp blue eyes. He was a shade taller than Luke.
Luke introduced them, and Nathan graced her with a lopsided smile. “Hello there. Heard about you. Hope it’s good to be back in Diamond Creek.”
Nathan’s easy warmth relaxed her. “Hello to you too. It’s great to be home and nice to meet you. Luke’s mentioned both you and Jared. It sounds like the three of you have a good gig going with your fishing and guiding.”
“That we do. Me being the youngest, Luke and Jared think they’re my bosses, but they couldn’t do it without me,” Nathan said in return, his eyes taking on a m
ischievous glint. “So what did you think of the Boathouse? Heard Luke took you there.”
Luke shook his head. “He just can’t resist commenting on the fact that we had dinner the other night. Ignore him.”
Nathan’s eyes twinkled, but he stayed silent.
“It was great,” she replied. “I’m glad something good opened there since Pat’s closed. Diamond Creek has plenty of good restaurants, but we’ve also had some that just didn’t take. It’s nice to have another good place.”
Nathan nodded politely and appeared to be holding back a laugh. Jared approached them then. The three brothers shared variations of black curls with Luke and Jared sharing green eyes, and Nathan the odd one out, his eyes bright blue. They were rugged and just plain handsome with strong, sculpted features and lanky, muscled builds. Jared and Luke were level in height while Nathan was slightly taller. Jared had the sharpest features of the three and a coiled presence. Nathan’s slouch and teasing manner almost seemed a reaction to Jared. Luke appeared somewhere in the middle, not keyed up like Jared, but not loose with the wild edge that Nathan held. Seeing the three of them together, Hannah easily understood why they’d set hearts aflutter and gossip abounding when they’d moved to town. Three handsome, rugged men new in a tiny town like Diamond Creek—she could only imagine the first year they’d been here.
Hannah shook her head when she caught her mind wandering and brought her thoughts back to the room. Jared was asking Nathan about confirming the dates for their upcoming trip with the crew. Luke was casually chatting with Maggie and Jason. He nodded toward the couch where Hannah was seated. “Can I join you?” At her nod, he sat and turned toward Maggie and Jason. “Had the pleasure of meeting Hannah and then Susie convinced me to ask her to take Jessie.” He reached over to set a bottle of beer on the coffee table.
She looked away for a moment, but was pulled back by Luke’s voice. “So, how have you been?” he asked.
She turned to find his green eyes looking directly at her. Laughter lurked in them. The heat of his body permeated her, as he’d seated himself fairly close to her on the couch. When she looked into his eyes, she couldn’t look away. She bit her lip. “I’m doing okay. How about you?” Hannah asked. Silently, she wondered if she was being stupid about Luke. She worried that she was drawn to him for all the wrong reasons—just another handsome, charming guy who loved the outdoors as much as she did. She mentally batted that thought away.
“I’m okay. Glad to see you here. Been busy between day trips and getting ready to leave in about a week. Not much left to do at this point, so I have some extra time on my hands. Hoping you’ll let me join you for a few of your walks with Jessie.”
“Oh, of course. I don’t plan them really. I could just call you maybe before one of our afternoon walks.”
Luke nodded and then responded to something Jason said. Jared and Nathan tugged chairs across from the coffee table. Susie, Cammi, and Dara came in from the kitchen area. Dara situated one of the food trays on the coffee table. The next few hours were spent with casual visiting, nibbling on snacks, and sipping wine. A few other friends showed up. Hannah found herself distracted by Luke’s presence. He stayed beside her on the couch and ended up sitting almost flush against her when the couch filled with others looking for somewhere to sit.
Maggie, as she’d been prone to doing since they were kids, managed to bring up an awkward topic; in this case, it was Hannah’s prior penchant for impulsive trips. “So Hannah, any of your crazy trips lately? Last one I heard about, you’d taken off to Costa Rica to hike some mountain there.”
Hannah sighed internally. She definitely didn’t want to get into that in front of Luke, but it didn’t seem she had much choice with Maggie waiting expectantly.
“Oh not recently,” she said, hoping Maggie would let the topic drop.
But no, Maggie carried on. Sweet as she was, she had a flaky side to her and rarely picked up on cues until after the fact. “Well, after college, Hannah drove her parents crazy,” Maggie said, directing her comments to Luke. “She was either off to hike or ski some mountain nowhere near home, or whitewater rafting or something like that. Didn’t you do the rafting thing all summer once?”
Hannah just nodded, keeping her gaze focused on the coffee table with a quick pleading look to Susie. Susie didn’t seem inclined to help her out, as she returned Hannah’s look with a quirk of her lips. Hannah sensed Luke’s gaze and gave him a tight smile.
“Well, anyway, Hannah’s about as tough as it gets for a woman when it comes to the outdoors,” Maggie said, content to continue without Hannah’s response. “She beat half the men in Mount Marathon one year. God, remember how mad that made Damon?”
Just as Hannah thought she’d have to respond, Cammi saved her. “That’s why we girls are all glad Hannah’s home—she represents us when we need to show the men we can keep up. Of course Damon got mad when she beat his time!” Cammi said, her sweet voice belying her protective nature. Cammi turned toward Luke. “Damon was just a college boyfriend. You know, nothing too serious. He couldn’t handle that Hannah could beat him at some sports. She’s a hell of a runner.” Hannah sent a silent thanks to Cammi.
Jared cocked one eyebrow. “Mount Marathon is no easy feat. Ran it one year, and that was enough. Kicked my ass. Impressed that you beat half the men. You’d probably have beat Luke and me. We were in the middle of the pack.”
Luke nodded. “Probably. We only got through by harassing each other after the first half,” he said with a chuckle.
The awkward moment passed, and conversation shifted. Hannah had forgotten that Damon had been so intimidated that she could keep up with him when it came to running, hiking, and skiing. She’d avoided admitting it to herself at the time, but Damon wanted a girlfriend who was constantly impressed by him. She thought back to the hours after the Mount Marathon race that she’d finished only a few minutes ahead of Damon. The race was a run up and down a mountain in Seward, Alaska, and had been run for over a hundred years, allegedly on a bet the first time. It was just over three miles, but the terrain was rough. Runners climbed almost one thousand feet in a short distance and then barreled down the other side of the mountain. The year she ran it with Damon was the second time she’d done it. He’d barely spoken to her the rest of the day. The following week was when she’d first found him with another woman.
She surreptitiously looked at Luke. He and Jared appeared to have little need to impress. In other ways, he had an unfortunate amount in common with Damon—handsome, charming, rugged, and appeared to share her love of outdoor activities. With a mental shake, she pushed thoughts of Damon away and focused on the present. Cammi was teasing Susie about something. While Jason explained his preference for building timber frame homes to Luke and his brothers, Maggie had her head on his shoulder, looking sleepy. Hannah’s heart settled as she looked around the room. Her parents weren’t here and wouldn’t be here with her again. Gatherings like this with them were commonplace when they’d been alive. They’d taught her about the gift of friendship and community. When she’d been away, she hadn’t forgotten that, but she’d built a cocoon around herself to manage her grief and had stayed there perhaps too long.
She took a swallow of wine and felt Luke shift beside her. His thigh was against hers. She’d tucked her other foot under her knee and sat at a slight angle facing him. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She felt Susie watching them. Susie winked. Hannah shook her head and turned back to Luke.
“How long are you staying?” he asked.
“Probably not much longer. No matter how much I fight against it, I’m a morning person. Even if I stay up late, I’m up early whether I want to be or not. How about you?”
“Wondering if I could catch a ride. I’m not up for tagging along with Jared and Nathan. They’re off to Sally’s for whatever band is playing.”
She answered without thinking. “Oh sure. I’ll probably leave soon. Before we go though, I need to check in with Susie.” She got u
p and walked into the kitchen where Susie had gone after her wink. She found her scraping off plates and starting to clean up. Hannah silently began to help.
Susie didn’t let the silence last. “If you were hoping no one would notice that you and Luke are into each other, you didn’t try very hard tonight,” she said with a chuckle.
Hannah turned from filling the dishwasher. “That obvious?”
“Um…let’s see, he showed up and pretty much walked right over to you after he said hi. I don’t think I’ve seen the two of you move, except to go to the bathroom or get some food. He’s trying to play his cards close, but it’s not hard to see that he likes you. He can barely keep his eyes off you. The only thing helping him is good manners. He’s too polite to just ignore everyone else.”
“Oh,” Hannah said with a sigh. “It’s next to impossible to lie low in this town.”
Susie just looked back at her, a dishcloth and plates in her hands.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Hannah said, the words coming out in a rush. “My track record with men is not good. Not at all. I know you think Luke is nice, but he’s a lot like half the guys I chased around on all those trips. I don’t need more of that.”
Susie put down the plates she held and stepped over to face Hannah. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I know what it’s been like for you. You had a few years there after Damon did his number on you when all you did was run from one thing to the next, men included. You barely talked to me about it, but I know damn well you hated that your parents worried about you. From what I can tell, you’ve gone in the opposite direction since they died. You’re practically living like a nun. You know they wouldn’t want that.”
Susie held a hand up when Hannah opened her mouth. “I’m not saying this as a judgment, but just an observation. I’ve known you for a long time, and while I may have missed two years of time with you, I still know you. You seem to have forgotten a part of yourself, the fearless part. Do you remember the time we hiked the trail over on Paradise Hill and got chased by that wild mama moose?”
