by Tori Scott
He dressed quietly, gathered his things and put them in his duffel bag, then tiptoed into Hunter's room. He found the keys to the Tahoe in his dad's jeans pocket and carefully retrieved them. He closed the door behind him as he left the room.
Downstairs, he cleaned up all signs that they'd been there and returned the key to its hiding place. Then he eased the front door open and locked it behind him. So far, so good. Now, if he could just get the truck down the driveway without waking his dad.
Jason cringed when the truck started with a roar of the engine. He eased off the gas and put the gearshift into reverse, letting the truck roll backwards as quietly as possible. He didn't breathe again until he was out of sight of the cabin.
He drove as quickly as he could to the main road, pulling the Tahoe into the trees just before the turn. He didn't want his dad to find him if he walked this far to look for him. He hoped no one looked in the can of coffee before he and the Castlemans were far away.
This had better work. Otherwise he might find himself grounded for the rest of his life. A huge yawn overtook him as he settled lower in the seat, and in seconds he was asleep.
***
Sandy awoke feeling achy and exhausted. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep, and when she managed to drag herself out of bed at her mother's knock on the door, she longed to crawl back into the safety and security of her warm bed. Since that wasn't an option, she went into the small bathroom and splashed water on her face.
She didn't like what she saw when she looked in the mirror. There were shadows under her listless eyes, and her skin looked pasty and sallow. She turned the faucet in the shower to cold and braced herself for the shock. She gasped as the icy spray buffeted her weary limbs, then slowly the cold water began to wash the tiredness away. Her mind pushed through the fog and her scattered thoughts converged into one.
Hunter. When she'd finally dropped into an exhausted slumber, she'd dreamed of him. She'd found him walking down a grassy path, sunlight streaming over his coal-black hair. Her delight in seeing him had sent her running into his arms, only to find herself thrust away as he turned his back and strode off down the path.
Now, when she finally knew he was right, it was too late. She'd said hurtful things to him she didn't know how to take back. She didn't think he'd listen to her long enough to hear an apology. She'd wounded his pride, as well as his heart. He'd said she'd had a man who loved her. Past tense. And she'd thrown that love back in his face. A man never forgave that.
She finally felt revived enough to get dressed and wake Melanie. Sandy helped her daughter dress and the two went to the kitchen where Lillian and Jack were speaking in hushed tones at the kitchen table. Melanie bounded into the room, unaware she had intruded on what was obviously a private conversation. Sandy murmured an apology and crossed to the oak plank table, where she pulled out an empty chair and plopped down.
"Good morning dear," Lillian said cheerfully. "You look tired. Didn't you sleep well?"
"I don't think I slept more than a few minutes all night," Sandy mumbled, dropping her head into her hands. "I hope you don't mind a zombie for company today."
"Don't worry, you'll wake up when we get there," Lillian assured her. "Or you can stretch out under a tree and take a nap. Are you two ready to go? We thought we'd get breakfast at a drive-through on the way."
"Sure, let me grab a change of clothes for Mel, then we'll be ready."
"Sandy," her mother called when she was halfway down the hall, "be sure and get a change for yourself, too. You never know when you might need one."
Sandy couldn't imagine why her mother thought she'd need a change of clothes, but she threw a pair of white shorts and a red halter top into the grocery bag she was using for Melanie's extra outfit. On impulse, she added the bathing suit she'd brought.
They arrived at the cabin shortly after eight. Sandy awoke from a light doze, slightly disoriented from her nap. She looked at her father in confusion when she realized he had stopped well short of the cabin, behind a line of trees that hid the structure from view. "Why did you stop way out here? Is something wrong with the car?"
"Ah, no,no. Just wanted to show Melanie something down the path here. I thought you could walk the distance more easily than she could, with her leg and all," Jack stammered. "Lillian, would you like to go with us?"
"Of course. Sandy, why don't you run on up to the cabin and turn on the lights and open some windows. We'll be right up."
Both of her parents were acting weird, Sandy thought as she started up the path to the cabin. She hoped they weren't having problems again. She'd hate for them to lose the closeness they'd finally found.
She was out of breath when she reached the cabin. She checked for the key in its hiding place and found it right where it was supposed to be. She fit the key into the lock and twisted. The door swung open on silent hinges and she walked inside, leaving it open.
She looked around the main room, surprised to find nothing had changed other than the addition of fresh flowers that had no doubt been her mother's doing. The place had recently been cleaned, the furniture gleaming in the sunlight that flooded the room.
When the car didn't appear in the driveway within a few minutes, she stepped out onto the front lawn to see if she could spot them. This was really strange. Maybe they took Melanie to see something else. She should probably take advantage of the few minutes of solitude she had and take a nap.
The idea sounded so good she did just that, stretching out on a chaise set under the trees at the edge of the yard. It took a few minutes to get used to the sounds of the woods--birds chirping, squirrels chattering, small animals rummaging for foods beneath the leaves and pine needles. In no time she was asleep.
***
Jason awoke with a start when a car door slammed nearby. He looked around frantically, wondering if his father had discovered his deception so quickly. When he saw Jack, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. He climbed out of the truck and met him halfway. "How did it go? Did you get her up there? Does my dad know she's there yet?"
"Whoa, son, slow down," Jack said, chuckling heartily. "They're both up there, though the last we saw neither knew the other was even there. But we'd better get out of here before we're discovered. Are you going to follow us back to Tyler?"
Jason nodded. "I'll be right behind you."
"Okay. Let's get this show on the road then." Jack returned to the car and pulled back onto the lane. Jason started the Tahoe and followed, glancing in his rear-view mirror as he did so. All clear. They'd done it!
***
Sandy woke suddenly, her heart pounding with fear. A huge shadow blocked the sun, and it wasn't a tree. She lurched upward as she opened her eyes fully and screamed loud enough to startle the birds into flight.
"What the hell was that for?" a deep male voice demanded, outrage tinged with shock edging his tone.
Sandy pressed her hand over her runaway heart and took in huge gulps of breath as she tried to calm herself. "Hunter Thurman, you jerk! You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Oh, I doubt that," he drawled, icicles dripping from every word. "You'd have to have a heart first."
Pain sliced through Sandy at his cruel words. She felt tears welling in her eyes and turned her head away, not wanting to give him additional ammunition for his attack. When she felt more composed, she faced him again, although she had to look up to meet his gaze. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Now that's a damned good question. In fact, I was going to ask you the very same thing. I'm supposed to be having a father-son weekend, although I seem to have misplaced my son for the moment. What's your excuse?"
Sandy lifted her chin and tossed her hair behind her back with one slightly shaky hand. "I'm here with Melanie and my parents. Dad wanted to take her fishing."
Hunter's brows drew together. "Oh, really? Then where are they? I don't see a car."
Sandy shrugged, hoping she appeared nonchalant. "Who knows? The last time I saw them they were ta
king Melanie into the woods to show her something. What time is it, anyway?"
Hunter gave her a skeptical look and consulted his watch. "It's a little after ten-thirty."
Sandy leaped from the chaise and landed unsteadily on her feet. "Oh my goodness. I haven't seen them since we got here at eight o'clock. Something must have happened to them." She headed for the path that led to the main road.
"Wait!" Hunter called after her. "Let's go around back and get the Tahoe. We'll have a better chance of finding them if we find the car first, then head out from there." Sandy reversed directions and ran for the back of the cabin. Hunter beat her to it. When she rounded the corner, he was staring at the empty driveway. "I don't believe this. I really, really don't believe this," he was muttering.
"Where's your truck?" Sandy asked, confused. He'd just said it was behind the cabin. But it was nowhere in sight.
"Believe me, if I knew, I'd be going after it right now. But I don't have a clue."
"What are we going to do? Wait a minute, I just thought of something. You said you were planning to spend the weekend here, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So," she said with exaggerated patience, "when did you get here?"
"Last night. Why? What does that have to do with anything?" He turned to glare at her like she was wasting his time.
"Just listen. When I got here, the key was hidden in its usual spot, the lights were off, and there was no sign anyone had been in the cabin. Doesn't that sound a little suspicious to you?"
His expression darkened as her meaning soaked in. "Now that you mention it, I distinctly remember leaving our drink cans and deck of cards on the kitchen table. Our supplies were on the floor by the door. I don't recall seeing them when I woke up."
"Hunter, we've been set up. Jason and my parents must have planned this in advance. I thought it was kind of strange that they insisted on coming up here today. And my parents were acting sort of weird this morning." She started pacing across the yard, growing more agitated by the minute. "I can understand Jason pulling a stunt like this, but my parents are old enough to know better," she fumed.
"So what do we do now?" he asked sarcastically. "Since you seem to have all of the answers, I'll bow to your superior wisdom."
"I vote for a cup of coffee. I didn't get much sleep last night and I need the caffeine so I can think clearly."
Hunter gave her a deep, sweeping bow, his voice mocking as he said, "Lead the way."
She lifted her chin and tossed her hair behind her as she strode toward the door. She yanked it open and resisted the urge to slam it in his face. What a jerk! And she'd been thinking about apologizing. Well, that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. Maybe she'd do so the day she won the lottery.
When the screen door slammed again, she turned to Hunter. "Do you want to make the coffee, or shall I?"
"Go ahead. I need a cup so badly right now, I don't care if it tastes like mud."
"Oh, gee thanks. Now my coffee's lousy, too. I'm amazed you'd lower yourself enough to drink it." She opened the cabinet door and removed the canister from the shelf. She slammed it onto the counter top, then located the filters and dropped one into the basket. She filled the pot with water and poured it into the machine, spilling some in her agitation.
Hunter had the grace to look embarrassed as he said, "Sandy, I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm acting like this. It's not your fault we're stuck with each other."
If that's an apology, she thought, I could do without it. Stuck with each other. What a nice way to put it. She wiped up the water with a rag and removed the lid from the canister. "What's this?" she said almost to herself.
"What's what?" Hunter asked as she lifted a folded sheet of paper from on top of the coffee.
She shook the grounds out into the sink, then smoothed the wrinkles from the letter. She read through the note before answering. "It's from Jason. To you." She tried to hand it to him, but he waved it away.
"You read it."
"Fine," she huffed. "Dear Dad. By the time you read this I'll be gone and you should have found my replacement. I hope you're not too mad because I'm really tired of being grounded. I don't want it to last for the rest of my life. But, we had our talk, now it's time for you to do the same with Sandy. My counselor says there isn't anything that's not easier to handle when you talk about it. So you guys are stranded for two days."
Sandy lifted her head and groaned. "Two days! He's got to be kidding." She started to read aloud again. "Don't worry about me and Melanie. We're with Grandma and Grampa Castleman. We'll have a great time, and I hope you will too, if you know what I mean. Oh, and we swiped your cell phones so you couldn’t talk us into coming to pick you up."
"I'm going to kill that little twerp," Hunter said, his voice a mixture of affection and exasperation. "And since when does he call Jack and Lillian 'Gramma and Grampa'? He already has two sets of grandparents."
"Hush," Sandy ordered. "There's more." She continued, "Melanie and I want you two to work out your problems and get back together. How can we ever have two parents if you guys keep acting like idiots? You have until tomorrow night. And if you still haven't made up by then, we may just leave you there until next weekend. We'll pray for you at church tomorrow. Sincerely, Love Jason."
Sandy lowered the paper with a huff. "Now what do we do?"
Hunter replied, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to walk to town and call a cab. Or rent a car."
He turned to leave and Sandy said, "Wait a minute. You can't walk that far. It's fifteen miles to the nearest town."
"Fifteen miles is nothing. You've forgotten what I've spent most of my life doing."
"Hunter, please. Can't you just stay here? It's only for two days. We can stay out of each other's way, if being near me bothers you that much." God, she sounded like she was begging. Adopting a more rational tone, she added, "I can't walk that far and I don't want to stay out in these woods alone."
Hunter started to say no but changed his mind. She bothered him all right, just not the way she thought. He couldn't go off and leave her to fend for herself. Even he had been nervous about being out here unarmed.
Maybe he should do like Jason asked, see what happened. He wasn't opening himself up for another kick to the heart, though. He'd just see if they could at least get along for the kids' sake. "Fine," he said. "I'm going fishing. I need some time to think."
"That sounds like a good idea," Sandy murmured.
Hunter turned and left the kitchen, then reappeared a few moments later with his fishing pole in one hand and his tackle box in the other. He opened the freezer door and took out a plastic tub which he tucked into the tackle box. Without another word, he left the house through the back door.
Sandy poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter to drink it. She didn't know why she'd ever thought she and Hunter might have a chance at happiness as a couple. He was too opinionated and domineering. She valued her independence too much to go back to being some man's doormat. What she needed was a nice, quiet accountant or maybe a college professor. Someone who would let her lead her own life and make her own decisions.
Better yet, she and Melanie could stay just like they were. A family of two.
Damn him, anyway! Her world had been rocked off center because of him and she couldn't seem to regain her balance. Why couldn't he have picked a different neighborhood to live in? One little twist of Fate, one great cosmic joke, and her settled life was stirred, shaken, and thoroughly mixed up. She felt like a blender set on high, with all kinds of rubbish dumped in.
She looked around for something to do to help ease her frustrations. Her gaze landed on the refrigerator. She could cook, she supposed. That usually relaxed her since she didn't do it that often. After checking out the contents of the refrigerator and freezer, as well as the pantry, she decided to make beef stew and cornbread. She put a frozen roast in a large pot, added water, and put it on the stove to boil. She had about two hours to kill while the meat cook
ed, so she dug into her small bag and pulled out the novel she'd brought with her.
She stretched out on the couch and opened the book, but found it impossible to concentrate on the words. She was edgy and frustrated and couldn't seem to settle down. The cabin was clean, so there was nothing to do there.
She rose from the couch and wandered down the short hallway. The bedroom door was open and she glanced inside. The bed was unmade and rumpled, like Hunter had spent the night in restless motion.
Pulled by a force stronger than her will, she crossed the hardwood floor to the bed and ran her hand over the wrinkled sheet, her mind conjuring up images of Hunter sprawled naked across the mattress, wearing nothing but his suntan. She could see her head nestled on his chest, her hands smoothing along hard muscles and lightly furred skin. She reached for the pillow that still held the bracing aroma of his after shave. She buried her face in the soft cotton, dropped onto the bed, and cried.
***
Hunter baited his hook and dropped the line into the river. He'd found a shady spot with a large smooth rock that made a fine backrest to lean against as he sat on the grass, his legs stretched out in front of him. He sat and gazed across the river, seeing nothing except in his mind.
Finding Sandy here when he'd least expected it had jarred him, making him lash out when he wanted to smooth things over. He knew he'd hurt her feelings again, but she'd wounded him the day before, so he guessed they were even. Why didn't that make him feel better? Hell, he might as well admit it. He loved her. One little fight--correction, big fight--couldn't change that fact so easily. If it could, it was never really love in the first place.
But how did they get past this emotional checkmate? He could apologize, but the original problem would still exist. She would still be letting her fears rule Melanie's life, boxing the child in a safe, but empty, existence. And if she cared about Jason, and he was sure she did, then that overprotective behavior would begin to smother him, too.
Jason had been held back enough. Hunter wanted his son to soar, to experience all of the things he should have already encountered. He wanted to take his son hiking and camping, snow skiing and water skiing, mountain climbing and scuba diving.
