by Caroline Lee
He was idling along in the center of the lake now and glad she couldn’t see his indulgent smile. He really liked teasing her, and that was a new sensation for him.
He turned off the engine completely by pulling on the key. “First lesson.” He held up the key, which was attached to a tether. “Always keep this cord snapped to your life jacket. It’s the kill switch, so if you go overboard, the machine stops.” He twisted slightly in his seat so he could hand it to her, but mostly so he could see her expression.
She was worried, but bravely trying to hide it. “If I go overboard? Is that common? Have you ever gone overboard?”
He smiled charmingly. “Of course! It’s part of the fun.” But then he shrugged and pushed his glasses up on his nose. They were connected in the back by a floating lanyard, just in case he did go overboard today. “But you’ll notice I haven’t thrown you overboard yet…it being your first time and all.”
“Thank you,” she said haughtily as she plucked the key from his hand and attached it to her vest. “I shall endeavor not to throw you overboard either.”
He was still chuckling as he showed her how to carefully maneuver so the two of them could switch places. Things got a little dicey there for a minute, but they both froze, and the jet ski righted itself without either of them landing in the water.
“That was close!” Allison wiggled a bit in the seat; she couldn’t seem to get comfortable up front.
“Nah,” he drawled, doing his best to put her at ease. “You’re doing a great job.”
It took a little bit of coaching before she was comfortable squeezing the gas on the right handlebar, but when she did, she almost knocked Joshua backwards off the machine. And when she let go abruptly, he slammed back into her with an “Oof!”
“Sorry! Sorry! Didn’t mean to do that!”
But he was having too much fun to be sore. “You’re doing a great job,” he assured her.
Her next start was gentler, but that didn’t stop him from squealing in mock terror and throwing his arms around her. Soon, she was laughing too, but she never seemed to develop enough confidence to go very fast. That was okay though, because Joshua didn’t mind her driving at all. Her just-above-idling speed meant that the two of them could talk while he pointed out interesting things along the shore.
It was at least a half hour later when she began to drive them back towards the boat dock, and Joshua couldn’t remember if he’d ever enjoyed jet skiing quite this much.
“Thanks for coming with me today,” he said to the back of her head. “I can’t wait for Will’s next baby shower. We’re going to stomp the competition…assuming he does jet ski races, that is.”
He felt her laughter before he heard it. “I like a man who thinks in the long-term.”
“Oh really?” He lowered his voice and said sultrily, “You should see my investment portfolio, baby.”
That just made her laugh even harder, and Soap gave them both indulgent smiles when they idled up to the house dock.
After they changed clothes, Allison met him outside the boat house, armed with a challenge. “You know, you drag me out into the middle of the lake and make me do something totally unfamiliar. That’s a heckuva thing to do to a woman on a first date.”
And just like that, all of Joshua’s insecurities came slamming back. Had he done it wrong? Had he pushed her too far? Should he have let her choose where to go today?
“I—I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t think you’d mind…”
Her grin told him she had been teasing. “I don’t! I had a great time! All I’m saying is, now it’s my turn to choose what we do.”
“Oh!” All of Joshua’s breath whooshed out of him in a relieved chuckle. “So you want to choose the activity for our next date?”
“No.” Her grin grew. “I’ve got another few hours, and I want to choose what we do now. How good of a rider are you?”
He winced, and pretended to have misheard her. “Well, I have written two technical books…”
“No, not writer!” She laughed. “I said rider! Like a horseback rider!”
“Oh, rider?” He shook his head, maintaining his serious expression. “Zero percent. Null. Zip. That’s how good of a horseback rider I am.”
She rubbed her hands together evilly. “Excellent. I’m really going to enjoy this.”
On the way from the boathouse to the barns, Joshua took her hand. It seemed…right. Normal. Like this is where his heart was telling him he was supposed to be.
He thought back over that last thought. His heart? Was he finally listening to his heart, just like Aunt Jaclyn had demanded? Or was it possible there was something else at work here? Something not quite of this world, like his great aunt had always insisted? He wanted to dismiss that hypothesis—he was a scientist who dealt in the physical, real world—but he couldn’t deny it felt as though there was something more going on here.
Felt? He was responding to feelings now? His colleagues at PSF would scoff at him if they ever found out. Still, something was…otherworldly about this feeling.
Maybe it was because he was so focused on his feelings. Maybe it was because he was thinking about Aunt Jaclyn and her fairies. Whatever the reason, when he experienced a sharp tug in the direction of the lake, he didn’t question it.
“Hold up,” he said, pulling her hand gently. “I just want to check something...”
Allison shrugged and smiled at him as she followed his lead, ducking under some overhanging limbs and following him down an almost-hidden path towards the lakeshore.
It looked as if this area hadn’t been used in a while, but there was something tugging him in this direction. Something telling him where he needed to go…
He hadn’t realized how fast he was walking until Allison spoke up behind him.
“What’s the rush?” she huffed. “You know I’m not as young as I used to be, and all that bouncing and jostling on your speed machine just caught up with me and has me second-guessing my horseback challenge.”
He wanted to reassure her, to tell her it would only take a moment, but then they were in the little clearing by the water, and his voice stopped working.
There, kneeling beside the water, were two kids. Two young, dirty, very scared kids. The oldest one, a girl, spun around to face them, before standing up and placing herself in front of the boy who remained facing towards the lake. She was maybe twelve years old or so, with brown skin that marked her as a Native American, and black hair that looked like it had been sawn off instead of trimmed, hanging in front of her dark eyes. The hair didn’t do much to hide her mulish expression, and Joshua could tell from the set of her jaw she hadn’t had an easy time of things, and wasn’t expecting to anytime soon.
Still, something had brought Joshua here, to find them, and he wasn’t going to just turn around and walk away.
“Hi there! I’m Joshua Hardy. What’s your name?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed, and Joshua’s heart ached to realize how hard this young one must think she had to be.
“We weren’t doing any harm,” she snapped. “We just wanted some water! Is this private? We can’t get water here?”
There was no way they could’ve gotten to the lake without seeing all the signs for River’s End Ranch, but Joshua didn’t point that out. Instead, he gentled his expression and his tone even more. “You can have as much water as you need. Nobody will mind.”
The girl’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but her tone did not when she asked suspiciously, “How do you know? Is this your lake?”
“No.” He maintained his gentle voice. “But I know the owners very well, and I know they would never turn away anyone who needed water.” It was the truth. “I’m Joshua,” he repeated again with a smile. “Why don’t you tell me your name?”
He watched the girl deliberate, her dark eyes flicking from him to Allison, who stood behind him, to the clearing, and finally to the boy behind her. Through it all, Joshua held his breath, praying she would
trust them. Finally, her shoulders slumped with a sigh.
“I’m Nellie.” That was it, no last name. Then she moved aside slightly, gesturing to the boy behind her. “And this is my brother, Colin.”
Joshua sucked in a horrified gasp when he saw the boy’s face for the first time, forgetting all about last names, fairies, and horseback riding. All he could think was What kind of monster did this?
CHAPTER FOUR
Allison’s training kicked in.
Forget all about first dates, forget all about flying across the water, forget all about random, unexplained detours down overgrown paths, practically running in an attempt to keep up with the man holding her hand. Forget how gently Joshua had spoken to the girl, like they were equals, and how Allison’s heart had tugged at this proof of his understanding. Forget even her new feelings for this man.
All of that took a backseat to the boy currently squatting beside the log at the edge of the water.
He couldn’t be more than eight, skinny and shrunken, like he hadn’t eaten enough lately. His cheeks were gaunt, his dark eyes haunted, as if he’d seen more than a boy his age should. And the bruises… Oh God, the bruises. His dark skin was covered in them, fading from bright purple to dull green, indicating some were newer and some older. Someone hadn’t just hit him in a moment of regrettable anger, they’d hit him again and again, over many days, weeks…months? Years?
It took everything in Allison’s power not to tear up, not to show him how affected she was by his condition. She’d had training for cases like this, although she’d prayed she would never need it.
Unfortunately, it now seemed she did.
She’d already sunk to her haunches beside the log, before she’d even realized what she was planning. She kept her voice light and easy and made sure her smile was friendly, when she said, “Hi, my name is Allison. You’re Colin?”
He didn’t reply, but after a tense moment, he put his hand in hers for a little shake.
She carefully let out the breath she’d been holding, and smiled wider. She hoped she didn’t look as frantic as she felt, knowing she ran the risk of scaring these two away if she did. “Are you here visiting anyone, Colin? I know the water here at River’s End Lake tastes the best, so should we get someone to bring you a bottle to fill up or something?”
The girl obviously didn’t like anyone getting between her and her brother. She pushed her way to the boy’s side. “Stop pestering him! He didn’t break any rules. He doesn’t have to go anywhere he doesn’t want to! Leave him alone!”
Her words—what she unwittingly revealed—almost broke Allison’s heart, and she did her best to keep her voice steady when she answered Nellie. “You are totally right. Nobody’s going to make him do anything he doesn’t want.” Then, glancing at the boy’s bruises and split lip, she added, “Ever again.”
Her reassurances seemed to calm the girl. Nellie took a sharp breath, then another, before she finally nodded fiercely. “Good! That’s—that’s what I promised him,” she added softly. She turned to the boy. “See, Colin? I told you it would be okay if we left.”
Colin didn’t respond, but the way he nodded weakly made Allison worry for him.
“How are you feeling, Colin?” she asked as gently as possible. “Does your head hurt?” She had to ball her hands into fists to keep from reaching for him. First, she had to convince these two brave warriors that she could be trusted.
Help came from an unexpected source. Behind her, Joshua spoke up. “It’s okay, Nellie, Allison’s a nurse. You can trust her.”
Allison peeked over her shoulder to see Joshua nodding encouragingly to the girl. It seemed like everyone held their breath for a long moment, before Nellie finally nodded to Colin, and Colin turned back to Allison.
Relieved that the boy would let her help him, Allison made sure to be as gentle as possible when she poked and prodded the boy’s injuries. He was stoic through it all, but Nellie did enough whimpering for both of them. It was obvious she loved her brother very much, and Allison wracked her brain, trying to come up with some way to convince these kids to let her help them.
The solution, when it came, wasn’t an easy one. It would mean opening up her past to everyone who was listening. But on the other hand, if it meant getting these kids the help they needed, it would be worth it.
“You know,” she casually began as she checked the boy’s limbs for broken bones. “My little brother and I were raised by our grandparents. My father wasn’t a very nice man, and after our mother passed away, he went to court to fight my grandparents for us.” She could tell she had Colin’s attention, but she didn’t want to make too big a deal out of her story, so she kept her hands busy, and her focus on her work. “My grandparents won custody of my little brother Jonathan, and me, and they made sure we had a very good childhood. I was very, very lucky that the law was on my side.”
Behind her, Nellie snorted. “Yeah, well, the law isn’t always on the kids’ side.”
And that one line told Allison everything she needed to know. These two kids were running from someone very much like her own father. And according to Nellie’s bitter statement, whoever that was had some kind of legal claim to them.
Dear God, please don’t let it be their father who did this to Colin.
Suddenly, her campaign to convince them to go with her to the Children and Family Services office just got a lot harder.
Her hands in her lap now to hide how much they were shaking, Allison turned back to Nellie. “Colin is fine; just some bruising.” Bruises caused by a man’s fist, if she didn’t miss her guess, but Nellie didn’t have any reason to trust her with the truth just yet. “If you’re willing, I’d like to help you and your brother out.”
“We both would.”
Allison shifted in surprise. It’s not that she’d forgotten Joshua was there—how could she forget the best date of her life?—but she’d been focused on the children. And when she saw his determined nod, she knew she’d found an ally. She nodded gratefully to him in return. “Joshua too. He’s the smartest man I know; I’m sure he’ll be able to help us come up with a solution to your problem.”
For a moment, she thought it might work. Nellie hesitated, obviously tempted to let someone help her. But then her expression hardened once more, and Allison was afraid they’d lost her, so she hurried to make her argument.
“I know you don’t have any reason to think we can be trusted, but I’d like it if you could try.” She swallowed. “We’re not going to let anyone hurt you. Not while we’re around.” She prayed she wasn’t making an empty boast, and that they would be able to keep these kids safe.
Nellie didn’t reply, but her brother did. In a small voice, Colin said simply, “We don’t have any grandparents.”
“Colin!” Nellie warned sharply, and the boy winced.
“Sorry, Nellie.” He dropped his chin to his chest, looking more tired than he had been a moment ago. “But it’s true.” His dark eyes, ringed with bruises, flicked to Allison for a moment. “She said her grandparents raised her, and her daddy couldn’t be around her. Well, we don’t have grandparents.”
It was Joshua who asked the question Allison couldn’t.
“Did your daddy do this?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion. “Did he hurt you this way?”
The boy looked like he might’ve answered, but Nellie barked his name once more, and he lowered his chin to his chest again.
Allison shared a frustrated glance with Joshua. She could tell he was desperate to do right by these children, just as she was, but how to convince them?
She blew out an angry breath. There was only one thing she could think to do. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and offered up a prayer for help. Then she turned to Nellie. “Did you come from the Rez?”
The question caught the girl off-guard, and she nodded before she caught herself and scowled at Allison, as if the woman had tricked her into replying.
But Allison just exhaled softly, satisfied
that her hunch had been correct. They might be Salish from the same large reservation where she grew up, or maybe Kootenai from up near Bonner’s Ferry, or even from someplace further away. “I don’t know how things work everywhere, or what the legalities are, but I do know that some tribes have their own departments to deal with orphans or runaways.”
Nellie bristled. “We are not going back there! I am not letting them tell us they know best and put Colin back with—”
“I know!” Allison held her hands up, trying to calm the girl. “I’m not asking you to. I don’t think that’s the safest move for either of you.” She wasn’t a social worker; this wasn’t any of her business. But she became involved as soon as she’d seen Colin’s injuries. How could she not?
The hand on her back startled her, but when she looked up and met Joshua’s eyes, something passed between them, and she realized she wouldn’t mind having his partnership in a lot more areas of her life.
“If these kids went to the police, and somebody found out their guardian lived on the Reservation, would they have to go back there?”
It almost broke her heart to answer—especially with Colin looking at her so hopefully—but Allison had to admit the truth. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Just because I was raised on the Rez doesn’t mean I know all the laws. As a healthcare professional, if they asked my opinion, I would strongly advise against it, but…but reservations are like their own legal entities, in some ways. States within another state, basically. I don’t know how much of that applies to runaways, or to removing a child from a guardian’s care.”
Under her breath, Nellie said a word a girl her age shouldn’t know, and turned away, as if she hadn’t expected anything better. Joshua watched her go, and the look on his face was almost as heartbreaking. Allison wondered if she’d ever met another man who could care so much for a child he didn’t know.
Dr. Joshua Hardy was remarkable indeed, and he wasn’t done surprising her.
“Well then,” he said with false cheer, “my advice is to lie.”
