Until the Ride Stops

by Amie Denman

  Matt hoped he wouldn’t follow in his uncle’s footsteps. He wouldn’t let this ride be a failure if he could help it. He wouldn’t let down his family, not when there was so much at stake—for Starlight Point and for himself. A success in the location of an old failure might help Bruce let go of his grief for his brother and give him hope for the future.

  Bruce cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

  Matt was sorry he’d brought it up, sorry for the sorrow on Bruce’s face. He needed to change the subject or he was afraid his stepfather would cry, and tears from the venerable old man who had changed his life were not something Matt could handle.

  “I’m giving this project everything I’ve got,” Matt said. “I’ll make you proud.”

  Bruce laid a huge hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I know you will, son.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “IS THIS THE best you can do on your day off? Have lunch with your brother?” Scott asked.

  Caroline pointed at the windows of the employee cafeteria, which were streaked with heavy raindrops. “You’re my rainy day plan. And you usually buy my lunch, unless I’m being particularly difficult and you’re mad at me.”

  “If I spring for an extra pudding parfait, will you consider my alternate career plan for you?”

  Caroline rolled her eyes. This was a conversation so old it was practically scripted.

  “I’m not going to become a kindergarten teacher.”

  “Zoologist?”

  “No.”

  “Librarian?” he suggested.

  “No.”

  “Dog walker. And that’s my final offer.”

  Caroline grabbed a handful of fries from her brother’s plate and took her time chewing them. “I’m thinking of joining the Marines. I want to work on my upper body strength.”

  “No pudding parfait for you,” Scott said.

  Caroline laughed. “I’ll go easy on you and be a nice safe cop instead of a marine.”

  Scott cleared his throat and drew his eyebrows together. Caroline knew the expression well, had labeled it the big brother look. Here it comes.

  “You know Evie and I have an extra room in our apartment downtown. In case you’d like to escape the heat in the employee dorm. You’d have your own shower. Air conditioning. A fridge full of whatever you want.”

  “And the privilege of living with two newlyweds who are disgustingly in love. One of whom is my boss.”

  “I’m not really your boss.”

  “I didn’t mean you,” Caroline said. “And I like the employee dorms. My friends are there. It’s a short walk to work. If there’s any serious action going down, I’m right there ready to get in it.”

  Scott’s frown deepened. “Those dorms are a fire hazard. I’m trying to tolerate them for one more season knowing they’re being replaced this fall,” he said. “I may burn them down myself in October.”

  “My brother, Mr. Fire Safety, would burn something down?”

  “It would be a good training session for the fire department. Can never get enough training.”

  Caroline shoved her tray aside and uncapped her bottle of water.

  “I probably shouldn’t be eating this greasy food. If the rain stops, I’m going to go for a run along the water downtown later.”

  “Are you worried about passing the running test for the police academy?”

  “Not worried about passing. I want to beat all the other guys.”

  Scott laughed. “You probably will.”

  Caroline leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. She watched her brother shovel in his food.

  He wore his Starlight Point Fire Department uniform. His name tag said Chief Bennett, a promotion he’d earned through a combination of his education, experience and a heroic rescue of Evie Hamilton from a burning building the previous season. No doubt, her brother was a hero. He’d always been hers.

  He worked part-time for the city of Bayside’s fire department, acted as the fire inspector for new construction in the city and led the department at Starlight Point. His inspector’s job was a major area of conflict between him and Evie when they were working through the hotel renovation plans last summer, but they’d both managed to come out with their dreams intact. And he might be able to help his little sister, too.

  “Do you have access to construction plans from a long time ago?” Caroline asked.

  Scott glanced up from his plate. “How long?”

  “1985.”

  “That depends on a lot of things. What’s in the plans you want to see?”

  “A roller coaster. The Loose Cannon that was here for just that one season.”

  He shrugged. “The museum in the town hall back in the Wonderful West probably has pictures of it. You could start there.”

  “There aren’t any,” Caroline said. “I looked.”

  Scott crossed his arms and gave her the big brother look. “Is this how you’re spending your summer?”

  “A girl was killed on that ride. Maybe you could ask Evie what she knows about it.”

  “The Hamiltons didn’t own this place in 1985, and I don’t plan to ruin dinner any night this week by bringing up what is probably a sore subject.”

  Heat crept over her neck and face and her heart hammered. Of all people, she would expect her brother to understand her quest for justice and answers. “The girl who was killed, do you know who she was?”

  “Should I?” Scott looked perplexed but interested.

  “The Knights who live down the street from Mom and Dad’s old house.”

  “The Silent Knights?”

  Caroline rolled her eyes. “Do you know why they were so quiet and reclusive, why they moved to Yorkville years ago? They were trying to get away from here. It was their daughter who was killed. She was only twelve. And they never found out what caused the accident. They never got closure or justice. It’s not right.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “They told me a few weeks ago when I was helping Mom and Dad move. I was wearing a Starlight Point sweatshirt while I was hauling stuff to the moving van. I guess they decided to say something before our family moved away for good.”

  Caroline swirled a fry through a puddle of ketchup. Her jaw was tight and she couldn’t look at her brother. “She was only twelve,” she whispered.

  Scott reached over and squeezed Caroline’s hand. “Sometimes you have to let things go and move on. No matter how hard I enforce fire safety codes, it won’t bring back our sister. And no matter how doggedly you seek justice for every crime, it won’t—”

  “Hey, you two.” Evie stood at their table holding a dripping umbrella in one hand and two pudding parfaits in her other. She put the parfaits in the center of the table. “You look like you need these. I could see you were bickering clear over there.” She cocked her head, indicating the cafeteria line.

  “We weren’t exactly squabbling,” Scott said. He moved over a chair and made room for Evie to sit. As soon as she did, he put an arm around her and kissed her temple.

  “Very cute,” Caroline said. “And thanks for the dessert.”

  “Is your brother harassing you about becoming a police officer, living in the fire hazard employee dorms or both?”

  Caroline gave Evie a lopsided grin and dug into her dessert without responding. Evie already knew the answer. It was nice that she’d shown up when she did. Caroline and her brother had had this conversation before. They used to be more in tune, both of them using their chosen profession to right an old wrong. But Scott had changed in the past year, letting the tragic death of their older sister, Catherine, go.

  Caroline was afraid to let it go, afraid she’d forget the sister she’d never even gotten a chance to know.

  * * *

&nb
sp; DOWNPOURS ON CONSTRUCTION sites were the worst, Matt thought as he gave up and sent his crew home after lunch on a relentlessly rainy Tuesday. He sat in his truck for half an hour, refreshing the radar on his phone over and over, but it was no use. The rain might move off and make a beautiful evening, but the work day was doomed. Judging from the rivers running through the mud, the next few days weren’t going to be pretty.

  Matt drove through the gate onto the outer loop, turned on his truck’s flashers, and ran back in the rain to close and secure the gate. As he snapped the lock together, he saw a familiar figure dashing across the road with an umbrella.

  Caroline appeared to be leaving the marina gate and crossing over to the employee dorms. She wasn’t wearing her uniform and Matt realized it must be her day off.

  He dashed back to his truck and pulled onto the road to head to his office. Caroline didn’t really live in those old dorms, did she? Somehow, he’d imagined the sister-in-law of the owners living in the Hamilton compound or in the luxury employee dorms. Which didn’t seem to exist, now that he thought about it.

  It would be a few hours before he saw his own small house in Bayside. His crew couldn’t pour footers and prep the site for the new ride, but he could always find work to do at the construction office.

  The Shooting Star/Super Star roller coaster was not the only project Bayside Construction had going on. For the sake of the family business, he needed to prove he could juggle multiple projects without dropping one.

  Through his office wall, he heard his stepfather coughing. He ignored it for a few minutes out of habit, something he’d gotten sadly used to over the past year. After hearing body-wracking coughs for almost ten minutes, though, Matt went to the small office kitchen and made a cup of tea with a healthy dose of honey. He walked into Bruce’s office and set it quietly on his desk.

  “Sounds like you need this,” he said.

  “It’s the damp weather. I’d say it’s the damn weather, but your mother doesn’t like that.”

  Bruce inhaled the steam from the tea and gestured for Matt to sit.

  “Marrying your mother is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  “Likewise, I think,” Matt said. He didn’t like his stepfather’s gray skin and labored breathing. He watched the older man drink the tea. “Want me to call your doctor for you?”

  His stepfather shook his head. “Won’t do any good. He’s said what he’s got to say about it. Truth is, I don’t have much time left and there’s no sense denying it.”

  “I hope that’s not true,” Matt said. He swallowed, his throat thick.

  “I might as well tell you, I love you like a son. But my main concern is making sure your mother’s provided for. She volunteered at the church and women’s shelter all these years, so she has no retirement money coming.”

  “I’ll take care of her.”

  “I know you want to. And I believe in you. But running this company is hard. Takes a lot out of you.”

  “It sounds like there’s something you want to tell me.”

  “Haven’t decided anything. Seems I’ve got two options. Sell the company and set your mother up with a nice amount of money to live on. It would pay for Lucas to finish college, too.”

  Matt held his breath, wondering and fearing what his stepfather’s choice would be.

  “I appreciate you paying for my college,” he said slowly. “Lucas deserves the same.”

  “My other option is to leave the whole business to you,” Bruce said. He put both palms on his desk and looked at Matt expectantly.

  Matt didn’t know what to say. He wanted the business. Had been training to run it. Believed he had the knowledge and work ethic. But how did he look his stepfather—the man who had practically saved his mother, brother and himself—in the eye and talk about taking over when he died?

  A fit of coughing distracted Bruce while Matt sat there feeling helpless and miserable. Would his mother have greater security and comfort from the revenue of the sale of the business or would she be better off if he took it over? What if he failed?

  “I would do anything for my family,” Matt said. “Our family.”

  “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

  Later in the afternoon, the rain gradually lessened and the skies brightened. Matt was glad to see the clock on the office wall indicate closing time. His stepfather had gone home an hour earlier, so Matt unplugged the coffeepot, turned out the lights, and walked to the parking lot with their secretary and bookkeeper, Nelma.

  “Nice evening,” Nelma commented.

  “It is,” Matt agreed. “But what we need is good construction weather. Dry weather.”

  “Maybe tomorrow,” the older lady said as she got in her car.

  Matt drove to the brick house he rented. It was larger than a single guy needed, but he liked the style and the price was right. He had a back porch and a yard, an adequate kitchen and a living room where he could watch home improvement shows. He had more shows recorded than he’d ever find time to watch, but he was saving them up for winter, the slow season for construction in Michigan.

  Instead of microwaving dinner or parking himself in front of the television, he went upstairs and put on his running clothes. He was often too tired for an evening run after working on-site all day, but he’d spent the afternoon behind a desk. And he had plenty of stress to burn off.

  He rode his bike downtown to the waterfront, locked it in a bike rack and started a warmup jog on the asphalt path that wound along the water’s edge. Almost three miles long, it provided views of the harbor, the boat docks, a park and the bay. Across the bay, on a peninsula jutting between Bayside and Lake Huron, was Starlight Point. The roller coasters, the giant wheel and the Star Spiral dominated the skyline and provided a light show at night. He often walked, ran or biked on the path, a habit he’d developed in junior high and never outgrew.

  He passed the city marina, where his stepfather had a sailboat docked. Bruce hadn’t been out on the boat this year, and Matt wondered if he’d be able to this summer. Would he live to see next summer? Each day seemed to take a greater toll. As he jogged along, Matt tried to imagine what it would feel like to be facing the end of his life and trying to leave things sorted for the people he left behind.

  He picked up his pace, wishing he could outrun his problems. He’d tried outrunning the fact that his biological father spent his days in a ten-by-ten-foot prison cell, a punishment he richly deserved even though serving the sentence didn’t erase what he’d done to his family. What he’d done to his trusting wife and two young sons.

  His heart hammered and his breath was short. A stitch tortured his side and one of his shoelaces started flapping. Matt made himself slow down to a walk. Put his hands on his hips and breathed deeply.

  “I was going to challenge you to a race,” a voice said behind him. “But you were running as if you were trying to dodge a tornado.”

  Matt turned to see Caroline, hands on her hips, catching her breath. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail and she wore a sleeveless red shirt and black shorts. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes bright. It was the first time he’d talked to her when she was not wearing a black police uniform.

  “Never outran a tornado,” he said. “But I did see a waterspout on the lake once.”

  “Here?” Caroline asked, gesturing at the lake.

  “Just a little ways down the shore. We were at a family picnic that folded up pretty fast after that.”

  “So you grew up here in Bayside?”

  “I’ve lived here since I was fourteen.” He didn’t care to explain the first part of his life in a city a few hours away. “So, are you staying in shape so you can chase the bad guys?”

  She laughed. “Of course. I just hope you don’t commit any crimes. I couldn’t catch up to you.”

 
“I don’t usually run that fast. And I can’t do it very long. It was just one of those days.”

  She smiled and nodded sympathetically. “I have those days.”

  Matt was afraid he was on the brink of telling her every single one of his problems. He controlled himself and did the sensible thing instead. He knelt and tied his loose shoelace.

  “It was my day off,” Caroline said. “But it rained.”

  “Is it better to have a rainy day off than to stand in the rain outside my construction fence?”

  She shrugged. “I have a raincoat. And I’ve made friends with a huge tree that probably attracts lightning but also keeps me dry.”

  “Want to run together?” Matt tried to use the same tone he might use with a friend or with his brother. Although there was something about Caroline that made him feel cautious, he knew he’d miss her company when he went home tonight.

  She twirled her earbuds. “My batteries are dead, so I’d rather walk. If you’re ready for a cooldown,” she added.

  “Sure.”

  They fell into step together. It reminded Matt of the first time they met several weeks ago when she marched him back to his tent.

  “Do you live in the employee dorms by the marina?”

  “I do.”

  He caught her glaring at him. She stopped and threw up her hands. “Stop it,” she said. “That’s the same look my brother gives me whenever the subject comes up.”

  “He doesn’t like it?”

  “He’s the fire chief at the Point and he’s sure the dorm is a big matchbox.”

  Matt was relieved to see a small smile return to her face. She wasn’t mad.

  “I’d be more worried about it falling down,” he said. “Have you ever looked at the roofline? It waves like a flag.”

  “Maybe they built it that way,” she said, resuming her walking pace.

  “Right,” Matt said. “More likely it’s sitting on unstable ground and it’s shifted here and there until you could probably shove it over with your car.”

  Caroline’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “Is the ground at Starlight Point unstable?”