“This person who died, was he family?”
“I...I once hoped he’d be.” Though Hannah was sometimes sad for what she might have shared with Collin, she wondered now whether they would have had a future. Some people were like bonfires made of too-dry wood, burning themselves out in a wild blaze before they’d ever really lived. “We should talk about what you’ve seen of the Cascades, so I’ll know what to show you,” she said, deliberately changing the subject.
“I’ve seen Mount Rainier from Seattle, and from the interstate highway. And I drove up to Mahalaton Lake.”
“You do realize the Cascade Mountain Range extends from Northern California into Canada, right?”
“I’m concentrating on the area north of the border between Oregon and Washington, not the whole range.”
She wouldn’t be able to show him everything north of Oregon, either. Even if she spent the entire summer guiding Jake around, it wouldn’t be enough time to explore the entire region. At least he was okay with Danny going with them on some of the outings, which was one of the reasons she’d agreed. What better way to spend time with her son than showing him the mountains they lived in?
Jake glanced into the backseat at Badger. “Your dog is quite calm.”
“He mostly chases after Danny, not wildlife,” Hannah said. “I’m glad you were okay with him coming along. He enjoys outings.”
She shifted uncomfortably, still wondering if Jake was up to a hike. From what she could tell, he was doing much better than when he’d first arrived at Huckleberry Lodge—not limping as much, and his color was better. But she was still a little tense about going on a wilderness hike with someone recovering from such serious injuries.
After they’d driven for another hour, she turned up a gravel road. The trees were even closer here, and sunlight filtered through the branches that met overhead. She still remembered seeing it when she was so small her legs didn’t reach the floor of her dad’s truck. And all at once she wasn’t sure she should have brought Jake here, especially as the first place. If he mocked it, she’d probably want to strangle him.
“We’ve been camping here ever since I can remember,” she said edgily. “I was a baby the first time we came. My dad packed everything in, including me, because my mother had a broken arm. It’s about a mile, and mostly level. Is that too much for you to walk?”
“I told you, I’ll be fine,” he replied shortly.
“I’m only checking—you don’t have to bite my head off.”
Men and their egos. Would it kill him to let her know exactly how hard and far he should go? It wasn’t as if she thought he was helpless.
After parking, she opened the rear door for Badger to jump out. He waited to see if she was going to attach the leash, and when she didn’t, his entire body quivered with pleasure.
She dug out her cell phone and looked to see if it had a signal, though she wasn’t hopeful. Outside of Mahalaton Lake reception was spotty, at best.
“Don’t worry about that. I always carry a satellite phone,” Jake said, giving a quick check to the contents of his own pack. He took out the phone. “I should have thought of it earlier. Call your mother and give her my number in case she needs to reach us.”
Hannah hesitated. “Aren’t satellite calls expensive?”
“I have no idea—my business manager pays the bills. Don’t worry about it,” he repeated.
She dialed Silver Cottage and made sure her mother got the number from the call display. “But only for emergencies,” she explained hastily.
“I understand. By the way, Brendan phoned. He has the flu and won’t be able to come out tonight. Poor guy, he sounded miserable,” Carrie told her.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll call him this evening and see how he’s doing. See you in a few hours.” Hannah disconnected quickly, feeling both relieved and guilty that Brendan was sick. Relieved, because this way she wouldn’t have to make any decision about their relationship right away. And guilty, because he was a friend and she didn’t enjoy knowing he was ill.
“What was that about?” Jake asked.
“Brendan has the stomach flu. I’m sure he didn’t get it from Danny—it’s too soon—but I feel bad about it. He doesn’t have any family in the area.”
“Why don’t you see if Barbi is available to take soda and stuff over to him?”
She considered the suggestion for a second, then shook her head. “Barbi works part-time jobs all over town. I can’t ask her to do a favor for someone she doesn’t like.”
“You’re unavailable to help Townsend because of me, and that makes it my responsibility,” Jake said seriously. “If Barbi has a free hour, I’ll pay her to fill in for you.”
Hannah wavered. “All right,” she agreed finally.
She got the number from her cell phone contacts list and Jake got in touch with Barbi, offering a generous sum for making a quick run to the grocery store and delivering the supplies to Brendan’s condo.
“There. All taken care of,” Jake said, tucking the satellite phone back into his pack.
Hannah swung her backpack over her shoulders. It was nice that Jake had offered to pay Barbi, and it showed more sensitivity than she’d expected. Still, she questioned whether he was genuinely concerned about her missing any commitments. Life was a game to him and he didn’t stay in one place long enough for it to become real. The plane accident was probably the first time he’d been confronted with something he couldn’t fix with his money or by moving on.
“You can find dogwood in both open and fairly dense forests,” she said after a few minutes, Badger trotting alongside her. She was trying to set a moderate pace that wouldn’t tax Jake’s body or wound his ego, and it wasn’t easy. His face was expressionless, giving her no clue about whether they were going too quickly or too slowly.
“I’ve seen pictures in your books at the lodge. The written material says the white petals aren’t actually part of the flower.”
“Right, those are bracts. The blossoms are in the center, but it’s hard not to think of the whole thing as the flower. They’re beautiful everywhere they grow, but I especially love seeing them in the deep woods.”
“You said that they glowed.”
“They do. They just seem to hang there in midair, shimmering. Most of the year, dogwood is just part of the undercanopy of the woods, but in spring, it’s like a jewel from an enchanted land.”
* * *
“UH-HUH.” JAKE WAS mostly concentrating on walking, keeping his leg straight and the rest of his body cooperating. Six months ago he’d been able to hike all day carrying a heavy load; now it was a challenge to go a level mile with a light pack slung over his good shoulder. Still, he was improving.
He frowned as he thought about setting up a grocery run for Brendan Townsend. Normally he wouldn’t get involved, but the conflicted expression on Hannah’s face had bothered him. He suspected she had an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, maybe because of her late friend, or for some other reason.
As for Barbi Paulson, her first reaction to hearing about Brendan’s illness had been concern, not “it serves him right” or some other invective. Then, as if she’d remembered she was supposed to despise Brendan, she’d popped off a smart remark. But smart remark or not, she was going to take a bag of groceries to him. She hadn’t wanted to be paid, but Jake had quickly pointed out that she wouldn’t want it to look as if she was doing Brendan Townsend any favors.
The sound of trickling water caught Jake’s attention a short time later and he looked up to see a small stream shooting down through a crevice before setting into a series of woodland pools, the highest only a little bigger than a washbasin.
“Is this where you camp with your family?” he asked.
“There’s a spot in a clearing near here that isn’t crossed by any large animal trails. We ha
ve other sites as well, all around the lake and on Mount Mahala.”
“As secluded as this?”
Hannah shrugged. “Pretty much. There are campgrounds available, but we prefer to get away by ourselves.”
Jake drew a lungful of the clean, crisp air, taking in the scent of trees and growing things, and it was as if some of the life rushed back into him. He bent over the upper pool, intending to scoop a handful of water into his mouth, when Hannah stopped him.
“You might want to rethink that. It’s glacial meltwater,” she said. “The base of Meriwether Glacier is a ways up from here, but the water travels down so quickly, it doesn’t have time to warm up that much.”
Jake dipped a fingertip into the water. Hannah was right—it was icy. The hike had gotten him hot, and putting such cold water into his stomach wasn’t a smart idea.
“Here.”
She handed him an aluminum bottle from her backpack, taking one out for herself, as well. Badger got a drink, too, poured into her hand for him to lap from. It was disconcerting for Jake to realize that though he was a seasoned wilderness traveler, he hadn’t thought to bring drinking water, while Hannah had.
“Thanks.”
They sat on some rocks in a beam of sunshine, Jake surreptitiously rubbing his aching leg. Birds twittered, flitting back and forth in the trees above them, and he smiled faintly. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected from his landlady’s special places in the mountains, but this one was filled with peace...something he’d had precious little of since the crash. He looked at Hannah. Her eyes were closed and her body was swaying, almost as if listening to an inner music.
He opened his mouth.
“Please don’t say anything awful,” she murmured before he could speak.
“How did you know I was going to say something?”
“You drew your breath in a certain way. I belong to three fund-raising committees. It’s a subtle skill, but I always know when someone is getting ready to say something, even when I’m not looking at them.”
“Oh. And why would you think I’d say something awful?”
She looked at him. “Do you really have to ask?”
Probably not.
Jake took another drink rather than answering. He usually wasn’t a complete ass when dealing with people. On average he was better than Toby, who complained a blue streak and wasn’t always discreet.
Hannah rolled her shoulders and stood up. “If you’re ready, the place where the dogwood may still be blooming isn’t far from here.”
He got up more slowly. “Of course I’m ready.”
They crossed the stream and followed a narrow game trail. Shortly after, they emerged in a clearing where the large trees were still so thick only limited sparkles of sunlight found their way below. And in the midst of the green shadows, large white blossoms seemed eerily suspended in the air, exactly the way Hannah had described. The absence of other foliage on the branches intensified the sensation that the sight wasn’t quite real.
Forgetting everything else, Jake unzipped his pack and took out one of his cameras.
CHAPTER NINE
FOLLOWING HER EARLY Monday morning shift at the bakery, Barbi pushed a cart down the supermarket aisle, unable to believe she was shopping for stuff to get Brendan Townsend through the flu. Still, he didn’t have any family in Mahalaton Lake and Barbi knew what it felt like to be sick alone—not wanting to ask for help and feeling more alone because of it.
She had family in Mahalaton Lake, but Vic only came around when he wanted money or to cry on her shoulder about losing Rachael. She certainly couldn’t call and ask him to get anything at the store for her, and she didn’t like to ask friends...though both Luigi and Hannah had scolded her in the past for not letting them know when she was sick.
Barbi looked at the applesauce and picked out both a sweetened and unsweetened variety since she didn’t know which one Brendan preferred. And I don’t care, either, she thought defiantly. She added individual serving packs of Jell-O and a rice pudding she liked herself.
A few minutes later she walked up to Brendan’s condo, a box of ginger-ale cans in one hand and a heavily loaded grocery bag in the other. She pressed the bell with her elbow and waited.
The door swung open and a bleary-eyed Brendan stared at her with a stupid expression on his handsome face. “I didn’t order pizza.” He looked ready to gag at the thought, and for once she was reasonably sure it didn’t have anything to do with her clothes.
“Yeah, and it’s Monday, too. Luigi’s doesn’t deliver on Mondays.”
“I’ve got... Jeez.” He clapped a hand to his mouth and retreated across his living room.
Unperturbed by the less-than-warm welcome, Barbi stepped inside and closed the door. The condo was nicely furnished, but dull, with only a few spots of color. And the kitchen was practically bare. Figured. She’d heard Brendan was well acquainted with the restaurants in both Mahalaton Lake and Lower Mahalaton.
She began stowing the groceries in the fridge, glad to see there wasn’t any beer or wine inside. It wasn’t that she had anything against booze, and Brendan’s drinking habits had nothing to do with her, but she was still glad. She was debating whether or not he’d want his applesauce chilled when she heard footsteps behind her.
Brendan’s hair was tousled, he was wearing ancient gray sweats and he looked entirely too miserable for words.
“When did you get sick?” she asked.
“Around 6:00 a.m.”
“If it’s any consolation,” she said. “You’ll feel better in a few hours. The worst part doesn’t last long.”
He brightened marginally. “You’ve had it already?”
“A couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh. Why are you here?”
“Hannah was out of town for the day when she found out you were sick. She wanted me to get a few things for you. You know, bananas and soda and stuff.”
Brendan looked nauseated again. “I’m never eating another bite as long as I live.”
“Honest, by two or three this afternoon, you should be able to keep water down. Drink only a little bit at a time or you’ll be sorry. I got club soda—it seems to work the best. In another couple of hours, try ginger ale. Otherwise you’ll start getting wobbly.”
“You mean more wobbly than I am now?” he asked wryly, resting against the wall for support.
Barbi’s mouth twitched. “Yeah, more than now. Do you need me to do anything else, like a load of laundry?” she surprised herself by asking. But it was just because she felt sorry for the dope.
Brendan seemed equally surprised. “You can’t be serious.”
She shrugged and stuck out her chin. “I offered, didn’t I?”
“I can’t let you do that.” But the protest was halfhearted at best.
He slumped farther down the wall and Barbi sighed. She had a couple of hours before her shift at Pat’s Burger Hut, so she could look after a few things for him.
Besides, she knew how it felt to be sick and alone. Maybe Brendan wasn’t going to die or anything, but she’d bet he felt pretty lonely and sorry for himself. At times like that it was nice to be reminded that someone...anyone cared.
“Come on, Prince Charming. You should be horizontal.” She grabbed his arm and led him back to his bedroom.
She leaned him against the doorjamb as she quickly tidied the bed covers. When the sheets were pulled straight, he collapsed onto the mattress with a grunt, seeming barely aware of her presence.
Barbi looked around. There was an untidy pile of sheets flung in a corner of the room, along with towels and some dirty T-shirts. She gathered them up.
Unlike her shabby rental, the condo had personal laundry machines, and she filled the washer in Brendan’s utility room. Otherwise the place was reasonably tidy, which was good, b
ecause she had no intention of doing more than a few basic chores.
She had the laundry neatly folded when she had to leave for work. Brendan had fallen asleep, so she put a bottle of club soda on his bedside table. Despite his dark stubble, he had a little-boy look that was endearing, but she stomped on the feeling.
A book was on the floor and she picked it up— J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Of all the Tolkien books about Middle Earth, The Hobbit was her favorite, and her brow creased with puzzlement as she put it next to the club-soda bottle.
If anything, she’d have expected to see the Wall Street Journal or a law text, but the book was dog-eared, plainly read over and over. It didn’t fit. How could she and a fuddy-duddy like Brendan have anything in common?
And did it mean he wasn’t such a lost cause after all?
* * *
HANNAH WATCHED JAKE’S focus narrow and intensify as he took picture after picture with a camera that made her pocket-size digital look like a toy. The rest of the world had vanished for him; the only thing he saw was the image through his viewfinder.
Sitting down, she leaned against a tree trunk with Badger resting his head on her leg, prepared for a long wait. She’d wanted Jake to see what she loved about the Cascades, so she couldn’t complain.
There was a cathedral-like hush to the clearing, and she gazed upward. Even in sunlight, when a dogwood tree was blooming the branches faded into the background. But under the canopy of larger trees, the creamy-white bracts seemed to hang in the air, like butterflies.
Jake took another camera out of his pack, along with an ingenious gadget he unfolded into a tripod. Some of his other equipment was more mysterious, but this was obviously something he found useful.
Shifting, Hannah stroked Badger’s head and reluctantly began thinking about Brendan. When it got right down to it, she couldn’t see him as a lover, no matter how perfect he should be for her. She couldn’t fall in love on demand. It was a stubborn, illogical emotion, and she obviously hadn’t got past her weakness for guys with a wild streak in their personality.
Jake's Biggest Risk (Those Hollister Boys) Page 13
