One Perfect Summer

by Brenda Novak

  Maybe Finn had been a catalyst in their rapidly disintegrating relationship as much as Francine had.

  Well, not as much as Francine. But definitely part of the problem. Lorelei had to consider the possibility that she hadn’t done much to put things back together, and she owed the past twelve years of her life, Lucy, the man Mark had been and all they’d established so far enough to give it an honest effort.

  So after Lucy fell asleep, she went back to her own room, closed her door and dialed his number.

  He answered right away, but she was pretty sure she’d awakened him. “Lorelei?” he said.

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  “What’s going on?”

  She couldn’t answer. Tears had welled up. Would she ever get over the pain of his betrayal? Just hearing his voice felt like another twenty lashes on an already lacerated heart.

  “Babe? Are you okay? Is Lucy okay?”

  The endearment made things even worse. “She’s fine. I don’t know if I am.”

  “Has something happened?”

  “I just wish we could go back in time—to when we were happy.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this to us. I don’t know how I did.”

  She wiped her cheeks. “I keep trying to forgive you. I really do. But whenever I think of you holding Francine’s baby, or doing anything with her, something inside me rebels.”

  “I know. It’s hard. But will you please come home? We can’t deal with this long distance.”

  “How will I even get home?” she said. “You’ve cut off all the money.”

  “You said you were working.”

  She refused to let him know that she’d left her job. “I am, but I don’t make much. Just enough for incidentals.”

  “I’ll buy the plane ticket. You know I will. Should I go online in the morning?”

  She was about to say yes. But then it struck her. He was talking softly, his voice so subdued. And why would he suggest doing it in the morning? If he was already awake, why not do it now?

  Was Francine there? Was she in bed with him, and he was trying not to wake her?

  Lorelei would have no reason to fault him if she was. She’d told him he could be with her. But that he’d taken her up on that offer so readily made her feel as though his disappointment over losing her couldn’t be as sincere as he said.

  “Is Francine there?” she asked.

  He hesitated just long enough that she didn’t believe him when he said, “No. No, of course not.”

  “Send me a picture of our bed. Right now.”

  “Lorelei, it’s late. I have to work in the morning.”

  “Send me a picture,” she insisted.

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “It’s not ridiculous if you won’t do it. There has to be a reason.”

  His voice grew more strident. “You told me we could be together! You practically shoved her at me! What am I supposed to do? Lose both of you? Then I wouldn’t be a full-time father to either of my children!”

  Lorelei covered her mouth so she wouldn’t sob aloud and pressed End.

  * * *

  serenity

  The lake, as still and smooth as glass, reflected the rays of the early-morning sun. Gliding through it would feel like a hot knife slicing through butter.

  Serenity couldn’t wait as she took her kayak off the rack on her SUV and carried it down the beach. After tossing and turning for most of the night, she’d decided to go out as soon as it was light and before either of her sisters was awake. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them to come—she owed Lucy a ride and planned to give her one—but she figured they could join her once they’d had breakfast. Or she could bring them another time. This was her first chance to get out on the water, and she felt a bit nostalgic about it. Kayaking almost every weekend was how she’d maintained her sanity last summer, when the trial was going on.

  She wasn’t really looking at the people who were getting their boats on the water at the same time. She didn’t expect to run into anyone she knew, not this early. So she was surprised when she noticed a lone man walking along the shore. A man who looked sort of familiar.

  Who was he? He was far enough away that she almost shrugged off the sense of recognition. What did it matter?

  But as she drew closer and he turned, she could see that he had only one arm.

  Davis.

  What was Finn’s brother doing here? Did Finn or Nolan even know he wasn’t in his room?

  She knew they were trying to look out for him, but he was an adult, so she also figured it was up to him where he went and whether he told anyone.

  She was angry with him about the way he’d treated Lorelei and Lucy yesterday, so she’d rather not speak to him. But when he caught sight of her, her natural sympathy for his situation prompted her to wave.

  He hadn’t shaved for what looked like several days and his hair stood up as though he’d come straight from bed. Maybe he hadn’t showered for a while, either. Lorelei had mentioned that he didn’t seem to have any interest in taking care of himself. He was in too deep a depression.

  But Serenity had just gotten out of bed herself. Most everyone here probably had. The dark circles beneath his eyes told her he hadn’t slept any better than she had last night.

  He responded to her wave with a nod of acknowledgment, somewhat grudgingly, then put his head down and kept walking.

  Obviously, he didn’t expect her to speak to him. She doubted he even wanted her to speak to him. And that was okay with her. So she wasn’t sure why she spontaneously called out, asking him if he’d like to go kayaking with her.

  She was positive he’d say no, and yet...she could see him wrestling with himself. “I won’t say a word while we’re out there, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she added.

  “How am I supposed to help you paddle?” he asked.

  “You still have one arm, don’t you?”

  When he scowled as if he couldn’t do anything with one arm, she shrugged and climbed in to show that she was fine going without him.

  She was just getting her kayak ready to launch when he spoke. It startled her to find him so close.

  “I’ll go. If I’m a dead weight, you’ll have to propel us both.”

  “You can do your part. It’s not that hard. I’ll be right back,” she said and handed him one of the oars she’d brought down.

  She got another oar from her X5 and trudged back to the water’s edge.

  “You came prepared,” he said.

  “I left a note for Lorelei to bring Lucy down once she wakes up, but they don’t normally get up until eight. You can use it till then.”

  “You’re going to be out that long?”

  “Probably not. It was just in case.”

  “Fine.”

  She held the kayak and motioned for him to get in.

  After a pause that let her know he wasn’t sure he should’ve accepted her invitation, he did as she said and took the front seat, since it was the back person who had to steer.

  They were a little unsteady when they first launched. Serenity wasn’t used to having so much extra weight in the kayak. It’d been a while since she’d gone out with Sean, and he hadn’t joined her that often, anyway. Getting up early had never been his thing.

  But once they got out away from the beach, they were fine. They didn’t talk while they were paddling—other than when she gave him directions.

  He did better than she thought he would, especially because they weren’t worried about speed. They were only out to enjoy the beauty of nature, to heal and find balance.

  At one point, she closed her eyes, turned her face up to the sun and let the kayak drift. She wasn’t sure whether he minded, but he respected her privacy and said nothing while she meditated for several minutes.

  B
y the time they were done on the lake, there was still no sign of her sisters and Lucy, and she was glad. She thought this had worked out the way it was supposed to. Even though Davis couldn’t paddle that well yet, he’d been the easiest person she’d ever gone out with. He didn’t ruin the solitude; he needed it just as badly.

  Once they’d pulled the boat onto the shore, he followed her lead and put his oar in the kayak. “Thank you,” he said and started up the beach.

  “I’ll be here, same time, tomorrow morning,” she called after him.

  He turned to look at her. He’d heard, but he didn’t say whether he’d be back. So she was slightly surprised to find him at the beach the next day, the day after that and the day after that. Soon, he was waiting for her every morning where she parked the SUV so he could help carry the kayak to the water.

  She didn’t mention the change. She acted as if he should be there to do his part.

  She brought Lucy out in the afternoon occasionally, after the girl’s nap when it was much warmer, but she never mentioned kayaking with Davis. Somehow that felt private—an hour they stole from each day that didn’t need to be discussed.

  She was fairly certain he hadn’t mentioned it to his brothers, either, because she had no doubt they’d come along or make sure he had his own kayak with a mounted paddle frame so he could paddle on his own. They had the money, after all. If they thought going out on the water was helping him recover, they’d gladly supply the boat and any type of oar he might need.

  But she suspected that doing it together was somehow part of its appeal. The hour they spent on the lake helped them both welcome and be grateful for each new day. They didn’t speak much, never mentioned Lorelei or what’d happened, whether he was recovering, his brothers and what they thought or anything else. It was the silent support they both craved—the silent support and the ability to share the incredible beauty of Tahoe with another human being. Somehow that enhanced the experience.

  “I’ll be leaving tomorrow for Berkeley, early, and I won’t be back for five days,” she told him on the last day of June. “Would you like me to put the kayak somewhere you can take it out by yourself?”

  He’d just climbed out. He studied her for a few seconds but ultimately shook his head. “No, I don’t have a vehicle for it.”

  His brothers did, though, which confirmed that they didn’t know he was coming out every morning. He didn’t even want to tell them so he could use the car.

  “I’ll be here on Monday.”

  With a nod of acknowledgment, he helped her carry the kayak to the Beamer.

  “Would you like a ride?” she asked once they had it loaded.

  “I’d rather walk,” he said, which was what he’d told her every other time she’d offered.

  She drove away as he started out, but when she parked in the garage of her own cabin and was about to go into the house, a vehicle pulled up at the curb.

  Who could be coming to visit this early? she asked herself. It was barely seven o’clock.

  But as soon as she spotted the man who got out, she knew before he could even mention his name.

  * * *

  reagan

  Reagan was awake because Rally had been messaging her. Although they talked many times during the day, he’d started wishing her a good morning every day right at seven. His greeting made waking up easier, and she was pretty sure that was his intention. After that she typically allowed herself to drift off for another half hour or so before climbing out of bed to have breakfast and begin working on Serenity’s social media.

  In many respects, she’d never had such a fun and relaxing summer. Despite the stress of the pregnancy and the many life questions that still loomed large in her mind, she was enjoying her sisters—making them real in her life, part of the fabric of it, and that felt significant to her despite everything else.

  Besides doing Serenity’s social media, she’d been watching Lucy from eleven to three the past four days and would continue through August. Lorelei had managed to get a job waiting tables at a nearby restaurant but only worked the lunch shift. She didn’t make a lot of money, but since she refused to speak to Mark—had cut him off completely—she couldn’t expect any financial help from him, not until she forced the issue legally. And she wasn’t talking to Finn, either. She didn’t want what she felt for him to confuse her, didn’t want to open her heart to any more hurt.

  So working at the restaurant gave Lorelei something to do as well as bringing in some much-needed cash.

  Reagan was worried about her, though. She had no idea what Lorelei was going to do after the summer, but if she was going to divorce her husband, Reagan thought she should get started on it. Although Reagan had mentioned it a time or two, Lorelei refused to do anything that might ruin her last two months in Tahoe. She said she’d face September when it arrived, but she was going to reserve this time for herself. This was their time—their sister time.

  Which was why Reagan hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell her about the pregnancy. She knew she needed to, and she’d been looking for the right opportunity, but Lorelei was enjoying herself in spite of what she was going through, and Reagan didn’t want to ruin that by giving her something else she’d have to make allowances for. Reagan didn’t want to risk ruining the close and easy friendship that was developing between them, either.

  She was enjoying Serenity, Lorelei and Lucy too much to want to change anything—that concerned them, anyway. After Lorelei left for work in the mornings at eleven, Reagan finished whatever she was doing for Serenity, fed Lucy lunch and then they walked down to the lake. She let Lucy play in the sand, or Serenity took her out in the kayak, and then brought her back to the cabin for a nap. She’d thought babysitting, because she’d never been responsible for a child before, might be difficult, but it wasn’t. Those four hours went fast.

  With a yawn, Reagan stretched out her arms and couldn’t help noticing how brown her skin was getting. They were all starting to tan, even Lorelei, who hadn’t been out in the sun as often.

  Reagan was considering buying them each a gold ankle bracelet. She had to watch her bank account, since she wasn’t sure she’d be able to find work when she returned to New York until after the baby came, but she thought they should each have something to remember this summer by, and she’d spotted what she felt was just the thing at a local jewelry shop—a dainty chainlike ankle bracelet with tiny diamonds at regular intervals.

  She was trying to decide if she could allow herself to splurge enough to go back and buy three—Lucy was too young for a keepsake like that—when she heard a commotion downstairs.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Reagan sat up. That was Lorelei’s shocked voice. But she had no idea who she was talking to until Lucy cried, “Daddy!”

  26

  lorelei

  LORELEI COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. Mark was standing in the living room. Apparently, he’d taken off from work and flown to Reno, where he must’ve rented a car.

  Her first thought was that she should never have given him the address of the cabin.

  But she’d done that way back when she, Serenity and Reagan were first planning to meet, so he’d have the information and be able to reach her in case of emergencies.

  Her second thought was, Where’s Francine?

  She didn’t ask. She didn’t want Lucy to hear the jealousy and bitterness that was bound to accompany that question. She was feeling conflicted again, watching her daughter hug her daddy as though it had been forever since she’d seen him.

  In a small child’s mind, five weeks was a very long time.

  Had Lorelei been wrong to stay here?

  Regardless, she’d had to stay. Having a safe place, a place where she could grapple with the loss of her marriage while enjoying the support of her two sisters, was what had kept her going.

  “Look at you!” He pull
ed back to peer into Lucy’s face. “I hardly recognize you! Your hair has gold streaks from the sun, and you’re getting a few freckles.”

  She gave him an affronted look. “What are freckles?”

  He laughed. “The cute little dots on your nose.”

  He kissed and hugged her before setting her down and returning his attention to Lorelei. “I’m sorry to show up out of nowhere, but you blocked me. Since I can’t call or text you, I had no way of notifying you.”

  “The fact that I blocked you should’ve told you I...I didn’t want to do this.”

  “We have to talk, Lorelei. We can’t let what we have slip away just because I was stupid enough to do what I did.”

  She glanced at Reagan, who was standing barefoot in yoga pants and a T-shirt, hair mussed, on the stairs. Serenity was on the other side, by the kitchen, dressed in a short-sleeved wetsuit that had the legs cut off. Reagan had just gotten out of bed, but where had Serenity come from? Had she already been out on the lake?

  “I decided to go kayaking,” Serenity explained, apparently responding to the confusion in her face. “I do that if I get up before you two.”

  “You do.” Lorelei hadn’t realized she’d been leaving, but it was usually eight or so when she and Lucy rolled out of bed.

  She was focusing on the mundane, on things that didn’t matter. She had to say something to Mark, but she had no idea what. Should she introduce him to her sisters?

  No. That would be far too polite for this situation. She’d decided she had to end her marriage.

  “Why don’t I get Lucy some breakfast?” Serenity offered. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?”

  Lucy seemed reluctant to leave her father. “Will you stay?” she asked Mark.

  “I’ll be here,” he promised and then looked at Lorelei. “Can we take a walk, though, just you and I?”

  “Can’t I go with you?” Lucy’s little eyebrows gathered in worry.