Warrior at Willow Lake Page 5

  His mom had a tradition of welcoming autumn by baking pumpkin pies for their neighbors. He’d stand at the kitchen table and watch her scoop the guts from a plump pumpkin, scouring the inside until it was smooth and clean. His job was to separate the seeds from the pulp. Then the whole house filled with a sweet aroma of pumpkin-spice as she baked, letting him sample along the way. Later, when his dad came home from work, together they’d carve a face on the pumpkin and add a candle—add light. The jack-o-lantern perched on the front porch rail while Hunter and his dad sat in the cool evening air to watch the dancing light flicker. For hours, they talked about everything…and nothing.

  Darkness turned into light—that’s what Hunter needed now—to scoop out the darkness and let in the light.

  ****

  “Sorry I took longer than expected. What are you doing here?”

  Maci’s voice drew Hunter back, and he sat up to rub sleep from his eyes. The memories had tugged him under, but for how long?

  Her blue eyes fixed on him. “How did you find my office?”

  “Being Director of Public Safety does have its fringe benefits.” Hunter tossed the magazine onto the coffee table. “I have access to a fairly large database.”

  “What else do you know about me?”

  “Only what you’ve told me, which doesn’t amount to much.” He stood to face her. “I’d like to change that.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” She took a step back, putting distance between them. “We seem to do fine as long as we’re not together. Being close seems to set us off.”

  “I care for you, Maci. I can’t help myself.” Hunter paced the length of the room before turning back. “I have to stop fighting it.”

  “And just how do you plan to do that?”

  “How much longer do you have to be here?” Outside the window, the sun seemed to have shifted in the sky. He must have been out longer than he thought. He rubbed the stiffness from his neck.

  “As long as I want to be.” She turned to straighten the magazines, and then crossed to a bin of finger cymbals and maracas. “There are always notes to aggregate and files to update. I never run out of things to do.”

  “Can they wait until tomorrow?”

  “Why?”

  “Take a ride with me?” He reached for her hand. “Go another inning. I’d like the chance to apologize for being such a jerk yesterday.”

  “Is that a medical analysis—your being a jerk?”

  “If you want it to be.”

  “It sums things up pretty well.”

  “I’m sorry.” Hunter swallowed hard. “I guess I deserve that.”

  “You hurt my feelings, Hunter.”

  “Can you forgive me?”

  Her gaze held. She nodded slightly. “Yes, I can.”

  “You’ll come then…with me?”

  “Yes. Just give me a minute to get my things and lock up.” She flicked the light switch, muting a string of table lamps. A single overhead light remained, casting a soft glow. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll be right here.”

  ****

  Sunlight warmed Maci’s face through the windshield of Hunter’s truck as she eased into the passenger seat beside him. Although less than twenty-four hours had passed since they’d walked together at the park, it felt like an eternity. She realized she’d missed him. He pulled onto the quiet thoroughfare and headed west toward Willow Lake, nestled along the foothills of the mountains. Music drifted softly from the radio, and Maci freed her hair from the band that gathered it into a tail, letting the breeze rush over her from the lowered side window.

  “It’s my fault, too,” she murmured.

  Hunter tilted his head to glance at her. “What’s your fault?”

  “Yesterday…at the river walk. I shouldn’t have asked so many questions. It’s just…I’m programmed to—”

  Hunter lifted a hand from the steering wheel to touch hers. “Do you tell your patients—”

  “Clients.”

  “OK, clients then.” He nodded. “Do you tell your clients it’s wrong to ask questions?”

  “Of course not. Questions are good for them. How else are they going to figure things out?”

  “Then why is it wrong for you to do the same?”

  “I’m not sure.” Maci frowned. When he put it that way…“Who’s the shrink now?”

  The road curved and narrowed, and soon Willow Lake came into view. Nestled along the shore, Willow Inn rose like a majestic sentinel. Sunlight dappled off the water, casting a shimmer along trees that danced like graceful, long-limbed ballerinas.

  “I love it here.” Maci sighed and shifted in the seat. “It’s so peaceful. So soothing. Do you feel it, Hunter?”

  He failed to respond, his gaze transfixed on the lake and the inn beyond.

  “Hunter…are you OK?” She stroked her fingers across his shoulder, drawing him back. “Is this the first time you’ve been back. Are you remembering?”

  “Yes.” He nodded, his dark eyes glazed. “And, yes.”

  “It hurts. I’m so sorry.”

  He remained silent as they pulled up the long, blacktopped drive. They rounded to the back of the inn before he killed the engine and turned to face her.

  “I don’t want this to stand between us. What we might have means too much to me, Maci.” His jaw stiffened, and she could sense the ripple of each and every muscle beneath his shirt. “Walk with me?”

  “Of course.”

  6

  Hunter took Maci’s hand as they rounded the car and ambled toward a grove of willows. Grass along the lake behind the inn was neatly trimmed, and the narrow path was layered with cobblestone.

  “Ryder must have spent a lot of time over the past year sprucing things up.” Hunter murmured, clearing a lump from his throat. “The grounds look better than I’ve ever seen them.”

  “He has.” Maci nodded. “His landscape business is booming to the point that he’s hired a full staff to help maintain things.”

  “That’s great.” Hunter’s gaze drifted over the sun-kissed water. The scent of pine wafted from saplings nestled among the willows while a warm breeze, pleasantly lacking the weight of humidity, rustled through the hills. “And the inn?”

  “Ali’s breathed life back into the place. Look at it, Hunter.” Maci motioned toward the stately, white-washed structure. “It’s truly amazing.”

  The front porch was made for sipping sweet tea, while the back deck beckoned guests to linger and chat over a game of cards. He’d spent a good chunk of his childhood exploring the surrounding grounds.

  Maci eased in beside him. “Can you feel the love here?”

  “I used to. Now, I’m not so sure…” The memories rushed to meet him as he and Maci meandered around a bend in the trail and the cliffs came into view. Hunter’s gaze rose, drinking in the outcropping of jagged rocks that had once made a perfect spot for jumping into the clear, cool water below. He could almost hear laughter echoing from the hills, accompanied by a healthy banter of smack-talk and splashing as he and Ryder wrestled. “I did at one time. Now it’s just…sad.”

  “Because of Josh?”

  “Yes, that’s a big part of it.” Hunter tore his gaze from the cliffs and shifted feet to face her. “It happened there, on the cliff.”

  “He fell?”

  “No. Josh jumped—or, he tried to jump and didn’t quite make it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s complicated.” Hunter shook his head. “I pushed him. We plunged over the cliff together.”

  “What?” Shock turned her eyes from blue to gray. “But, how?”

  “It’s ugly, Maci.” Hunter began to pace the trail, turning back and forth between the bends, keeping the cliffs in view. He needed to scoop out the darkness…to let in the light. But that was much easier said than done. He could only let in the light by remembering, by sharing the pain. He struggled with the truth. “It’s too horrible to repeat. It changed my life�
��changed all of our lives that day. If I tell you, you might—”

  “Whatever happened, it’s a part of you, Hunter—a part of what’s made you who you are.” She moved close and took his hand, twined her fingers with his and squeezed gently. “It won’t change how I feel about you.”

  “And just how do you feel about me?” His gaze captured hers. “Because, as crazy as it sounds, Maci, I can’t help myself. I’m falling in love with you.”

  ****

  The words caused Maci’s heart to skitter. Her nerve endings ignited, sending heat to the tips of her limbs. Hunter’s hand was strong over hers and the ridge of scar that ran the length of his right thumb reminded her why they were there on the shore of Willow Lake, staring into the cliffs.

  “Tell me, please.” She murmured as the breeze lifted wisps of hair across her heat-flushed cheeks. “I want to know you, Hunter—all of you.”

  “Are you sure?” He cupped a palm to her cheek.

  “Yes.”

  He drew her close, wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders as he began to piece together the events, to draw her a picture with words from his heart. “The day was much like this…warm with the promise of an endless summer. We’d all just graduated, and were in limbo—that in-between time when the past is gone but the future hasn’t quite yet begun. I had a scholarship to State.” He paused, swallowed hard. “But scouts from the farm leagues were coming around, hinting at contracts. Big money…a dream come true. I was strutting a little taller, if you know what I mean. Everywhere I went, even outside of town, people knew who I was—Hunter Stone, star pitcher for the Willow Lake Warriors.”

  “You have a gift, Hunter.”

  “I had a gift.” He nodded quietly. “Yes. Even now, my pitching records at the high school still stand. But that doesn’t mean much…not anymore.”

  “The accident?”

  “Yes.” He eased toward a boulder along the trail and settled on it, bringing her with him. Their shoulders touched as he continued. “Three of us—Mason, Brody, and I—had come here to hang out. Ryder was back with Ali at the inn. Later I found out that Ali’s parents had asked her to watch Josh while they ran errands in town. They did that a lot—Ali was like his second mother. Josh could be a handful, even on good days. It wore Ali out, but she loved him anyway.”

  “She once told me that his disability made it hard for him to understand things sometimes.” Maci tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as the breeze carried it.

  “That’s right. But he managed pretty well, and we didn’t mind having him around. Except that day, Ryder was put-out because he was leaving soon for basic training, and he wanted some alone time with Ali. Even then he had a thing for her, something so powerful you could feel it whenever you moved within a hundred yard radius of the two when they were together. But, time alone was out because Josh…well, he made that impossible.”

  “I can imagine.” Maci shifted on the boulder. “But I don’t understand how you play into all of this.”

  “I was on the cliff. Brody was in the water below, with Catherine. They’d just gotten engaged, if you can believe that. Only eighteen, and they were headed for the altar, white picket fence, the whole nine yards. It ended up not working out. But, that’s a story for another day.” Hunter picked a blade of grass, shoved it between his teeth, and continued. “Mason…he was horse-playing with Josie.”

  “Josie Parker, who owns Posts and Pages?”

  “Yes, her.” Hunter rubbed the scruff of stubble that darkened his jaw. “Everyone had someone—everyone but me. I guess I was feeling a little out of sorts. After all, I was Willow Lake High’s star pitcher…a Warrior destined for the major leagues…fame and fortune. Soon, I’d be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and hounded to appear on ESPN. It just didn’t seem fair. So I started showing off there at the cliffs.”

  “Showing off how?”

  “All of us liked to jump—everyone but Ali.”

  “She’s terrified of heights.”

  “Right. But sometimes Ryder could talk her into taking a leap, if she was in the right mood. Anyway, that section of the cliffs was a good spot, the water nice and deep. But, jumping wasn’t enough for me that day. I talked some smack, tried some new stunts. I was reckless…dangerous. Mason got mad when I did a back flip and landed only inches from Josie. We exchanged words, which only spiked my temper. I climbed the cliff trail and was about to jump again when Josh came over the knoll. He was running with that lumbering gait that had become so familiar over the years. I can still see the impish grin on his face and the way his hair skimmed across his eyes, turned up at the corners like slivers of almonds.”

  “Ali said he had Downs.”

  “He did. But none of us saw that. We just saw him. We all tried to include him and protect him. Ryder had even taught him how to jump from the cliffs, despite Ali’s protests. Josh was a little afraid at first, but he caught on pretty quick.” Hunter nodded, jabbing the point home. “That particular day there was no fear, only excitement.”

  “What happened, Hunter? If he’d jumped before and did fine…”

  “Josh had asthma. It kicked in when he got too excited. That day, when he saw me, his face lit up as he barreled over the ridge. The exertion of scaling the hill so fast was just too much, and he began to wheeze. I heard his labored breathing, and I knew he’d pass out if he didn’t get help quick. Ali usually carried a rescue inhaler, but she was nowhere in sight. I tried to grab Josh—stop him—as he came toward the cliff edge. But he stumbled and plowed into me. I couldn’t hold him, and we both tumbled over the edge. We didn’t clear the rocks below. The force of the impact broke my hand in three places and fractured Josh’s skull.” Hunter shook his head, grimacing. “Despite our efforts, he never regained consciousness. Josh died that night.”

  “It’s not your fault, Hunter.”

  “I should have held onto him.”

  “You tried.”

  “I shouldn’t have been jumping. If I wasn’t up there, he might have waited for Ryder, or Ali. He wouldn’t have suffered an asthma attack. If I hadn’t have tried to catch him, maybe he would have landed just fine on his own. Like I said, he’d jumped before—lots of times. He never really had any trouble.”

  “It was an accident.”

  “A preventable accident.”

  “You didn’t mean to hurt him, Hunter. You were trying to do the opposite—trying to help him.”

  “Ali was devastated. Losing Josh nearly killed her, too. Every day I watched her sink deeper into depression—watched her cry as she and Ryder drifted further and further apart. I couldn’t stay…couldn’t watch them suffer because of what I’d done—or failed to do. Losing my scholarship, my future, was the least of my pain. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were before…before Josh died.”

  “Things will never go back to exactly what they were before.”

  “I know that now.”

  “But they can be good again…happy.” Maci leaned in and pressed her lips to his forehead. “Hunter, no one blames you—most of all not Ali. She has always told me that you tried to save Josh. Her perspective, well, it’s completely different from yours.”

  Hunter knew what Maci said was true. Ryder and Ali had welcomed him back with open arms following Rory’s birth. Even now, the thought of it warmed him. Elevated to hero status after helping Ali and Rory survive their harrowing experience, the pendulum seemed to swing back to even things out. He was no longer the guy who’d failed to rescue Josh—at least not to them.

  But in his heart, the scenario would always play out with him failing. He couldn’t change it, no matter how hard he tried.

  “Ali’s always been a forgiving soul.” Hunter shook his head, grinning through the pain. “And Ryder…he’s different, but in a good way. I’ve wasted so much time in the darkness. I don’t want to waste another minute. I just want to…move on. That’s why I came back. And now, I’ve found the most amazing gift of all—I’ve found you, Maci. I never
could have imagined…”

  “We’ve found each other.” Maci’s pulse skittered as Hunter drew her in and claimed her lips with a gentle brush of his. She tasted the salt of tears on his lips and knew the depth of the pain he held closest to his heart. Yet, he’d shared it with her. “I can’t help myself…I’m falling in love with you, too, Hunter.”

  7

  Music drifted from the upper landing when Hunter entered the inn a few days later. Furnishings in oak and cedar, warm and cozy, soothed as he climbed polished stairs to the second floor. The scent of pine was a heady undertone, drawing everything together. Since he’d bared his soul with Maci, everything seemed to meld. He felt comfortable at the inn again, and was looking forward to seeing Ali and Ryder…along with little Rory, at home there in a few hours.

  He strode the length of the hallway and paused outside the last doorway, where he found Maci perched on a tarp, wielding a long-handled roller and splattered in paint.

  For a few moments, he leaned in the doorway watching, appreciating the long-limbed beauty and graceful manner. Maci was a concert violinist—the most gifted musician in the region—but she could easily be mistaken for a ballerina, as well. She turned and saw him there and a smile curved along her lips.

  “You’ve been busy.” Hunter entered the room and crossed to where she worked. He brushed a hint of mint-green from her cheek and then followed the gesture with a kiss. “You got a head start. It’s almost finished.

  “My last client cancelled so I thought I’d come over and get a jump on things.”

  “The walls are dry already.” Hunter smoothed a hand over the paint. “This looks great.”

  “Thanks.” Maci’s denim eyes sparkled as she crossed to the changing table. “I brought something for you.”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  Maci laughed and handed him a thermos. “It’s coffee, Hunter.”