Even if he was just being polite, the concern in his voice made something inside her break. She fought to keep the tears at bay as they parted, but one blink sent them rolling down her cheeks.
Taking another step back, she nodded and pretended to study her watch. As she struggled to contain her emotions, a supportive hand settled on her shoulder. Rain relaxed under Allie’s cool touch, drawing a deep breath before lifting her head.
Allie was still by the cars. Jason stood across from Rain, an anxious look on his face. Yet the hand on her back moved, caressed her hair. Rain lurched forward, stumbling into Jason. His arms shot out to catch her, and he held her tightly as she steadied herself.
“I…I thought I saw a bee,” she said lamely, searching the empty space where she’d been standing.
“Well, that is alarming,” Jason joked, releasing her gently. Allie was next to him now, a large duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
“Sorry, my nerves are a bit shot. Plus, we’ve been drinking,” she said with a sheepish grin.
“What, you started without me?” he complained as he relieved Allie of his duffle bag and steered them toward the house.
“Only one glass,” Allie explained. “Let’s grab another and wait for A.J. on the porch. No bees there,” she said, sliding a questioning glance at Rain as they filed through the door.
Rain followed Allie through the great room and out the sliding glass door to the screened-in porch. “Wow, the swing is still here.” She sat down gingerly on the wooden bench suspended from the porch ceiling. “I hope it’s still securely in there.” Glancing up at the bolts, she tested it with her full weight.
“Remind me not to sit there if it isn’t,” Allie commented with a laugh.
Rain wondered if Allie was also thinking about how the swinging bench was always Brandy’s chosen seat. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot, and it faced sideways instead of straight out toward the lake, but that was where she preferred to sit. A.J. would usually pull up a chair nearby, since they were always trying to disguise the fact that they were a couple around A.J.’s disapproving parents. Besides, there was the valid concern that the two of them together might pull it right out of the ceiling. A.J.’s dad had put it up himself, along a sturdy crossbeam, but he was known for his business acumen, not his handyman skills.
Against the back wall, there was a new rustic wood-framed couch with weather-resistant cushions and a matching rectangular ottoman. Allie plunked herself down and put her feet up with a contented sigh. “It’s great to be back here. I was sad when I heard Mrs. Winthrop sold the place after A.J.’s father died.”
Rain murmured in agreement as she followed Jason’s gaze across the lake. Its vast silver surface stretched out from their beach in all directions. The only thing she could see on the opposite side of the water was a seemingly endless expanse of trees. The mounded hills of green foliage climbed to the sky, and the vegetation closest to the water seemed to lean into the lake.
Along their beach, a number of narrow wooden piers extended into the water, many with small boats tied up to their pilings. The one to the right of their house had a large rowboat bobbing next to it, and Rain assumed it belonged to this rental unit and was theirs to use. A.J.’s father had owned a similar rowboat as well; no motorboats were allowed on the pristine waters of Silver Lake.
“Oh, I made appetizers,” Rain said, breaking the contemplative silence. She hurried to the kitchen and returned with an artfully arranged platter.
“Thanks, Rain,” said Allie as she made her selection. “But you don’t need to serve me just because I’m too lazy to get up! Although I must admit, it feels good to be the one being waited on for once. I promise I’ll help you with dinner.”
Rain held the plate out for Jason. “Don’t worry about it, I like doing it. And I have everything under control for tonight. You just relax here and enjoy the view. Besides, just talking to Jason is work enough.” She smirked at him and raised her eyebrow playfully.
“So funny. I forgot how much I missed being constantly mocked.” Jason smiled at her as he helped himself to some crackers topped with neat squares of cheese. “So, you really like cooking?”
“Of course I do! I’m just so glad to have people to cook for—Holly never lets me do anything. By the time I get home from school, she’s usually done all the prep work for dinner.”
“I think I’m going to like it here,” Jason concluded.
That’s the idea, thought Rain as she made her way to the kitchen after leaving the platter on the porch with Allie and Jason. She wanted everyone to spend as much time as possible here. Mostly to help Mrs. Pierce and Brandy, she reflected, but also to take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect as friends. She caught herself humming happily as she started pulling out her dinner preparations.
The crunch of gravel told her A.J. had arrived. She called out, “A.J.’s here!” as she hurried to greet him; then she stopped in her tracks when she saw the front door was already open. It had been closed when she came in from the porch, she was positive. Perhaps it really did have a tricky latch. Or perhaps she was getting good at making excuses, and Brandy was welcoming A.J. to the party.
She shook the troubling thought from her head and ordered her feet to move. As she walked through the doorway, a shock of cold air made her jump. She stumbled out the door and almost lost her balance.
“You okay there?” asked A.J., trying to hold a straight face. “That was an impressive welcome.”
She caught a quick glimpse of him before he pulled her into a warm hug. He was still the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome: close-cropped dark brown curls, light blue eyes, and aristocratic features.
A.J. stood back to let her enter the house first, and she braced herself before she passed through the doorway. But the cold air had dissipated, leaving her to wonder again about the status of her sanity. The idea of Brandy welcoming A.J. to his former vacation home was both far-fetched and ironic. Brandy herself had barely been welcome here when they were teenagers. A.J.’s parents had never tried very hard to hide their distaste for the troubled Pierce family.
Rain watched A.J. wrap his arms around Allie and decided that despite his initial misgivings, A.J. seemed happy enough to be here now. A stream of curses drifted in from the patio where Jason was working on lighting the ancient grill, and A.J. laughed and called out, “It’s nice to see you too, bud.”
The knot of tension that had taken up residence in the back of Rain’s neck loosened slightly. Everyone was here now, and the awkwardness had melted away. A shout of victory from Jason as he won his battle with the grill added to her relief, and she pulled the steak tips out of the fridge with a smile tugging at her lips.
****
A bonfire on the beach had seemed like the perfect idea after dinner, dessert, and drinks. But the June nights were still cold, and the brisk air quickly cut through Rain’s light jacket. She moved from her spot next to Jason to huddle closer to the crackling fire. Allie had been smart enough to bring a blanket with her; now she was curled up on the sand with her head on one of A.J.’s outstretched legs. The firelight played across Allie’s face as her eyelids closed and popped back open.
“Allie, you look exhausted! You should probably get to bed. In fact, we all should get to bed soon,” Rain said. Maybe the dreams would even give them the night off, she tacked on silently.
“Hmmm? No, I’m awake. I am tired, but I don’t want to miss anything! You guys should actually feel really special. I’m away from my kids and on vacation. If I was with anyone else, I would have gone to bed and stayed there until Monday. And that includes Brian!”
A.J. was leaning back on his hands and he pushed himself forward, took a swig of his drink and adjusted the blanket around Allie’s shoulders. “We appreciate the effort, truly. But we’re really not all that interesting.”
Allie grinned sleepily. “Rain is. She’s going to write a children’s book this summer,” she announced mischievously.
Rain narrowed her eyes at her friend as everyone’s attention turned to her. She was glad the darkness hid her signature flush of embarrassment. “It’s just an idea, Allie,” she mumbled.
“We’re waiting, Rain,” Jason prodded as he shifted closer to her and nudged her with his shoulder.
She sighed and linked her arms around her knees. “Well, I taught both morning and afternoon kindergarten this year, and I was looking for fun ways to teach the kids the alphabet. So I thought it would be helpful for the parents to have a book at home that they can read with their children, that dedicates a week to each letter of the alphabet. For each letter, I would list crafts, activities, recipes, animals, games, even sight words that all begin with that letter. ‘A’ would include things like making a paper airplane and a fun snack like ants on a log.” Rain shrugged self-consciously.
“I think it’s a great idea,” A.J. replied, and the others echoed his approval. “But what in God’s name are ants on a log?”
Allie burst out laughing. “How can you not know that? Well, I suppose it’s not something they serve regularly at business lunches in the world of high finance. It’s raisins…never mind, I’ll make some for lunch tomorrow. You’ll love it.”
A.J. shook his head. “You lost me at raisins. But I expect to be mentioned in this book under friends that begin with ‘A.’ Wait, awesome friends that begin with ‘A.’ I think you’re on to something here, Rain.”
“Wait, I should be in that chapter too!” Allie pointed out. “‘A’ is also for Allie, as well as award-winning author. Seriously, we’re all behind you, Rain, one hundred percent.”
Jason smiled roguishly at Rain. “I think ‘B’ should be for breakfast in bed. What time can I expect that?”
Rain rolled her eyes in the firelight. “‘B’ can also be for breath. As in, I wouldn’t hold yours.”
A.J. shook his head. “Nice try, though, buddy.” He toasted them with his drink. “‘C’ for cocktail,” he added, taking a healthy swig.
She tried not to giggle as she feigned annoyance. “Very funny. But I’m going to try to find subject matter that goes a little deeper than that.”
“‘D’ is for a deep book about the alphabet,” Jason grinned, obviously unable to stop teasing her.
Rain planted a punch on his shoulder in response. “I think I’ll skip ‘E’ and go right to ‘F’…I have a choice phrase in mind for you.”
“Oh, Rainy,” Jason shook his head in mock exasperation. “I don’t think that’s appropriate language to be teaching kindergarteners.” He paused as they all laughed. “We’re just messing with you, Rain. Anything you write will be great. And like Allie said, we’ll all support you however we can.”
Rain’s heart swelled with gratitude. “Thanks, guys. I don’t know if I’ll really get around to it, but I
will
have all summer here. I mean, my main focus is going to be on trying to figure out—” She broke off in mid-sentence as she remembered they weren’t supposed to bring up the mystery of Brandy on their first night together.
The fire popped and crackled in the solemn silence that resulted, and Jason looped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. She bit her lip and shook her head at her stupid mistake. They had been having such a fun, carefree night.
A.J.’s voice was cautious as he posed a question. “So as long as we’re thinking about it, does everyone agree that Brandy is dead?”
There was an awkward pause, and then Rain spoke up in an attempt to salvage the previous lighthearted mood. “We did agree that we wouldn’t talk about Brandy tonight.”
The fire suddenly flared higher and the flames blew sideways in Rain and Jason’s direction. The next thing Rain knew, she was flat on her back, looking up at the stars. Jason was on top of her, his strong body covering hers, making it difficult to breathe. She was still trying to figure out what happened when Jason pushed himself off her, looking down at her startled face.
“Are you okay?” he asked Rain, at the same time A.J. and Allie were asking them both the same question. A.J. added, “Just what the hell was that?”
Rain propped herself up on her elbows. “Yeah, I’m fine. Damn, you’re quick, Jay. Was that the wind?”
Jason frowned. “There’s not much wind. Maybe there was something in the fire. It seems to be fine now, though. We should probably put it out, anyway.”
Allie sat rigidly, her eyes wide. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Well, I guess I’ll be the one to mention that it happened when we were talking about Brandy. Or more accurately, when we said we
weren’t
going to talk about Brandy.”
“Um, that’s just for tonight,” Rain pointed out as she looked up at the sky. She wasn’t quite sure to whom she was addressing this reassurance. She sat up completely and looked at her friends. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk about it. How about in the afternoon? After everyone’s had a chance to sleep in, and enjoy the morning. We’ll just…get together and see where it goes.”
Allie and Jason were quick to agree, but A.J. sighed skeptically. “I just can’t see what good bringing all this up again will do. But fine, whatever. Now, where did we land on breakfast? Any volunteers?”
“I’ll cook breakfast, if everyone can wait until noon,” was Allie’s tired reply.
Chapter 4
The dream was different this time. Jason lay on top of Rain, shielding her protectively as he had done earlier that night on the beach. Dozens of fires raged around them, the flames burning hot in bright, unlikely colors. And Brandy was there, dragging them across the sand with inhuman strength. Jason struggled against her as she pulled them toward the water, her sharp fingernails slicing his skin.
He awoke with a start. The room was just beginning to lighten, tinged with the colors of dawn. His eyes found the clock and he sighed. It was 5:30 in the morning, too close to the time he normally rose to consider falling back asleep.
He pushed himself up, grimacing at a sudden sting of pain. Shifting toward the window, he examined his arm in the soft light. Angry scratches lined his right forearm from wrist to elbow.
A crease formed between his clear green eyes as he studied the marks, images from the dream flashing through his mind. No. Not possible. He had most likely scratched himself gathering the wood for the bonfire. He’d had a few drinks by that point and just hadn’t noticed.