The Edge of the Shadows (6 page)

TEN

T
he fiddler who'd joined Seth and his group during their rehearsal at South Whidbey Commons turned out to be in town for Djangofest. His name was Parker Natalia, he was from Canada, and he'd been a longtime member of a Canadian group called BC Django 21.

“Till they kicked me out for someone they figured was better,” the young man had said with a shrug. But Seth could tell that the shrug hid heartache, and if anyone on earth knew about heartache, Seth was that guy. So he kept asking Parker to jam with Triple Threat whenever he was in South Whidbey Commons while the trio was practicing. Admittedly, it was partly to cheer Parker up that Seth asked him to play his fiddle, but it was also partly because he was so damn good. Seth couldn't believe that anyone with ears and a brain would ever kick Parker Natalia out of a group.

Ultimately, Seth talked the members of Triple Threat into inviting Parker to join them during
all
their rehearsals, with an eye toward having him play with them during their appearance at Djangofest. It was high time to bring a fiddler into Triple Threat to broaden their musical offerings, he pointed out, which was critical if they were ever going to do more than just play as background music for local fund raisers. More important, though, Parker Natalia had the potential to provide what Seth referred to as the heartthrob factor for females in the audience. And growing their audience was just as critical as growing their music.

The reason Seth decided to take Parker to meet his grandfather had to do with housing. One of the quirky things about Djangofest was that the local citizenry opened up their homes to house the performing musicians. The problem here was that Parker wasn't one of the musicians scheduled to play. While his former band BC Django 21 was on the schedule and thus happily ensconced in someone's house, he was not.

Seth discovered that Parker was sleeping in his car in a hidden corner of the fairgrounds. With limited funds, he didn't want to spend money on a motel room. What money he had with him had to last until he left Whidbey Island to return home, so he was making do with a sleeping bag in the back of his Ford Taurus and using the facilities—when they were open—at the fairgrounds.

Seth had a better idea. It wasn't a motel room, but it was definitely a step up from a Taurus. And a bathroom with a shower was available if Parker didn't mind a bit of a hike. It would, of course, all depend on Ralph Darrow's approval.

When they got to Ralph's property, Seth let Gus out of the VW and watched the Labrador lope in the direction of the house. He and Parker ambled along after the dog, and they found Seth's grandfather at work in front of the woodshed, along with Becca King, Derric Mathieson, and a mound of fire wood. Three cords of it had just been delivered and needed to be stacked. Ralph was doing this. So were Becca and Derric. Gus was bounding around them, barking and waiting to be noticed.

“Get that dog one of those bones before I clobber him,” was Ralph's greeting to Seth.

Becca hurried to the box on the porch. Gus followed, knowing exactly what was in the offing.

Seth nodded hi to Derric and introduced Parker both to his grandfather and to the other boy. When Becca returned to the woodpile, he did the same for her. She said with a smile, “You're the fiddler at South Whidbey Commons. I was there when you jammed with Seth. It was totally amazing.”

Parker shot Becca a smile, and said, “Thanks,” as he shook hands with Ralph Darrow and Derric.

He and Seth joined in with the wood stacking, and Seth's grandfather stood back and let the younger people take on the job. He wiped his hands with one of his cowboy handkerchiefs and commented, “Tom Sawyer couldn't've managed this better. How're the rehearsals coming along, favorite male grandson?”

“Excellent,” Seth replied. “Parker's joining us.”

“Is he indeed?” Ralph looked Parker over.

Perhaps it was something in Ralph's speculative tone that sounded less than convinced this was a good idea because Parker said quickly, “Not permanently. Just for a few numbers at Djangofest.”

Seth added that Parker had come to Whidbey Island as part of the contingent of gypsy jazz lovers who showed up yearly to attend the performances of musicians from around the world. “He used to be part of a group from Canada,” Seth said, “BC Django 21.”

“British Columbia,” Parker added helpfully. “That's the B and the C.”

“Anyways,” Seth said, “you know how the musicians all get put up during the festival by people around Langley? Well, see, I was sort of wondering . . .”

“Ah,” Ralph said.

Becca smiled. She knew where this was heading. She also knew that Seth had learned his lesson when it came to making decisions about his grandfather's personal property and his land. Seth wanted to put Parker up in a tree house that Seth had built deep in the woods. But since he'd stowed Becca there without his grandfather's knowledge the previous winter and spring, he wasn't about to make that mistake another time.

“British Columbia is it?” Ralph said affably. “Whereabouts?”

“In the Kootenay Mountains,” Parker replied. “Town called Nelson.”

• • •

SETH SAW BECCA
freeze when Parker said this, but he didn't know what it meant. Derric saw her freeze, too, and his glance went from Becca to Parker to Becca again, as if some message had passed between them that was unreadable to everyone else. For Ralph's part, he seemed to notice nothing. He merely said, “Not familiar with the place,” to which Parker replied, “It's north of Spokane.”

Quickly and perhaps to cover for whatever she'd felt when she'd heard the place name Nelson, Becca went back to work. So did Derric. Seth could see, though, that she was listening intently. In her haste to put the firewood where it belonged, however, she'd lost the ear bud to the AUD box.

“Anyways,” Seth said, hoping for his grandfather's agreement to the plan, “Parker's been sleeping in his car, and I was thinking the tree house might be better. He could maybe use your downstairs shower if Becca doesn't care. It wouldn't be for that long. Just till after Djangofest. More or less.”

Ralph shot him a look at the
more or less
part of it. He said, “I expect that's up to Miss Becca, Seth. It's her bathroom.”

Becca said, “Fine by me long's Parker knows it's a hike from the tree house.”

“I'll show him the place,” Seth said. And then, a little anxiously, “'S okay, Grand?”

Ralph waved him in the general direction of the woodland trails beyond the pond. He said, “Have at it,” and Becca added, “I'll go, too, Seth,” and gave no one—and specifically Derric—any chance to quash her intention.

ELEVEN

B
ecca's ear bud had kept becoming dislodged as she was stacking the wood, and she'd finally removed it altogether. This hadn't been a problem. She needed the practice tuning out whispers, and those coming from Ralph and from Derric had been easy enough to “un-hear,” as she was starting to call it. Ralph's whispers had been about
enough wood for winter
and
can't remember if there was snow last year
and
Sarah's question's got to be answered
while Derric's had been concerned with his dad, her butt, her boobs—he was
such
a guy—and a coming test in Sports Medicine.

But when Seth and Parker arrived, things changed and the air became thick with thoughts that Becca didn't want to try to un-hear. So she replaced the ear bud and went on working, listening idly to Seth's plans for his new friend Parker . . . until Parker had said he came from Nelson.

It was an oh-my-God moment, and Becca thanked her stars that she didn't blurt out a single word. She did pull the ear bud out of her ear at that point, though, because if Parker Natalia knew
anything
about Nelson that he didn't want to say aloud, she needed to delve through all the whispers to learn what it was.

Unfortunately, mostly what she picked up on was Derric. He'd seen her reaction to hearing Nelson mentioned, and he was worried. He'd assumed her reaction had to do with Parker, who looked like a cross between a male model for Jockey shorts and a movie star.

Derric was ten times the
only
guy for her, and Becca wanted to tell him that. He didn't need to worry, and he would never need to worry. But she couldn't say this to him without revealing to him that she'd heard his thoughts.

When she said she'd tag along into the woods with Seth and Parker, she half expected Derric to protest. But he said nothing and as for what he thought, it was jumbled up with what everyone else was thinking. And she didn't have time to sort through that because Seth and Parker were heading across the lawn to descend to the pond. She hurried after them.

The tree house was an excellent excuse since she'd hidden out there for months. She followed Seth, Parker, and Gus along the trail that wound into the woods, and for the next ten minutes they crunched along a path strewn with alder leaves and the disintegrating pine cones from Douglas firs. Ferns and salal and wild huckleberry bushes grew to the edges of this path along with Oregon grape, elderberry, various creepers, wild grasses, holly, and invasive ivy. The air was sharp with the musty scent of decomposing vegetation.

When they reached the tree house, they paused at the clearing that held it in the interlocking branches of two towering hemlocks. Parker muttered, “Holy hell. Who built this thing,” and Becca was happy to announce that every board of it had been put in place by Seth.

It wasn't a tree house in the tradition of a kids' platform fixed into the trees. Rather it was a tiny house, with a deck in the front, a secure roof over it to keep out the rain, double-paned windows to hold in the heat, and a woodstove inside to provide the necessary warmth. To this had been added a cot for sleeping, a camping stove for cooking, a lantern, and shelf for books.

Becca had to wait while Parker made much of the building and its contents and while Seth schooled him in the use of the stove. She put in two cents about banking the fire at night although they all agreed he wouldn't need to use the stove much for warmth as the weather hadn't turned bad yet and probably wouldn't till late in October.

Becca looked for an opening. She tried to read significance into the whispers she heard. There was nothing there, though. Just stuff about the tree house and music and gratitude and
I'll show them I swear to God
, which seemed to come from Parker.

She knew she might have to wait forever for something to be said that related to Nelson, and she couldn't wait. So she went for it. “Hey, what's Nelson like?” she asked when there was a break in the conversation. There was going to be no way to ease into it. The direct approach seemed best although Seth glanced at her strangely when she asked the question.

Parker smiled, showing straight white teeth. “I dunno,” was his totally unsatisfactory answer. “Just a town, I guess. I grew up there.” He squatted to examine the interior of the stove. It was filled with ashes from Becca's winter stay. It would need to be cleaned to be useful. “It's on a lake,” he added. “It's huge.”

Becca's spirits sank at this. A huge town meant—

“The lake, I mean,” Parker said, closing the stove's door and rising. “Lake Kootenay. It's huge. Nelson itself's pretty small. I mean, it's bigger than Langley, but . . . well, pretty much every place is probably bigger than Langley.”

Seth said, “Yeah. We're putting in for another stop sign, but we'll never make it to a traffic light. Grand says there was a time you could lay down in the middle of First Street at one in the afternoon right in front of the movie theater and not have to worry about anyone coming along to run you over.”

Parker laughed. “We got traffic lights. And maybe ten thousand people. And you lay down in the middle of the street, a logging truck'd probably run over you.”

“Way bigger than here,” Becca acknowledged.

“It's all relative,” Parker said. And then to Seth, “This place'll be great.” And to Becca, “Thanks for sharing the bathroom. I'll stay out of your way much as I can.” And back to Seth, “I totally appreciate it, man. And Triple Threat too.”

Because they will see they all will see and if they don't . . . the girls're gonna go bananas but a permanent fiddler's got to be
told Becca that they were close to being finished entirely with the topic of Nelson, which she couldn't let happen.

“Around here everyone pretty much knows everyone, don't they, Seth?” Becca said.

Seth shot her a look that said “Huh?” as well as if he'd said it aloud.

Becca added, “Is that how it is in Nelson?” to Parker.

“S'pose,” Parker said. He went over to the cot and tested it. He looked out of the window and worked its crank to open and close it. He said, “Amazing,” to Seth. “You got some major talent.”

“I c'n build and play the guitar is all. When it comes to—”

“I got a cousin up there,” Becca said desperately. “Maybe you know her?”

“Maybe,” Parker said. “My family's got a restaurant downtown. It's been there pretty much forever and there're slews of regulars. What's her name?”

“Laurel Armstrong.” Becca knew it was an incredible risk, but she had to take it. Nelson was where her mom had been heading when she'd dropped Becca at the Mukilteo ferry for the ride over to Whidbey Island. But it was long past the time that her mom should have returned to claim her and to whisk her to her new life in British Columbia. Becca added, “Well, she's my mom's cousin really, so she's a lot older than me, like in her forties?”

Parker smiled his dazzling smile. “Then I wouldn't know her 'cause mostly I go for the younger feministas. What's her name again?”

Becca said, “Laurel Armstrong,” although the truth of the matter was that, for all she knew, her mom had adopted another name.

“Never heard of her. Is she—”

Becca cut in. She couldn't let a big deal be made of this. She said and tried to sound cheerful about it, “Oh. I just wondered, is all. Hey, want me to show you where the bathroom is? I mean, in the house. It's next to my bedroom.”

Parker offered that smile again and said, “Sure.”

Becca tried to ignore the look Seth cast in her direction.

• • •

BUT SHE COULDN'T
ignore his whispers on the way back to the house. He was throwing a ball for Gus to seem like someone occupied with his dog but all the time his mind was asking
what's the deal
and
maybe this was a
ve-ry
bad idea
and
I already made my peace with that dude and if Beck hooks up
and on and on. Becca gritted her teeth. Soon enough they were back where they'd started, she'd shown Parker where the downstairs bathroom was, she'd said that she bet Seth's grandpa wouldn't mind if he brought some food inside to keep in the old fridge, and they were all back outside where Derric was still stacking firewood.

She could tell Seth was eager to get Parker out of there. She could tell that Derric was beginning to feel much the same. For his part Ralph Darrow seemed to be taking the temperature of things and finding it not quite what it should be. None of that seemed to matter at the moment, though. Becca was feeling pretty black about the Nelson conversation.

Perhaps Parker saw this. He was saying his goodbyes and talking about getting his stuff and bringing it to the tree house and setting the time for his return when he looked at her and added, “I check in with my parents pretty often. Next time I talk to them I'll ask about your cousin. Laurel Armstrong, right?”

Becca didn't look at anyone except Parker as she said, “That's the name,” as quietly as possible.

But it wasn't good enough. Derric looked her way. So did Ralph Darrow. One of them thought
cousin
and the other
what the hell
and it pretty much didn't matter which was which.