“That was a lot of fun,” Lori said as she watched the children carry their newfound treasure off to their cabins to change clothes and prepare for the day’s next event. Campers and their Family Day visitors were slated to be special guests of honor at the Callahan family’s place on Hummingbird Lake where they’d have the best seats in the house for the annual Eternity Springs fireworks display. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a little girl quite as proud as Ava today. Good job, Chase.”
“Thanks. I was pretty darn proud of her. She was a little ham, wasn’t she?”
“You’ve done a great job with your three little Tadpoles. Did you see how much money Trevor raked in?”
“Kid is destined for Wall Street, I’m telling you. Nicholas didn’t do too bad, either.”
“I just wish that Nicholas’s dad had been able to make it. I know he was a little down about it.”
“His grandparents are very nice, but I know they don’t fill a dad’s shoes.”
Chase turned his head and studied her. “You still have wounds on your heart about growing up without your dad, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “No, a little bit of a scar, maybe, but that’s not a bad thing. After all, scar tissue knits together the wound and makes you whole again.”
“You really are working on filling Celeste’s shoes, aren’t you?”
“No one will ever fill Celeste’s shoes. That said, I’d better get moving or I won’t have time to change into jeans and my sneakers before I toddle along to the Callahans tonight.” She hesitated a moment and tried to tell herself that her pulse didn’t increase when she asked, “Are you planning to come down to the lake for the fireworks?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know that I’m up to running that gauntlet. Everyone in the county will be there.” He licked his lips, then added, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you come up to the yurt for dinner? There’s that spot up the creek that overlooks the lake. You’d see the fireworks from a different perspective.”
If her pulse had raced before, now her heart started pounding.
“I don’t have hot dogs and potato salad,” Chase continued. “I do have a couple of nice steaks I could grill.”
He has wings, Murphy. He will fly away again.
“C’mon, Lori. Help me grow that scar tissue. Say yes.”
“Help you grow scar tissue? I don’t know that anyone’s ever said that to me before.”
“Being with you helps me. You’re my Dr. Glitterbug.”
That one proved irresistible. “Okay. I need to go home first and change my clothes.”
“I can come pick you up.”
“No, don’t do that. I’ll drive up. Do you have everything you need for dinner?”
“Maybe bring up some ice cream?”
“I can do that.” The Taste of Texas Creamery was open today. She’d stop by and get a gallon of peppermint. It had always been his favorite.
She second-guessed herself all the way to town and that’s even before she called her mother to tell her not to expect her to join the family at the Callahans’ that evening. “Do you know what you’re doing?” Sarah asked.
“It’s just dinner, Mom.”
He called me Dr. Glitterbug.
“All right, honey,” Sarah said with a sigh. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
She remembered her mother’s words of caution as she stood before her closet and debated her choice of tops. She’d planned to wear the flag T-shirt and jeans out to Hummingbird Lake. It would be cooler up on the mountain. She should wear a sweater. She should wear her flag T-shirt with a cardigan over it.
Somehow, though, instead of a cotton tee, she left the house dressed in a clingy cashmere V-necked sweater in bright fire-engine red.
Appropriately enough, as she started up out of the valley, the satellite radio station she listened to played Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Dr. Glitterbug, you’re setting yourself up for heartache.
She knew it, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Captain ran out to meet her as she climbed out of the car at the yurt. She spent a couple minutes petting him, cooing at him, and scolding him for jumping.
“He’s going to get dog hair all over that spectacular sweater, Lori.”
“That’s okay.” Maybe you can brush it off later.
She mentally kicked herself. Stop it! Just stop it!
“I’m a vet. I not a stranger to dog hair.”
He smiled at her. “Come on inside. Dinner’s about ready.”
She handed him the bag containing the ice cream and followed him into the yurt. He’d set the table using chargers, napkin rings, and linen napkins. He’d even fashioned a centerpiece out of a Mason jar and red and blue bandanas. His mother’s influence, Lori knew. “The table is festive.”
He lifted his shoulders. “My mom has all kinds of decorating stuff here.”
“It’s definitely the best-equipped yurt I’ve ever seen. Although I think some of Brick’s tents might give it a run for its money. I know your dad showed him this place when Brick was getting started.”
Chase frowned as he poured Lori a glass of wine. “So what’s the deal with him? Are you still dating him?”
“We’re friends. Good friends, but just friends.”
“He’s building a camp of some sort?”
“It’s called glamping—glamorous camping. It’s basically what your folks have done here.”
“Huh. I’ll bet he does pretty well with it. People do like their creature comforts.”
“I know I do.” She took a sip of her wine, then posed a question. “So did Thrillseekers bring in trailers for their stars like they do on movie sets?”
“Not hardly. We were lucky to get Porta Pottis most places.”
“Tell me about your job, Chase. The good parts. Not what happened in Chizickstan.”
For a long moment, she didn’t think he’d answer. Finally, he said, “It was exciting. I got to see parts of the world I’d probably never have visited otherwise. I loved the work. I really loved the work.”
“I haven’t seen you with a camera since you’ve been back.”
Another long pause followed that, and when he finally spoke, he changed the subject. “Tell me some of the good things about being a vet in Eternity Springs.”
She took the hint, and while he cooked the steaks, they talked dogs and cats and cattle, family and free time. Dinner was delicious and Lori enjoyed herself. As they left the yurt to make their way to the overlook where they would watch the fireworks, she thought that Chase was as relaxed as she had seen him since his return.
He’d prepared the spot prior to their arrival by placing a quilt atop a couple of sleeping bags for padding. A red filtered flashlight sat ready for use along with a blanket and a cooler. Chase reached into the cooler and pulled out a couple bottles of water. Handing one of them to her, he said, “We’re early. Fireworks probably won’t start for twenty minutes or so. There are lawn chairs if you’d be more comfortable.”
“No, thanks. This is great.”
And it was. They sat side by side, not touching, but definitely a little closer than the nights she’d joined him on the porch swing. Close enough for her to detect the heat from his body. She’d been right about it being cool up this high and she was glad she’d worn her sweater. Otherwise, she might have snuggled right up against him.
Looking for a distraction, she leaned back on her elbows and gazed up at the sky. As the last glow of light faded in the western sky, stars popped like diamonds shimmering against black velvet. “It’s so beautiful up here. Daytime is great, but there is something about looking at the stars when you are this high and away from the ambient light of town. Up here, I see … dreams.”
“What sort of dreams?”
“I don’t know. Possibilities. New worlds. This world in ages past. I think about Galileo and Carl Sagan having a beer with Han Solo and Chewbacca.”
Chase laughed softly and the sound of it made her heart sing. A month ago, he wouldn’t have done that.
“What do you see when you look at the stars?” she asked.
“From here?”
“Is it different here than from other places?”
“Literally, yes, it’s different here than in other places. For instance, here you don’t see the Southern Cross in the night sky above Eternity Springs. But what I see when I look at the stars … from here and anywhere—everywhere—else I’ve been in the world … I see home.”
“Home? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not a connection I’d ordinarily make.”
“I think it’s because the stars are so distant. No matter where I was on Earth, I was closer to home than I was to the nearest star.”
“Ah…”
Silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable silence not unlike those they shared on her porch swing. Then Chase rolled over onto his side and went up on his elbow. Though the shadows of the night hid his face from view, she tangibly felt his gaze. “I missed home,” he said, his voice a little gruff. “Lori, I missed you.”
And then he leaned down and kissed her.
Her heart turned over. This was coming home. At the touch of his lips to hers, the years melted away. He tasted of peppermint and the past. She forgot the hurts and the heartache, forgot the promises she’d made to herself when she built her walls against him. Memories of young love, first love, came roaring back.
When he ended the kiss and lifted his mouth from hers, Lori said, “Chase, I can’t … I don’t think…”
“Don’t think,” he murmured. “It’s working for me.”
He lowered his head and kissed her again.
The first boom of fireworks echoed across the night. At least, Lori thought it was the sound of fireworks. It could have been the rockets going off in her head.
Chase must have heard them, too, because he chuckled against her lips. “Some things never change. Lori and fireworks. You two just go together.”
“I think maybe it’s best that we watch them instead of make our own.”
“Why?”
“Well, for starters, you were going to marry someone else. Today.”
He rolled onto his back with a sigh. “Lana and I are over. We’ve been over for months. It doesn’t say anything good about me to admit this, but I agreed to the July Fourth wedding date because, at the time, it was easier than sending her away.”
Lori sat up and silently watched the sky above Hummingbird Lake explode with peonies of purple, chrysanthemums of gold, and horsetails of red, white, and blue.
After a time, she said, “When I was doing my practicum someone brought in a hawk with a fractured wing. The avian specialist we had on staff stabilized the wing to allow it to heal. Bird’s bones heal relatively fast, and after a month with our local wildlife rehabber, he was ready to be released. I went over and watched. It was lovely to watch when he unfurled those wings and flew away.”
Chase sat up. “You think I’m going to leave again.”
“You are not going to live in your parents’ yurt forever. You are an adventure photographer. It’s not just your job. It’s your calling. You can’t make a living as an adventure photographer in Eternity Springs.”
He didn’t protest, and as the minutes dragged by, Lori’s heart sank. You knew it. Better to do this now before you get in any deeper.
Deeper? Ha. Like that could happen. She’d taken the dive in high school and she’d never made her way back to the surface. She’d been swimming on the bottom alongside little Ava’s galleon for years now.
Below them, the grand finale of the fireworks show filled the sky with explosions one on top of the other. When the booms and whees and cracks faded and the faint sound of cheering reached their ears, Chase said, “You are right. I won’t stay in my parents’ yurt forever, but neither will I go back to my job. I need to find something else to do.”
“I get not wanting to work with your ex, but Chase, you’re incredibly talented behind the lens. I’m sure you could get another job in a heartbeat.”
“You don’t understand. This isn’t because of Lana. I don’t want to, I’m done with photography.”
“I don’t understand. Why say that?”
“This has been a great evening and it’s not a pretty story. Let’s save that for another day.”
“But you will tell me?”
“If I ever tell anyone, it will be you, Lori. It will be you.”
* * *
In the days and weeks following the Fourth of July holiday, Chase knew a lightening of spirit that added a spring to his step, put a smile on his face, and brought his appetite roaring back. He thrilled his mother by regularly stopping by the house for supper and delighted his father, who was nursing a strained hamstring, by volunteering to sub for him at the weekly softball game. He even managed a hit off ace pitcher Brick Callahan that earned him a free beer at Murphy’s courtesy of Coach Rafferty following the game.
That his father’s slot was in center field playing behind Lori’s second base was a bonus. The woman looked really fine bending over in tight white baseball pants.
Lori’s visits to the Rocking L for the work with Nicholas continued to be the highlight of his day, while more evenings than not had him headed for her porch swing. After dark, he always managed to steal a few kisses.
He wasn’t sure where their relationship was going. Lori was as skittish as a yearling filly, and he couldn’t blame her. What intelligent woman would want to hitch her wagon to a head case like him? However, he also recognized that Eternity Springs was working its mojo. He knew he’d never entirely get over the events in Chizickstan, but he was beginning to put them behind him. He’d even made an appointment to speak with a counselor in Gunnison during the weeklong break between the first and second sessions of camp at the Rocking L.
Tomorrow was the last day of Session One. With Nicholas’s father due to arrive to pick up his son, Lori and Nicholas had planned a special event. Tomorrow, she was bringing one last new dog to camp. Chase could only hope that it didn’t prove to be a disaster.
Chase woke up early, so he stopped by his parents’ place and wheedled waffles out of his mother on the way to camp. He arrived at the Rocking L with a full stomach and a light step. The morning was reserved for awards and he had a stack of certificates to pass out. Then, after lunch and a little ceremonial sing-along, parents, friends, and guardians were slated to pick up their children and take them home.
Chase had volunteered to oversee the departure of his Tadpoles. Ava’s father and mother arrived first and the girl started talking from the moment she saw them and didn’t stop. Trevor’s parents showed up about midway through the designated two-hour window for departure, but Trevor was in no hurry to leave so it took them over half an hour to get loaded up and away.
Time dragged by as Nicholas watched the clock. At quarter of two, the boy murmured just above a whisper, “He’s doing it again. He’s not coming again. He always breaks his promises.”
Chase and Lori shared looks of concern. She held a leash in her hand and Mortimer sat quietly at her side. Two o’clock came and went and Nicholas suddenly started to cry. Big, racking sobs that involved his whole body. Lori stepped forward. “Oh, Nicholas.”
“I’ll go check at the office. Maybe they can give him a call.”
Chase marched toward the admin building with anger fueling every step. If he happened to run into Jax Lancaster at this particular moment, he’d whip his ass.
He strode into the admin building and saw … Jax Lancaster. At least, he guessed this man was Jax Lancaster. He looked just like the photograph in Nicholas’s file. Lancaster knelt on one knee beside Trevor. Both man and boy were covered in blood. Words burst from Chase’s mouth. “What the hell happened?”
“I was whittling a stick and my knife slipped, Mr. Chase. We hadn’t gone far so my dad turned around to get help. Nicholas’s dad gave me stitches!”
“Where did you get a knife?”
Trevor hung his head and didn’t speak. Suddenly, Chase got a bad feeling. “Trevor?”
“I wanted a souvenir.”
At that moment, Trevor’s parents exited the office with Alisha Cummins. Alisha held a folding knife in her hand—one that Chase recognized in an instant. “You went through my pack?”
Trevor’s dad grimaced and said, “He’s in so much trouble. He’ll be disciplined severely. In our family we don’t lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. Son, apologize to the man.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chase. It’s just … I love you and I wanted something to remember you by.”
The kid was a real piece of work. “Trevor, I will never forget you.”
Alisha spoke up. “Mr. Lancaster, there’s a restroom off my office in which you can wash up. And since your shirt is stained, you are welcome to change into one of the camp T-shirts.”
“Thank you,” Lancaster said, stepping toward the office. “I’m anxious to see Nicholas.”
When he returned a few moments later, Trevor’s mother said, “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your help. I’m afraid I just panicked when I saw the blood.”
Chase could relate.
“You kept such a cool head,” Trevor’s father added.
“Training kicked in. I was glad to help. Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to find my son.”
“I’ll take you to him,” Chase volunteered, as he tried to recall what sort of training Nicholas’s dad would have had. “Are you a doctor?”
“I’m Navy. We learn lots of useful things.”
Oh, yeah. Now Chase remembered. So much of the boy’s file had to do with the incident with his mother, facts about the father hadn’t made a huge impression with him. “I’m Chase Timberlake, by the way. I gave Nicholas swimming lessons.”
“How did he do?”
“Great. He has the basics mastered. He needs to have the opportunity to use the skills he’s learned.”
“I’ll see that he does. His mother didn’t like the water, but I want more for Nicholas.”
“Swimming isn’t the only skill he’s worked on. Your son has the heart of a lion, Mr. Lancaster. He’s been working on conquering another fear, and he has a surprise prepared to show you. I don’t want to ruin it for him, but it doesn’t hurt to give you a heads-up. You’ll want to react with appropriate encouragement.”
Lancaster’s brow furrowed and he gave a hesitant, “O-kay.”
“Also, when you were late arriving, he thought you weren’t coming to get him. He’s pretty upset.”
Lancaster muttered a curse beneath his breath. “I was afraid of that.”
“Why don’t you hang back about five minutes and give me a chance to explain things. It’ll make a difference. His cabin is along this trail about three minutes ahead.”
Lancaster halted and checked his watch. “Okay.”
Chase picked up his pace and returned to find Lori sitting beside Nicholas on his bunk, stroking his head like he’d seen her do innumerable times before with an animal of one sort or another. For the first time in a long time—since he quit carrying the ring he’d intended to give her in his pocket—he pictured her as a mother. To my child.
Whoa. Getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren’t you, Timberlake?
He cleared his throat. “Good news, Nicholas. Your dad is here. He wasn’t even late.” He gave them a brief rundown of Trevor’s shenanigans and how Jax Lancaster had stepped in to save the day.
“That boy,” Lori said with a groan.
Nicholas lifted watery eyes filled with hope toward Chase. “He’s here? Dad’s really here?”
“Yep. On his way right now. If you and Miss Lori are going to do your thing, better get ready.”
“He’s here. He came.” Nicholas blew out a heavy breath, swiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and scrambled off his bunk. “Miss Lori?”
“Are you ready, Nicholas? You have this, don’t you?”
“Yes. Yes. I can do this.”
“All right, then. I’ll go get my part of this show and meet you outside in five.”
“Okay.”
Chase and Nicholas exited the cabin just as Jax Lancaster emerged from the trees. If Chase expected father and son to go running toward each other, arms extended and joyful greetings spilling from their lips, he was sadly mistaken.
Nicholas shoved his hands into his pants pockets as he walked toward his father. Damned if the dad didn’t mimic the gesture. His smile looked forced, too. “Hello, son.”
Nicholas shrugged. “Hey, Dad.”
“I think you’ve grown a foot since I saw you last.”
“You haven’t seen me for a long time, but I’ve only grown two inches this year.”
“It’s been eighty-two days.” Lancaster briefly closed his eyes, then checked his watch. “Six hours and about twenty minutes. I’ve missed you, son. Is it okay if I give you a hug?”
Nicholas shrugged, but Chase didn’t miss the yearning on the faces of both Lancasters when the father wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders.
The movement Chase spied along the side of the cabin would be a welcome distraction for them both. “Nicholas, Dr. Murphy is here.”
The boy wiggled away from his father and turned to face Lori. “Oh, wow.”
“What in the world is that?” Ross Lancaster asked.
Chase couldn’t help but grin. Mortimer could easily star in one of those ugly-dog videos on the Internet.
“That’s Mortimer,” Nicholas said, his voice a little wobbly. “Dr. Murphy warned me he was scary looking. Dr. Murphy is the vet, Dad.”
Lancaster’s gaze flicked toward Chase’s. With a look, he asked, Is this the surprise?
Chase nodded and sent up a little silent prayer that this went as well as the rest of the introductions she’d made during the past few weeks. Though the Boston terrier had slowed down since Cam Murphy rescued him from threatened euthanasia his first summer in town, the dog still had plenty of spunk left in him—as evidenced by the fact that Lori mentioned he’d escaped the Murphys’ backyard the previous day and chewed up a water sprinkler before Sarah chased him down. The years hadn’t improved his looks, either. Mortimer had two different-color eyes that bugged out, more scars than Frankenstein, and an underbite that made dentists see dollar signs.
“That is one frightening dog,” Lancaster agreed.
Nicholas said, “I haven’t met him before.”
“Okay.”
Nicholas exhaled heavily, squared his shoulders, and started walking toward Lori.
“Dogs?” His father asked softly. “This surprise involves dogs?”
“Yep.”
“He’s deathly afraid of dogs!”
“Yeah, you probably should have mentioned that in his file. Nevertheless, look at what he’s accomplished in his time at the Rocking L.”
The next few minutes were even more rewarding than those when Ava put on her July Fourth treasure-diving show. The look on Jax Lancaster’s face when he watched Nicholas follow Lori’s instructions and extend a hand to the Devil Dog to sniff made Chase want to give Lori a high five. And the fact that the tall, tough naval officer blinked away tears from his eyes when Nicholas actually laughed while giving Mortimer a treat made Chase feel like a million dollars. As father, son, vet, and monster dog interacted, Chase’s thoughts drifted back over the past few weeks. His father had done him a favor when he sent him to the Rocking L. Working with these kids had been a great experience. He was sorry it was over.
Although, he didn’t guess it had to be over. Another, shorter session started week after next.
The sound of Nicholas’s unbridled laughter distracted Chase from his thoughts and had him doing a double take. “Who took Mortimer off his leash?”
“I did!” Nicholas said, giggling.
“Wow. Just wow.”
Jax Lancaster wore a huge smile as he sauntered back toward Chase. He handed him his phone, saying, “Do me a favor? Would you take our picture, please?”
Chase stood frozen, staring down at the phone in his palm. It was open to the camera app. He broke out in a cold sweat. His hand started to shake.
“Sorry. No. I’ve got to go.” He shoved the phone back at Nicholas’s dad and fled.
Chased by the hounds of his own personal hell.
And Lori calling his name.