Down the Hidden Path (20 page)

The smolder lit, blazing a fresh fire in his gaze. She watched the thought play out in his mind.

“But, Miah. David. He’s the most important thing right now and we’re—”

“We’re making progress with him. He’s doing great. He’s had his first week of school and is thriving.”

Relief flooded her. He understood. “He has to be our focus right now.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I agree.” Then Miah surprised her. He pulled her into a hug and held her against him for a long time. “I don’t have to like it, though. I really enjoy you being here.”

She squeezed her eyes shut because she enjoyed being there, too, but they couldn’t play house and not have repercussions later.

He cupped his hands around her face. “I’ll miss you, sunshine.”

She half smiled. “Not sunshine—Gray.”

“Not to me. Not anymore. You’re more like sunshine.” He tilted down and gently pressed a kiss to her lips.

Soft. Cold from the chill outside. Moist. Lips that could search out every secret place on her body and feel new at each brush and at the same time feel as familiar as her favorite quilt she kept on her bed. They were comfort. They were home.

It took every ounce of fortitude she had to get in the car and drive away. Before she even made it to the main road, her cheeks were wet with tears. “Take good care of my baby,” she whispered as she cast a glance at the lodge behind her. Before her, a cold, empty house waited.

The lodge was growing on him, but David hadn’t attempted another ride on the snowmobile. The best part of his day was seeing Stacey, but he also liked it when Gray burned the vegetables and Miah laughed at her and told her not to worry, there was plenty of meat. Who needed vegetables, anyway? Not him. He didn’t mind carrying firewood into the lodge, and Miah had taught him how to build an awesome fire, how to stack the wood just so, and he’d told Miah the science behind oxygen and flame. Caleb was a jerk sometimes, pointing out things when David did them wrong, but other than that, the lodge was pretty cool. But he missed Gray being there late at night. He’d gotten used to her sticking her head in his room to say good night after they’d all watched the news. At least she was still there in the mornings to work with Caleb, so he got to see her before he left for school, and she still usually stayed for dinner, but no more sleeping over.

David watched Jeremiah’s fishing line sail out over the water in a perfect arc. The chubby worm disappeared beneath the surface. On the dock beside him sat a tackle box and Styrofoam containers of worms. There was still a lot of snow on the ground, but they’d shoveled most of it off the pier a few days earlier. The sun was shining today, making it feel warmer.

“You sure you don’t want to drop a line in? The fish are biting.”

David focused on the goal. He needed to ask Jeremiah about the fund-raiser. “No, thanks. So, Ms. Forrester told me you were all gung ho—her word, not mine—to help out at the school.”

“It’s hooray, not gung ho.” Miah winked at him. “And yeah, I’m all in.”

“So, there’s this fund-raiser.” David sat down beside Jeremiah on the dock where his feet could dangle a couple feet above the water. There, in a reflection below them was an image of him . . . and his birth dad. The image made him smile.

Miah reeled. “She mentioned it when we went in to talk to her.”

“Will you do it?”

He reached over and ruffled David’s hair. David scowled and pulled away, but secretly, he liked it.

“Great. I’ll put you down as my pledge.”

Miah stopped reeling. “What’s that mean?”

“Well, everyone at the school has to get an adult to be their pledge, then you’ll have to be present at the fund-raiser and . . . you know . . . do what they tell you to earn the pledge money.”

“Like a race or something? Like when you pledge to give so much money and the person has to run a marathon?”

“Yes. Something like that.”

“No problem.”

That was easier than David had figured. “Great! One down,” he mumbled.

“What’d you say, champ?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” He stood from the dock. “Do you mind if I go find Gray? I need to ask her about the fund-raiser, too.”

David left Jeremiah fishing. He sneaked around the edge of the house to find Stacey waiting for him. “How’d it go?” she whispered, though there was no one in earshot.

“Good.” He looked from side to side—just to make sure. “He didn’t suspect anything. Come on, let’s go find Gray.”

They rounded the corner to find Gray and Caleb sitting on the side of the indoor pool. The walls of the new pool house were glass or Plexiglas or something.

“Hey there,” Gray yelled through the wall and waved them in.

Stacey’s eyes widened. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t know anyone with an indoor pool at their house.” David held the door open for her and they stepped inside. The air was wet and the room smelled like chlorine.

Caleb rested his foot on the edge. “The water is still chilly, but we’re supposed to be able to get in today.”

David turned to Stacey. “When it warms up more, maybe you can come over and try it out.”

Stacey clasped her hands together. “That’d be great. I haven’t been swimming since the lake started getting colder.”

Caleb frowned. “This isn’t going to become some juvenile hangout, David. So don’t get your hopes up.”

Gray gave Caleb a dirty look.

David squared his stance. “Since it’s
my birth dad
who owns the pool, I guess he’ll be the one to decide that.”

Caleb chuckled and gave a reluctant nod.

Gray smiled at David, and he almost felt bad for what they were doing, but the sensation faded quickly. “You know about the fund-raiser, Gray?” he asked, sinking his hands in his pockets because he’d decided men looked more intelligent when they frowned a little and their hands were in their pockets.

“Yes.”

David fidgeted. “Well, Stacey needs an adult to be her pledge for the fund-raiser. Would you do it?”

He saw the questions across her features and hoped she wouldn’t ask why Stacey’s parents weren’t doing it. “Um, yes. Sure. What will you need me to do?”

This was the part they’d practiced. Stacey was up. She stepped forward and an angelic smile lit her face. “It’s really easy for the pledges. You just show up the night of the banquet. All the work is up to us. David and I are going to start collecting pledge money around town.” And then her smile broadened and her green eyes blinked and David chewed the inside of his cheek.

“Anything you need from me, David. You know that.”

I’m counting on it.

The two left Gray and Caleb at the edge of the pool. “Thanks,” David hollered over his shoulder.

“Need me to help?” Caleb asked. “I’d be glad to come and
babysit
your little friends.”

David turned to face him, choosing to ignore the insult. “Nope. Don’t need you at all.”

And then they left and gave each other a high five once they were around the corner of the house, where the Plexiglas wouldn’t give away their excitement.

When he’d walked Stacey back to her house, she stopped on her front porch. “You don’t think your birth mom and dad will be mad, do you?”

Stacey called them his birth parents because he called them his birth parents. And that made his heart proud because it mattered to her what he thought and what he wanted. “Nah.” He kicked at a clump of dirt and snow. “They’ll be cool.”

He hoped he was right.

Gray sighed. This animosity between Caleb and David really needed to come to an end. On the one hand, Caleb was her patient, and she understood that with traumatic brain injuries, there were often little lapses in judgment . . . things like picking on a twelve-year-old when you’re twenty-five. On the other hand, David was her son and she did tend to have momma-bear syndrome where he was concerned.
It’ll get better,
she told herself.
They’ll find a balance.

She had to admit David was learning to stick up for himself. He didn’t let Caleb bully him, he was quick with the retorts . . . a la
Nope, don’t need you at all
. Angela would have gotten onto him for that little remark, but Gray let it slide because it showed some backbone, some grit. He wasn’t going to let a big soldier push him around. And if he wasn’t going to let Caleb push him around, he certainly wouldn’t let someone at school.

This was why it was good to have older siblings, she realized. She was an only child. David was an only child. No one to prepare you for the world out there. Well, she didn’t like the way Caleb wouldn’t cut David any slack, but she also wouldn’t interfere with it. Growing pains came in all shapes and sizes.

Her feet dangled in the water, but it was still too cold, so Gray stood up. She was in shorts and a T-shirt, but Caleb had changed into his swim trunks at the mention of water possibly, maybe, not likely, but
possibly
being warm enough for swimming.

“Let’s let the heater work its magic for one more night before we dive in. It’s still freezing.”

“Do whatever you want, Powder Puff, but I’m going swimming.” He stood, pulled off his shirt, took a couple steps back, and cannonballed in.

Icy water splashed up onto her legs and arms.

Caleb came up sputtering, arms flailing.

“Nice try, soldier.” Water went in arcs around his wide shoulders, his feet were kicking frantically, and in a rushed moment Gray caught on to what was happening. The look of horror on his face snapped her into motion. Caleb was drowning. His head went under.

“Caleb!” she screamed and dived in, trying to come up beside him. His thigh connected with her head, causing it to whip to one side, but she ignored the pain, groping to get a grip on him before he went under again. He reached for the side of the pool, but was too far in the center. Gray came up out of the water and threw her arm over his wide shoulder. She’d had lifeguard training in high school, but they never used a tank as a victim. Her whole lifeguarding career she’d spent pulling kids out, not bulls. Her hand slipped off him and his head ducked under. She altered her grip, knowing her nails were likely digging into the meaty part of his triceps muscle. With him in position, locked beneath her arm, she swam toward the side of the pool. It was twelve feet deep at its core and that was more than enough to drown in. Even as she got him to the edge and he started to calm, coughing out all the water he’d inhaled, Gray knew this had been a close call. What if he’d jumped in when no one was around?

Her hands came around him in a hug and for a long time, she held him right there.

An hour later, Jeremiah brought her a steaming cup of hot cocoa. She sipped it and scooted a little closer to the fire. She was chilled to the bone and no amount of heat was going to correct that. They were calling for snow again, and Gray was still too rattled about Caleb to drive home. Miah had suggested she go ahead and spend the night. She’d agreed.

“What do you think happened?” Miah sat down on the area rug beside her, his foot catching on the handmade quilt he’d tucked around her shoulders.

“I’ve been asking myself that for an hour. Miah, this is Caleb. He could swim circles around the whole swim team.”