Page 3 of Two Hearts' Accidental Heroes

They all remained quiet during the next half hour as they straightened the kitchen. It would be light for at least a couple more hours, so Rick decided he needed to get away from the house since Dad had gone upstairs to his room, apparently wanting to be alone for a while.

Rick looked at the kitchen clock, turning to Brian. “I’ll be back in a couple hours or so. I think I’ll take a quick ride to the beach and hang out for a while with some friends.”

“Sure,” Brian answered, punching him lightly on the arm. “I might get out of here for a while myself.”

“Until Dad’s ready to talk, there’s not much we can do,” Eric agreed. “I’m supposed to give Anya a call. She was only scheduled until six tonight at Sander’s Floral.”

“What about you, Eric? What hours are you working during the next few days?” Brian asked.

“I’m not on the schedule again until Tuesday morning,” Eric replied.

Eric worked at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn Café, bussing tables, washing dishes and even filling in sometimes as a cook.

“Let’s all be home by ten,” Brian said. “I’ve got to go to work early in the morning anyway.”

Both Rick and Eric nodded their agreement.

During the summer, Brian was a lifeguard at the beach at Dragonfly Pointe, where Rick was heading now. The concessions would be open until ten and a lot of his friends would be hanging around. Come to think of it, there was an outdoor concert tonight at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, featuring Brian’s friend’s band, Blue Moon. The ride back and forth to the beach on his bike would give Rick some time to think.

Another twenty minutes later, Rick was coasting down the hill leading to Beach Road on his mountain bike. Soon, he’d have his license, but unless Rick and his brothers could afford to split the cost of a fourth vehicle, the three of them would all have to share the spare truck, which might be hard since Brian would need to drive to attend school at the junior college during the fall since it was outside of town. Dad was covering the insurance, and that was more than enough. There was always the school bus, but since everyone played sports or had a job, it was hard to keep any kind of schedule when it came to using the truck. When baseball season was over, Rick would ride his bike back and forth to Dragonfly Pointe for the job he had waiting at the beach concessions.

He could hear the music as soon as he approached the Inn. But instead of parking there, he decided to leave his bike locked up at the park beside the beach and make his way along the path below the cliff that led to the Inn. Rick wasn’t ready to face his friends right now. He just needed a place to think. There was a spot along the shoreline where he could sit and listen to the music and go for a quick swim. The gazebo where the band was performing was located high above the lake.

It was a warm night, so there was a long line at the concession stand. Ice cream sounded good, but when he returned to pick up his bike, he’d grab something then, he decided, wrapping the rope lock for his bike around the trunk of a pine near the park so it was close to the path.

Since he was wearing his swimming trunks with a t-shirt, and had a towel in his backpack, Rick had everything he needed, making his way along the path past the park and climbing down over a low rocky outcrop toward the trail.

The brush was overgrown, so Rick had to shove his way through a lot of tangled branches to follow the trail. He couldn’t blame the owners of the Inn for foregoing the maintenance since the cliffside was dangerous to those who weren’t experienced hikers. There had been trouble here off and on through the years and there were plenty of other places to hike around the Inn as well as along this lake and the other three that connected.

It was a perfect evening weather-wise, and Rick nearly forgot for a moment about the tense situation waiting at home. The eerie light radiating from the setting sun danced across the lake like fire as he made his way down the path to approach the water’s edge.

When he reached the rocky outcrop of the landing where he usually liked to hang out when he wanted to be alone, Rick was surprised to see a familiar purse, heels and black leather skirt piled in a heap a few feet away from the path near the water.

He stilled, his eyes darting quickly across the lake, until he saw a head pop up from beneath the water.

Inwardly, Rick sighed with relief. She’d shown a sense of desperation earlier today that had scared him. He didn’t know her well enough to know whether she would consider taking her own life or not, but maybe it would be good to talk with her again tonight to see if he felt any different than he had this afternoon.

Rather than go in for a swim, Rick sat and waited for Shanna to notice that he was there while listening to the music echoing through the air.

Shanna stood, slowly approaching him through the shallow water. All he could make out in the blinding sun was an outline of her body, and what struck him was how thin she was. Pulling his towel from his backpack, he stood, handing it over when she reached the water’s edge.

And then Rick paused, catching a glimpse of the dark bruises covering her arms and wrists.

Obviously noticing the direction of his gaze, Shanna appeared to be daring him to say something before she accepted the towel, clumsily wrapping it around her body. It wasn’t because she was trying to hide anything, She just seemed to be having trouble moving.

“What happened since I saw you earlier?” he asked gruffly.

“Nothing. I took a fall down the bank when I was hiking over here to swim, barefoot.” She lifted her chin, looking defiant.

She obviously wasn’t going to answer more questions.

“I just want to sit and listen for a while,” she muttered. “That’s why I’m here. I love Noah’s music. The band has sure gotten good.”

“You know Noah?” he asked, curious. Noah was probably three or four years older than Shanna.

She nodded. “He’s a friend. He’s given me a ride home on his bike a time or two.”

By bike, she meant Harley, although Noah wasn’t really the badass that everyone thought he was. He lived with his grandparents, and Rick was willing to bet that the money he earned performing was used to help support them. Noah’s grandfather was a disabled veteran who’d lost his leg.

---