Page 82 of Someone to Tempt
“I’ll take your word for it. Although it might be fun to implement a naked honey-do list rule,” I say.
He shudders. “Hell, no. Naked and tools are not a fun combination.”
The road conditions worsen as the truck climbs higher along the winding mountain road. There are potholes the size of the Oklahoma panhandle littering the dirt track, and we come across a few fallen branches. Twice we have to stop and clear limbs out of our way. But at last, the lake comes into view, and my breath catches in my throat.
“This is amazing.”
The water ripples in the sunlight, cradled on the opposite shore by rugged peaks that burn with the gold of shimmering aspen groves. The scent of pine fills the crisp air, and I can see where the camp structures must have been. Now there’s just wild grass and trees all around us.
“Mike and I used to love it here,” he says and pulls to a stop near the edge of the gravel drive. “We’d dive off the end of the dock and race each other to the other side.”
“Why hasn’t your grandfather done anything with it?”
“Mike’s accident hit him hard.” He looks over at me. “Grandpa was the one who introduced us to midnight boating expeditions. We’d take headlamps and paddle out under the full moon’s light with the sound of the dark forest all around us. It was exciting and dangerous, but my brother and I were dumb enough to think we could recreate that on our own.”
He gets out of the car, and I follow him toward the path that curves up a nearby hillside. The air is cooler up here and I pull my fleece jacket tighter. “Are you okay?”
He pauses, frowning as he studies the lake. “The night Mike died was totally different than boating with Grandpa. We should have known a storm was coming. You could smell rain in the air, and the clouds were so thick the water was pitch black even though it was a full moon. We’d been drinking, of course, and then the rain started, making visibility almost nonexistent.”
“Jake, you don’t have to tell me this,” I say, stepping closer.
He shakes his head. “I want, or maybe I need, to say it out loud. No one in my family talks about him, or that night.”
My heart twists at the vulnerability in his voice. I brush my hand against his arm, wanting to give him whatever space he needs, but also letting him know I’m here.
“We’d been arguing. He was enrolled in Harvard for fall semester, even though he’d been accepted at Stanford, his dream school. But my dad wanted his firstborn to be a Harvard man.”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” I murmur.
He barks out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, well, Mikey also had no desire to major in finance like my dad expected. He pretended like he was resigned to the future, but he was so angry and unhappy.”
“It’s hard to see someone you love struggling like that.”
“I wouldn’t let up, pressuring him to do what he wanted to do, be the person he wanted to be.” He drags in a ragged breath. “He jumped in the water to get away from me.”
His words hit me like I’m the one taking the plunge into that icy darkness. “Oh, Jake.”
“We weren’t far off shore, and he was plenty capable of swimming that distance. At first I was pissed because it meant I’d be steering the boat back on my own in the darkness. Then the rain picked up, and the lightning and thunder started. I knew something was wrong. I called for him and shined the flashlight all over the water’s surface, but it was impossible to see anything. I had to trust that he’d make it back.”
“Only he didn’t.”
“I didn’t realize we’d floated into a shallow area.” His voice is low and a little rough. “He hit his head on a rock. They said he died instantly.”
“There was no way you could have known,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around him and pressing myself against his side.
“I know,” he whispers and turns to face me.
I glance up, but the shadows that have haunted his eyes since that summer aren’t there.
“I finally get that it wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t my dad’s fault, either, even though I wasted a lot of time blaming him. What happened to Mike was an accident—a tragedy. But I’ll do more to honor his memory by letting go of my guilt and anger than I have by holding onto them like a lifeline. You showed me that, Iris.”
He places a kiss on the top of my head, then takes my hand as we continue up the path. “You’ve dealt with a lot of shit, but you keep moving forward and trying to do better. Maybe I’ve taught you a few things about fun, but you’ve taught me about the value of having peace in my life.”
“Peace and fun. I like that combination.”
“I want to show you a different kind of fun. Something I used to love that I don’t want to be off-limits anymore.”
“Are you sure?”
