Complete Pelican Lake Series

Chapter 2

Jared eased his battered, aging truck over the rough road. Road was being generous. The narrow track was barely more than a trail. He wondered if he should have it graded then realized if he left it the way it was, it would help discourage visitors he didn"t want to bother with. At the thought of visitors, Ashley popped into his mind. Something about her was hard to forget. Sure, she was pretty, but he"d known prettier. Jared pushed her out of his mind again as the cabin he"d been loaned for the summer came into sight.

He parked and slid out of the driver"s seat and stretched a moment. The road from the small store hadn"t taken more than fifteen minutes, but the drive up from Phoenix had been more than two hours, and he was still a bit stiff. The cabin was better looking than he expected, given the condition of the road.

Grabbing his ruck sack from the rear seat, Jared looped it over one shoulder and went to see what the inside looked like. He dug the key his buddy, Brandt, had given him a few days before and unlocked the door.

Inside, he was surprised to find the cabin was much more like a home than the rustic cabin he"d imagined. Jared dropped his bag on the sofa and picked up the phone on the end table. He was only half surprised to hear a dial town. He wondered if maybe there was internet service too and made a mental note to call Brandt and ask.

Moving into the kitchen, he checked the fridge and cabinets to get an idea of what he would need to pick up. Continuing through the rest of the house, he made a much shorter shopping list than he"d anticipated. He hadn"t expected the house to be nearly as well stocked or well kept, and he suspected Brandt had someone come in and prepare the place for him. There was only a fine layer of dust, not the thick layer he"d expected from the months of disuse Brandt had told him the cabin had seen.

Jared had expected to need to clean and stock up on everything before he could settle in and get started. His therapist had suggested he write about his experiences, even if he never planned on anyone seeing it, to get it all out. He said it would help him organize the things he couldn"t remember all the details of, to see them from a different perspective.

He wasn"t sure it would work, but he was willing to give it a try, plus, time away from the real world sounded great. He was tired of the constant hum of the world around him and needed to take a break where the only schedule was one he gave himself.

Jared carried in his duffel and unpacked, using the empty dresser and closet in the master bedroom for himself. Why not? He was the only one here, and Brandt had told him to make himself at home. Once he"d finished, he fixed himself something to eat and took it out on the back porch. He sat in one of the deck chairs and gazed out onto the peaceful surface of Pelican Lake. He hadn"t expected to be so close to the water. The porch was more of a large, partially covered deck that extended about fifty feet before narrowing to walkway out to the small dock. The breeze off the water was nice, and Jared enjoyed the view as the sun set, sending rays of pinks and blues across the sky.

For some reason, the show of colors made him think of Ashley. He didn"t know why, but he wondered where she was and what she was doing. It might be nice to watch a sunset with her.

It had been a couple hours when a yawn made him realize how long he"d been sitting there. He pushed himself to his feet and carefully made his way inside with one not-quite-steady leg. Sometimes when he was still for a while, his bad knee stiffened and became difficult to move. Sometimes, like now, it became unsteady, and sometimes, it gave out and dropped him. He hated when it did that in public. Privately, he could handle it a little better, at least there was no one around to witness his humiliation.

Inside, he hobbled into the bedroom and looked around. A hot shower sounded like heaven. It would help his knee, too. He headed into the attached bathroom he"d just peeked into earlier and found it to be nearly as large as the bedroom, with a big jacuzzi tub around the corner and out of sight from the door as well as a large, walk-in shower. He quickly discarded the idea of a shower and turned on the water in the tub to let it fill. This would be even better.