15 Summers Later

Chapter 36

With the weight of the past lifted, we face the future unburdened, ready to embrace the limitless possibilities that await two sisters who refused to be defined by the chains that once bound them.

—Ghost Lake by Ava Howell Brooks

When she awoke, sun was streaming through the lacy curtains of the guest room. Mo, who had slept on the floor beside her, now stood by the guest room bed, nudging her hand and urging her to wake up so she could let him outside into the yard.

Madi was so tired, she wanted to stay here all day, but knew she couldn’t. She had things to do at the animal rescue and her own dogs needed care.

The house was quiet. Nicki had left for work, she saw by the empty coffee mug in the kitchen sink.

She let Mo outside and was trying to figure out how to sneak into her bedroom to get Mabel when the door opened and Ava walked out behind the smaller dog.

They gazed at each other, then Mabel broke the silence by trotting over to Madi, whose hand was still on the door.

She opened it for her and Mabel scampered out to find her buddy, Mo.

“Hi,” Madi said, then fell silent, not knowing what else to say.

“Hi.”

Ava mustered a smile, which broke Madi’s heart all over again. She remembered the beautiful words her sister had written and especially how Ava had described her.

Not as weak, damaged. Someone to be protected.

But as a warrior who had given Ava strength when she needed it.

“Cullen says you went up to Ghost Lake in the middle of a rainstorm to bring him back down. Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed him here until I woke up and found him.”

“I’m glad it helped. I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

“Do you remember what Mom always used to say? When you don’t know what to do, just do the next right thing.”

Madi felt a pang of loss for their wise mother, who had held them all together.

“Bringing Cullen here,” Ava went on. “That was the next right thing. He was exactly what I needed so that we can...can start the grieving process together.”

Madi moved to her sister and hugged her, thinking Ava felt fragile in her arms. She wasn’t, though. She was fierce and strong and amazing.

“Where is he? He didn’t go back, did he?”

“No. He’s in the shower right now. He’s going to drive me in my car to Grandma’s house and we’ll stay there together for a couple of days. When I’m feeling a little better, after I’ve seen my doctor here, I thought I would go up to the dinosaur camp with him for a few weeks.”

She stared. “To Ghost Lake? Really?”

Ava shrugged. “It’s only a place, right? Someone I love told me that. Once, some terrible things happened there. Despite that, it’s still a beautiful place. I decided I need some happy memories to replace the dark ones.”

“I read the book last night.” She hadn’t intended to blurt the words out like that but now they hovered between them.

Ava stared. “You... When?”

“After Luke brought us back here. I couldn’t sleep. My mind was whirling too fast from everything, so I picked up Nicki’s copy. And then I couldn’t stop reading.”

Ava looked nervous, suddenly. She swallowed and looked down at her hands. Madi touched her arm.

“It’s a beautiful book, Ava. Everyone is right. You’ve written a gripping, compelling story about the terrible things that happened to us. It should have been awful, reliving it all again but...it wasn’t. I laughed a dozen times. And cried more than a few. I’m so proud of you, Ava.”

Her sister looked stunned at the praise, and Madi felt guilty all over again for being so negative and whiny all summer about her sister’s book.

“Thank you for writing it—and not only because the Emerald Creek Animal Rescue was the biggest beneficiary. It’s a story that needed to be told. And it needed to be told by you.”

Ava gazed at her for a long moment, then sniffled and gave a half laugh at the same time. “I thought I didn’t have any more tears left.”

“If you really want a good cry, I’ve got this great book you should read,” Madi said.

Ava gave a watery smile, resting her head on Madi’s shoulder until the dogs yelped at the door to be let in for their breakfast.

Madi knew their relationship wouldn’t heal overnight, but she still felt as if a huge deadweight had been lifted away from her heart.

She had her sister back. Together, the two of them had endured things that would have broken others. Despite it all, they had emerged stronger than ever.

Ava had suffered a terrible loss but Madi knew she would get through it. She had Cullen and Leona and Madi to help her.

After Ava and Cullen left, Madi was sorely tempted to climb back into the guest room bed in the quiet house, cuddle Mo and Mabel against her, and sleep the rest of the day away.

Unfortunately, the shelter animals needed care, regardless of her shortsighted decision to read all night long. She couldn’t take the day off simply because she felt like it.

She showered again and dressed in her usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt with the animal-rescue logo on it, put on her leg brace, then her boots and headed out to the barn. While other volunteers were scheduled to feed the animals, Madi had planned to clean out a couple of the stalls today. Not the most enjoyable of activities, but at least the exercise would keep her awake.

Maybe.

She opened the door to the office and greeted a couple of the newer volunteers, Jennifer Quinn and Olivia Morales.

“How’s everything today?”

“Quiet so far. Everyone seems pretty happy.”

“That’s good. Have the dogs had their exercise?”

“Not yet. The first two are about to head out.”

She wouldn’t mind a good walk. She decided to grab a couple of the dogs and walk them along with whatever volunteer was on the schedule that day.

She was about to go into the dog area when the door opened and Rocky, their Siberian husky, and his Aussie shepherd pal, Zeus, pranced out...followed immediately by Sierra Gentry, holding their leashes.

Madi jolted, her face heating instantly. All she could think about was the awkwardness of their last meeting, when Sierra had caught her and Luke in an embrace at the farmers market.

“Oh. Hi. I didn’t realize you were on the volunteer schedule today.”

Sierra shrugged and seemed to focus on anything but Madi.

“I’m not. I wasn’t doing anything this morning and was feeling sorry for myself since Mariko and Yuki went on a family vacation to Colorado. I figured I would come and help out for a while. Walking the dogs is always a good chance to clear your head.”

“True enough. Funny, I was about to do the same thing.”

“We can wait and you can grab a couple of the dogs and come with us, if you want.” Sierra made the offer tentatively.

Sensing it wasn’t an easy suggestion for her to make, Madi agreed immediately. “Sure,” she said. “Give me a few minutes.”

She decided to take Lulu, a mixed-breed boxer, and Rosie, a bulldog. Both were well-behaved and enjoyed interacting with the other dogs.

Soon she and Sierra set off around the building toward the trail that ran through the farm’s twenty acres, moving slowly to let the dogs sniff each other and every clump of grass.

Madi knew that the sensory stimulation of a walk was as important to dogs as the exercise.

“I also came to the shelter today because, um, I was also hoping to have the chance to talk to you,” Sierra said.

“Oh?”

The girl sighed. “I’m sorry I was a jerk yesterday. It’s just...some days I really miss my mom a lot, you know? It’s weird to think about my dad kissing anyone else but her. It was extra weird to see him kissing you.”

Madi really didn’t want to have this conversation when she felt hungover and gritty-eyed from her sleepless night.

“Why is that?” she managed.

“Because you’re our Madi. Aunt Nicki’s best friend. You’ve always been, I don’t know, kind of like another aunt to me, right? I never thought about you and my dad together.”

Madi gripped the dogs’ leashes. “We’re not together,” she said quickly.

Sierra gave a scoff and an eye roll at the same time. “Oh please. I saw you yesterday. There was more chemistry between you than Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in that Pride Prejudice show we watched together. You like him, don’t you?”

“Colin Firth? Yes. Very much. What’s not to like?”

Sierra made a face. “Not Mr. Darcy. My dad. You like my dad.”

Likewas such a bland word. Her feelings ran leagues deeper than that. She loved him with all her heart, for a hundred different reasons.

“Yes. I do. Your dad is a pretty wonderful guy.” She decided to be honest with his daughter. “That still doesn’t mean we’re together. We have...kissed a time or two. But that’s all.”

Madi stopped near the goat pasture. “Really? Because last night, he told me I would have to get used to seeing the two of you kissing because he intended to do a lot more of it.”

Madi stopped on the trail, her face suddenly on fire. “Did he?”

“Sierra.”

At the chiding voice behind them, Madi turned to find Luke standing behind them, holding his vet bag, obviously on his way to or from treating one of the animals.

Why hadn’t Sierra or the other volunteers mentioned Luke was here? He likely had been checking on Barney’s injury.

She should have noticed his truck when she walked over, but she supposed she had still been in a daze when she walked to the shelter barn from the farmhouse, distracted by worry for her sister and still trying to wake up.

Now he was there, looking big and gorgeous and...rather mortified.

“What?” Sierra asked. “That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

He let out a breath, not looking at Madi. “Okay, yes. But do you remember what else I said? I added that my intentions of kissing her were dependent on whether Madi wanted me to in return.”

His daughter didn’t even bother to roll her eyes this time, though her expression conveyed the same thing. “Again. I saw you both yesterday, remember? Believe me, she wanted you to kiss her.”

Madi risked a glance at Luke, whose face still looked suspiciously pink. She could relate since hers now felt hot.

“Anyway,” Sierra went on blithely, “the point is I’m sorry I acted like a brat yesterday. It won’t happen again, I promise. I was just shocked. I told Dad this morning that I thought about it a lot last night while he was gone and decided that if he is going to kiss anyone, it should be you. You guys are basically perfect for each other. All my friends agreed when I told them.”

“Um. Okay.” Madi didn’t know what else to say, fairly horrified that she and Luke had been the subject of discussion among Sierra’s friends.

Sierra gave them both a mischievous grin. “How about I take the dogs to the exercise yard instead of a walk?”

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the leashes of the other two dogs from Madi and headed back in the other direction, toward the fenced area where the dogs could play and run.

Luke’s thirteen-year-old daughter had effectively maneuvered the situation so they could be alone together. Madi had a feeling that had not been accidental.

He raked a hand through his hair, making it stand up in an adorable way that gave Madi a wild urge to smooth it down again.

“Sorry about that,” he murmured. “She’s thirteen. Apparently she’s at a stage in life when she thinks everything should be like a scene out of a romantic novel.”

“I’m not sure age has anything to do with it. I’m twenty-nine. I tend to agree with her.”

He smiled at that. After looking around to make sure their only audience was the goats, he stepped forward and reached for her hands.

“I meant everything I said to Sierra yesterday. I would like to do much more of the kissing with you. Along with other things.”

She was suddenly acutely aware of her curled hand, the brace on her leg, the mouth that didn’t straighten completely.

“You know I’m not...perfect.”

He squeezed her hands in both of his. “You might think that. I certainly don’t. To me, you are exactly perfect. You’re brave, smart, funny.”

He paused, his gaze locked with hers. “You are also the woman I happen to love.”

She stared at him as the words seemed to wrap around them both, twisting and curling them together into a delicious tangle.

“You don’t need to look so shocked. It can’t be that much of a surprise to you, can it?”

“Yes. Yes. It can.”

Her words suddenly felt slippery as trout in a stream, flashing silver in the sunlight before disappearing. She couldn’t seem to catch a single one.

His tender smile warmed her, healed places inside she didn’t know were still scarred.

“I love you, Madi Howell. I don’t know how or when it happened. Only that loving you feels perfect, too.”

He brushed his mouth against hers with aching gentleness and she wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to be nowhere else on earth than here, surrounded by the animals she loved and in the arms of the man she had been waiting for since she was fourteen years old.

“Tell me Sierra was right. That you wanted me to kiss you yesterday. That you want me to kiss you today.”

“T-today and tom-morrow and next week and next month. And every single day after that.”

Forever.

He smiled against her mouth. “Fine by me.”

He had said the words and she felt she needed to say them in return, not out of any sense of obligation but because she wanted to.

“I love you, Luke. I’ve loved you for a long time. Maybe since the day you saved my life on the mountain. I didn’t realize it until this summer.”

What would his father think about them being together? She wondered as Luke kissed her again. Something told her Dan Gentry would be happy for them, thrilled that they eventually had found each other after all the pain and loss and sadness.

The thought of loss reminded her again of Ava and she felt momentary guilt for the joy bubbling through her with the healing, life-giving force of a mountain spring.

How could she be so happy in this moment when she should be grief-stricken for her sister’s loss?

She was. She ached for Ava.

At the same time, since that summer fifteen years ago, she had learned that life was a jumbled, chaotic, beautiful mess of good and bad, sadness and light.

When these moments of sheer joy came along, those who had fought their way through the darkness only appreciated them more for the gift they were.

Luke kissed her, his mouth warm and tender on hers. Madi leaned into him, her heart overflowing. One of the goats bleated, Sabra brayed in response and a couple of dogs barked in the distance.

Madi surrendered to his kiss, grateful beyond words for her chaotic, exquisite life and the rare and precious joy she had miraculously found after weathering the storm.