Chapter Twenty-Three
Saturday morning came quietly on the tail end of a storm that had brought a deluge of rain and high winds.
Gus had gone for a run and was soaked through when he got back to his place.
While his mother made breakfast he grabbed a quick shower.
Neither one spoke, a he barely touched his food.
He was too amped up because his brothers were due to arrive at his place within the hour.
Iris was still in Fire Lake, along with Ford and Sunday, who were as much in the dark as the boys. He’d given his youngest sister a quick rundown on his conversation with their mother and he knew the two of them had spoken the night before.
Iris and Clarice had always had friction between them.
Gus wasn’t sure if it was a mother-daughter thing or if it was because they were very different people.
Either way, he knew his sister would be hard on their mother, but he was staying out of it.
Iris had a right to her feelings and how to express them.
He put his plate in the dishwasher and headed to his room. Once there, he closed the door and grabbed his phone to call Walker. His buddy picked up on the second ring.
“My man,” Walker said. “The boys there?”
“Soon.”
“What can I do ya for?”
Gus scratched at his head while rummaging through his closet for a T-shirt. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Probably Monday.”
“We covered that yesterday.”
“Right.”
“You good?”
Gus tossed the T-shirt onto his bed. “Yeah.”
“I’m going to guess the reason for this call is about a certain woman who’s five-foot-six with hair the color of apple cider and a butt that looks fucking hot in a pair of jean shorts.”
Gus scowled at the phone and fought the urge to toss it.
“In answer to your non-question, she seems okay.”
“You’re at The Dock right now.”
“I am. Their breakfast buffet is the best.” There was a pause. “Do you want me to pass along a message or hand her my phone?”
“Did you get the last kitchen installed?”
“Okay. Now we’re talking about work. In answer to your question, I sure did. This isn’t my first rodeo so don’t worry. All is good in Fire Lake.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“When do your brothers arrive?”
“Within the hour.”
“I’d say good luck, but I’m sure things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”
“I have a feeling the hardest part is still coming.” Gus frowned at the thought. “I’ll see you Monday.”
He tossed the phone so that he could pull on his T-shirt.
He’d spent the day before at the office catching up on some of the things he’d let slide while he’d been on hiatus, and now it was time to move forward with his personal situation.
He headed back to the living room, where he found his mother staring out the window.
She’d been quiet for the few days he’d been back in DC.
“I haven’t seen Ollie since before Christmas,” she said quietly.
“Me either.” He walked over to where she was and stood at her side.
“And Harrison is always so busy with work when I do see him. His head is a million miles away.”
“He’s grinding right now, but it will get better. They try to kill their residents so only the strong survive.”
“Iris hates me.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Well, she doesn’t like me very much and .
. .” Her voice caught, and she buried her head in her hands.
“How can I face Sunday and Ford after I abandoned them? Will they ever believe that I cried myself to sleep for months and months after I left? That I saw their faces in my dreams? That I still have empty holes inside me?”
Shit. Something new occurred to him. “You know that Ford has a son?”
His mother stilled. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. Slowly, she shook her head and whispered, “No.” Then attempted a smile. “But I’m happy for him.”
He didn’t know what to say to make her feel better, so Gus remained silent.
“I’ve wondered about them every single day since that night.
I’ve wondered what Porter told them when they woke up to find us gone.
He was so angry back then and a part of me doesn’t blame him.
” She threaded her fingers together and shuddered.
“I forced myself not to know a thing about them because it would hurt too much. It was the only way I could survive. The only way I could be a parent.”
Gus could relate. He’d done the same. “Oliver and Harrison love you. That’s not going to change. Let’s get past this and then I can head back to Fire Lake and maybe we can all have some closure.”
Clarice turned and touched the side of his face. “You’re so strong. Always have been. I think that maybe I’ve relied on that strength more than I should have but I’m grateful for you. For what you’ve done for this family.” She smiled. “You’re going to be a wonderful father someday.”
An image of Faith zipped past his eyes, and he had to blink it away when the intercom sounded.
“Here we go,” his mother whispered.
* * *
Oliver and Harrison had been surprisingly calm about everything.
Maybe it was because they’d been so young, and the memories of Fire Lake, of their father and older siblings, weren’t as significant as Gus’s.
There’d been a moment when Harrison walked out of the room, but eventually, he’d come back, and they talked some more.
There was a definite weight lifted from Clarice’s shoulders, and any doubt he’d had about what he’d put into motion was gone.
There was no moving forward until the past was laid to rest. He was beginning to realize that maybe all the Boone children were spinning their wheels, and it was time to stop.
“Call me when you’ve talked to him.” His mother pressed a kiss to his cheek, and he slid from the car. Gus had ten minutes to catch his flight back to Albany.
“I will. And don’t worry. Things will be okay.”
Her eyes were still shadowed. “Tell Ford and Sunday, I love them. Please do that for me if they allow it.”
He held his mother’s gaze, then closed the door to the SUV. He jogged into the airport and forty-five minutes later was in the air.
The flight was short, and he landed at Albany around two o’clock in the afternoon. A half an hour later, he was driving down the road in his old pickup, windows down, tunes blasting, and feeling something that was hard to describe.
It was part fear. Part anticipation. Part relief. And a little bit of something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Whatever it was, all those things rolled into the kind of lump that had his nerves jangling like a junkie wanting a fix.
He was a man who craved control, so this was all new, but Gus supposed it was par for the course, considering the circumstances. He was on his way to see Porter Boone. This bird had finally come home to roost.
He pulled into the driveway and parked in Ford’s spot, which was empty. Then for the first time since he’d arrived in Fire Lake, Gus walked through the front doors of the house and paused. It smelled like pine and lemon. He could literally feel the memories wash over him.
Running through the foyer to grab snacks for the lake.
Peeking into the office searching for his father.
Playing hide and seek and using the closet as cover.
Waiting at the counter in the kitchen while a fresh apple pie cooled.
“Hey, Gus. You’re back.”
Sunday appeared from the living room and smiled. “Ford’s not here. He had to run back to the city for a couple of days. Some emergencies at the office.”
“I was hoping to see your father.” The words tasted like sawdust, and he couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “He’s expecting me.”
“Dad’s sitting on the lower deck. It’s sunny and warm there. Pretty much his favorite spot.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“Walk through the kitchen. It’s easier than going around the house and don’t worry about your shoes.” She gave a wave. “I’m headed to town.”
He watched until she disappeared. She moved like a dancer, he thought.
Once outside, Gus crossed the deck and took the stairs that led down. Porter wasn’t on the lower deck, so he continued onto the stone path and spied the elderly man sitting on the dock, his wheelchair perilously close to the edge. As he approached him, Porter turned to the side.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and still marvel at the sight of this lake and the forests that surround it. Makes a man feel small.”
Gus walked over to him and stood at his side. “I imagine it doesn’t look much different than it did hundreds of years ago.”
“You might be right. Man has a habit of destroying the things that he loves, and luckily this piece of the world has been spared that fate. It will need a strong united front to keep the wolves at bay; our family has always had to fight to keep this lake pristine. To keep development from touching its shores.”
“You’ve done a good job of it.”
“We own most of the land surrounding the lake and a good portion more. The few cottages we’ve allowed are leased to folks who live in town. We take care of our own that way. We share what we have with those who deserve.”
It was a strange conversation, and Gus was trying to decide the best way to bring up what it was he’d come for when his father caught him unawares.
“Ford will need you, August. There’s a fight coming for this family.”
Everything in him stilled at those words and when Porter wheeled around to face Gus, he was shocked to see the gray pallor on his skin. The yellow in the whites of his eyes. The man was more than sick. He was near the end.
“You have his eyes,” Porter said softly, his own filling with tears. “I knew the moment we met exactly who you were.”
There it was — confirmation of sorts.
“I . . .” Fuck if he could clear the lump from his throat. He looked away and took a moment before turning back. “Do you think Marshall is my father?”