9. Little Sugar Falls
9
LITTLE SUGAR FALLS
S ummer pulled into a parking spot close to the square and shut off the car. She turned to Griff in the passenger seat.
“I need you to leave me alone for this hike. I’m trying; that has to be enough, but I can’t concentrate when you’re watching me and keeping a running commentary.”
Griff gave her a thumbs-up signal. “I get it. After last night, I hope to grant you this wish.” He winked.
“You’re not a genie.”
“Nope, but I’ll keep quiet and stay invisible. But you know I’m stuck to you like glue, right?”
She groaned. “You haven’t been watching while I shower or anything, have you?”
“I’d never,” he laughed. “I always stay in your room, staring out the window for that. There’s a little wiggle room in how far I can drift, but not much.”
“Well, wiggle your charred as…astral form as far down the trail today as possible.”
“Ha, you almost slipped.”
“Shut up,” Summer laughed too. “I’m doing great at the no-swearing thing. You try my patience sometimes. ”
“But you love me.”
“Of course I do. I’ll miss you when you’re gone.” And she would, but she couldn’t think about that now. She needed to concentrate on the here and now, meeting Brandon and chasing normal.
“Don’t get soft on me,” Griff teased. “Let’s go hiking with your guy.”
“At least let me pretend it’s just me and Brandon.”
Griff faded from sight and didn’t say another word. Summer didn’t feel his presence as strong as she had the first few months of recovery or even the first week she’d been in Sugar Creek. She almost convinced herself he had left, but that evoked conflicting and confusing emotions, so she did what she always did and pushed those concerns to the back of her mind.
When she entered Cabins by the Bay, she was greeted by the sound of laughter. Brandon stood behind the counter, but a little girl with long blond curls sat on top of it, talking to him. He and the girl’s parents laughed at whatever she’d said.
Brandon’s gaze darted to Summer. He winked but continued talking to the little girl. “You don’t say?”
“Mama Darcy promised, but she said it would take a long time,” the girl pouted.
“Sara, we should head to Grandma Fletcher’s house. She’s missed you,” the woman pulled on one of the girl’s curls.
“Good timing. My hiking date has arrived.” Brandon waved toward Summer and greeted her, “Hey, beautiful. My sister and her husband just returned from an extended vacation with their daughter Sara.”
The couple turned, and Summer recognized Brandon’s younger sister, Darcy. Darcy was older than Ellie but still several years younger than Brandon, and Summer hadn’t known her well. The man with her was tall and muscular, and whenever he smiled, all three of them lit up. The man set Sara on the floor and wrapped an arm around Darcy’s waist.
“Who are you?” Sara asked.
“My name is Summer. ”
“How do you know Uncle Brandon?” Sara marched up to Summer and studied her. “You’re pretty like my Darcy. You can be my friend if you want.”
“Sara,” her dad said in a tone that implied an eye roll. He held out a hand. “I’m Evan, the father of this precocious busybody.”
Summer shook his hand while looking between all the adults in the room. “Nice to meet you. Did she call Darcy her mama?”
Darcy blushed. “I’m not her birth mom, but Evan and I married this past April.”
“Congratulations.” Summer smiled, but she felt a strange envy. The newlyweds gazed at each other with such love it physically hurt. Summer always thought she’d be married before Carly or Darcy. At least, she had at one time in her life.
Brandon walked around the counter to stand by her. His shoulder brushed hers as he gently nudged her. “You ready for our hike?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to rush.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day. I can visit with Darcy and Evan at Sunday dinner,” Brandon said.
“Hint taken.” Darcy smiled and waved. “We’ll see you later.”
“Nice to meet you, Summer.” Evan nudged his daughter in the direction of the door.
“Wait, I want to ask Summer about my baby,” Sara piped up.
“Not now.” Darcy blushed and opened the door. “Bye.”
They left, and Brandon chuckled. “That girl is a force of nature, and I don’t know if Darcy was ready for it.”
“They look like a family already,” Summer observed.
“They were a family as soon as they met. Darcy and Evan tried to fight it, but I’m glad it worked out.” Brandon led Summer to the sidewalk and locked up behind him. “Want to ride with me?”
“Yes.” Summer followed, but she couldn’t resist any longer. “What baby?”
Brandon’s smile spread wider. “Sara is determined to have a baby brother or sister by Christmas. She doesn’t understand you can’t just order one online.”
“How old is Darcy? ”
“Twenty-two. Darcy and Evan want to wait a year or two before adding to their family, but Sara might be wearing them down.” Brandon opened the door to his car. “Here we go. Did you bring a water bottle or anything?”
“I left my backpack in my car.”
“Where are you parked? We’ll stop and grab it.”
After they retrieved her pack, they drove up the winding road to some of Mt. Rosie’s trails. The parking lot was almost full, but they snagged one of the last two slots.
“I haven’t been up here in years until this summer. The sad thing is that I probably wouldn’t have returned if I hadn’t taken the job with Austin. I love the sound of the wind in the trees, the birds and squirrels causing a racket. Everything about it has been good for me.”
Brandon let her take the lead as they hit the well-worn dirt path that led to Little Sugar Falls.
“So you don’t mind spending more time on the trails with me?” he asked.
“No. This will be nice. We’ve mostly done bike rides, and while that’s fun, hiking is a different way to enjoy this.”
“Is that all?” Brandon teased.
Summer turned to smile at him. “And I’m more than happy to spend it with you. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to for the last ten years.”
Brandon didn’t want to talk about himself, but he figured it was a fair trade since she shared some of her Army experience with him the night before.
“I studied business in college. After my internship, I got an HR job at a company in Burlington and stayed there for four years until Dad retired and handed CBB over to Austin and me. I handle the cabin rentals and the shop while he runs tours. We’ve been at it for almost two years, but Austin wants to sign his half over to me. We’ll still collaborate but with separate business models.”
“Do you like it?”
“Running CBB?” He shrugged. “I like it fine. There isn’t anything else I’d rather do, so I’m happy where I am.”
“That must be nice.”
“What do you mean?”
“Having what you want.”
“Summer.” Brandon hurried forward and reached for her hand. “I’ve never cared what kind of job I work as long as it pays the bills and allows me to care for my future family. Being content with my professional life is not the same as having everything I want.”
“I didn’t mean—” she swallowed and stared at the ground. “You should have married someone a long time ago.”
“The person I thought I’d marry wasn’t available. She’s still not, but I won’t settle for anyone else. I’ll wait as long as I have to.” And he meant every word. He only hoped she could see how sincere he was without freaking out about it.
“Brandon, we were kids. Sure, we talked about getting married and what that would look like, but that was a long time ago. Why didn’t you move on?”
“Because you were always my best friend. No one ever felt like you. We did everything together, and you understood me like no one else. I did date, but it was never the same as all the times we spent together.”
The conversation made him anxious because he’d promised himself that he would be content with friendship, but here he was telling her she was the only one he wanted a family with.
A wrinkle appeared above her nose, drawing attention to all those adorable freckles she hated. Brandon wanted to smooth it with his fingers, but he knew she would hate that. This Summer wanted to be strong, and he would let her until she understood she could be strong and lean on him simultaneously.
“Um, let’s keep going.” Summer pulled away and strode quickly up the path .
Brandon let her go, hoping he was slowly breaking down her walls. Until she gave him a reason, he would believe she never stopped loving him all those years ago. For now, he’d follow and try to put everything back into the friend zone for her sake.
They took their time, smiling at other hikers they passed, stopping for drinks, and enjoying the perfect weather. They hiked for an hour through the mix of pines, beech, sycamores, and maple trees before they reached the waterfall. It was close to five o’clock when they arrived, so most of the tourists were heading back down the trail. Summer skirted the few remaining people until she could climb from boulder to boulder to get closer to the falls.
Little Sugar Falls was a short distance from the hot springs and partially made of the runoff from the Big Sugar Falls. Brandon thought it was one of the prettiest spots on the mountain. Falling some forty to fifty feet while only six or so feet wide, it was large enough to create a powerful sound but small enough to get close without too much danger.
When Summer perched on a boulder at the side of the falls, Brandon joined her. He let the mist cool his face and arms while they sat in silence. Eventually, he gave in to the antsy need to say something but kept it as safe as possible.
“Are you hungry? I brought sandwiches.”
Summer turned to him. “That would be great. Shall we move closer to the trail?”
He nodded and headed for an area suitable for eating. Once he handed her the sandwich he’d packed, a water bottle, and a flavor packet, he felt brave enough to ask one of the questions that had been on his mind for months.
“Can you tell me what happened in Afghanistan?”
She closed her eyes briefly, swallowed her food, and then set it down. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Ayup,” he said casually, then wondered if that was the wrong approach. Before he could readjust, Summer started talking.
“Every op has its challenges, but we didn’t feel like the last one would be any different than the others. We headed out in the dark, and that’s a mixed bag out there. One minute, everything was fine, but then it wasn’t. I remember every second, but—” Summer looked at her hands, which were shaking. She clasped them together to hold them still. When she met Brandon’s gaze, her eyes had a tortured pain that physically hurt him. “The Army psych doesn’t think my memories are accurate.”
“Why not?” he asked cautiously.
“Well, I remember talking to my CO. Griff was my friend, but he didn’t survive that night. The doctors said he died instantly. So, I couldn’t have talked to him. But I remember it so clearly. It had to be real.”
“Then you talked to him. You were there, so you have a better chance of knowing what happened than they do.” He tried to reassure her.
“Maybe, but there’s no way to know.” Her voice cracked. “That night is a tangled mess of fear and agony in my head.”
Brandon scooted closer so their sides touched. “In the end, does it matter if you spoke to him?”
She visibly pulled herself together, and Brandon marveled at her strength. “Probably not, but I hate thinking my brain cracked enough to make something like that up.”
He could tell she was uncomfortable thinking about it, so he tried to change the subject. “Tell me about Griff. How long did you know him?”
She chuckled, and her shoulders relaxed. “Griff transferred in four years ago so he could be promoted faster. Right away, he was different. He was the kind of leader who was tough when he needed to be, but he also knew how to be a human you could relate to. We became friends right away.”
Summer sighed, and Brandon wondered if something was hidden behind her words. Had she liked Griff as more than a friend? He decided it was worth asking the question.
“He became important to you?’
“Yeah.” She reached for Brandon’s hand. “I’ve been messed up for a long time, but Griff looked past that and made me laugh. He was the best thing in my life, but he was more like a brother than anything else.”
Brandon’s chest relaxed with her admission. Then he realized how hard it would be to watch his brother die in front of him.
“I can’t imagine the pain you must have felt losing someone so close,” Brandon said softly, squeezing her hand in reassurance.
Summer’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared at the waterfall’s rushing water. “I keep replaying that night over and over in my mind, wondering if there was something I could have done to save him.”
Brandon placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, grateful she leaned into him for support rather than move away.
“We can’t change the past, as much as we might wish. What’s important is that you’re here now, trying to heal and move forward.”
“You would have liked Griff, and I know he liked you.”
Brandon noticed a slight blush creep across Summer’s cheeks.
“Oh, yeah? That means you mentioned me at some point. Want to share?” he teased.
“Not really.” She smiled up at him before standing. “We should head back to the parking lot.”
“You’re probably right.”
Brandon cleaned up their trash from dinner and tucked it into his backpack. He wished that Summer had never seen or suffered the things she had, but he was so grateful she felt comfortable enough to share it with him.
No matter what, he wanted more days like this.
Before she exited his car to move to hers, he asked, “Are you up for the Rosie Run? It’s tomorrow at seven a.m.”
“You know what? I’ll do it. It’s been months since I’ve trained and worked out other than PT, so I’ll be slow. But I bet I can still beat you,” she teased.
“We’ll see. I’ll pick you up at a quarter to six.”