Chapter Four
If it hadn’t been for all the troubling issues hanging over their heads, the following day would have felt like any other, Rick couldn’t help thinking when practice was over. It was Friday and their last long practice would be tomorrow before the summer league games began next week.
But Rick had a gut feeling that he’d no longer be here in town to play.
Eric appeared right on time to pick him up today, and Rick gave a quick wave of farewell to all his friends on the team. Everything that was happening was finally starting to hit home. Since he’d never lived anywhere else, he hadn’t realized just how attached he was to his hometown.
“Why don’t I pick up Anya later and we can do some skiing this afternoon since you don’t have a double practice today?” Eric sighed, giving him a side glance. “Who knows when we’ll ever get the chance to do it again.”
“Sure. I’d like that. Maybe we can pick up some sandwiches and snacks to bring along with us,” Rick said.
But the mention of Anya got Rick thinking about Shanna again. Before they left town, he needed to figure a way to help her somehow.
“What’s Anya’s mother like?” Rick asked suddenly.
Eric blinked. “Why?”
“I ran into Shanna at the Inn again last night and it got me thinking that she could be in trouble. If we leave, I’d like to talk to someone who cares about her so that they can look out for her.”
Eric reached out, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “Their mother seems to really love both girls, but she works all the time because Anya and Shanna’s father lost his job. I think that their father bosses their mom around a lot and Shanna’s always been his favorite, so it’s made her rebellious.”
Rick had decided not to tell Eric his suspicions about Mr. Weldon, because he could hardly believe what he was thinking himself. But he wouldn’t feel right leaving town without telling someone. He’d talk it over with Shanna’s mom, he decided, and see what she had to say.
“Where does Mrs. Weldon work?”
“At Callahan Construction. She works some pretty long hours as a receptionist and accountant.”
“I wonder if she works on Saturdays?”
“She does. At least in the morning,” Eric replied.
Rick nodded. “I might take a ride over there tomorrow after practice. I’ll take my bike, so you won’t have to drop me off. It’s our last practice before Monday’s game and since we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen next week, I might just take my time coming home.”
Eric nodded his understanding.
The decision made him feel a little better. He’d fallen asleep last night thinking about Shanna and all the trouble she could be in.
And had come to the realization that her issues more than likely had something to do with her father.
He would question Mrs. Weldon tomorrow before deciding if he should let her in on his suspicions. It was hard to believe that she could live in the same house with Shanna and not notice that something was terribly wrong.
* * *
Usually, they invited friends to go along when they decided to spend the afternoon on the lake, but it was only the three of them that went skiing that afternoon. Rick and Eric both decided that it was going to be hard enough keeping secrets. If they had any other friends around, either Eric or Rick would more than likely reveal something that they shouldn’t.
Dad had started reorganizing the house, packing certain items up in the boxes that he’d picked up earlier that day from the grocery store.
Hopefully, they really wouldn’t have to sell their home. Rick hadn’t spoken to Dad yet about the missing money angle to see if it actually applied to their situation or not. Their family had been happy here, at their house on the lake. Dad and Mom had bought the house long before they’d started a family and had made several improvements along with building an addition onto the former cottage before Brian had been born.
Hopefully, his parents would be able to return home and live here again one day.
Rick could tell by the look in Anya’s eyes that she must have suspected that something was wrong. She kept biting down on her lip every time she gave Eric a side glance where they were seated up front in the cruiser, with Eric behind the wheel.
Although he was certified to drive a speedboat, Rick wasn’t sure about how he would go about getting his driver’s license now. He’d probably have to become familiar with whatever community they ended up living, and he would have to be tested there behind the wheel.
When Rick and Eric had walked inside the house earlier and seen how far Dad had gotten with packing, Eric, especially, had looked crestfallen. He’d still been hoping that whatever trouble they were facing meant that they really didn’t have to move.
Rick had been able to read Eric’s expression immediately, because he’d been hoping for the same thing too.
Dad had been happy to see the three of them take off for some time on the lake—something that they would normally do on a typical summer day. He still seemed to be getting a lot of calls, and since he was organizing some of Mom’s clothes into boxes, Rick tried to steer Eric away so he wouldn’t notice. Someone was probably going to pick up more of her personal items so Mom could lay low and not have to go out and buy anything new.
“Rick?” Eric was looking at him quizzically, having shifted the speedboat’s gear into idle. He’d driven to a more isolated location on Crystal Rock Lake where they wouldn’t have to worry about crossing paths with other skiers. It was a calm clear day, and there were a lot of people spending time on the lake today.
He raised a brow. “Yeah?”
Eric’s grin was wry. “You looked like you were pretty far away. Want to ski first? Anya and I aren’t in any hurry.”
“Sure.” Rolling his eyes, he slipped into his life jacket before jumping into the water.
Anya stood, making her way to the back seat to pull out the tow rope. She lightly tossed the coil into the water, leaving the handle floating near Rick.
“I’m assuming it’s slalom you want, as usual?” she asked, sliding one ski over the edge of the boat into the water, so that it was easily accessible.
“Thanks, Anya. Why don’t we each take one long ride?” Rick shouted out.
“Sounds good,” Anya replied loudly. “Just give us a thumbs down when you’re ready to quit.”
“Alright.”
Another twenty minutes later, Rick had taken a last long look at the familiar properties located along the shoreline, skiing slow and steady with an occasional run across the wake. It was like he was soaking in every memory he could into his consciousness. If their entire family left town, who knows if any of them would ever get back here again.
Anya skied next and then Eric took his turn before they headed toward one of the landings nearby to dock the boat and eat at a picnic bench in the park.
“Why don’t we take one final cruise around the chain of lakes?” Eric asked.
Anya looked at Eric strangely.
That’s when Rick noticed the resemblance between Anya and Shanna. Despite the fact that Shanna was much thinner and had white-blond hair, they were nearly identical. Strange how he hadn’t noticed that sooner.
“That’s fine with me,” Rick answered, sighing. “Then we’d probably better head back home.”
“Okay,” Eric replied as they gathered their sandwich wrappers and threw everything into a trash can. Eric had bought everyone lunch from the Crystal Rock Tap when he’d gone into town earlier to pick up Anya.
Remaining silent, Anya sure looked worried, Rick couldn’t help but notice.
They stayed out on the lake for another ninety minutes. After hoisting the cruiser onto the ramp beside the pier, Rick headed up the staircase ahead of Eric and Anya to the landing, strolling around the house to the back porch.
Brian must have been home, because the truck was parked in the driveway. As he headed inside, Rick could hear Dad discussing the situation with Brian, so he took a quick look inside the kitchen, where they were talking.
“Dad? There’s something I need to do,” Brian said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Dad had started disassembling his office and looked up from the kitchen table where he’d relocated his computer. “That’s fine. Maybe tomorrow we can sit down and discuss how we can go about getting you enlisted. There’s no real hurry, but I expect it would be better to have your situation settled before we’re on our way to Chicago. I’d let you stay and live here on your own at the house, if Jake hadn’t disagreed. It would be better if we left before the details of the situation between your mother and Aaron Mitchum started getting around town.”
“I understand,” Brian muttered, on his way through the doorway into the attached garage. “Yes. Let’s talk tomorrow. I haven’t been able to wrap my head around the situation yet today.”
Dad sighed. “I hear you. Tomorrow will be soon enough.”
When he heard Brian rev up the truck’s engine, Rick walked into the kitchen to let Dad know that they were home.
“Hey, Dad,” Rick murmured. “Eric and Anya will probably be here shortly.”
When Dad’s eyes met his, Rick couldn’t help noticing how bloodshot they were.
“Did you enjoy your afternoon?” he asked.
“We did,” Rick replied. “Dad, you should take something tonight to get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
Dad grimaced. “Hopefully, Anya hasn’t noticed. I’ve been pretty upset.”
“She probably has. I have a feeling she might be drilling Eric right now,” Rick admitted.
“Well, I guess we can come up with a few excuses. I can say that we’re getting new furniture and we’re doing some decluttering while your mom is off on a business trip.”
Rick nodded. “Even if she doesn’t believe it, she probably won’t question anything you say.”
“I was glad to have all of you out of the house this afternoon, so I could talk freely on the phone. Maybe we should order something for dinner?” Dad suggested.
“How about pizza?”
“Brian said he wouldn’t be gone for long, so we might just as well order,” Dad said.
Eric and Anya walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. Anya was definitely taken aback as she glanced around the room. Dad had stacked a bunch of boxes near the back door.
“What do you guys want on your pizza?” Rick asked, trying to distract her when he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
Everyone pitched in with their favorites, and soon Rick was ordering four large pizzas with combinations of sausage and pepperoni along with green peppers, onions and mushrooms, having them add some extra cheese on a couple of the pizzas while he was at it.
“I’m painting my office,” Dad said to Anya when he saw her staring at the boxes. “I thought I’d order some new furniture and reorganize while I was at it.”
Hesitant, she nodded her understanding.
She probably didn’t believe Dad, Rick decided, judging by the look on her face.
Eric took it from there, turning to Anya. “Let’s go downstairs and take it easy for a while. Maybe we can watch a movie.”
“Sure,” she replied. “But I don’t mind if you guys want to watch a ball game instead.”
They headed downstairs to the basement together.
“How long will it be before the pizzas arrive?” Dad asked. “I should probably clear the table.”
“I think they said forty-five minutes,” Rick replied. “I’ll help you for a while so Eric and Anya can be alone.”
“I hate this situation,” Dad said grimly.
“Me, too, Dad. But it’s not your fault,” Rick said reassuringly. “We’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do.”