Chapter 8
Lauren would’ve hidden in her cabin all day, but she was bored out of her mind. Meg had stayed with her through the night
and left after making her scrambled eggs. She’d been so attentive and affectionate. Clearly their relationship had progressed
over the summer. Too bad Lauren couldn’t remember it. Thankfully Meg had tiptoed around Lauren’s memory issue. She just wanted
to pretend it was still April and nothing had changed.
Her gaze fell on a framed photo sitting on her nightstand. A close-up of Jonah and her. Without peering too closely she grabbed
the picture, laid it face down inside the drawer, and closed it.
When she stood her dog scrambled to his feet, tail wagging. Meg had brought him over yesterday when Lauren had come from the
hospital. Apparently Graham had been upset by her fall and subsequent absence. It had been kind of Meg to take care of him.
Lauren ruffled the mutt’s fur. He was a medium-sized dog with a terrier look to his friendly face. “You’re a cute little thing,
I’ll give you that. Sure wish I could remember you.” But he remembered her, that much was obvious. He hadn’t left her side
since she’d returned except when Meg took him out to do his business. “Are you feeling as cooped up as I am, buddy? Let’s
get out of here.”
Her heart thudded as she left the comfort of her cabin, which was at the far end of the property. She could walk a ways and still stay out of sight of the lodge. Tom and Tammy had been by yesterday, bearing food and insisting she take all the time she needed to recover.
And Jonah came by this morning, shifting awkwardly on her doorstep, asking how she was feeling. After a couple minutes of
stilted conversation, she used her headache to escape. He had an apartment just outside of town and was taking classes at
the local college. At least he had been in April. He’d been planning to take classes throughout the summer to expedite his
business degree.
Two days out from her concussion, it still seemed surreal that summer was already gone. But the leaves fluttering overhead
and the slight nip in the air told her it was true. Someone— her? —had already decorated the property for autumn: bales of hay adorned with pumpkins and squash; potted mums in shades of maroon,
yellow, and orange; and autumn wreaths hung on the cabin doors.
She followed the pine needle path toward the water, Graham trotting beside her. As much as she missed the city, she also liked
being lakeside. And now, with the sun shining off its glossy surface, it looked much different than she remembered it. It
seemed like only a few days ago that ice-out had occurred.
Tammy had told her about the significance of the day. Ice-out was declared each spring when the lake thawed enough for the
shuttle boat to run from Pinehaven to the port in Bailey Harbor. A small plane from Air Tours flew over several times a day
until the pilot declared the ice-out official. This year it had been April twenty-first.
Now it seemed as if the ice had never been there at all. The pier shimmied beneath her feet as she walked to the end and sat,
letting her feet dangle over the water. Graham sat beside her, tongue lolling from his mouth. Her head throbbed from the walk
and she couldn’t remember what she’d been thinking about ten seconds ago.
It doesn’t matter. Just relax. Rest your mind.
But resting wasn’t really her forte. She still had a job to do. On a positive note, she now had less than four months before
her job at Glitter began. The thought buoyed her spirits.
She let her gaze drift over the cove at the end of the property. She followed the shoreline to the private homes on the other
side of the cove, then to the distant shores toward town and the marina and back around to where the lodge sat. She squinted
at the resort’s community pier where the boats were moored and beyond it to the shoreline.
Her breath caught at the sight of the pavilion. She’d presented the idea to Tom and Tammy only a week ago—or so it seemed.
Now the gathering spot sat proudly at the water’s edge as if it had appeared by magic. A large stone fireplace dominated the
space, which was filled with picnic tables. It was just as she’d envisioned it.
Her eyes stung with tears. And she couldn’t even make out the reason for them.
***
Jonah hunched over his economics textbook. He’d been home to sleep and shower, but he needed to study for tomorrow’s exam.
The office was just off the big lobby, which boasted a fireplace and was a popular gathering spot for their guests. Before
Lauren it had just been a lobby. Now it featured cozy furniture, a large-screen TV, board games, two vending machines, and
a Keurig. Each morning they offered complimentary donuts and pastries. During rainy days guests gathered in front of the fireplace
or at the game tables, chatting and laughing. Over the past few months they’d hosted watch parties for baseball—and now football—games.
The lodge closed at ten most evenings since his parents’ living space—his childhood home—took up the entire second floor.
The office was less impressive: two desks, both wooden and age-scarred with nicks and scratches. One was his mom’s and the one he currently sat at was Meg’s. It was cluttered with papers, separated into piles only she understood. He’d pushed back the screen of her desktop computer to make room for his book and notes.
He focused on the pictures lining the wood-paneled walls. Photos going back to when his mom’s parents started the place in
the fifties. They’d bought the property for a bargain, intending to make it their homestead. But when a hurricane left the
county with massive quantities of fallen timber, they’d decided to mill the logs and build cabins. The resort opened for business
in 1954.
He loved sharing the history of the place with their guests. It would be an honor to carry on their legacy through another
generation.
Jonah’s gaze shifted to the picture window that overlooked the lake. What was Lauren doing? Was she taking it easy like she
was supposed to?
He’d been texting with Meg for the past twenty-four hours, checking on Lauren. Her condition was unchanged. In other words,
her memory had not yet returned. But he’d figured that out for himself an hour ago.
That black cloud of fear enveloped him again, the one that threatened to smother him every time he realized anew that Lauren
didn’t remember falling in love with him. That her memory might never return.
God, please. You have to bring her back to me. I can’t lose her. He swallowed hard against the knot in his throat.
A sound came from out in the lobby, and minutes later Meg entered the office and stopped at the sight of him. “Hey. What are
you doing here?”
“Studying.”
Her face softened. Because Jonah studied at his apartment or at the campus library. Never here on property where there were
so many distractions. He was doing so now only because he had to be close to Lauren.
“It’s only been two days.”
“I know.” He was trying to be patient, but that wasn’t his strong suit. And it was especially hard when his whole future with
Lauren was on the line.
“You should go see her.”
“I did.” He’d made it as far as her doorstep. She hadn’t invited him in or given him any indication he was welcome. Heat washed
over him. “She doesn’t want me around, Meg.” It hurt to say that. Like an actual physical ache in the vicinity of his heart.
Meg perched on the desk. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine how hard that must be.”
He kept telling himself her memory would return and they’d look back on this with gratitude. But what if that didn’t happen?
What if she finished the year and returned to Boston? A terrible thought occurred.
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Just... be there for her, I guess. Since I can’t.”
“Of course I will. I love her too. She’s not the same, even with me, you know.”
“Meg... Lauren doesn’t remember turning down that position with Glitter a couple weeks ago. She thinks she’s gonna finish
out the year here and start that job. Unless Sydney told her what’s happened—she called her from the hospital.”
“Lauren and I talked quite a bit yesterday. I think she would’ve said something if she knew. She would’ve been upset about
losing the opportunity.”
“You know, she may not have told Sydney at all. She only told me a couple weeks ago and she never mentioned telling her. We
had been pretty busy with the resort full and Labor Day weekend upon us.” He tried to remember the Lauren he’d met in the
spring. She’d been so driven, so determined to excel here so she could get that job back in Boston. “She’ll be devastated
that the opportunity’s gone now.”
But she seemed so fragile. He pictured her standing in her cabin doorway, blinking against the morning light, eyes searching for a safe landing spot. The memory of that panic attack was still fresh. “It probably wouldn’t be good for her to find out just yet. She’s still pretty shaky.”
“Her take-home papers did say to avoid stimulation.” Meg huffed a laugh and waved at the air. “Shoot, she’ll probably get
her memory back soon and it’ll be a moot point anyway. No sense upsetting the apple cart.”
“Right. She has a brain injury—it’s a big deal. We don’t want to make it worse. I’ll let Mom and Dad know, just to make sure
we’re on the same page.”