She considered. I remember a lot about some things, not much about others. Ive started to remember more about Meredith and Rachel since I talked to them last night. But there are holes.
Natural enough. You left here, went back to your normal life. I stayed here, but I still dont remember much about the summer I was ten. He grinned. Except that I probably spent most of it playing basketball.
The years do run together. But... She frowned. I should remember more about that summer, Id think, because it was the only one I lived here.
He didnt know whether that theory was true or not. What makes one thing stay in your memory and another fade? I can remember every single detail of a Saturday afternoon I worked on a science project with my dad and nothing at all about the class I was in.
She gave him a look. That must gratify your teacher. Anyway, just tell me. Dont assume I know anything.
That makes it harder. The important thing about that summer was a romance between Laura Mitchell, as she was then, and an Amish boy, Aaron Mast. Ruffled the feathers of both sets of parents, I suppose.
Lainey nodded, looking a little surprised. I remember him. Blond, blue eyes. She smiled suddenly at whatever it was she saw in her memory. He was our knight.
You recall the game you girls played, then.
Bits and pieces. We made up a kind of fantasy world, and the three of us played it all that summer. Aaron was the noble knight, and Laura...of course. Laura was the beautiful princess. Her eyes lit with the memory, and for an instant her face was the face of the little girl shed been. Everyone wanted to marry the princess, but she had eyes only for Aaron.
Thats it, from what I heard from Meredith and Rebecca. He hesitated. Do you remember how it ended?
Ended? I went away. My mother came, out of the blue, and took me with her. I didnt even have time to say goodbye to people. Laineys words were underlined with resentment and something else...resignation, was it?
Surely you must have heard that Aaron dieddrowned in the pond back by the dam. He nodded toward the rear of the house, seeing in his minds eye the stretch of lawn, the narrow belt of brambles and tall grass, and then the strip of woods that bordered the stream where it tumbled over Parsons Damonly three feet high, but deadly when a day or two of rain turned it into something like a riptide.
Lainey put her hand to her head. I...I dont think so. Her face paled. How could I have forgotten something that terrible?
She looked so white and distressed that he reached out and clasped her hand. Her fingers curled around his.
Apparently the day after his death your mother took you away. You werent here to have any reminders.
Even so. She seemed to realize she was clinging to his hand, and she let go, drawing back in her chair. But I still dont understand. How could that have anything to do with Merediths mothers death?
This was the complicated bit, trying to piece the story together. I guess it began when Rachel came back to Deer Run in the spring. She and Meredith got together, and they started remembering things from that summer. And they started asking questions.
She nodded, and it surprised him that she seemed to find that normal. They would, wouldnt they? It seems impossible to me, coming into it cold, that Aaron could have drowned that way. He was sensible, and a lot more responsible than most teenagers. He even warned me about the dam one day when he found me down by the creek. How could he have an accident there?
You have a lot in common with those two, you know that? Youre reacting just the way Rachel and Meredith did. So, as I say, they started asking questions.
She looked pleased at being told she was like the two girls whod been her friends. She brushed a strand of thick, curling hair back from her face, and again he wanted to touch it, to feel it twist around his fingers.
What did they find out? She seemed to take it for granted that they would have uncovered something.
At first it seemed theyd found a reason for Aaron to have killed himself. As you can imagine, that opened up his familys grief all over again. But they dug deeper and learned that someone had been with him at the dam that night. That it wasnt an accident or suicide. That knowledge nearly cost Meredith her life.
Lainey considered his words, staring down at her hands, clasped in her lap. Then she looked up. Lauras husband, I understand. Victor Hammond. I remember him now. Kind of pudgy, anxious, eager to please. One of Lauras followers. Are you seriously saying he killed Aaron? And why Merediths mother?
Margo King had seen or heard something at the dam that night, and she made the mistake of letting Victor know she had. She was drowned, same as Aaron. And when Meredith got too close, he tried the same to her.
Lainey shuddered. Thank heaven he failed.
Jake nodded. Hed been there, that day, arriving with the police and Zach, Merediths fiancé, in time to save her. He didnt like remembering how close it had been.
No wonder Laura looked as if shes... Lainey hesitated, apparently considering the word. Empty. Thats how she looks. Empty.
That describes it pretty well. If she knew, and I think she must have at some point, she wasnt strong enough to cope with the knowledge.
Poor woman. And poor Meredith, losing her mother that way. Im surprised they didnt say something about it last night.
He considered. Its a pretty complicated story to hit you with the first time they see you after twenty years. But Id guess theyre eager to talk to you about it. They even have the scrapbook you kept that summer. You were quite an artist for a ten-year-old.
Her gaze slid away from his, as if she were embarrassed. Kid stuff. Not enough talent for the real world.
He wasnt sure what to say to that comment. It was revealing, and he suspected shed regret it if he got too close.
Maybe she thought so, too, because her expression changed and her chin came up. You didnt come here to tell me this story, Jake. So why did you come?
Jake had to do some rapid reordering of his thoughts. Right, that. I was hoping youd come to a decision about Rebeccas wishes, so we can move ahead.
Her eyebrows lifted. You mean you hope Ive decided to give up the power of attorney.
No. It had sounded that way, hadnt it? Why was he so inept in dealing with this particular woman? Not at all. I just need a decision, one way or the other.
Fine, youve got it. Her face firmed. I told Zeb Stoltzfus today, so Ill tell you. Aunt Rebecca wanted me to do this, so Im doing it.
Right. She wouldnt be leaving, then. He had a certain sneaking pleasure in the thought. Thats all I needed to know. He stood. Well go from there, then.
Really? No arguments? No pointing out that I dont know anything about Rebeccas way of life? She stood, which put her very close to him. Arent you going to tell me that Im... She looked up into his face, and their gazes caught. She seemed to lose track of what she was saying.
And he didnt think he could utter a coherent sentence to save him. His eyes traced the line of her cheek, the curve of her lips. It was all he could do to prevent his hand from following along. She leaned toward him, as if some force of gravity pulled them together.
With an effort of will and muscle, he drew back away from her.
Right, he said, not pleased to discover that he was breathless or that he was repeating himself. Couldnt he think of something else to say? I...Ill have to talk to you about business in a day or two if Rebecca doesnt improve. In the meantime, you can refer to me anyone who has a question about finances.
Yes, all right. She turned and walked a few steps away. Maybe she felt the need to put some distance between them as well. Thank you, Jake. And thank you for telling me.
Shed thanked him twice in one meeting. That had to be a record. Now hed better get out of here before he did something foolish, like checking for himself how those lips tasted.