Awakened in August (Spring River Valley Book 8) (9 page)

“He’s twenty-five. He’s lived here for four years now and loves it. The staff is amazing, and he’s always busy. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long. He doesn’t like to cut his time with the horses short.”

“Can I ask what happened to him?”

Riley nodded. His smile faded a little bit, and his voice took on a faint tinge of regret. “I was ten and Landon was six. We were helping my dad put up Christmas lights on the house and…” He paused and took a deep breath. Lydia put a hand on his arm and waited for him to continue. “We weren’t supposed to get up on the ladder. That was Dad’s job. We were just supposed to hand him the lights and help get everything untangled. You know how those Christmas lights are. It took us hours, and we were tired of it. There was a phone call—I think my grandfather had called…I don’t really remember, but anyway, Dad went in and Landon wanted to go up on the roof and start hanging the lights while he was inside. I told him we should wait, but he decided he was going up on the roof. He told me to hold the ladder steady, so I did. I should have ratted him out. I should have just run inside and told on him, but…”

Lydia put her head on Riley’s shoulder. She wanted to give him strength, because she knew each word he was about to say would drain him. “It wasn’t your fault. You were ten.”

“I know. I…thought it would be great to see Dad’s face when he came outside and the lights were up. Landon was brave…fearless, a lot more of a daredevil than I was. He was up the ladder and on the roof of the garage in five seconds flat. He walked across the roof dragging a string of lights and when he…um…when he knelt down to try to hook them onto the edge of the roof, he pitched forward.”

“Oh, Riley.” Tears clouded Lydia’s eyes. She imagined the horror of a young boy watching his brother fall and being helpless to save him.

Riley swiped a finger over his eyes and continued. “He hit the front of his skull on the driveway. I just remember…he didn’t scream. I figured, you know, you’re a kid and you get hurt bad, the first thing you do is scream, one of those deep, bloodcurdling screams that brings people running from all over the neighborhood, but Landon didn’t make a sound. I thought he had the wind knocked out of him, or that he was just so surprised that he’d fallen when he was so sure of himself. But he didn’t move. He just stared straight up when I rolled him over. I thought he was dead.”

Tears streamed down Lydia’s face and fell on her hand where it clasped Riley’s. “I’m so sorry.”

“Surgeries…the surgeries saved his life. They put his skull back together, but some things you just can’t fix, so…he’s the way he is now. He’s still my best friend.”

Lydia wanted to let go and sob her heart out for the loss. What his parents must have gone through broke her heart. She ached for Riley, and her chest hurt from fighting not to lose herself in grief for a little boy she’d never met and for the little boy who’d grown into the man she clung to now. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

Riley turned to look at her. “Every waking moment from that day forward, my parents had something to worry about. So I didn’t let them worry about me. I did whatever I had to do, made sure I was never any trouble for them.”

“You made them proud of you, I’m sure.”

“My dad still doesn’t know I was holding the ladder for him. I could never…”

Lydia squeezed his hand. If he said another word, she’d lose it. Fortunately, Marla returned then with a young man in tow.

“Riley? Why are you crying?”

Lydia turned to see a slightly younger version of Riley. There was no mistaking they were brothers, though Landon’s hair was a shade lighter, his eyes not quite as blue. He smiled brilliantly when his brother stood up and crossed the room.

“I’m not crying. It’s all these plants up here. They make my eyes water. I didn’t take my allergy medicine,” he explained, drawing Landon into a hug.

“Who’s your girl?” Landon turned to Lydia. “Is she in your class?”

“She was,” Riley said.

Marla handed them each laminated guest passes on woven lanyards. She nodded and left the green room. “If you need anything, Riley, you know where I am.”

“Thanks, Marla. We’re just going to visit with Landon for a little bit.”

“Hi, Landon. I’m Lydia.” Lydia held her hand out to Landon, and he looked at it for a second as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Then he took her fingers gently, raised them to his lips, and kissed her knuckles.

“Hi, Lydia.”

She stifled a giggle and looked sidelong at Riley. “He’s much more charming than you are.”

Riley grinned, his eyes dry now. “Yeah. He got the manners in the family. Way to show off, you dog.”

Landon mimicked his brother’s grin, which then morphed into a satisfied smirk. “He doesn’t like me to steal his girlfriends, so he never brings any here. Why did he bring you?”

Lydia shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess he wanted me to meet you.”

“So you were working with the horses today?” Riley changed the subject. He led them out of the green room and through the foyer to the breezy front porch of the house. “How is that going?”

“It’s good. Really good.”

“I haven’t ridden a horse in years,” Lydia said. “I’m jealous.”

“I don’t ride,” Landon said. He shifted from one sneaker-clad foot to the other and looked distressed for a second, then the expression changed to back to a smile. “I walk with the horses and teach them.”

Lydia eyed Riley. “What do you teach them?”

“To not be afraid.”

“The residents here work with some animals that go to other facilities. They actually do some training of therapy animals as part of their own…treatment.”

Lydia nodded. “That sounds amazing, Landon. What a wonderful thing to do.”

“Can you show us around? Lydia would love to see the barn and the trails. She works with people and teaches them how to relax.”

Landon scoffed. “You need that.”

“Yes, I do.” Riley twined his hand with Lydia’s as they stepped off the porch, following Landon on a tour of his farm. “That’s exactly what I need.”

Riley was grateful for a good day with Landon. Early on, there’d been a lot of behavioral problems due to his injury and a lot of short-term memory loss that made conversing with his brother difficult and frustrating.

Years of therapy had helped, the right combination of medications, and of course the staff at Kattinger, but occasionally there were days when it was hard to forget Landon would never function at a level higher than that of an adolescent.

Just as he’d suspected, his brother loved Lydia and showed off by contradicting almost everything Riley said while they toured the facility. Fortunately, Lydia didn’t seem to notice, or it didn’t bother her. She seemed to be having a good time.

“Can you stay and eat with everybody?” Landon asked after they’d made an exhaustive tour of the barns, the recreation building, the art rooms, and his own living area which was similar to the cabin Lydia occupied on the grounds at Green Solutions. This was as independent as Landon would ever be, but in some ways Riley envied his brother this secluded, quiet existence where his daily routines were designed to keep him focused on his own well-being and that of his fellow residents. There was no rat race here, no deadlines, no overtime, and always someone was on hand to help deal with stress, frustration, and uncertainty.

“We’ve got a long drive back to Lydia’s place,” Riley said gently. “But next week, I’ll come up with Mom and Dad, and we’ll all have dinner together, okay?”

Riley hated to see disappointment on his brother’s face, but fortunately it was short-lived. He smiled again a moment later and asked, “Will you bring me some books?”

“Sure. In fact I have a couple of them I picked up last time I was at the mall.”

“Okay, cool. When are you coming back again?”

“Next week. I’ll have Mom and Dad with me then.”

“Okay.” Landon shifted from one foot to the other again, a sign he was getting anxious. He was probably tired.

“Landon, let’s get Marla to come along, and you can walk us to the car, okay?”

“Yeah.” Landon nodded and led them back into the house. Marla met them at the front desk, still smiling, but clearly she noticed Landon was getting weary. She rose and took him by the arm.

“How did we do? Did everyone enjoy the tour?”

“It was wonderful,” Lydia said. “What a beautiful place you have here.”

“We like it, don’t we, Landon?”

Landon nodded mutely.

“We have to get going,” Riley said. “We thought you could walk us out to the car, if Landon wants to. Or we can say good-bye here.”

Marla looked at Landon. “It’s almost time for dinner. Landon, do you want to walk Riley to his car?”

Landon seemed to be looking into the distance. When he came back, he blinked a few times and met Riley’s gaze with near perfect clarity for an instant. “I’m tired,” he said. “Maybe next time.”

“Sure. I’m tired too. Bye, Landon. We’ll see you next week.” Riley hugged his brother and stepped back.

“Bye, Landon,” Lydia said. “Thanks for the tour.”

“Bye…your name is Lydia.”

“That’s right. I’m Lydia.”

“See you next week, Lydia.”

Riley wondered if she would correct him, but she didn’t. By next week, there was a chance he’d forget he’d met her. Then again, she might be the first topic of conversation. His memory wasn’t predictable most of the time.

Marla waved, and Riley led Lydia out of the house. She was silent until they reached the car, and once they were cruising down the long drive to the main road, she made a small sound like a hum.

He glanced over. She was focused on the scenery and the long shadows of the trees. “I don’t normally let people into this part of my life.”

“Thank you for taking me here. It’s amazing how much you two look alike.”

“I think we’d have been a lot alike…our personalities. We used to fight a lot, and my father always said it was because we were cut from the same cloth. I wonder if he’d have wanted to be a lawyer. Sometimes I think about how it would be if we’d been able to go into practice together.”

“But you have this. He’s like an oasis in your life. This place…the way he lives, it’s what grounds you. Or it would be if you let it.”

“It’s what keeps me working so hard. It’s expensive, for him to live here. He gets state aid, but it’s not enough for all the therapies he needs. My parents won’t be around forever, so I want to make sure I can be there when he needs me.”

She nodded, and when she spoke her voice was soft and distant. “Isn’t that a perfect reason not to work yourself into an early grave? Don’t let the stress take you away from him.”

He knew that. It was the truth he’d been trying to reconcile on his own for years. Fear of not being able to help Landon financially kept him motivated to work all the time. He’d remained in denial about how the stress of the constant pressure was affecting him. “I don’t want it to. I just have to pass the bar, and then things will be better.”

“Do you really think the pressure will let up then?”

“Well, I won’t have the fear of failing the test hanging over me. I’ve got three more months until the results come out. I don’t know how I’m going to get through them.”

She put her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be here. If you want me to be.”

“I want you…more than anything.”

*

The walk from the parking area to Lydia’s cabin seemed to take only seconds. Together they stumbled into the darkened room, pulling clothes off, kissing as they fell into her bed.

Shirtless, his eyes dilated to deep black rimmed with blue, Riley stretched his body over Lydia’s and took her face in his hands. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She ran her hands down his back, aware of the tension still bunching his muscles and determined to smooth it away over the next few hours.

“For giving me a second chance that I didn’t deserve.”

“Of course you deserved it. Thank you for sharing that part of your life with me. I know it had to be difficult.”

Riley kissed her, tenderly at first, then with more urgency.

Lydia’s pulse raced. She would always give him another chance because nothing in the world could take the place of the way he made her feel when he touched her. Nothing could come between them again…except the insistent chirping of a cell phone.

Riley let out a deep sigh, seeming to deflate. He laid his forehead against hers.

“Get it,” she said.

He didn’t argue. He only cursed and shook his head as he climbed out of bed and retrieved his phone from the pants he’d just shed.

The conversation was short and terse and clearly didn’t involve Brenda. Lydia had the feeling it was one of the partners who’d called judging by the resigned look on Riley’s face.

Riley hung up the phone and kept his eyes averted from Lydia’s. She didn’t need to ask what had happened. His end of the conversation was pretty clear. They needed him back at the office.