Beautifully Undone (The Beaumont Brothers #3) (14 page)

“We know you didn’t trick him,” Gabby said.

“Do you think he thinks that?”

“No. At least, he’s never said that. No. I seriously doubt he thinks that,” Lena said. “No one thinks that.”

“I hope not.”

“Hey, let’s take Jackson’s boat out. Do you know how to work it, Lena?

“I think so. It has a motor. What could be so hard?” We got up and headed toward what looked like a pile of brush. She shoved the branches away to reveal a small, metal boat that lay upside down. “Give me a hand.” She placed her hands on the edge and Gabby and I flanked her on each side and lifted it up and over. It was a small boat with a small outboard motor.

“This looks fun,” I said.

We pushed and shoved it into the water, getting our feet wet in the process. Then we all hopped in when the motor cleared the silt and the prop became completely submerged.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Gabby said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen Jackson do this all the time.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we pick up the blanket and stuff first?” I asked, pointing back at the grassy area with our stuff.

“I’m sure it will be fine. We won’t be out very long.”

Once we were a safe distance from the shore, Lena pulled the cord on the motor. It started right up. The view was gorgeous. I’d never seen a lake so calm and smooth. Like glass. We traveled down the lake until I could barely make out the blanket we’d left on shore. As we headed farther into the lake, we turned a corner after passing some land that jutted out into the middle and then we headed into a wider part of the lake. “This lake is a lot larger than I thought.” My eyes about popped out of their socket at the sight of snow-covered peaks. “Is that Mount Shasta?” I asked.

“Yeah. Isn’t it gorgeous?” Lena answered, beaming with pride. “I love this lake. I love coming out here with a good book and just sitting here in the boat while Jackson fishes.”

I dipped my fingers into the water. “Burr. This water is so cold. Does it freeze in the winter?”

“No. It’s not cold enough since this lake sits right in the heart of a valley. We occasionally get some snow, but it melts pretty quickly.”

We kept on going for about fifteen more minutes.

Gabby looked up at the sky and pointed. “It looks like some clouds are coming in. So much for our warm sunshine.”

The clouds came in quickly, and along with them wind.

“We should probably head back. I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Lena said as the wind blew her long, red locks into her face. She swiped them away, but it was no use, they just kept coming back. The strong wind was blowing all our hair out of control.

Gabby reached into her pocket and came out with some hair bands. She handed one to me and one to Lena.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the elastic and pulling my hair back into a ponytail. Lena did the same.

“I usually have a spare or two,” Gabby said and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“The three of us would make a great Clairol commercial. A redhead, a blonde, and a brunette,” she said while pointing at each one of us as she said the hair color.

The wind got stronger and I shivered. All I had on was a t-shirt and my yoga pants. I’d left my hoodie back on the blanket where we’d been picnicking. It had been sunny, and the warm rays had felt good on my arms. In fact, that was close to what we all had on, except Lena wore a pale blue button-down, long-sleeved blouse instead of a t-shirt. But it was thin, and I could tell she was just a chilly as I was.

As Lena turned the boat around, the engine sputtered and then stopped.

“What happened?” Gabby asked.

“I don’t know. It just stopped.” She stood up and pulled on the cord to start it again. It came right back on.

“Whew,” I said, but I spoke too soon as the motor sputtered and stopped again.

“Dammit! What is wrong with this thing?” Lena whined and pulled on the cord once more; the engine cranked and whined but wouldn’t turn over. She tried again, and again, and again. Still nothing. “My fingers are getting raw.”

“Here, let me try,” Gabby pulled it a few times, but still nothing.”

“Wait. You’re flooding the engine,” I said. I didn’t know too much about boats, but I knew if you cranked too long on the gas peddle trying to start a car, it would make things worse.

“What?” They both looked at me, their foreheads wrinkling with bewilderment.

“If you try to start it too many times, the engine will flood from too much gas,” I explained then blew my warm breath on my fingers that were becoming numb from the cold. My arms were cold, my feet were cold too since my socks and Converse were still soaking wet. “Let it sit for a few minutes and then try it again.”

They nodded and Gabby sat down.

“The wind is getting stronger by the minute,” I said.

“It’s going to get colder, too. The wind is blowing all the cold air from the mountain down this way.”

“Are there any oars?”

“There should be one,” Lena said, glancing around the small boat floor, but none of us saw one. “It must have fallen out when we flipped the boat over. I didn’t notice it. Sorry.” Lena sank down and sat in the floor of the boat. “Come down here, it helps a little.”

Both Gabby and I moved to the floor. The sides of the metal boat weren’t very high, but they did help block some of the wind.

After about ten minutes Gabby said, “Maybe we should try again?” She stood and pulled on the cord to start the motor, but this time, it didn’t even try to catch. There was barely a sputter.

“Are we out of gas?” I asked.

“No. I checked it before we left. It was almost full. We haven’t gone that far, there should be plenty of gas still.” Lena got up and unscrewed the cap and peeked inside the tank. “Yep. There is plenty of gas.”

“God, what are we going to do? The water is too cold to swim to shore. We’re stuck out here in the middle of the lake. Did anyone bring their phone?” Gabby asked.

I shook my head, “I left it in my jacket. No pockets to carry it.”

“Same here,” Lena said. None of us had pockets, so all of our phones were back on the picnic blanket with the food and our jackets while we sat stranded in the middle of a freezing lake.

Great.

Gabby got up to try the motor again. “Someone give me a hand. Maybe if two of us pull it will catch.”

I got up since I was the closest and put my hand over Gabby’s.

“On three. Ready?”

I nodded.

“One, two, three.” We yanked on the cord and Gabby’s elbow hit me in the chest, sending me backwards. I lost my balance and fell into the lake. My ankle hit the side of the boat on the way in and I thought I would die from the pain, except the shock of the cold water made me completely numb within seconds.

“Oh my God. Mel!” I heard Lena shout as cold water enveloped my body. I came up sputtering, teeth chattering.

“Take my hand,” Gabby said. I did, and Lena grabbed onto my arm, pulling me back into the boat.

“Co…co…co…cold,” I chattered out the word and sank down to the bottom of the boat to get out of the wind.

“I am so sorry, Mel,” Gabby cried. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head. Tears stung my eyes, but I doubted that they noticed since I was soaking wet. “My ankle hurts. It hit the side of the boat.”

“I can’t believe I shoved you in the lake. God, Mel, I’m so sorry,” she said again, and I nodded. I knew she hadn’t done it on purpose, but I was freezing nonetheless, and my ankle was throbbing.

“We have to get back. Mel will freeze to death if we can’t get that motor running,” Gabby said.

They both tried to start the engine again, but it was no use. With the force of the wind, we drifted farther away from where we’d started. The chance of anyone finding us was slim.

My head swirled and my stomach twisted into a knot. “Oh, no,” I cried and leaned over the edge, losing all the cheese and salami I’d eaten earlier. This baby didn’t seem to care much for the cold water any more than I did.

I sat there shivering. Lena sat beside me and wrapped her arms around me. “You’ll get all wet,” I said.

“That’s okay. You need to keep warm.

Gabby sat on the other side of me and scooted in close, wrapping her arms around me also. It helped. A lot.

“Let me see your ankle,” Gabby said.

I lifted my pant leg and she took off my shoe and sock. My ankle had a small cut on it, but other than that, it wasn’t swollen.

“It doesn’t look too bad. Does it still hurt a lot?” she asked.

“Not t…too much,” I stuttered.

I looked up for a second. The clouds were darker, and several more had accumulated over the past several minutes.

“Was that a raindrop?” Gabby said.

“Oh, no,” Lena groaned as rain belted down on us. It was so sudden, as if someone up in the sky held a giant bucket over us and dumped it out right on top of our heads. And, if that weren’t enough, lightning bolted through the sky, making the three of us jump. I may have let out a scream. Three short seconds later, thunder roared, reminding us that we were alone and scared in the middle of a lake on a little metal boat, not really even a boat, more of a dinghy, with a bad motor. God, I was going to die pregnant. I wanted Asher.

Asher

Brodie, Jackson, and I had left early in the morning to head to Redding. Brodie said it was the closest place with any decent music stores when he’d asked me if I wanted to go. He needed some new guitar strings, and Jackson wanted to pick up some more music sheets.  

I jumped at the chance to get away. Not being able to talk to Mel was driving me crazy. We stayed in Redding after the music store, deciding to grab some lunch. I was glad to have the opportunity to hang with them some more. I knew Mel was anxious to leave, though she hadn’t come right out and said so, considering she wasn’t talking to me. But I could tell.

This trip had been a bittersweet journey. I’d finally gotten to meet my brothers, whom I’d hated most of my life until now, but I’d lost my best friend somewhere along the way. I knew she would eventually speak to me, but I didn’t think we’d ever get back the close relationship we had. I didn’t know what I was going to do without her. I was sure she’d let me be in the baby’s life, but I wanted more than that. I didn’t care about the baby so much. Wait, that didn’t come out right. I did care about the baby. Of course, I cared about it, but not like I cared about Melody. She was my life. My best friend and…I loved her. Oh, God, I loved her so fucking much. I always had. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I needed to fix this, and I needed to fix it today.

Mel was going to listen to me even if I had to tie her to the bed.

Brodie, Jackson, and I had lunch at a small outside burrito cafe. Brodie said it was his favorite place to eat whenever he came up to Redding. While I ate the best damn burrito I’d ever had, I got an idea, but I was going to need the help of my brothers to pull it off.

Lucky for me, they agreed.

It was a long ride home, particularly when the rain started pelting down. We could barely see the road. I was glad we were in Brodie’s monster truck though with its large wheels and jacked-up frame. Some of the puddles we’d whizzed through with ease resembled small lakes. My truck was big, but not as raised as his, and my tires were more for street usage. After all, I
did
live in the city. There wasn’t much use for big-ass tires eating up my gas going up and down those hills. If we had been in a regular car, or even an SUV, we’d have gotten stuck.

We pulled onto the gravel drive heading up to the farmhouse. I was excited to see Mel, but somewhat anxious.

“The house is dark,” Brodie said. “There should be a light on somewhere.”

“Maybe the power is out,” Jackson suggested.

We all got out of the truck and made a beeline for the front porch. Even though we all ran, we still managed to get soaked. The rain came down so hard; it stung when it hit my skin.

Brodie turned the knob on the front door. It didn’t open, so he got his key out and unlocked it. 

“Gabrielle?” He called out, but she didn’t answer. He hit the switch on the wall and the lights came on.

“Maybe she’s at my house,” Jackson said.

“Maybe, but she usually leaves a note,” Brodie said, checking around the living room for some sign of a message from Gabby.

“I’m going to go up and check on Melody.” I headed out the back door and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. The door to the cottage was locked. I dug into my pocket, retrieved the key, and stuck it in the keyhole. I opened the door. The cottage was dark. I hit the switch on the wall and light illuminated an empty room. Mel was nowhere in sight. I ran back down the steps and caught Brodie and Jackson just as they were heading out the driveway.

Brodie stopped the truck, and I jumped in. “Melody’s not up there.”

“She’s probably with Lena and Gabby,” Jackson said.

I nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I hoped.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Brodie admitted. “Gabrielle always leaves a note if she goes out close to dark.”

It only took a minute, and we were coasting into Jackson’s driveway. Brodie cut the engine and we sat there looking at another dark house. Jackson glanced around. “Lena’s car is gone.”

We all got out and ran through the rain to his front door. Jackson unlocked it. We went in and Jack turned on the light.

“Lena!” he yelled, but, of course, there was no answer.

I glanced around at the chocolate-brown leather sectional sofa. One of the recliners had been left in the up position as if someone had left in a hurry, but that may have just been my imagination going wild with worry since Jackson hadn’t seemed too concerned about that and hadn’t mentioned it. A tall floor lamp in the corner illuminated the room with a soft glow.

“Woof, woof.” Rufus came barreling into the room, sliding to a halt when he reached Jackson.

“What’s up, boy? Where’s Lena?”

“Woof,” he barked at the mention of Lena’s name. Jackson scratched him behind the ears then took off up the stairs, calling out Lena’s name. Rufus plopped down and stretched out at my feet.

Jackson came back down, shaking his head. “She’s not here.”

“I don’t like it. I’m calling the bar. Maybe someone there knows where they are,” Brodie said and took out his phone, hit a couple of buttons, and said, “Hey, Derrick…yeah, it’s a hell of a storm. Have you seen Gabrielle or Lena…or Melody?...” He shook his head at us. “Okay. If they come in there, call Jack or me...Don’t know yet...Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep you posted.” He hung up.

“Nothing?” Jack asked.

“Nope.”

“I hate to be a pessimist here, but what if something happened to them. This storm is fucking nuts,” I said.

“Let’s go,” Jackson said.

“Where?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Come on Rufus. Let’s go find Lena.”

Rufus barked again and jumped to his feet.

“Man, I didn’t think that dog could move that fast,” I said.

Jackson grabbed Lena’s scarf off the hall tree. “Rufus is a hound dog, one of the greatest trackers this side of the Turtle Lake. If they’re in trouble, he’ll find them.”

“He’s done it before. Hopefully, he’ll do it again,” Brodie said and slapped me on the back. “Come on, little brother, Let’s go find our women.”

I smiled at the little brother comment, though the sentiment didn’t last long with me as my mind reeled with all sorts of possible catastrophes involving Mel and the other two women, who were my sisters-in-law.

We drove down a dark, narrow street a short distance from the house. The road soon turned to dirt. The headlights beamed, and up ahead a short distance stood what looked like a car.

“That’s Lena’s car,” Jackson said, pointing up ahead.

Brodie pulled up beside the empty vehicle and cut the engine.

“Thank God,” I muttered. “But where are they? I’m assuming they are all together.”

“They have to be,” Brodie said. “Gabrielle’s car and your truck are still at my house.”

“Right,” I agreed, though my stomach knotted and I wanted to hurl. The burrito I’d had earlier wasn’t mixing well with the angst of Melody missing. Possibly hurt. Seeing Lena’s vacant SUV didn’t help. But maybe we were close.

“Come on, Rufus.” Jackson held Lena’s scarf out for Rufus to sniff. “Go find Lena.”

Rufus took off running, and we ran after him.

“Why the hell are they out in this storm?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Brodie said.

Rufus ran to the grassy area by the lake, stopped, and howled. “He found something!” Jackson yelled. We ran toward the dog. Rufus stood on top of a blanket and a paper bag full of soaked cheese and salami. “It looks like they had a picnic.” He glanced over to his left. “Oh, no.”

“What?”

“The boat is gone.”

“You have a boat?”

“It’s just a small fishing boat with an outboard motor.”

“An old fishing boat with an even older motor,” Brodie supplied.

“They must be out on the lake. I forgot to tell Lena that the motor was acting up. I noticed it a few days ago when I came out to fish.”

“Woof, woof, woof.” Rufus took off down the beach, barking. We followed him. About a mile down, Rufus stopped and pointed his face toward the water. He barked some more, and when we reached him, we heard screams and shouts coming from the middle of the lake, but we couldn’t see anything. The rain was coming down in buckets, and visibility was almost nothing.

“I see them!” Brodie shouted and waved his hands in the air. “Gabrielle!” He jumped up and down, and Rufus barked some more.

Jackson yelled for Lena. I kept shouting for Melody, jumping, waving. I was extremely excited and relieved that we’d found them. Though, we didn’t know how to get to them.

Jackson tugged his phone out of his pocket and pushed the slider over, then pressed another button. “Doc. We need your boat…Meet us at the fishing hole…Of course, the same old one…I know it’s raining…The girls are out in my old dinghy and the motor crapped out. They’re stuck in the middle of the lake…Okay. And Doc? Hurry, it’s fucking cold out here.”

By the time Doc arrived with his boat and we managed to get the girls in, it was completely dark. The rain had let up some, but it didn’t stop. The women were all drenched.

“Asher…” Mel slurred my name as I lifted her out of the dead boat and into Doc’s. “I’m so…c…c…cold.” Her teeth chattered rapidly. Lena and Gabby weren’t in much better shape. “I fe…fe…fell in. I ca…ca…can’t feel my toes.”

I wrapped a blanket around her and pulled her tightly against me. “You’re safe now.”

“Saffff,” she uttered, pressing her head against my chest and closing her eyes. God, her skin was red, almost as if she had a sunburn, and I was astonished at how cold her hands were when I covered them with mine. Her arms and cheeks were freezing, and I tried my hardest to rub some warmth into her.

We took them all straight to the emergency room. Lena and Gabby checked out okay, but Mel was so cold, they worried about her physical condition since she had fallen in the lake and had gotten soaked through and through. When they found out she was pregnant, they decided to keep her overnight. I stayed with her. They wrapped her feet and legs in heated socks and blankets and put some warm mittens on her hands, then covered her with more heated blankets.

She slept most of the time. I sat in the chair in the room and couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I couldn’t leave. This whole thing, being here in the hospital, reminded me of my mom and those last few days before she died. I couldn’t lose Mel. She was all I had. Everyone I’d ever loved had been taken away from me. I couldn’t lose her, too. Yeah, I had brothers now, but that love still needed to be earned. Nurtured. Love didn’t happen instantly just because you were blood. I couldn’t say I didn’t love them, but I couldn’t say that I did either. At least not yet.

I’d had something special planned for tonight with Mel, something to fix
us
. But it would have to wait. My babies—Mel and my actual baby—needed to rest and recuperate a little while first. So, I waited and watched.