Jake's Biggest Risk (Those Hollister Boys) (10 page)

“I’ll write you a check right now,” Jake said.

“That’s all right. You can do that at the festival.” Gwen waved her hand. “I don’t have my receipt book with me.”

“Take it now,” Hannah advised her friend, coming down the steps holding the hands of two small boys identical in appearance, right down to their skinned knees and freckled noses. “In case Jake doesn’t go to the festival.”

Jake didn’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed. Gwen Westfield had assumed he wouldn’t miss the town celebration while Hannah had probably guessed he wasn’t likely to attend.

“Oh.” Gwen blinked. “In that case, make it out to the MLFD Truck Fund.”

He went inside the lodge and returned with the check. “Here you are.”

Gwen’s eyes widened as she looked at it. “Five thousand dollars? That’s extremely generous.”

“It’s a good cause.” Yet Jake knew he wasn’t being generous; he was just avoiding an awkward situation. Between his trust fund and private income, he didn’t have to worry about money, and it smoothed over situations like this.

“I’ll give your receipt to Hannah the next time I see her, and she can get it to you.”

“Whatever’s convenient.”

As she bundled her kids into the SUV, Brendan came out and kissed Hannah on the cheek. “Danny says his stomach hurts, so I’d better go. Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.”

Hannah shot a harried glance at Jake before disappearing inside Silver Cottage. A minute later the lawyer’s Lexus was gone and a sense of peace returned to the large clearing around the two buildings.

Jake smiled. It had turned out to be a fairly good day—his leg didn’t hurt as much, and he finally had a plan for attacking his project on the Cascades. But since Danny wasn’t feeling well, he’d speak with Hannah another time about showing him around her favorite spots in the mountains.

As for Aaron and Matt’s hopes to visit Mahalaton Lake later in the summer...it wouldn’t have concerned Jake if it was just his brothers, but their wives and children?

It was just too much to take.

* * *

I
NSIDE
THE
HOUSE
Hannah found Danny watching TV.

“I thought your tummy hurt.”

“It’s better now,” he told her with an innocent expression on his face.

She wondered if he’d faked illness to get rid of Brendan, but he’d behaved most of the evening, so maybe it was better not to scold him. Besides, there
was
a stomach bug going around Mahalaton Lake.

A short time later Hannah was glad she hadn’t said anything—one minute Danny was fine, the next he was violently ill. The worst seemed to be over after a couple of hours and he fell into an exhausted sleep around eleven.

Badger watched worriedly as Hannah cleaned up and put the soiled sheets and towels into the washing machine. She came back and checked Danny’s forehead again.

“It’s okay, boy,” she assured the dog, and he lay on the floor, seeming to understand he shouldn’t be on the bed.

Only then did Hannah start thinking about what needed to be done the next day. She was supposed to set up for the ice cream social, make huckleberry ice cream and bake several batches of her peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookies.

Reluctantly, she fetched the phone and called her parents. They were always eager to help out, though she didn’t like asking.

“Hannah, what’s wrong? You’re usually in bed by now,” her mother asked when she answered. Unlike her daughter, Carrie was a night person, staying up until all hours of the morning while still managing to get up early, too.

“Danny has the stomach bug that’s going around.”

“Oh, dear. How is he doing?”

“Better for the moment, but I’m trying to figure out what to do about tomorrow. I’m supposed to be at Memorial Hall at 9:00 a.m. Is there any way that Dad could go in my place and help set up for the ice cream social? Everybody should have a list of what needs to be done.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to. What else can we do?”

Hannah recalled the grocery list she’d gotten from Jake earlier in the afternoon, but he’d have to wait. “Nothing. Danny will probably stay in bed sleeping or watching TV, so it’ll be easy enough to take care of my baking, and I can do the shopping another day.”

“Nonsense. I’ll come over and watch him while you run to the store.”

“I don’t want to expose you to his germs.”

“Don’t worry about that. Besides, we both had it last week.”

Hannah straightened. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded indignantly. She talked to her parents almost every day, and they’d said nothing about being sick.

Carrie laughed. “Because you worry too much. Trust me, Danny will be much better by tomorrow evening. But he probably won’t be well enough to go on Sunday, so I’ll watch him then, as well.”

“You don’t want to miss the ice cream social.”

“I’d rather spend time with my grandson. I’ll leave my contributions at Memorial Hall before coming out there.”

“You won’t enjoy being with Danny if he’s missing the social,” Hannah said drily. “He’ll be a pain.”

“I’ll manage. Now get some rest yourself, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“All right.” Hannah put the phone down and checked on her son again. He wasn’t seriously ill, but it was times like this that she was worried about living out of Mahalaton Lake. Yet she was still only a few minutes away from emergency services, so there wasn’t any real need for concern.

Danny stirred restlessly and she brushed his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at her fretfully. “Mommy, don’t turn the light off, a lion might jump on me.”

Damn Jake, and damn his stories
. Even so, Hannah couldn’t deny they were exciting. She’d found herself listening a few times, lured by the exotic flavor of distant lands. Until Jake had become part of her life, she had forgotten how much fun it could be to travel, although the places she’d visited with her great-aunt and uncle bore little relationship to the remote corners of the world that he favored. And unlike Jake, she wanted a place to call home.

“I’ll leave the light on, but there aren’t any lions here in Mahalaton Lake. Have you been having bad dreams?”

“Uh-huh, but don’t tell Jake. He never gets scared.”

“Honey, I’m sure Jake gets scared, too.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Danny insisted stubbornly. “And I wanna have adventures just like him.”

Hannah tensed. She didn’t think Jake was brave; she thought he was foolhardy. Between his stories and his press coverage, she’d gotten a clear picture of a man who was lucky he hadn’t died years ago. She didn’t want to lose her son, either to constant travel or some reckless act that killed him.

“There are all sorts of adventures,” she said carefully. “You’ll figure out what kinds are important to you when you’re older.”

“I like
his
kind.” Danny stuck his lip out and rubbed his tummy. “But I don’t like being sick.”

“I know. Close your eyes and try to sleep. It’ll be better soon.”

“Okay.”

She sat in the rocking chair by the bed and put her head back, thinking about the people Danny had exposed to his germs earlier that day. Gwen and her twin boys, Brendan, Barbi...Jake Hollister. Barbi had already been sick with the bug, but none of the others had as far as Hannah knew. And Jake was probably even more susceptible because he was still recovering from his injuries. However much he got on her nerves, she’d feel responsible if he caught anything.

Hannah let out a sigh. If she’d thought her tenant was a challenge before, wait until he was heaving in the bathroom because of her son.

CHAPTER EIGHT

J
AKE
GOT
UP
late on Saturday morning, having slept through the night for the first time in more than a week. Untroubled rest was rare these days. He’d often wake up around midnight and stay awake for hours, unable to stop thinking.

The possibility of being killed in a dangerous location was something he’d accepted long ago, but he hadn’t really thought about getting injured in a way that might change his life. And he also hadn’t thought about anyone else getting hurt, either. Now he’d nearly gotten Toby killed, and Gordon had died. It didn’t matter that it was from a heart attack; the old bush pilot hadn’t been near medical help when it was needed.

In a somber mood, Jake wandered into the kitchen and ate a slice of pizza from the box in the fridge, then stepped into the sunroom.

He looked over at Silver Cottage to see if anyone was stirring and saw Hannah on the deck, doing her yoga. Then he blinked and looked closer.
Not
Hannah, but someone who looked a good deal like her. The woman was older, but just as slim and shapely, with the same rich chestnut hair. An unaccustomed curiosity hit him.

Jake opened a window and leaned out. “Hi, I’m Jake Hollister.”

The woman pressed her hands together before looking up. “Hello. I’m Carrie Nolan, Hannah’s mother.”

“Is she there?”

Carrie gracefully unfolded from the lotus position and stood. “Sorry, she’s out shopping. Danny has a stomach bug, so I came over to stay with him. I hope you don’t get it yourself—Hannah is concerned because he was there while she was cleaning yesterday.”

Jake shrugged. “I never get sick.”

Just banged up in plane crashes
.

“Hannah doesn’t, either. I think it’s because she’s a schoolteacher and is exposed to germs all year long. That’s convenient when you’re also a mother, but very annoying to the rest of us.”

Jake grinned. He liked Carrie Nolan.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she asked.

“No, I just wanted to talk to your daughter about something. It can wait.”

“How about coming over for breakfast? Nothing fancy, I was just going to fix hot cereal.”

Why not? He mostly ordered pizza from Luigi’s, despite what Barbi had said about getting items from the regular menu, but he was getting tired of it. Funny, pizza had been his favorite treat as a kid. He still remembered tasting it for the first time. Sully had met him and his mother on a layover in New York. It wasn’t long after the disastrous climbing party on Sagarmatha, but Josie had brightened when she’d seen Sully waiting at the gate. They’d stayed two days, seeing the sights and sampling various New York restaurants, including one that served pizza. It was during that visit Jake had realized his mother’s relationship with his father was more than ex-lover. Even now they still got together occasionally.

“I’d love breakfast.”

Carrie met him at the front door, and she looked even more like Hannah close up, with only a few extra laugh lines and some strands of silver in her hair.

“Danny is asleep,” she said in a hushed tone. “Go out on the deck. If he wakes up and hears you, he might come out. And even if you
do
have a tough constitution, it’s best not to push it.”

Jake glanced around as he went through to the French doors that opened onto the deck. Silver Cottage appeared to be similar to Huckleberry Lodge, with lots of natural wood and a rustic flavor that didn’t sacrifice comfort. And the deck, while smaller than the one off the lodge, had an equally fine view of the lake and mountain beyond.

“I’m sorry Danny isn’t feeling well,” he said when Carrie brought out a tray with two steaming bowls.

“He’s better today. The worst was last night, so Hannah didn’t get much rest. And of course she’ll be baking cookies all afternoon and making huckleberry ice cream tomorrow morning for the ice cream social. Nothing stops my daughter.”

“You mean people still have ice cream socials? I thought they went out of fashion a hundred years ago.”

“Not quite. It’s a Mahalaton Lake tradition and raises quite a bit of money for the rescue squad. Actually, there’s some type of event almost every weekend during the summer. Hasn’t Hannah mentioned them? She’s on two or three fund-raising committees.”

Jake tried to remember if Hannah had said anything about the community celebrations. There
had
been a brief comment, mostly as an explanation when he’d asked about her frequent visitors.

“Yeah, she said something about it. And I heard about the Christmas in August festival from someone named Gwen.”

Carrie chuckled. “We love Christmas here, so we finally decided that once a year wasn’t enough. Except for not having snow, Mahalaton Lake will look like an old-fashioned holiday card for over a week. We have visitors who come just for the festival.”

“That’s...uh, nice for the town,” Jake commented awkwardly. Christmas wasn’t celebrated in many of the different places where he’d grown up. He was aware of the religious aspect of the holiday, but the traditions surrounding it weren’t part of his childhood.

He
did
wonder why Hannah hadn’t told him about the ice cream social, especially since it was happening so soon. She’d also assumed he wouldn’t be interested in the festival. She was right, of course, but since local fund-raising activities seemed to be important to her, it was curious that she hadn’t tried to convince him to attend. Or at least to donate money.

“I should have asked if the cereal was done enough,” said Carrie. “We prefer it chewy, but some people like it cooked longer.”

“It’s fine.”

The sound of a car caught Jake’s attention. If it was Hannah, she probably wouldn’t appreciate finding him on her deck, talking to her mother. He suppressed a grin; Hannah was an intriguing woman, full of interesting contradictions.

“Mom, how is Danny doing?” Hannah asked as she came out onto the deck. She spared Jake a brief glance, her mouth tightening.

“Mostly just sleeping, but he’s been able to keep ginger ale and apple juice down. Jake and I just finished breakfast.”

“I see that.”

Carrie stood up. “Jake assured me that you don’t need to worry about him getting the stomach flu because he never gets sick. Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and help out with Danny while you’re baking?”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I appreciate your coming over today.”

“Anytime, you know that.”

Hannah kissed Carrie’s cheek, and side by side, their resemblance was even more startling. Jake recalled an old mountaineer saying that if you wanted to know what a woman would look like in twenty years, you needed to check out her mother. If Carrie Nolan was any indication, Hannah would just get more striking as she aged.

When her mother was gone, Hannah’s expression turned chilly again. “I have your groceries in the car. I’ll get them after I look in on Danny.”

“Okay.” Obviously, she didn’t want him on her deck, much less in her house.

There were three paper bags in her trunk for him, and Jake insisted on carrying the two heaviest. He refused to be treated as if he was an invalid. In the kitchen Hannah automatically began putting the food away.

“It looks as if you got a few things that weren’t on my list,” he observed.

“Yeah, fresh food. Try it—you might like it.” She ended by folding the paper sacks and stowing them in the pantry.

“That’s all,” she said. “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

* * *

H
ANNAH
NARROWED
HER
eyes. “Do you want to change the days I clean?”

“Not exactly. You love the Cascades, and I figured that since you aren’t teaching this summer, I’d hire you to show me your favorite places in the mountains. We can start with the locations where you think dogwood trees may still be blooming.”

“Even if I’m not teaching, I’m still busy.”

“Weekends, sure, but not as much during the week. I’ll pay you two hundred a day—double if it’s overnight—and we can arrange the outings around your schedule. Danny can even come with us some of the time.”

She clenched her fingers. She
was
busy, but how could she turn down the fee he was offering? Imagine, being paid to visit her favorite places
and
being able to bring Danny. She’d have to wait to do that, though, until she knew more about how Jake worked—Danny had trouble sitting still for long periods.

“Surely you won’t earn enough on your book to justify paying me that kind of money,” she said, stalling.

“I simply want it to be an artistic success. I’m not concerned about how much money the book makes.”

No doubt having a wealthy father allowed him to not worry about how he would feed and clothe himself like most people.

“It’s worth it to me,” Jake added. “And since you don’t think I have the right attitude about this project, this is your chance to convince me that the Cascades are something special.”

It was a blatant challenge, and she ought to tell him to stuff it, but she couldn’t. Hadn’t she told Brendan that Jake was an incredible photographer? And he
was
brilliant, even if his work often seemed sterile to her.

“Some of the places I love require a fair amount of hiking,” she warned. “Are you up to it yet?”

“I’ll manage.” His tone didn’t invite further discussion on the subject. “How about starting on Monday?”

Hannah sighed. She’d have to ask her mother to watch Danny again, but she didn’t have any committee meetings that couldn’t be rescheduled. “I should be able to work it out. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I can’t swing it. In the meantime, I have a sick son and dozens of cookies to bake.”

She walked to the door, only to have Jake follow her.

“What?”

“I just wondered why you didn’t say anything about the ice cream thing tomorrow.”

“You mean you want to go?” Hannah asked, mildly shocked. She
would
have invited Jake to the community fund-raiser if she’d thought he was interested.

“
No
. That is, I’m not good in that sort of social situation.”

“You’ve traveled all over the world, and yet you don’t think you’d be comfortable at a small-town ice cream social?”

Jake shrugged. “I guess it’s the way I was raised. We slept and ate with locals whenever possible, but Josie believed the best way to learn about a culture was to observe it, rather than to interact and taint it with our habits. I’ve mostly followed the same pattern since then.”

“Joining in seems like a better way to know a culture. Didn’t you get to play with any of the kids your age?”

He seemed even more uncomfortable. “Sometimes, but my mother didn’t approve.”

A curious sorrow went through Hannah...sorrow for the little boy who must have been terribly lonely, watching other people, but never really being a part of their lives.

“Well, if you decide you want to go to the social, it’s at Memorial Hall on Main Street. You just head into town and keep going until you pass the city park. The hall is on the left. I’ll even buy you a bowl of ice cream,” she found herself offering.

“That’s nice, but it still doesn’t explain why you didn’t mention the event.”

Hannah nearly popped off a smart remark, but stopped herself. Jake was asking seriously, and he deserved a serious response. “Because the Cascades are my home and you insulted them. I didn’t want my neighbors to be offended, as well. I realize you probably never stayed in a place long enough to have that kind of fondness for it, but home is important to most people, Jake. Maybe having to spend this time here is a chance to explore the culture of your own country.”

A taut expression went across his face. “You’re right. I apologize for not being more courteous. It’s just that photographing anything in the United States feels like...”

“Like what?”

“Surrender,” he muttered. “I’ve always left more accessible places to photographers who weren’t willing or able to go to the places that I could. Now doctors are telling
me
not to go to those places, either.”

Hannah looked at the line of pain etched around his mouth. “Andy says you’ll be all right, that it’ll just take time.”

“Yeah, I’m
expected
to make a full recovery, but nobody can offer guarantees. And they always have to remind me that I’m lucky to be alive. Or that I might have never walked again, though they could have just shot me if that had happened.”

A sinking sensation went through Hannah as she remembered Collin’s rambling words after he fell, saying he’d rather die than be in a wheelchair. She’d held his hand, praying for a miracle, as he’d slowly drifted away. Maybe that was why Jake had rubbed her wrong from the beginning. With his penchant for risking his neck, he reminded her of the worst hours of her life.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jake asked. “You look as if you’re going to pass out.”

“I... Yes, I’m fine. So that’s what you’ve been so bothered about...that the doctors might be wrong about your leg.”

“That’s part of it.”

“What happens if you don’t fully recover?”

Jake set his jaw. “Then I’ll go where I want anyway, and take my chances. I won’t play their waiting game forever.”

She swallowed, recalling something she’d heard him say to Owen.
If you live, you live. If you die, that’s it, you’re dust. Everything is pure chance
.

Maybe Jake took so many chances because he didn’t believe in anything more than the here and now. Hannah had wondered the same thing about Collin; it was as if he was challenging the world to prove there was more to life than a bunch of biological reactions. But was that what Jake was doing, or had he simply never found something important enough to live for
beyond
his art?

“That’s something you’ll have to decide if the time ever comes,” she said cautiously. “Um...I’ll talk to you later.”

Hannah hurried back to Silver Cottage. Danny was still asleep, and Badger lay at the foot of the bed, patiently waiting for his playmate to recover.

She slipped out of the room with a faint smile, but her humor faded as she thought about the things Jake had said. She hated the idea that he would be willing to throw his life away so casually.