(Insert standard disclaimer BS here)
Am having all kinds of fun thinking of where this story is going. And a nice long weekend ahead to work on it, goody!
Happy 4th, on the off-chance I don't get back before then....
Mist was rising off the lake. In a few hours, the warmth of indian summer sunlight would burn it off, but at this moment, the pearly haze softened the spiky boughs of the pines and lent a dreamy character to the landscape. A rowboat emerged from the fog, its dark green hull sluicing through the water. The woman navagating it rowed steadily, the paddles making rhythmic splashes as she worked them. She guided the little boat toward the dock, which grew closer and closer.
As she reached the dock and tossed a loop of rope over a piling to secure her craft, the door to the cabin just up the rise opened, and a tall man wearing blue jeans, glasses and an expression of inquiry stepped outside. He moved quickly toward her, buttoning up a plaid flannel shirt, as she hopped nimbly from the boat to the dock.
"Good morning, Mr. Rainey," she greeted him cheerfully. "Glad I didn't wake you. I was going to leave this at your door."
"This" was a package wrapped in aluminum foil. "What is it?" the occupant of the cabin asked, eyeing her with some concern.
"Banana nut bread. I got a wild hair this morning and whipped up a couple loaves, thought you might like some." She smiled at him, a not unattractive woman in a blue dress with pearly buttons riding the soft curves from her collar to her calves. Rainey fixed his gaze on the topmost button.
"Uh, thanks...Nadine?" He spoke her name hesitantly as he took the package from her.
"You're very welcome." She smiled up at him. He was an inch or two taller than she was, and seen together, they made an attractive couple. "I'd've made cream cheese frosting, but I didn't have any confectioner's sugar -- though heaven knows, I don't really need it!"
Rainey looked away as she patted her hips with a grin. His adam's apple bobbed up and down several times and he glanced down at the bundle in his hands. "Would you, ah, would you like to come in for a minute?"
"Surely! I've been looking over and wondering what this place was like ever since I bought the lot."
He led the way up the path to the house, holding the screen door for her. Nadine entered at her own pace, grey eyes sweeping the living room, open to the loft above. "This is nice," she said, casually wandering over to the bookshelves to read titles. "Comfortable."
"I'd offer you coffee, but I'm out. I've got some Mountain Dew--?"
Nadine took down a copy of "The Marble Faun", stood leafing idly through it. "I have a confession to make," she said with a little grin. "I came prepared, just in case you're an early bird like me." Reaching into the pocket of her shirtwaist dress, she produced a handful of teabags. "A little hot water, and I'll be as right as rain."
Rainey took the teabags gingerly and headed for the kitchen. She followed him, still holding the slim volume, still glancing around the space. "It's cozy," she said, leaning against the wall by the door. "Everything looks like it's been here for ages, sorta like it grew here. My place is nice, but the new hasn't worn off yet."
"If you didn't want new, you could've gone somewhere else." He set the saucepan of water on the burner and amended himself hastily. "I mean, bought a place instead of built."
"Oh, I wanted a new place, all right. It's all mine, everything's exactly the way I want it, I don't have to share it with anybody and there aren't any memories...." Nadine was staring into a middle distance and for a moment, Rainey stood looking at her curiously. Then she blinked at smiled at him again. "I'm sorry, blonde moment."
"How did you find Tashmore Lake?"
"I came up here a couple summers ago, a friend of a friend had a cabin, and I needed to get away for a while. I thought it was a sweet little place, but I didn't realize how quiet it was gonna get after the summer people go home."
"If you think it's quiet now, just wait until February. There's nothing but snow and trees. March -- more snow. April -- mud. But if you can hang in that long, spring is worth the wait."
"Oh, I'll hang in there," she said lightly. "I'm good at that."
.