The Lake House
Lonesome River Ranch
The dining room table sat dusted and polished and sporting a patriotic centerpiece for this first event in its new home. The classic Queen Anne double-pedestal style in solid mahogany sported a few extra nicks and one unfortunate scratch from the move, new wrinkles on the old grande dame’s timeless face.
Genevieve removed a bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet, paused to adjust the American flag adorning her centerpiece of red and white roses in a blue glass vase, then carried the liquor back into the kitchen, where she mixed a pair of Bloody Marys. After plopping a celery stick into each glass, she carried them out onto the deck, where her sister sat watching the show taking place on the lake.
Both Bennett sisters had gone all out this year with the Independence Day theme. Helen rocked her red, white, and blue attire from her patriotic pedicure to the red-sequined cowboy hat perched atop her head. Genevieve had been feeling Old Glory when she shopped, so she was waving the flag with a floppy hat and matching cotton shirt she wore atop white slacks with red sandals.
“Here you go. Vitamin V.” Genevieve handed Helen the drink and sat down beside her.
“Breakfast of champions.” Helen took a sip and sighed. “You do that well, Genevieve.”
“Thank you. I’ve had plenty of practice the past few years.”
Helen lifted her glass in a toast. “Here’s to drinking because you want it rather than because you need it.”
Genevieve clinked glasses with her sister, saying, “Here. Here.” She took a sip, then asked, “That is good. So how do you think it’s going?”
“Well, the day is still early, but so far, so good. I have a confession to make. I came downstairs for a snack late last night, and I heard you talking to Willow. I eavesdropped.”
“So you heard her ask if she and the children could visit Lake in the Clouds again before school starts? Did you know anything about this before now?”
“No. Hadn’t a clue. She hasn’t confided in me since it backfired at Thanksgiving.”
“She said Drew was happy during the week they spent in Colorado. She thinks it will be good for him.” Genevieve hesitated a moment and added, “She thinks it will be good for the two of us, too. Willow and I need some mother-daughter time without her siblings around.”
“Oh, honey.” Helen reached for her sister’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I agree. I think it’s wonderful. Personally, I’ll be thrilled to have Drew and Emma close for a time. It’ll be nice to play our video game all together instead of over the Internet.”
“You and that game.” Genevieve laughed.
“Oh, look. Here they come.” Helen nodded toward the lake, where a twenty-three-foot runabout motored by, towing an inflatable tube shaped like a big chair. Brooke rode in the center with Drew on one side and Emma on the other. Both children were laughing. “Pretty tame for a tube ride,” Helen observed.
“Because Emma’s having a turn, and Willow is at the wheel. Wait until later when someone else is riding, and Lucas is driving. That’s when it gets wild.”
“I don’t know if you’re going to get Lucas that far away from his smoker. My stars, his competitive juices are flowing like brisket drippings. Of course, it’s not just the brisket, you know. He’s feeling protective of you.”
“Protective of me! Whatever for? From who?”
“Those wicked Throckmorton men.”
“What?”
The ice in Helen’s Bloody Mary clattered as she stirred her drink with her celery stick, grinning. “Let’s be honest. You’ve become close to the family awfully fast.”
“I’m not close to them. Zach is my contractor. Gage is…is…”
“Yes?”
“He’s a friend who just lost his wife. He’s mourning. I know what that’s like, and I can relate to what he’s going through.”
“Still, you invited them to Texas for the Fourth of July. And everybody wants to leave the cool, beautiful mountains for one-hundred-degree heat in July.”
“I didn’t really think they’d come. But the anniversary of Gage’s wife’s passing is coming up, and Zach thought it would be good for his dad to have a change of scenery. Plus, this will be a good opportunity for Gage and me to discuss our plans for The Emily.”
“The theater is going to be an exciting addition to Lake in the Clouds.”
“I’m excited about it. That said, I don’t think Gage would have made the trip had he and Lucas not pressed each other’s hot buttons talking brisket smack.”
“And now we have a barbecue war going on. You’ll be the most popular person at the neighborhood potluck this evening.”
“It does smell heavenly, doesn’t it?” Genevieve grinned.
“Divine. Speaking of the divine, you need to make sure you snag one of those chocolates Brooke’s divorce lawyer sent back with her after their meeting yesterday.”
“I’ve already had one of those pieces of heaven. Actually, I had three last night. Brooke brought them to my room because she wanted to talk.”
“She did? Oh, honey. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”
“Definitely. She’s never been one to bottle things up inside her, and that’s serving her well now, both where the marriage and the miscarriage are concerned. She told me she’s been unhappy for a while, and she knows she’ll be in a better place soon. She’s so grateful for all the help you’ve given her with the divorce.”
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I have a good Rolodex.”
“I wonder if my children even know what a Rolodex is?” Genevieve questioned.
Helen gestured with her Bloody Mary. “Look. Here comes the boat again.” The women watched as the family boat pulled up to the dock, this time with Brooke behind the wheel. Zach helped off-load the inflatable ride-on chair tube, and then he lifted Drew out of the boat. Willow handed Emma in her bright pink life jacket over to Zach. He started up the walkway with the children.
Genevieve expected Brooke to guide the boat into the slip and for the girls to secure the boat with the dock lines. That didn’t happen. Instead, her daughters idled at the end of their dock, obviously waiting.
The slam of the upstairs bunk room door offered the first hint. “Ah. I’ll bet Lucas is putting on his suit,” Genevieve said.
Helen nodded. “Bet they’re all going skiing, after all.”
The downstairs bathroom door, which was nearest to the outdoor kitchen, banged. “That door is sticking again. I might ask Zach to look at it while he’s here.” She glanced back at the water. “Perfect time for a ski ride. The wind has died, and the water is smooth as glass. Not much boat traffic out because it’s early yet.”
“Nothing like a busman’s holiday,” Helen said with a snort.
“He won’t mind,” Genevieve assured her as a pair of footsteps pounded down the stairs from the bunk room at the same time the downstairs bathroom door was wrenched open. “Lucas must really want to ski if he’s going to abandon his smoker in the face of the enemy.”
“No kidding,” Gage Throckmorton observed as he joined the sisters on the deck, a Bloody Mary of his own in hand. He’d come from the upstairs kitchen, where the pitcher of drinks was in the refrigerator—not downstairs. “But apparently, serious business is afoot that requires his expertise, and it’s even more important than brisket.”
“What?” the Bennett sisters simultaneously said in surprise.
“Tess told Jake she wants to learn how to water-ski. He’s going to teach her.”
“Jake?” Helen asked. “Jake is going to teach her? Today? He made it?”
“Of course, he did,” Genevieve said, a smile breaking upon her lips. “He promised the family.”
Gage nodded. “He showed up a few minutes ago. He’s been on the phone with the boaters. Apparently, Lucas believes he’s a superior water-ski instructor, so he’s abandoning his smoker in order to help Tess learn. There’s been quite a discussion back and forth between your children, Genevieve.”
Genevieve’s laughter bubbled like champagne. Helen dryly observed, “I’ll just bet there has.”
Below them, the game room door opened, and like hundreds of times before, Jake and Lucas Prentice jogged out of their grandfather’s lake house headed for the dock. With practiced grace, they boarded the boat. As Jake swept Tess into his arms for a kiss, which his siblings accompanied with catcalls, Gage reached into his shirt pocket and removed a folded piece of paper. “Jake was in a rush. Something about the good water being an hour ago.”
“Oh…” Genevieve was already blinking back tears at the sight of her family gathered together. The statement almost made her blubber. “It’s something his father always used to say.”
“He asked me to give you this.” Gage handed Genevieve the note.
“Thank you, Gage.”
As Brooke put the boat into gear and idled away from the dock, Gage said, “If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to use this opportunity to add my secret ingredient to my barbecue sauce. Something tells me I might not get another chance.”
“Smart man,” Helen said with a smile.
Once the women were alone again, Genevieve unfolded the note and read:
I am not my father.
I’m a brother. I’m a son. I’m Tess’s husband-to-be.
I’m a family man.
Wordlessly, a lump of emotion hanging in her throat, Genevieve handed the paper to her sister. Helen read it, folded it, then returned it to Genevieve. “I told you he’d figure it out by the Fourth. I win our bet. I get to put cuckoo clocks in the Raindrop Lodge dining room.”
“Okay, fine. You win. But I’m not telling Tess about the clocks. You get to spring that bit of design news on her.” Genevieve shook her head in wonder. “I really thought Jake would last until Labor Day.”
“Was never gonna happen. I was shocked he actually got his passport stamped.”
“In Canada. That hardly counts.”
“Banff is a beautiful honeymoon spot. In any season. I wonder when the wedding will be? And by the way, speaking of passports, are we all set for the Christmas market trip?”
“We are. Oh!” Genevieve snapped her fingers. “With Willow and the children getting in from Nashville last night, this totally slipped my mind. Kimberly called me yesterday. Guess who had a cancellation? Klaus! He’s able to be our private guide, after all.”
“Seriously? Well, jingle my bells.” Helen clinked glasses with Genevieve and grinned. “That’s wonderful. Simply wonderful!”
Out on the lake, Jake floated in the water as he helped Tess put on her skis. Lucas threw out a rope. Brooke captained the boat, and Willow called out instructions for Tess that contradicted her brothers’ directions.
“Yes, it is wonderful. It’s a wonderful life.” Genevieve Prentice rested her head on her sister’s shoulder. “You’re wonderful, too. I don’t say it nearly often enough. Thank you. I don’t know how I ever would have managed this growing-up business without you.”
“Did I just hear a bell ring?” Helen smiled and used her celery stick to stir her Bloody Mary. “Careful, now, Sister. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
Helen winked at Genevieve and added, “We’re not dead yet.”