HELEN THOUGHT PERHAPS her stay in Timberlake might be a bit shorter than she’d expected. She was still up when Leigh got home the night before and one look at her niece’s face told her everything; the girl was flushed and glowing. It was a look Helen hadn’t seen in years. And she liked this Rob fellow. He was charming and fun and mighty handsome. She might think of Leigh as a girl but she knew she was an adult—accomplished, attractive, independent and strong. And in the peak of womanhood.
Helen was thinking she might need to get out of the girl’s way so she could fall in love. She asked to borrow Leigh’s car. “Just to do a little exploring,” she said. She wanted to look around the area while she could.
“Let’s do some car shopping on the weekend,” Leigh said.
“Maybe,” Helen said. “Or maybe I’ll just rent a car.”
“Think about it. In the meantime, I’ll be at the clinic all day so you’re welcome to use mine.”
Helen put on jeans, a sweatshirt, her Sketchers and took off. She drove to Leadville first to poke around, check out the bookstore, ask about how far she’d have to go for help if she needed a laptop repair. Mostly she just enjoyed driving around the countryside and through a few small towns—there was still snow on the peaks and spring flowers lined the roads everywhere she went. At just about lunchtime she called Leigh at the clinic and asked if she needed her car to get lunch. When Leigh said she’d be fine, Helen asked for directions to Sullivan’s Crossing. She’d heard a lot about Sully over the last year but had not met him or seen the campgrounds everyone talked so much about.
“Tell him I said hello,” Leigh said. “He has a cooler full of sandwiches and salads if you haven’t eaten.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Helen said.
When she pulled into the clearing, she was immediately enchanted. Campsites were scattered among trees and flowers, at the edge of a glittering sapphire lake. There was a large building—it said General Store on the front window. Not far across the lawn was a house. A large log cabin, really. Flowers were springing up around the buildings and paths. And there was a handsome and fit older man sitting on the store porch with his feet up on a chair.
She parked beside the store and went up the porch steps. “Hi,” she said. “I’m looking for Sully.”
“You got lucky, then. He’s on his lunch break.”
“Oh, good,” she said. “Where can I find him?”
“You’re lookin’ at him. How can I help?”
She laughed and put out her hand. “Helen Culver, so happy to meet you. I’m Leigh Culver’s aunt and she’s talked about you a lot.”
He perked right up and half rose out of his chair. At the same time his yellow Lab stood up to look her over and wag his tail. “I’ll be damned, so the aunt is real. I half thought she’d made you up! Sit down. Let me get you a drink or something. You hungry?”
“Starving,” she said. “Leigh said I could buy a sandwich here.”
“Aw, bull. You’re my guest. Wanna look over the lot of ’em and pick out what you like? It’s not real exciting but it works if you’re hungry.”
“Sure, thanks. That’s very nice of you.”
“Because no matter what you’ve heard, I’m very nice. Right this way.” He had a merry smile and his eyes twinkled playfully. He led her into the store. He told his dog to stay and the dog stayed on the porch. He went straight to the cooler but she was stunned by the sheer amount of goods packed in there and was looking around in fascination.
“Do you have everything here?” she asked.
“If you’re a camper or hiker, prolly,” he said. “People always forget something and this is a popular stop-off for long-distance hikers and they plan it that way. They pick up mail, recharge their phones, stock up on supplies, leave off stuff they can’t use, and it’s always something the next guy needs—one man’s trash, you know. They write in the store diary, post pictures, leave notes for their friends out on the trail or maybe wait here for someone to catch up. I got washers and dryers in the shower house but most the time serious hikers need something new. They usually mail themselves stuff or have someone mail them replacements. Now and then I end up with a few packages that are never picked up and I wonder about those people.”
“What do you do with them?”
“Send ’em back to the return address—if there is one.”
“And when you say long-distance hikers...?”
“Hundreds of miles,” he said. “The Continental Divide Trail is 3,200 miles from Mexico to Canada. People hike the whole thing, can you believe that?”
“Whew,” she said, reaching in the cooler for a sandwich. “Thank God I feel no pressure to do that.”
“Tell me about it,” he said. “Something to drink? Chips? Cookies?”
“Since you’re buying, all of the above,” she said, grinning at him.
“I like your style,” he said.
She gathered everything up and headed back to the porch while Sully fixed himself a cup of coffee. She chose the same table he’d been seated at before. “I hope you have time for more of a break.”
“Girl, sometimes I’m on break all day,” he said, then he laughed at himself.
“This is quite the place you have here, Sully,” she said.
“It brings fun and happiness to a lot of families, I’m proud to say.”
“How long have you been doing this?” she asked.
“I didn’t have much choice, when you get down to it. I was born to it. My grandfather built the store, my father built the house. It’s a small house but bigger than the one my father grew up in. I came back from Vietnam and my father needed me here to help, so I came. I always thought I’d do something a lot more important than this and now I find it’s the only skill I have. Plus, I like it.”
“It’s very peaceful,” she said.
“In daytime, it is. It’s still quiet, but come Memorial Day weekend, it’ll be full all summer. Campers are out playing in the woods or on the lake till dinnertime, then the place is teeming with kids, dogs, grills fired up, lots of action.”
“They play in the woods?” she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.
“There’s a lot to do around here besides hiking,” he said. “They rock climb, ride their all-terrain vehicles all over the countryside, water-ski in summer, snow-ski in winter—mostly cross-country around here. They fish some, though the best fishing is in the rivers. Sometimes they just sit around and relax, happy to have the sound of the city far away. See that hammock down by the lake? It stays full. I should prolly get another one.”
“It must keep you busy twenty-four hours a day!”
“I’ve had help since I had a heart attack a couple of years ago,” he said.
“You had a heart attack?” she replied, shock in her voice.
“Relax, it was just my first one,” he said. “I had bypass surgery and I eat nothing but grass. My daughter lives nearby and she’s a doctor. There’s a curse—having a kid who’s a doctor. They make it a mission to keep you going long enough to get senile.”
Helen laughed. “I have Leigh. She hasn’t shown that side yet, but I see the potential for that.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how’d it happen you raised your niece?”
“I don’t mind,” she said, then relayed the circumstances. After filling him in, she said, “My sister was young and foolish. I was ten years older when Leigh was born and I was an established teacher. My sister died before she had a chance to grow up. I’m so grateful for Leigh. I doubt I’d have had children otherwise...”
“Leigh said you never married.”
“Never came close. Oh, I had a gentleman friend or two along the way but nothing that had permanence. You?”
“I was married. Maggie’s mother and I were divorced when she was only six. I had a few issues to iron out before I could be a good father. Maggie always loved me more than I deserved.”
Helen smiled. From what she’d heard from Leigh and many others around town, Sully was quite lovable. He was so honest it was refreshing. “And did Maggie live with her mother most of the time?”
He nodded. “And her stepfather, Walter, a good and patient man. He was also a neurosurgeon. That’s how Maggie got the bug.”
“And your ex-wife?” she asked.
“A pain in the ass,” he said, chuckling. “Walter deserves a medal. Someday when we’re closer friends I’ll wear you out with complaints about my ex-wife and you’ll think I have to be exaggerating, then you’ll meet her.” He shook his head, but still he chuckled. “Now that’s out of the way I’d like to hear how it is you came to write books.”
“Well, I don’t know if you know this, Sully, but teachers are not terrifically well paid,” she said. “And I have always loved reading so much. So, I dreamed of writing for many years and then, finally, when Leigh was just a girl, I decided to try my hand at it. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Thank God, Leigh was so busy in junior high and high school, always on the run. Once I finished my lessons and grading, there was still time in my day. I was very lucky—my third completed book sold. For a while I taught and wrote, then I retired from teaching. I thought we’d get along all right with my pension and my royalties. Now she’s a doctor and doesn’t need me to support her anymore.”
“That’s almost a fairy story,” he said. “You’ve been lucky in every way, haven’t you?”
“Almost. What do you like to read?”
“Now and then I’ll read a book my friend Frank gives me. It’s always a war story.”
Very typical, she thought. “And I bet you read your newspaper till it’s shredded.”
“Pretty much. Would I like your books?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” she said with a laugh. “And that’s not important. They’re mysteries. They’re excellent fun for me, that’s why I write them. I noticed that out behind your house there seems to be an area...”
“The garden,” he said. “I had to put a fence around it when the sprouts came up. The rabbits and deer pester it. Beau does his best to keep them away but sometimes he gets too excited and tears up the garden himself.”
“You like to garden,” she said.
“I like to harvest,” he said. “You have to garden to harvest. From the end of June to September we have the best fruits and vegetables in the county. Every day. I can grow tomatoes big as grapefruit—sliced, they’re like steaks. I hope you’re around when we start to pick and pluck.”
“So do I, Sully,” she said. “Next time I’ll come a little earlier so we can have our lunch together. I bet I could get some good writing done on your porch, looking out at that beautiful lake.”
“And if there are campers, that porch on the house is all yours, any time you want it. There’s even a socket for you to plug in. And I have Wi-Fi.” He grinned at her. “Have to keep up with the times.”
“And are you on Facebook?”
He grimaced. “Don’t have to keep up with everything, do I?”
She laughed.
“Besides writing, what have you been doing to entertain yourself?” he asked.
“Exploring,” she said. “Driving around the countryside, through a lot of little towns, poking around. Some of these towns—like Leadville, Breckenridge, Timberlake—are so cute.”
“Girl, the whole damn state is cute,” he said.
Helen had stayed at Sully’s for a couple of hours and as she was leaving she thought about what a charming and lovely man he was. He called her “girl.” Obviously a habit as she was the farthest thing from a girl one could get. And he told her he was seventy-two. Once she knew the number, she thought it reasonable. Except for the fact that he was fit and strong, had a youthful smile and eyes that twinkled all the time. His forearms were well muscled and toned, his color healthy and sun kissed.
She had no trouble imagining him as quite a smoothie in his younger years. She knew he must have fascinating stories to tell. What a good friend he would make.
Leigh had a light afternoon at the clinic on Thursday with no patients scheduled after three. There could be walk-ins; she always had her phone in that case. When she was practicing in Chicago, it was always one after another, emergency room coverage wedged into days when she didn’t have family practice appointments. Small-town medicine was a whole new ball game. There were busy days but there were plenty of days that weren’t crazy.
She decided to walk down to Rob’s pub, hoping to catch up with him. She had talked to him briefly in the evenings, the sound of the pub in the background. He said that Finn had been to Denver to see Maia a couple of times. They’d been doing tests and he thought they must have her sedated because she was spacey. Leigh suspected an anticonvulsive barbiturate or a pain med for her headache, which apparently had been her most obvious symptom and complaint.
When she walked in, Sid was behind the bar. She beamed with a smile. “How are you, Leigh?” she said.
“Excellent. But how about you? I hear you have some changes coming your way.”
“Lots of them. First of all, we’ve been looking for a place in Boulder. There’s plenty of time to find just the right thing—I’ll be teaching there and Dakota will be taking classes. And of course there’s Sierra,” she said of Dakota’s sister. “Getting ready to make us aunt and uncle again—I can’t wait for that.”
“You have experience as an aunt,” Leigh said. “And how’s your nephew doing? Of course I mean Finn.”
“Well, I hear that Maia has been discharged and is home. There’s talk of more tests but I don’t know of any results so far. You know, it isn’t that unusual for young people in her age range to have a seizure or two without the cause being catastrophic. And since she was taken to the hospital, there hasn’t been another. If you want my guess, she’ll be treated with an antiseizure drug and have routine EEGs under the care of a neurologist.” Then she smiled as if she just realized she was talking to a doctor. “You might want to get a second opinion on that. I’m just a know-it-all who reads a little bit of everything.”
Leigh laughed. “But what you say is true—it’s not that unusual. Do we know what they’re testing her for?”
“I sure don’t, and if Finn does, he’s not talking. Poor kid—he’s really shaken. Here he found himself the perfect girlfriend and is terrified that she’s sick. But I bet you’re not here to see me...”
“I always love seeing you,” Leigh said.
Sid laughed. “I’ll find Rob and tell him you’re here.”
“I was right about how this works in small towns. One date and the bunch of you have us as steadies.”
“It’s just wishful thinking,” Sid said, sliding through the door behind the bar.
A minute later, Rob had taken Sid’s place behind the bar. He smiled. “What a great surprise. What can I give you?”
“A Diet Coke would be good. I’m not quite off duty yet,” she said, tapping her phone. “Eleanor is holding down the fort because there are no patients, but she’ll call if she needs me. How has your week been?”
“Not bad, really. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Finn, trying to sense how he’s doing. After all that talking on the ride to the hospital last Sunday night, he’s not as talkative now. Of course, there’s not much to talk about. He’s got a lot of missed homework to take to Maia and warned me he’ll be spending a lot of time over the weekend helping her catch up.” He looked at his watch. “He’s probably there now.”
Leigh frowned. “It was kind of a long hospital stay.”
“Denver is a little far for outpatient services.” He looked around to see who was within hearing distance, but the bar was very quiet at this time of day during the week. “He’s been in this relationship since school started and I suspect it’s serious. If you get my drift.”
Leigh tilted her head. “He’s almost eighteen, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, almost. And when I was eighteen... Never mind.”
“I was eighteen once,” she said. “And I had myself an eighteen-year-old boyfriend. Has he said anything about that?”
“No, but I have two sons and the other one has never kept his mouth shut about anything.”
“Poor Finn.” She laughed. “Well, despite your many worries I hope Maia bounces back quickly and they can have a normal adolescent romance.”
“I’d like to have a normal grown-up romance,” he said. “When can I see you?”
“Oh, I think you’re the one with the scheduling issues. I’m mostly free.”
“What about Aunt Helen?”
“She’s quite responsible and independent, although I do want to take her car shopping this weekend so she doesn’t have to borrow my car to get around. She’s so low maintenance. She’s been trundling around, seeing the sights, making friends. She’s been out to Sully’s twice this week and said she’s staked out a great spot on his porch to write. The view is inspiring, she said. And she finds Sully delightful. She could hardly shut up about him. Isn’t that cute? I think they’re going to be friends.”
Rob frowned. “Cute,” he repeated.
“Well, come on, they’re seniors. What else could they be?”
Rob leaned on the bar. “They’re old enough to take care of themselves. How about us? When can we see each other? Is Sunday night possible?”
“I think so,” she said. “Just let me find out if Helen has any expectations. And you see what’s going on at your house. It’s such a shame—what can I do for you to pay you back for that lovely restaurant you took me to? I’m not a very good cook. I can’t cook for anyone, especially not a connoisseur. Surely you’ve noticed—I’m a take-out queen.”
He grinned at her and his smile had a decidedly wicked twist. “I can take care of the food, Doc. There are plenty of things you can do.”
She raised a brow. “Sew up lacerations, get out stains, et cetera.”
“So far you’ve been excellent at everything,” he said. “I want to kiss you right now.”
“Don’t you dare,” she said. “It’s bad enough everyone knows we’ve been on a date and now they all think we’re a couple.”
He reached across the bar and took her hands in his. “That doesn’t bother me at all.”
“I think you’re romancing me,” she said very quietly.
“Don’t hold that against me,” he said.
Helen closed her laptop and slid it into her duffel. She pulled on her sweater and slipped into her shoes. She drank the last of her green tea. And she heard his feet on the porch stairs before she saw him.
“Are you done writing?” Sully asked. He carried a leash in his hand and Beau stood impatiently behind him, wagging up a breeze. “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“I’m done for now,” she said. “Thank you for loaning me your porch. It’s the most perfect spot.”
“I love looking over from the store and seeing you on the porch. I imagine it’s the only contribution I’ll ever make to great literature. Want to go for a short walk? Beau needs to stretch his legs.”
Helen stood and stretched her arms over her head. “I should probably stretch mine, too. What’s the leash for?”
“This is the strangest dog. He runs free all day but if I get out the leash like he’s going for a proper walk, he can’t stand the wait. But I only leash him if we run into animals. Beau’s nosy. We ran into some elk once and he had a confrontation with a cranky bull. That taught him.” He looked at her feet. “Those shoes good for walking?”
“That depends on how far we’re going,” she said.
“Not that far, I guess. Need to make a pit stop?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine.”
He turned and looked at Beau. “You want to lead the way?” he asked the dog. And Beau shot away, prancing down the porch steps and off past the garden. Sully followed and Helen followed Sully. She remarked on how good the garden was looking, the sprouts getting taller and thicker.
“Was it a good writing day?”
“I think so. I won’t really know until tomorrow. Sometimes I reread what I’ve written and think it’s brilliant, sometimes I think it’s awful. More often the latter, I’m afraid. But you can always improve on awful.”
“And what did you write about today?” he asked.
“Well, let’s see... I was writing about a young boy who has been going through a lot at home and at school. His father is abusive, his mother lacks the ability to protect him, he’s grown withdrawn and that gets too much attention from the bullies at school. He has trouble with his schoolwork—I think maybe he has a learning disability but he’s very intelligent. He’s only thirteen but he just can’t catch a break.”
“I think just about every young boy can relate to that set of circumstances...”
“And just when he thinks things couldn’t get any worse, he discovers a dead body. A young woman floating facedown near the shore of a lake, tangled up in the reeds.”
“Holy Jesus, woman! Do you have a dark side?”
Helen laughed. “I might,” she said. “Oh, Sully, look at the flowers! Look how thick they are here! Like a carpet!”
“Notice the buds on the trees,” he said. “The aspen are as close together through here as marching soldiers. What will you write about tomorrow?”
“I imagine my young man will have to do something about the body. He’ll have to tell someone.”
“The police!” Sully said.
“He doesn’t trust the police. The father of one of the mean boys is with the police. Besides, he passed a police car as he was walking toward the lake and he’s afraid of them—he’s used to being misunderstood. But there is one teacher at school he trusts. I think he’ll tell her, but I’m not there yet. Maybe he’ll go back to school, though it’s the end of the day. Or maybe she’ll be jogging along the road and he’ll show her. Eventually she and one of the male teachers will end up helping and protecting him.” She paused. “I’m very good at teachers as heroes. And troubled teenagers as vulnerable.”
“Where must your mind play?” he asked.
“I just love a good mystery.”
“And how did you settle on mysteries?”
“It was very hard to find one I couldn’t guess and some of the ones I couldn’t guess were just badly written and no guess was possible.”
“How many of them have you written?”
“Oh, I guess about fifty. Maybe more.”
“Land sakes, I don’t think I’ve even read fifty! Is there always a dead body?” he asked.
“At least one,” she said. She walked on a bit, then said, “I bet this would make a good setting. There could be lots of dead bodies out here in the woods...”
“That should be good for business,” he said. “What are you doing for dinner?”
“I’m not sure. I suppose I’ll call Leigh and ask her what she’d like me to pick up.”
“Or you could call her and tell her to run out here,” he said. “I have salmon filets, little red potatoes and green beans. It all goes on the grill. It’s downright edible off the grill.”
“Do you eat a lot of fish?”
“I have gills,” he said. “It’s the heart doctor’s favorite food.”
“It’s good for you,” she said. “I love fish. But I can’t call Leigh and ask her if she wants to come out here—I have her car.”
“That’s a shame. Campers will start showing up for the weekend tomorrow.”
“I could go get her,” Helen said. “If you’re sure...”
“Sure I want to have dinner with two beautiful women? Hmm, let me think...”
“I’ll call and ask her if she’d like to do that, and if so, I’ll go pick her up.”
“Want the porch again tomorrow?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be a pest,” she said. “I don’t want you to get tired of me.”
“I have a feeling we’ll be all right on that score.”
Rob’s sister, Sid, was behind the bar, so Rob had gone home at five to make sure the boys had a nutritious dinner but he found only Sean. “Finn left you a note,” his son said. “Want me to tell you what it says?”
Rob cocked his head. “Sure,” he said. “Since you’ve obviously read it.”
“Well, he said not to worry about dinner for him because he might get tied up at Maia’s. He’s taking her a ton of homework since she’s been out all week. He thinks maybe Mrs. MacElroy will offer him dinner and he’ll try not to be late, but I bet he’s late. He says he’ll call you if anything changes or if he goes anywhere else.”
“Thank you, Sean,” Rob said patiently. Then he looked at the note, reading it for himself. “It’s a wonder you have so much trouble with a book report. What would you like for dinner?”
“How about lasagna?” he said.
“How about something a little less labor intensive since I have to go back to work for a while.”
“Grilled cheese with bacon?”
“And some of last night’s split pea soup?” Rob asked.
“I might’ve eaten that already.”
There had been enough of that for at least both of them. “Are you having a growth spurt? Fine, I’ll open a can of chicken noodle. And we have some ice cream and brownies, unless you ate that, too.”
“I put a little dent in the ice cream but there’s still some left.” He grinned. He had Julienne’s smile. Rob would never forget his late wife; his younger son was a carbon copy. “No one could possibly have prepared me for the massive quantity of food you guys could eat. While I’m making the food, show me the homework.”
So that was how they spent the dinner hour, going over homework, eating together. Then Rob called Finn’s cell phone.
“Sorry I didn’t work today,” Finn said. “We’ve been talking and doing homework, then I had some dinner with Maia. I hope you’re okay with me taking the day off.”
“It’s completely understandable,” Rob said. “Tell her I hope she’s feeling better.”
“Sure. Dad? I’m going to be here for a while. Probably ten. Or until she gets tired and Mrs. MacElroy throws me out. Sean will be okay, won’t he?”
“If he’s not, I’ll beat him,” Rob said, making Sean laugh. “He should have enough homework to keep him busy.”
Rob checked the homework he’d already done, told him to rewrite one page without all the messy scrawls and smudges and to read the assigned text. “Finish this before the TV or computer get your eyes and remember I have porn controls on both.”
“Ha ha,” Sean said.
“When I was growing up we didn’t have cable or internet. I’m convinced that’s how Aunt Sid won a Rhodes Scholarship and you should learn from that little story.”
“I don’t want a Rhodes,” Sean said. “I want a major league contract.”
“You can’t get that on the internet, either. I’ll try to get home early tonight. Lock the doors, please.”
Then he went back to the pub. He’d been gone sixty-eight minutes. The dinner hour was in full swing, happy hour over, kitchen, bar and dining room staff sprinting around. The next two hours flew, then the place began to thin out. From eight to ten there were plenty of customers but it was manageable. Sid left at nine but before she left she asked if the boys needed anything. “Want me to stop by and check homework or anything?”
“Nah, get home. I know Cody’s waiting up.”
“Thanks. We’re going up to Boulder to look at rentals on Saturday.”
“May the force be with you,” he said.
At 10:15 p.m. he put the money and charge receipts in the safe and left the place in the capable hands of the assistant manager. He drove the three-quarters of a mile, feeling guilty. He should be walking, but he was on his feet all day, not to mention lifting crates of everything from lettuce to liquor.
He didn’t belong to a gym. He didn’t need to go any more than a farmer needed to.
Finn’s car was in the drive. When Rob walked in, he couldn’t believe how relieved he was to see Finn at the kitchen table, bent over his laptop, a yellow pad filled with notes on the table beside the computer. Maybe things were okay, normalizing. He put a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Finals?” Rob asked.
“No,” Finn said. “Research.”
“What are you researching?”
“Meningioma. Glioblastoma,” Finn said, turning the computer screen toward Rob. There was a drawing of a brain, a growth in the brain. And a lot of text. “That’s what it is. A brain tumor. They’re just not sure exactly what kind yet.”