Sojourner

  Maybe I won’t even run into him. After all, I’m just here to take pictures. That settled, I zip my parka good, put on my gloves, and pull the cap lower over my head so that it rests just above my eyes. I will say that with the sun shining down, it’s a little warmer than it has been.

  Then I start walking, liking the way the snow crunches beneath my feet. I think perhaps I might be able to tell Griffin’s footprints in the snow, but a few other sets overlap. So I focus on the trees flanking the path, their naked branches scrabbling at the bright sky. I wonder what the trail looks like in spring, when the leaves are unfurling in all their emerald wonder. The sunlight sparkles atop the snow, reminding me of Lev. Intrigued, I pick up a handful of snow and stare at it, willing answers to come, yet, all I get is cold palms from wetness seeping into my gloves and snow that begins to melt. Lev has all the answers and I have only questions.

  Frowning, I dump the rest of the snow and continue my trek up toward the falls. I dust the remaining snow from my gloves before pulling out the camera and taking several pictures. At the moment, I’m actually glad to be up here; we rarely see this much snow in Dallas, and the raw beauty of the place takes my breath away. I spot a leaf dusted by snow; the veins embossed amid the powder. Smiling, I raise the camera and seal the moment.

  It takes me a bit to get to the falls because I’m taking lots of pictures of the landscape and the sky and its unusual shade of blue. Farther on, the trail abruptly shifts, running parallel to the river. It’s the same one I fell into at the cemetery, except here I can see the water is much deeper. It churns violently, never still enough to freeze. More pictures.

  My cell phone rings, and I pluck it from my pocket. Jimmie. Flipping it open, I can already hear him yelling. Shaking my head, I say, “Jimmie, I’m fine. I’m just taking a walk. I’ll be back.”

  He yells a bit more, telling me I should be more responsible and how dangerous Hauser’s Landing is. I let him go on until I realize there is no calming him down. Then I shake my head, all the calm I’ve been working so hard to restore quickly vanishing.

  “Jimmie, I am fine. Give me a little credit, okay. Nobody’s grabbed me. I’m not in mortal danger. I’m not getting anything pierced this time. I’m not trying to get a tattoo. I’m just taking a walk to calm down and digest all this crap, and I’ll be home soon.” I snap the phone shut and count to five. Then, as the phone starts to ring again and I see Jimmie’s name on it, I switch it to vibrate. It takes three more attempts before Jimmy stops calling and I can get on with my walk.

  Ahead, the water is louder, telling me I’m pretty close to the falls. Then my phone vibrates again. Although I suspect it’s Jimmie, I glance at it anyway. Lev. For a moment, I think about answering, but then, right now I’m in no mood to deal with his brand of complication. I just want to take some pictures and calm down. Besides, there’s nothing he’s willing to tell me that can’t wait. That I’m pretty sure of. Shaking my head, I slide the phone in my pocket and ignore it so I can keep moving, fairly certain that anyone I know who wants to call has already done it so I should be good to go.

  The path spreads into an open area beyond the tree line, and amid the crash of rushing water, I hear people talking and laughing. For a second, I freeze. The only car in the lot is Griffin’s but he obviously isn’t alone, so I try to listen to the voices, gauging the genders. One male; one female. Griffin and Gail maybe? There’s only one way to find out.

  I step toward the clearing and see first the huge waterfall just to my left and second that it’s not just Griffin and Gail. Matt is with them. My feet stop abruptly, and I think about turning around, but I’m not fast enough. Griffin’s face lights up when he sees me, and he immediately pulls away from Gail.

  “Hey, Lizzie. Didn’t expect you here.” Within two steps he has closed half the distance between us. Gail’s smile quickly shifts to a hostile frown as she shakes her head, telling me that she didn’t really expect me either, and that I’m far from welcome here.

  “I was just taking a few pictures with my new camera,” I say, holding it up. Although I’m trying to back up, Griffin is already almost at my side. I feel the phone vibrating in my pocket and I reach inside, dragging it out just enough so that I can read the display. Lev. Knowing I can’t talk to them both at the same time, I slip the phone back into my pocket.

  “Well, let’s go check out the waterfall. You’ll definitely want a picture of that.” He grabs my arm and leads me to it as he hovers nearby, staring.

  “It’s beautiful.” Unsure what to do with him so close at hand, I look at the large flowing water that appears a clear sheet as it cascades to the large pool twenty feet below. Foam froths where the water hits. A slight fog rises from the water, indicating a temperature difference.

  “Not quite as beautiful as you.” His voice is deep with a yearning I shudder to think about.

  Uncomfortable with his consuming stare, I lift my camera and begin to snap shots as a way of avoiding eye contact. Behind me, I hear Gail and Matt laughing. It also sounds like they are scuffling. He’s probably tickling her.

  “How did you find my purse in the cemetery?” I brush the hair from my face. That question has been bothering me ever since it happened.

  “I go there sometimes to visit my mom’s grave. Then I kind of walk around the headstones. Your purse stood out because it was dark so I picked it up.

  I cold chill sweeps through me. “I’m sorry about your mom.”

  He grips the rail and shakes his head. “That makes two of us.”

  “How did she die?”

  “About two years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She made it six months after the doctor first told us.” His expression is hard, and his gaze seems beyond this place. I’d know the look anywhere. I sometimes get it.

  “I’m sorry.” I know I’ve already said it. I just don’t know what else to say.

  “We probably haven’t gotten off to the best start, and I’m sorry about that.” His gaze is committed to my face, and I turn to photograph other areas of the landscape just to escape it.

  “What do you mean?” I try to keep my tone light, but it feels weighted anyway, and he knows it.

  “I know what everybody says about me, Lizzie. I’m the rich kid who gets everything he wants. So, if I don’t ask you out, I’m too good for you. If I do, I only want one thing, right? I can’t win either way. Maybe I’ve been pretty pushy, but I didn’t mean anything by it.” He looks back at the waterfall. The scuffling sounds grow closer, and Gail is squealing louder as if Matt tickles her. I’d turn and look but I don’t want to give the idea that I want to join them.

  I have no clue what to say to that because suddenly I’m sure I don’t really know Griffin any better than I know Lev. I lower the camera so I can take inventory of my shots. It’s amazing to see the clarity of whiteness against the dark water that roughly rushes down its violent path. “How deep do you think that is?”

  “Twelve, maybe fifteen feet, I guess.” He looks at the water, frowning. “Nice change of subject by the way.”

  I flip through images. At least a few appear promising with the sunlight flashing off the water. “How do you stand this town?” I ask.

  “I guess I’ve never really known anything different. My family built this town which means I have to love it, right? But it’s not me. I want out, too.” His leans on the low rail in front of the waterfall. I put the camera back in my pocket and rest my hand on the rail. My cell vibrates again and I start to answer it, but Gail’s squeal stalls me, sounding like it’s right in my ear. I feel her body slam into mine. I start to fall back over the railing. Above me the sun has slipped behind a cloud.

  “Lizzie!” Griffin’s voice is deep and slow. His hand clutches mine even after I flip over the railing. I can hear someone screaming and it takes a split second before I realize it’s me. My cell phone slips out of my pocket and tumbles into the violent water below. Griffin tries to hold me with both hands as my body dangles with nothing for
my legs to brace.

  “Help me!”

  “I’m trying!” he snaps between clenched teeth. His eyes widen in panic, and blood rushes to his face. His grip tightens, but I feel myself slipping all the same. Looking up, I realize it’s the gloves. They’re coming off both my hands, and if he lets go to get a better hold, I’ll fall.

  “What can we do?” Gail leans over the rail, horrified. Her mouth is parted and her panicked breath jets out in frantic bursts of steam.

  “Matt, help me grab her wrists!” Griffin shouts. “I can’t keep hold of her!”

  As he bends to grab my arm, the gloves slip off. My body plummets toward the frigid water, and I flail my legs, screaming. I watch their faces start to shrink. I try to focus on them but the sun suddenly slips from behind a solitary cloud and shimmers in a blinding flash of light that whites out everything.

  Chapter Nine

  Light explodes above; my body slams into the river’s froth and roar. But even as I kick, something swirls around me, warm, sweeping me up. Arms wrap around me, but there is more, too. A blanket? No, not a blanket. But just as surely as the arms encircle my middle, so, too, does that other conceal me from the frigid snatch of the undertow, defying it. My hands rest on someone’s chest and somehow despite the submersion, I’m breathing.

  I open my eyes, confused, surrounded not by darkness but a warm glow, cradled in Lev’s arms. His blue eyes stare straight at into me and his jaw clenches.

  “How…?” I try to look up, to catch my bearings, but there is only the light, centered upon us, the same light I’ve seen so many times with Lev, but more intense this time—brighter, ever the more clear and real.

  “Nothing is impossible, Elizabeth.” Lev’s voice, yes, but richer, deeper. “Sleep.”

  My breath catches, and I’m unable to speak. The more I stare into his face, the heavier my eyelids feel until at last I cannot keep them open. The last thing I feel is his lips brushing against my forehead.

  “Elizabeth!” The voice is distant and panicky. “Can you hear me?”

  Cold. It’s so cold. My teeth are chattering, and I force my eyes open. The sunlight pours down on me, haloing Lev’s silhouette as he leans over me, water dripping from his soaked hair. Worry has etched deep creases into his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. He’s panting, his breath darting outward in fast abbreviated funnels that linger momentarily in the cold air before dissipating amid that light.

  No—not that light. Not that other. Only the sun.

  “Lev?”

  “I’m here.” He closes his eyes, trying to catch his breath. He isn’t alone. A man about Jimmie’s age, also wet to the skin, kneels nearby. His blue eyes remind me of Lev’s, and I’m willing to bet there’s gold hair tucked under his Angels cap.

  “What happened?” The minute I speak and start moving, Lev’s shoulders sag as though an immense weight has been lifted from him.

  “Geez,” he whispers, breathless. “You scared the life out of me. You weren’t even breathing. I didn’t expect to ever actually use the CPR training I learned in Boy Scouts.”

  I try to sit, but the other guy pushes me back. “Just stay put till Lev makes sure nothing seems broken. The last thing we want is to add insult to injury. I’ve already called 911.”

  Something’s not right about this, but I can’t put my finger on it. Lev leans over me, scrutinizing my eyes. “Your pupils seem fine. I’m gonna check your ribs to make sure I didn’t accidentally hurt you during CPR. Let me know if anything is tender.”

  He lightly probes around my breastbone, glancing from my mid-section to my face and back again. Once he’s satisfied my ribs are fine, he slowly exhales and shakes his head.

  “What?”

  “I was worried I might have hurt you.” He then takes off my shoes and looks over my left foot, asking me to bend this way and that. Then he switches to the other foot. His shirt plasters his chest, but he’s not shivering like I am, and I’ve discovered they set a wool blanket on me.

  “Aren’t you freezing?” I ask.

  His blue eyes snap to my face. “I’m more worried about you. It took two of us to pull you out, and let me tell you that water isn’t just cold. It’s fast and dangerous. Your body was zipping through it, crashing into God only knows what.”

  “But you were with me.”

  His frown deepens. “No. I just fished you out. You scared me.” He shakes his head.

  “An ambulance is coming,” the older man says, and, for the first time I realize he’s wearing a fishing vest and waders. He squats beside me. “Anything broken?”

  “Not that I can tell.” Lev’s eyes flash to my face. “Elizabeth, this is my dad, Evan.”

  “Delighted,” he says and tips his hat.

  “Sorry to ruin your fishing.”

  “Nah,” Lev argues. “You just added a little excitement. The fish aren’t biting, anyway.”

  I watch Lev take one of my hands and go through the same routine, and Evan repeats it with the other. Then they ask me to move my legs and arms. Nothing’s broken, but I could’ve told them that. If something had been broken, I’d be screaming like part of me was on fire. I have no pain tolerance.

  “How did you end up taking a swim this time?”

  “I fell over the rail at the falls.” He sits down besides me and behind him, I see a huge fire where sparks fly into the air along with the smoke. He tucks the blanket around my body to insulate what warmth he can. My coat is hanging from a nearby tree to dry, dripping. Just above the snapping fire and rushing river, I hear the ambulance wail.

  “Over the Falls.” His face turns pasty and he grits his teeth, momentarily speechless. “What’s next?”

  “I’m fine,” I mutter.

  “No you’re lucky. Your guardian angel is living on borrowed time. I leave you unattended, and you find trouble.” He shakes his head. “Just how did you manage that?”

  “Long story.” I close my eyes, wondering if this is going to end up with another fever. I’m beginning to hate both winter and water at this point.

  “Are you getting warmer?”

  “Yeah.” And it’s true. I am. Shouldn’t he be cold?

  As if reading my thoughts, he walks over to a duffle bag and shimmies out of his shirt, a three-button navy Henley, and slips on a fresh, dry black sweater. He dons his coat and sits next to me. A few feet away I hear a cell phone ring, and Evan pulls his out of his pocket. I’m guessing it’s the ambulance because suddenly he’s giving directions to where we are, which is probably pretty interesting because to me it looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere. That’s when a shudder goes through me.

  “You okay?” Lev draws closer, mistakenly assuming my chill has anything to do with body temperature.

  “Yeah, I’m just going to be grounded for the rest of my life.” I chew my bottom lip, already imagining Jimmie’s reaction. “Jimmie freaked earlier, and I took off because I couldn’t handle the drama. He tried calling me because he was worried, and I hung up on him.”

  Lev shakes his head disbelievingly. “You hung up on him? My existence would end if I did that to my dad.” He just keeps shaking his head, bewildered. “So what was the drama about?”

  “Remember the spray paint in my locker?” I wait for him to nod. “This time it was sprayed across our garage door.” I feel Lev’s entire body stiffen, and he grits his teeth. “What’s wrong?”

  “So soon,” he whispers. A pained look crosses his face and his arm tightens around me.

  “What do you mean?”

  He nods at his father, and the EMTs arrive. Jimmie starts out behind them but rushes forward. “Elizabeth!” he yells.

  “Is she all right?” Griffin appears. His face is pale and he looks shaken.

  “You get the hell out!” Jimmie abruptly turns and grabs Griffin’s collar. Griffin just stands there, allowing Jimmie to almost throttle him before a cop separates the two. Then Jimmie turns back to me. Before I can speak, he starts to wrap me in a tight bear
hug but Evan intercedes.

  “We didn’t want to move her because she might have broken bones.”

  Jimmie abruptly stops and nods as he leans over without touching me, overcome with emotion. “I thought I’d lost you. I had the scanner running and I heard the call.”

  “I’m okay.”

  Tears fill his eyes. “You are so grounded, girl.” He can barely talk, and I know when the fear wears off, the anger will kick in, and I deserve it.

  The EMTs come around him. One puts a brace on my neck. The other begins to slide a board under me with Jimmie’s help. Then they lift the board and slowly carry me to the ambulance so I can go back to the hospital for yet another go round.

  So I play nice and let the EMTs load me up, watching Lev and his father from a distance as they talk to Jimmie. When they’re ready to leave, Jimmie nods and slips into the back of the ambulance. He perches nearby while the EMT barrages me with questions I could answer in my sleep.

  Jimmie’s shirt pocket bulges with his pack of smokes; he’s as stressed as he can get. He rakes his fingers through his hair, his face a chalky white, and stares out the back window until we pull up at the hospital. Already I’m cataloging answers to his future questions I know will come hard and fast.

  In the ER, the EMTs roll me into an exam room. I’m there a total of twenty minutes before I am taken for x-rays and then re-deposited back in the same exam room to wait for the doctor. I calmly sit on the gurney, having changed into one of their cute little hospital gowns because it’s warmer than my wet clothes. Jimmy doesn’t sit and is far from calm, really starting to get pissed.

  “What happened?”

  Taking a deep breath, I figure at least some semblance of truth will be the best bet. “I was taking pictures at the falls and fell over the rail.”

  His eyes bulge and I hear his sharp intake of breath. Having been through enough with Jimmy freaking out, I know he’s probably counting to calm down. When he manages to get his emotions under control, he’ll ask the next question.