She sat down on the padded hall bench beneath the painting, wondering if she had the energy. Beneath the Cole print was a photo of her and Zach hiking in the low mountains near Lake Jocassee, South Carolina. She was wearing a funny gray Clemson sweatshirt that said, “Athletic Department — Yeah, right!” He was wearing his signature blue-and-orange University of Virginia hooded pullover.
She remembered that Zach had placed the camera on a rock, set the timer, and run toward her. The flash caught them laughing as he nearly knocked them both over the ledge. Behind them the world fell away to the east, toward Charlotte, and what she saw in the photo was two people as happy as they had ever been.
That was their first weekend together. Zach had rented a small, Spartan cabin in Jocassee after nervously asking her out. They had been on many dates for dinner and a movie, concerts in Charlotte, and any variety of other entertaining venues. Some of these dates were squeezed in after he had made an attempt to visit Amanda. That weekend had served, now that she really thought about it, as the turning point for Zach, where he decided to give Amanda her space; not to let go, but to maintain a respectful distance with a watchful eye.
Once they had returned from the hike, Zach and she had prepared a meal together in the kitchenette of the small cottage. He’d opened a bottle of dry white wine and they drank while they broke hard spaghetti and tossed it into the boiling pot.
“Hard to screw this up,” she’d said.
“Watch me.” Zach smiled.
“Oh, I can do that all day long.” She winked at him.
“That’s about how long this spaghetti needs to cook, right?”
“Uh, yeah, right, mister chef.”
She leaned into him and smelled the fresh outdoor air on his sweatshirt. Holding her wineglass in one hand, she slipped her arm around him as he wrapped her up with his arms. Nuzzling into his neck, feeling the wine giving her a bit of courage, she lightly kissed behind his ear and whispered, “We can burn a little bit of energy first, if you’d like.”
He reached over and placed his wineglass on the countertop and pulled her face to his, both of his hands framing her cheeks. Pressing his lips to hers, he ran his hands through her knotted, flowing hair all the way down to her back. He gently pulled her closer. Moving away briefly, he looked into her eyes so deeply that she wondered how they could have waited so long for this to happen. However, she knew that their relationship needed to develop at its own pace, and this moment was the perfect one.
Looking into his eyes, she registered that there was a purity mixed into those green irises that would not betray her… or anyone. Her thin hands pulled at his sweatshirt, lifting it over his head, revealing a white T-shirt that was a bit damp with the cool remnants of sweat. She had that off in record time as well.
Somehow they had managed to find the bed as they walked, kissed, groped, and discarded clothing, leaving a trail the same way a novice skier attempting a double diamond run marks his fall with a hundred-meter-long yard sale.
“I only want to do this if you’re ready, Riley,” Zach said, pulling away for a moment.
She looked at him with a fixed stare. “Ready? Zach, I’ve been ready for you for the last year. The question is, are you ready?”
Without answering, he began kissing her softly on the lips, moving to her neck, then to her shoulder, and back to her neck. He whispered, “What do you think?”
She looked into his eyes and then down below his waist and smiled. “Can’t be any more ready than that.”
Two hours later, the spaghetti was a dried heap at the bottom of the pot.
“Told you I’d destroy the chow.”
“Well, I’m letting you cook all the time,” she chuckled. She wrapped her bare leg across his and pulled herself on top of him about three quarters of the way. She smiled at the confirmation of his tenderness. While strong and powerful, he was loving and gentle. She propped her chin on his chest and looked into his face.
“Thinking?” she asked.
“I’m thinking we fit together pretty good there, Riles.”
“No question about that.”
“I’m also thinking that you’re the smartest woman I know. You’ve given me time and space to deal with Amanda while at the same time loving me and supporting me. I mean, wow, it just dawned on me how much I love you.”
“You’re totally worth it. Every bit of it,” she whispered.
“Hey, come here.” He pulled her on top of him completely. “I know another way we fit together.”
“Oh, my, so you do.”
Riley totally gave herself to him, handed him her heart as they softly loved each other that night.
“Promise you won’t break my heart,” she whispered.
“Never.”
Riley snapped out of her flashback with a jolt.
“Never,” she whispered to herself.
Yes, she needed to go for a good, long run. Moving the endorphins through the human circulatory system was a proven technique for stimulating brain activity, releasing stress, and reducing lactic acid buildup. She tucked her house key into the Velcro pouch on her running shorts and leaned against her front door to stretch each of her calf muscles. Then, swinging the door open, Riley found herself staring into the distorted face of Amanda Garrett.
For a moment she could not find any words that would move from her brain to her mouth and make sense. To transition from the beautiful memory of her first lovemaking moment with Zach to the outstretched hand of his daughter was discomfiting, to make an understatement.
“Amanda, what are you doing here?” Not great, but the best she could do.
After a pregnant pause, Amanda looked up at Riley.
“I’m sorry about what I said to you.”
An apology? This would be a classic breakthrough if it was sincere.
“How did you find my house? How did you get here?”
“Can I come in?” Amanda’s voice was solemn. “I’d rather talk to you in the house.”
Though she had never had a client in her home, she figured it would be harmless.
“Sure, come on in. Where are my manners?” Riley was still trying to find her footing here. She led Amanda through the foyer, past her study, and into the family room with its vaulted ceiling and stone fireplace. “Please, sit down. Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’m fine. I need to ask you a few questions,” Amanda said emphatically. Riley thought she could hear the whisper of the words, “… while I still have the courage.”
“Okay, sport, it’s your dime,” Riley said, more to herself now. Riley’s radar had reengaged. Something seemed out of place.
“I went to Sanford Friday. I went to see my dad’s house. You know, how this will thing tells me to, just like I have to see you. That was one of the requirements.”
“Go on.”
“Jake drove me, and he used the key you gave him. We were in there for about an hour, maybe, and then I guess my mom called the NCBI or something because some people showed up and arrested Jake for kidnapping.”
“What!” Riley’s hand came to her mouth. “Where is he now?”
“They released him, but made me fly back here because he’s eighteen and I’m seventeen. They couldn’t let him drive me back. I kind of freaked, so I’ve been hanging at Brianna’s house all weekend. My best friend. Mom, everybody’s kind of freaked out, you know?”
Riley shifted in her chair and leaned forward. “So where is Jake now?”
“I haven’t seen him since he got back. I even texted him that I was coming over here and it would be cool if he met us so we could, you know, talk. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about though.”