A Soldier's Promise (Crystal Lake Series Book 2) (7 page)

“It belongs to my brother, but I’d be happy to take you both out for a ride if you’re interested.”

Derek grinned with excitement. He cocked his head and glanced down at his daughter. “What do you think, Lexi? Do you want to go for a boat ride?”

Lexi’s expression lit up. “Yes!” It was the most enthusiasm she’d seen from the girl since bringing them both home last night.

“Well then, sounds like a plan,” Julie said, betraying her eagerness. She finished her slice of pizza and pushed away from the table. “You’ll have to give me a few minutes to make sure everything is clean. I haven’t had the boat out in two weeks.”

“Sit down and finish your lunch, Julie,” Derek said firmly. “There’s no rush. Lexi and I can help clean up the boat if needed.”

The fact that he was supposed to be resting seemed to be lost on him, but she bit back her argument and sank back down, helping herself to another small slice of pizza. She gave up trying to lecture him, since it didn’t do any good anyway.

After they finished the entire pizza, Derek making a much bigger dent than he had last night, she tossed the empty box in the garbage and then went back inside to fill a pail with warm, soapy water.

Derek and Lexi were waiting patiently for her out on the patio, and, of course, Derek took the pail of water from her before they walked down to the lake together. If his ribs were aching, he made sure the pain didn’t show on his face.

She removed the boat cover, grimacing when she saw that the seats were lightly coated with dirt. But with all three of them working together, it didn’t take long before the boat was sparkling clean.

She hauled out Amelia’s life vest for Lexi and instructed the girl on how to put it on. Lexi didn’t seem thrilled but, after a stern look from her father, didn’t complain. Julie slid the key into the ignition and glanced over at Derek and Lexi. “Are you ready?”

Derek nodded. “Sure.”

Knowing that bouncing over the waves might cause him pain, she started out at a slow pace. The lake was busy, so she had to carefully navigate the craft around the other boaters, making sure to keep an eye out for skiers and tubers. When she came upon an open stretch of lake, she pushed the throttle forward, kicking up some speed, and was rewarded by Lexi’s laughter.

All too soon, she had to slow back down, carefully turning around to head back toward her home. She glanced over at her passengers, glad to see Derek looked relaxed, with Lexi tucked close to his side.

“I don’t suppose you’d let me drive?” he asked, capturing her gaze with his.

“Sure, why not?” she pulled the throttle back so that the boat was idling as they awkwardly switched seats. His arm brushed hers, and she had no business inhaling his masculine scent, especially since it went straight to her head. She moved away, taking a seat across from Lexi.

As Derek drove them leisurely around the lake, she could feel the curious stares from some of her friends and neighbors. The smile on her features dimmed as she realized what this little outing probably looked like to everyone else. As if she and Derek were seeing each other on a personal level.

She closed her eyes for a moment, dreading the thought of being the source of more rumors. The gossip had flown fast and furious after Andrew had left her. Being out in public like this would only encourage the small town tongues to start flapping all over again.

Leaving her to explain why Derek and Lexi had left, as she knew they would, right after the holiday.

___________

Derek enjoyed being out on the boat, but as soon as he realized the three of them were becoming the center of attention, he turned the boat around to head back to Julie’s place.

Stupid to forget, even for a moment, that he and Lexi needed to keep a low profile. As far as he knew, Julie hadn’t so much as turned on a radio or a television since last night, but that didn’t mean her neighbors hadn’t. He’d already pushed his luck with Deputy Thomas.

Lexi was legally in his custody, but that didn’t mean Claire’s parents weren’t still searching for them. And who knows what story they might have told the police?

After all, they had wealth and power on their side when all he had was love.

“Let’s go again, Daddy,” Lexi said with a rare pout.

“Sorry, baby-doll, but my ribs are still a little sore,” he said. He wasn’t lying, because his ribs did ache—not that he’d let a little pain get in the way of making Lexi happy.

Going to the private school that Claire’s parents had forced upon her hadn’t made her happy, either. Keeping her safe was more important. And the fear of being found by Claire’s parents trumped another boat ride by far.

“We can go out again another day,” Julie assured Lexi. “Maybe even tomorrow afternoon. I have to go to church in the morning and then stop at the grocery store, but then we have the rest of the day free.”

He wasn’t surprised that Julie planned to go to church since she’d mentioned that to the doc, but the flash of guilt caught him off guard. He ignored the emotion as he carefully pulled the speedboat into its docking station next to the pier. “Lexi, why don’t you get your sketchbook? I bet Julie would appreciate a pretty picture of her lake.”

“Oh, I’d love that,” Julie agreed with enthusiasm. “Would you do that for me, Lexi? Please?”

His daughter gave another of her reserved, tiny nods, and he was relieved she’d allowed herself to be distracted from taking another trip around the lake. He shut off the motor and helped Lexi out of the boat first, before reaching down to help Julie with the cover.

“I’ll get it. You need to rest those ribs,” she said.

“I’m not an invalid,” he muttered, his tone sharper than he intended. He knew she was reacting to the excuse he’d given to Lexi for going back home, which made him feel guilty again. Hadn’t Julie noticed the way people stared at them?

“I know, but I can do this,” she said. “Why don’t you take Lexi back up to the house?”

Julie was avoiding his gaze, and he realized maybe she had noticed the curious stares and was embarrassed to be seen with him and Lexi. The thought bothered him, even though he knew Julie’s personal life was none of his business.

For all he knew, she might be seeing someone, although she certainly hadn’t mentioned it. He almost asked her but then gave himself a mental shake. “All right, let’s go, Lexi.”

He climbed off the boat and took his daughter’s hand. Lexi seemed to hesitate, but after one last glance over her shoulder at Julie, she came along with him.

He didn’t relax until they were back up at the patio outside the townhouse, away from the curious eyes of Julie’s neighbors. He gingerly lowered himself into one of the patio chairs while Lexi ran inside the townhouse for her sketchbook.

His ribs were still sore, but the ache in his head seemed to be a bit better. Being out on the lake had been wonderful; for a few brief moments, it had been nice to forget all his worries and enjoy being out on the water. But then reality had crashed through his false sense of security.

He wasn’t here to have fun. He needed to figure out where he could find a job and a place to live. Someplace where he could establish himself in a community, making it difficult for Claire’s parents to take Lexi away from him. If that was even possible.

He closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing a hand along the right side of his chest. There was nothing worse than feeling useless. He wished he felt strong enough to start working on the half-gutted townhouse. The sooner he could pay Julie back for her hospitality, the better.

Lexi came back outside and climbed into the seat beside him. He opened his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight. Thankfully, the umbrella overhead helped provide some shade, and he watched as Lexi pulled out her colored pencils and began to draw the lake.

“Would you like some iced tea or a soft drink?” Julie asked as she walked up.

“Sure. Tea would be great,” he said, even though he knew that he was already imposing on Julie far more than he had a right to.

“Lexi, do you like root beer?” Julie asked.

His daughter nodded but didn’t look up from her drawing. Once his daughter was preoccupied with something she liked to do, it was difficult to get her attention. He was about to apologize for Lexi’s behavior, but Julie was already disappearing into her side of the townhouse, the screen door sliding shut behind her.

He allowed his eyes to drift closed, giving in to a wave of insidious fatigue. Why he should be so tired, he had no idea. It wasn’t as if he’d done much. And if he was this exhausted just from running a few errands and going for a boat ride, then how in the world was he going to do the construction work on Julie’s townhouse that needed to be done?

“Derek, why don’t you go inside to lie down?”

He pried his eyes open and summoned a smile. “It’s nice being out here like this.” He reached for the glass of ice-cold tea. “Thanks, again.”

Julie gave him an exasperated look as she sat down beside him. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove,” she muttered. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since your accident.”

He didn’t want to think about the crash. “Does your brother live around here?”

“He lives about an hour away in Madison,” she said. “Unfortunately, Zack doesn’t get up here as much as he used to. Still, we’ve stayed close since our parents died.”

There was a hint of sadness in her tone, but he held back from asking anything too personal. After all, it wasn’t as if he wanted to reciprocate. Julie seemed like the type of woman who’d feel compelled to report him to the authorities if she knew the truth.

“This area looks like a nice place to live,” he said instead. “How many people are there in Crystal Lake?”

“About fourteen hundred people live within Hope County, and over half of them live within a twenty-five mile radius to the lake. The people here either work at the medical center, for the government either in city hall or the sheriff’s department, or in the service sector, which depends a lot on tourism to survive.”

“No manufacturing jobs, huh?” he asked.

“No. We had a car manufacturing plant about thirty miles from here, but that closed down a few years ago, after the collapse of the economy.”

He figured as much. Crystal Lake might be a great place to live, but he needed some sort of job that would support him and Lexi. He’d done some construction work prior to going into the service, but with the economy the way it was, no one was building new houses anymore.

Eight years in the Army hadn’t exactly prepared him for the civilian job market. Of course, he’d planned to reenlist until Claire had told him about her cancer. The doctor had given her six months to live.

She’d only lasted four.

Seven years ago, when Claire had discovered she was pregnant, he’d asked her to marry him, but she’d refused. At least Claire had let him be a part of Lexi’s life, and not only had he sent most of his money to Claire, he’d spent as much time as he could with Lexi. But after Claire had found out about her cancer, she’d asked him to come back to care for their daughter. He’d jumped through yards of red tape before he was granted his honorary discharge, but it was several weeks too late. Claire had passed away, and Lexi had ended up living with Claire’s parents until he’d arrived stateside. Thankfully, Lexi hadn’t forgotten him and had clung to his shoulders like a little monkey, as if she’d never let him go.

It had been his first inkling of what the child had gone through with her grandparents. Apparently, even when Claire was too weak to care for Lexi, her parents had taken over, enrolling her in that ridiculous private school where she was punished if she didn’t act like the other kids.

Which had been most of the time.

He still saw red when he thought about what Lexi had been through, so he forced the images away. He was not about to let Claire’s parents get custody of Lexi. In the few weeks they’d been together, Lexi had already begun to relax and trust him. Now more than ever, he believed he’d made the right decision to take her away. He and Lexi would make things work.

“Here, Julie, this is for you.” His daughter’s voice pulled him away from his thoughts. He was surprised that Lexi had opened up even that much to a virtual stranger.

“Lexi, this is a beautiful picture,” Julie said with awe. “The detail is absolutely amazing. I had no idea you were so talented.”

Glancing over, he caught the shy smile his daughter flashed at Julie. The hero worship was clear in Lexi’s bright blue eyes.

In that moment, the truth sucker punched him, stealing his breath.

Lexi was looking up to Julie like a surrogate mother.

And when it was time for them to leave, his daughter would be hurt all over again.

Chapter Six

Julie was truly stunned at how talented Lexi was and couldn’t help staring at the lake drawing, marveling at the detail. She’d loved Amelia with all her heart, but her niece’s pictures had been stick people and crude landmarks. Nothing like Lexi’s precise drawing of the lake within which everything was amazingly to scale.

As silence hung heavily, she scrambled for something to talk about. “I thought we’d have burgers for dinner if that’s okay with you,” she offered, glancing over at Derek.

“Sounds good,” he agreed.