Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (7 page)

“Now
you
do
it.
”
She
handed
him the dog’s lead
.  Within
twenty
minutes, they no longer had to push the dog into a sitting position.

“You’re pretty good at this. Ever thought of going into dog training
fulltime
?” Ben brushed his hair off his forehead.

She was pleased
by the compliment
. “I’m thinking I might want to be a vet.
How long
have
you
been in school
?”
she asked.

“I finished high school when I was
sixteen, and
did my
undergrad
in three years
. I started vet school when I was
twenty
. I have another year to go, so I should be able to start my own practice by the time I’m
twenty-five
.”

“Wow! You must be brilliant. I wish I could say the
sam
e
.
”
Her
grades for the
most recent quarter
,
she feared, might not be as
good as
earlier in the year
.

“Not brilliant. I kept getting into trouble at school, so my folks
pulled me out
. I was home-schooled
after sixth grade
. When my mom said I was ready, I
took
the entrance exam to get into college.”

“Your folks taught you at home?
You must have been alone a lot
.”

“
Not really
.
Big family.
I
’m the third kid out of seven.
”

“That
must be nice.
Who’s
the oldest?”

“My sister
Julianna
. T
hen there’
s Tim. They’re both married
with kids.
Julie
has two and Tim has four.
Jeff is three years behind me. H
e’s at Whitman
College
this year, and the twins
, April and Arlene,
are
high school
juniors
. Dan
is the caboose. He’s three years younger, but only two years behind them
, if they were
in
regular
school.”

“
We
re
they
all
home-schooled?”

“
Just the ones after me, because it worked so well. But
the girls have all taken music at the high school, and Jeff played sports on the school teams. I expect Dan will, too, when he gets
some weight on him. He’
s built like me, tall and skinny.”

“I always wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters. Sometimes it’s hard being the only one.”

“How’s that?”

“I’m the only one
my folks
have to concentrate on when something bad happens.” She
looked
at her feet
. “When I do something good, they like it and that’s
nice
, but—
these days
, I can’t seem to
do anything right
.
Dad’s always mad at me, and
my grades this past term
may not be
what they should be
.”

He
brushed his hair out of his eyes
. “Think of it this way. You have a monopoly. I’ve always had to share. Sometimes that can be hard, too.”
He transferred the dog’s leash from one hand to the other. “
Want something to eat or drink before you go? I don’t have
much, but you’re welcome to it.” H
e opened the back
door of the house. “If you want, I can drop you off at your place
when I take Happy back to the c
linic.”

“Yes, to a glass of water and maybe a co
ok
ie
.” S
he pointed to her bike. “
I’ve got
my
own wheels.
”
But she wished
she’d agreed to let Ben drive her home.
He
was
so
easy to be around, friendly, caring. Like a big brother might be.
But she decided not to tell him
that
.

Later that week, her mother said,
“
Danni
, the phone is for you.
Make
it short. You know how your father is about phone calls during dinner.”

She
nodded. “Oh, hi, Ben.”
Her heart skipped a beat and con
tinued to thud against her ribs
.

“Hi, yourself. I was wondering if you would show me around the island. Joel says you’ve lived here all your life.”

“
Okay
. What do you want to see
?” Before he could reply, she said, “I know—the Point!
”

“What’
s that?”

“It’s a high promontory—a wor
d I learned in
one of my science
class
es
.” S
he grinned. “Near the north end of the island. You can see almost to the southern tip from there. Would you like to
go
?”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You’ll have to wear hiking boots. It’s a climb.”

“If the weather’s good tomorrow afternoon
, could we do that, or will
it take all day? I have to
look
in on the boarders
in the morning
.”

Dannilynn
turned toward the dinner table.  “Mom, Dad, is it
okay
if I take Ben to the Point tomorrow
after church
?
”

“Is this a date?” Her father
frowned
.

“No, it’s just Ben. Y
ou know, the guy Joel’s training at the clinic. He’s never been there, and—”

“Be home by dinner
.”

She
brought the phone closer to her face
.
“Ben, okay, if I’m
back by dinner.”

“Super! Do we need a car to get there, or should I plan to ride on the back of your bike?”

She
giggl
ed. “Your fee
t would drag and slow me down.
We
’ll
need a car.”

“
Okay
. I’ll come pick you up. Is
twelve thirty
too early?”

“No, that should be just right. See you then.”

“Who is this Ben character? Have I met
him
?”
Her father folded
the paper and p
laced
it next to his chair.

“He works at the clinic
. Joel
’
s
teach
ing him what a
vet does. He’s an extern—
just finished his third year of vet school.”

“Hm
m
.
” Her father glanced up at her for a long beat before concentrating on his plate.
“
Pass the potatoes.”

The next day,
Ben picked her up in one of Joel’s old cars.
She wore
hiking shorts and a light blouse
. In her backpack,
she
carried
a
sweater, some sandwiches, and two bottles of water.

Ben
shook
her dad’s
hand
when they were introduced
.
“
I’m Ben Edwards
, Mr.
Kelly
.
I really appreciate
Dannilynn
show
ing
me around. I’m new to
Cedar I
sland and it
look
s like an interesting place
to live
.”

“Just make sure
she’s back here by dinner
time.”
The man peered steadily at Ben, seeming to assess him, before heading back to the chair on the porch.

“I’ll do that, sir.” H
e opened the door for
Danni
. “Ready?”

She nodded. “L
et’s hope this
old
heap
makes it out of the driveway. Wh
y
’d you get this one?”

The
ugly green
Chevy sedan
with
numerous dents and a missing left rear fender
stalled, then caught, and with a cloud of blue
smoke
, they headed up the road.

Danni
chuckled. “Did you see that smoke?”

“
I call it the Green Monster. It’s
burning oil. Not to worry.
Joel said it needed a good run up the r
oad to clean out the engine. He’s
hauling some tools and things to the boat this week
end and needed the backseat of t
he Thing
.
We
ought to make it. I filled it with gas and
stuck a
quart of oil
in the trunk
just
in case
.”

When they reached the parking lot nearest the trail to the Point, Ben grabbed his jean jacket and slung it over one shoulder.

Danni
led the way up the trail, which began in a grove of small trees and Oregon grape, and
disappeared
through the trees
. The
pat
h became
rockier and steeper as they
climbed. They
rounded a curve of the hill
and
she
stopped to catch her breath
.

“
Look
over there.”
Danni
pointed through the trees
. The white uprights of
the high bridge linking the island with the mainland
stood out against the granite cliffs on the
far shore
.

“I know where we are. Joel took me out on his boat a
few
weeks back.”

She nodded.
“
It
was built by the CCC. Do you know who they were?”

“Civilian Conservation Corps. My
grandfather
and
his brother
were in it.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll bet you thought I wouldn’t know
about them
. Surprised you, didn’t I?” He grinned at her.

“How was I to know you had family who did that sort of thing? Come on, we have more climbing to do if you want to get to the top
.”
So
Ben’s family had a history with the area, even though he’d said his family lived in northeastern Washington. Interesting. Would she ever know something he didn’t know—other than how to teach a dog to sit?

S
he headed back up the trail, through trees that
grew
shorter and scrub growth
that thinned
. They
slowly
worked their way between boulders at the steepest portion. Ben
took
the lead and helped her maneuver the shale that slipped and slid when it loosened under their feet
until they reached firmer ground
.

When they reached the top, she emptied her backpack on
to
a large rock that resembled a table.
They
looked
south. S
he pointed out the tallest buildings in New Harbor, and then the coves on either side of
Cedar I
sland.

“Too bad you can’t see all the way down today. That farm we visited is just about where the clouds start, on the other side of that cove to the east.”

“That far?” Ben munched one of the apples he had brought.  He reached into his jacket and pulled
out
the other one. “Here—
I’ll trade you
for the
extra
sandwich. I’m glad you mentioned this place. It has to be a popular spot with hikers.”