Shadow Creek (17 page)

Val interrupted. “I thought you liked awkward positions.”

Jennifer shook her head, knowing they were both picturing her legs wrapped around Evan’s shoulders. “I really can’t see the point of discussing this any further.”

“The point is determining where Brianne is now,” the man sitting next to Valerie said simply.

“Who
are
you?” Jennifer asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Val said.

“Are you a park ranger?” Jennifer asked Gary directly.

“No,” Gary said. “Just an old friend of Val’s.”

Great, Jennifer thought, wondering what he meant by “old friend.” “Is your name some kind of state secret?”

The man smiled, attractive dimples creasing the afternoon stubble of his cheeks. “The name’s Gary.”

“Well, I’m sure that under normal circumstances, it would be a pleasure to meet you, Gary.”

Val interrupted. “Are you going to tell me where my daughter is or not?”

“I don’t know where she is, exactly.”

“Then tell me where she is
approximately
.”

“She’s somewhere in the area. That’s all I know.”

Val made a sound halfway between a sigh and a scream. “You’re saying you have no idea?”

“I’m saying they made arrangements to meet in the parking lot.”

“When did they make these arrangements?”

“I don’t know. I assume that’s what she was so busy texting him about.”

“You knew she was texting him?”

“I
assumed
it was him.” Jennifer watched Val trying to digest this latest tidbit.

“So when did they meet up?” Val pushed her hair away from her forehead, her hand noticeably shaking.

She really
does
want to kill me, Jennifer thought. “She texted him right after you guys left this morning.”

“How could she? I had her BlackBerry.”

“She used mine.”

Val nodded, as if to say,
Of course she did
. “So she’s been with this man pretty much the whole day.”

“Twenty-one is hardly a man,” Jennifer protested. “He’s still really just a kid.”

“I see. You’ve met him, have you?”

“Well, no. I haven’t.”

“Is he in college? Does he have a job? Where does he live? Does he do drugs? Has he spent time in prison?”

“Okay, okay, I get the point.”

“Do you know anything about him, other than that his name is Tyler Currington, which, frankly, doesn’t even sound like a real name to me?”

“I know Brianne is crazy about him.”

“Well, then, I guess that makes everything all right.”

They fell silent for several long seconds.

“So what do we do now?” James asked.

“What
can
we do?” Val said, looking toward the front entrance, everyone’s eyes trailing after her. “We wait.”

ABOUT AN HOUR later, Val watched in horror as the front doors opened and two uniformed park rangers—both tall and
clean-shaven—strode through, a noticeably disheveled-looking Brianne and her equally unkempt, shaggy-haired companion in tow. Val was immediately on her feet, rushing toward them, her friends right behind.

Jennifer hung back, noting that the boy’s black T-shirt, festooned with a skull-and-crossbone motif, was tucked half in, half out, of his low-slung skinny jeans. Shit, she thought, reluctantly following after them. Couldn’t Brianne have picked someone a little more presentable?

“What’s going on?” Val was asking, her voice vibrating with barely controlled hysteria. “Brianne, are you all right?”

“You know this young lady?” the younger of the park rangers asked as Jennifer spotted the hotel manager hurrying across the lobby toward them.

“She’s my daughter. Brianne, sweetheart, are you okay?”

“I’m afraid we found your daughter and her companion in a rather compromising position in some woods around Bolton Landing.”

“What?”

Shit, thought Jennifer again, her heart sinking. We’re all in for it now.

“A cottager reported spotting the two of them going at it in a clearing when she was taking her five-year-old twins for a walk. Needless to say, she wasn’t too happy about it.”

“What do you mean, going at it? You’re saying they were making out?”

“I’m saying it was a bit more than that.”

“How much more?”

The older of the two men explained the situation as tactfully as he could. Still, he left no doubt as to what he was
saying: Brianne and her companion had been discovered naked, having sex in a public area.

“I can’t believe this.” Val’s face reflected both her shock and her dismay. Her heart was pounding so fast she was afraid she might faint. “You were having sex in a public place? You were naked?”

“Maybe you could say it a little louder,” Brianne said defiantly. “I think there might be someone in Florida who didn’t hear you.”

“How could you do something like that? What the hell were you thinking? Brianne. Answer me.”

Brianne pursed her lips and looked toward Jennifer.

Shit, Jennifer thought. Now for sure I’m a dead woman.

“Don’t look at her,” Val snapped. “Look at me.”

“Why?” Brianne spun around to face her mother. “So you can hit me again?”

Val took a step back, almost as if she’d been slapped herself.

She looks so utterly defeated I almost feel sorry for her, Jennifer thought, realizing that they’d attracted the attention of virtually everyone in the lobby.

“I’m so sorry,” Val apologized to the rangers, although it wasn’t clear if she was apologizing for her daughter’s behavior or her own.

“Look. It’s not the first time something like this has happened,” the ranger said, continuing, “and it won’t be the last. We’re not interested in making trouble for these young people or in pressing charges …”

“Thank you so much,” Val muttered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“But if it happens again …”

“It won’t,” Val said quickly.

There was some further discussion, and then the rangers left.

“Assholes,” Tyler Currington muttered under his breath.

“
You
,” Val shot back, “don’t say another word.”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Rowe,” the manager said as they were preparing to leave the lobby. Both Val and Jennifer turned toward him. “We need to talk,” he said.

B
RIANNE STARED AT HER mother, trying to picture what she’d look like dead. Maybe with a knife through her heart or her throat slit from ear to ear. Like those people in the Berkshires, she thought, immediately pushing such disquieting thoughts from her mind. Yes, she was furious with her mother. Yes, she wished she’d go away and leave her alone. Yes, sometimes she even wished she’d drop off the face of the earth. But did she really want her dead?

She stole another glance in her mother’s direction, studying her in quiet conversation with some old high school classmate she’d supposedly happened upon while hiking. Gary Something-or-other. Had their running into each other really been nothing but a happy coincidence or had they been planning to meet up all along?

Like mother, like daughter, Brianne thought, gathering her long hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck with her hand, then releasing it, letting her hair spread like a fan across the tops of her shoulders. No, she decided. More like
father
, like daughter. He was the go- to person for secret assignations and clandestine affairs. Her mother couldn’t keep a secret if she tried. She simply wasn’t devious enough to have set all this up in advance. She was much too honest. Much too
obvious
.

And besides, she was still pining for her wayward husband. It was painfully clear she still loved him, and that she was still hoping he’d see the error of his ways and come back home. So what difference did it really make if her meeting with Gary Whoever-he-was had been planned or not? The man probably wouldn’t be around for long. All her father had to do was cock his little finger and her mother would go running. He was her drug of choice, not alcohol.

What a disaster this weekend was turning into. Nothing was turning out the way it was supposed to.

When her father had first floated the idea for this weekend getaway, she’d balked. No way was she spending three days and nights in the mountains with the twit who’d broken up her family. No way was she about to make nice with the sweet-faced slut who’d caused her mother so much grief.

Except that Jennifer had turned out to be neither a twit nor a slut. She was actually pretty cool. Not at all bossy or judgmental. She seemed genuinely interested in Brianne’s opinions and, unlike her mother, she actually listened to what she had to say. Sometimes Jennifer even asked
her
for advice. When was the last time her mother had done that?

If anything, her mother had grown increasingly withdrawn, impatient, even dismissive, in recent months. Maybe because the divorce was almost final. Maybe because she was turning
forty. Maybe because
her
mother was a hopeless drunk. Whatever the reason, she was certainly no picnic to be around these days. Brianne had eventually warmed to the idea of escaping her mother’s watchful eye, even welcomed it.

Tyler had welcomed the news as well. “Can’t you see?” he’d asked when she told him about the planned excursion. “It’s perfect.”

His plan was simple. He’d follow them to the lodge, stay in a nearby motel, or even sleep in his car, if necessary. They’d fake a chance meeting and then she would persuade her father to allow Tyler to join them. She doubted that would be a problem. For all his seeming sophistication, Evan Rowe had always been surprisingly easy to manipulate.

Unfortunately, he was just as unreliable.

So she hadn’t been particularly surprised or disappointed when he’d called to say he’d be late. She’d been expecting as much. She’d even warned Tyler to count on at least a two-hour delay, but Tyler, as cocksure as ever, had left at the appointed hour anyway. “Might as well get up there a little early and scout out the territory,” he’d said with a laugh.

And then her father had announced he’d been further detained. And then her mother had agreed to act as chauffeur …

And then … And then …

Brianne glanced at her mother, feeling the sting of her slap as if it were fresh.

“Are you okay?” her mother mouthed, catching her look.

Brianne turned away without answering.

As it turned out, their fight had been a blessing in disguise, providing her with a legitimate excuse to get away from the group. Her mother had gone off hiking with her friends in an effort to cool down, and it hadn’t been very difficult to convince
Jennifer to let her meet up with Tyler for a few hours.

And what a mistake that had turned out to be. She never should have let Tyler convince her to make love in such an open area. Yes, it had sounded kind of exciting, and no, she hadn’t wanted to come across as a prude, but come on, what
had
she been thinking? What had happened to her common sense, her better judgment? Had she been trying so hard to impress some boy that she’d allowed his words to get the better of her own best instincts?

She’d heard them before she saw them: two giants in what she first assumed were police uniforms sneaking up on them, ordering them to stop what they were doing, to get dressed and come with them.

Do you realize this is a public place? Don’t you know there are children in the area? Do you know what you’re doing is against the law?
Followed by
What’s your name? Where are you from? Where are you staying? How old are you?

Thank God they’d turned out to be park rangers, and not actual cops. Instead of arresting them, they’d merely lectured them nonstop during the drive back to the lodge. Brianne had been hoping for a quiet entrance, but of course, that was not to be. Her mother had been waiting for her in the lobby, Jennifer having betrayed her confidence and spilled the beans about Tyler.

You really can’t count on anyone these days, Brianne thought, recalling the hotel manager’s words:
We can’t afford to have this kind of scene in our lobby. We cater to an exclusive clientele who don’t appreciate inappropriate behavior from our guests. Normally we would never allow five people to stay in one room, and we only intended it to be for the one night, in any event. I’m sorry but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the premises as soon as possible
.

“That’s it. We’re going home,” her mother had immediately announced.

“I’m going with Tyler,” Brianne said, knowing she was pushing her luck, but figuring, what the hell?

“You’re not going anywhere with Tyler. Tyler is leaving immediately,” her mother informed them in no uncertain terms, “unless Tyler wants to find himself facing a charge of statutory rape.”

“What?” The self-satisfied smirk Tyler had been wearing instantly disappeared from his tanned face.

“Did my daughter tell you she’s only sixteen years old?”

“What?” Tyler said again.

“Goodbye, Tyler,” her mother said.

“I’ll call you later,” Brianne whispered to him out of the side of her mouth as he hurried from the lobby.

Which was when Gary had suggested they spend the night at the campground where he and his dorky son were staying. “It’s been a pretty tense afternoon,” he’d said. “I don’t think any one of you wants to spend five hours trapped in a car together. You can rent a couple of tents, we’ll barbecue hot dogs …”

Brianne interrupted. “I don’t eat meat.”

“Then don’t eat,” her mother had snapped, promptly taking Gary up on his offer.

“I think I’ll pass,” said Jennifer.

“Suit yourself,” Val said. “Good luck finding a place to stay.”

“Shit,” said Jennifer, her eyes registering defeat.

And so here they were—together again—at Starbright Campsites, just a few miles of twisting road down from the Lodge at Shadow Creek, on the banks of Lake George. They’d rented what turned out to be the last three available tents, two large and one small. Brianne had categorically refused to share a tent with either her mother or Jennifer, and so it was finally
agreed that Melissa and Val would share one tent and James would bunk down with Brianne. Jennifer would occupy the third and smallest of the tents alone.