All three of them jump into the air, and Dad waves Hank’s little hand at us. “Yes!” they scream.
Trixie runs to Jake and he scoops her up in his arms. She cups her hand around his ear and whispers something to him.
Jake turns to me. “She said Sally wants to be the flower dog.”
I look around. “Where is Sally?” The dog is usually right next to Trixie.
“I thought he was with you,” Dad says.
Panic floods my heart. I grab for Jake’s arm. “Jake—”
“I know,” he replies. He sets Trixie down. “Go inside and set the alarm. I’ll find Sally.”
I rush the kids toward the house, but I stop when I get to the porch. Mr. Jacobson is lying in the open doorway. He’s not moving. “Jake!” I yell.
Just inside the door, we find Sally. He’s lying in a pool of his own blood.
45
Jake
My heart fucking stops.
“Pop,” I say, as I lean down next to him. Dan is already herding the kids toward their car. Adam drops down beside me.
“Move over, Jake,” Adam says. “I was a medic in the Army.”
I scoot over, but I don’t go far. “Pop!” I say again.
Pop groans. “Jake…”
I grab his hand. “Pop, what happened?”
“That stupid dog of yours jumped between me and the bullet.” He lifts his head so he can look at the dog, who’s lying in a pool of blood. “Take care of the dog, Jake,” he says. “I just bumped my head is all.”
The ambulance and the police arrive at the same time, and we get Pop checked by the EMTs. He complains the whole time. Adam takes Dan and the kids in their minivan and races off to take the dog to the emergency vet. The dog is alive, but he’s hurt badly. I sincerely doubt he’ll make it.
“Did Katie go with Dan and Adam?” Fred asks. He has been here with me since I found Pop.
I look around, but don’t see her. “She must have.”
Fred holsters his gun. “Are you sure?”
“Pop!” I yell toward the EMTs, who still haven’t given Pop the all-clear. “Did you see where Katie went?”
He points toward the cabin. “Last time I saw her, she was headed that way.”
“Was she alone?”
“Yes.”
I don’t know where Katie is. But she’s alone, and Cole is still nearby. And that scares the hell out of me.
46
Jake
The morning that Katie left me was bittersweet. I knew she had to leave, to go back to school. I’d known it all summer. We’d both known it was coming. We’d spent every minute together in the weeks before she left. I knew her better than I’d ever known anyone. In fact, we’d spent the night together the night before. Her parents didn’t know it, and my dad would kill me if he found out, but Katie snuck out her window around midnight, and met me down at the dock.
We shoved the canoe off and paddled silently away from the campground, trying to find some privacy. That night, we did nothing and everything. We loved one another completely, and not at all.
I didn’t need to be inside Katie to be one with her. But I did need to hold her. I needed to say a proper goodbye.
We pulled up at a nearby shore and Katie and I got out. I yanked the canoe onto the sand, and I spread a blanket on a soft spot of grass a few yards back from the shore. Then I got the cooler I’d packed earlier out of the canoe. “Are you cold?” I asked as I joined her on the blanket.
She shook her head. “No.”
“I could start a fire.”
She shook her head again. “You could just hold me.”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I lay back on the blanket and pulled her to lie in the crook of my arm.
“Do you think we’ll ever see one another again after this?” she asked.
“I’ll be there when you leave tomorrow. I’m going to kiss you right in front of everyone.”
She giggled against my chest, the sound of it sinking inside me. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Are you coming back next year?” I asked. A lot of our lodgers came back year after year. They were regulars, and we got to know them, their children, and their grandchildren.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She pressed her lips to the tender skin above the collar of my shirt. “I hope so,” she whispered.
“Will you write to me?”
She nodded against my chest. “Of course.”
That night, we talked about everything and nothing. We kissed until my lips were sore, until Katie put a stop to my wandering hands, until the sun peeked over the horizon and I knew our time together was almost over.
I paddled the canoe back to the dock and hooked it up to the mooring cleat. Then I helped Katie step onto the dock. She turned to face me.
“No matter what, Jake,” she said, “I’ll always love you.” Then she buried her face in my chest.
I held her tightly against my chest, not even close to being ready to let her go. But the sun was coming up, and I could already smell brewing coffee. It was time to take her back.