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It’s a gray dawn light that greets us over the top of the range, a few miles from the lake house.
Still dark and gloomy, the rain eases but never enough for any real sunlight to show.
I never got wet from the rain, but I’m still shivering from the sight of Zak, stoic and resolute as he steers us both home.
Home.
The word rings like a bell in my mind, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel it any other place unless Zak’s there.
With me.
“Thanks, Zak,” I tell him in a loud voice, meaning it. Knowing my Dad would mean it too if he was here with us.
He only curls his lip; that same satisfied look again.
Like he knows something maybe I don’t.
Like maybe he already knows I’m his.
Like I wish I was right now so I could burrow into him, nuzzling him and telling him I love him.
“Let’s get to your Dad first,” Zak says as if he’s reading my mind yet again. Comforting me, but scaring me a little at the same time.
There’s a light, frosty drizzle by the time we round the bend and make our way up the half mile track to the lake house.
Zak observes aloud the single set of tire tracks leading out.
“I think we missed him,” he says, a worried look in his eyes.
“Dad wouldn’t-” I start to say, but once we draw up to the view of the house, the drive… I see Dad’s truck is missing.
I gasp aloud and feel Zak’s hand on mine.
“It’s alright. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he says with so much confidence I actually sink back into my seat.
Feeling relieved, safe.
Home.
The lake house really is a house, it’s not a shack like so many of the original homes on the lake.
I realize the lack of power once the automatic lights out front fail to light up the gravel drive, which I can see too, has the deep-set tracks of my Dad’s truck from his recent departure.
It’s still raining, but nowhere near as hard once I let us both in.
Zak reaches out for me once we’re inside after I fumble for the lights, hoping for something.
“It’s alright. Misty,” he assures me. “Just direct me to the candles and matches, we’ll get some lights up soon enough.”
The dawn is bringing nothing inside, and I take Zak’s hand in mine, leading him to the kitchen he no doubt remembers himself.
I can’t help feeling like he’s letting me hold onto him just for the sake of touching me again, which makes my heart beat like a rabbit's.
Then I see it.
The note.
It’s Dad’s chicken scratch alright, and written in a hurry, probably by candlelight by the stub next to it, which I re-light with the matches next to it.
I snatch it up in both hands, but Zak eases it from me gently once he sees I’ve read enough.
Misty/Zak
I waited and waited, then heard the weather on the radio until the power went out and I tried to call you both – now I’m heading down the hill to find you myself. If you get this note – Stay put! Don’t leave the house and I’ll see you both soon.
Love Dad/Mark XXOX
P.S: Welcome home, buddy!Chapter SixZakI feel split in two. Tired from the long trip, and now faced with a homecoming that feels more like a rescue mission gone wrong.
But on the other hand…
If Mark’s not here, it’s just me and Misty.
I try and push the thought from my mind, knowing or maybe hoping that Misty’s thinking the exact same thing.
“You stay here, I’ll take the truck back down the hill-” I start to say, mostly out of reflex. I take charge in a crisis, it’s what I do, and it’s been my job for the past twenty years.
A billion dollar takeover or finding a guy driving down a hillside? What’s the difference?
“You can’t!” Misty exclaims, grabbing a hold of me, making my heart leap at her touch.
“I mean… the note, he said to stay put,” she adds.
“And what if he’s in trouble now?” I ask her, casting my eyes out into the gray gloom, the black clouds rolling in over the lake.
“Your Dad’s back is what worries me,” I confess to her.
Years ago, before I left for the other side of the world, Mark injured himself at work, a foreman with a multi-national construction company. They did the right thing by him, kept him on in a limited capacity, made sure he was financially secure when he couldn’t manage that.
Misty gnaws at her lip again, undecided, torn between my word and her Dad’s orders which couldn’t be much clearer.
“And are you gonna just leave me here as well?” she asks, pouting with fear.
“Never,” I grunt, clutching her elbows again. Dragging her close. So close I can feel the heat of her skin on mine as I automatically lower my head to-
