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Chapter Twenty-Six
Lena
The tires crunched along the gravel mixed in with dirt until we made it onto the paved road. I don’t know what got into Jackson, but all of a sudden, he seemed like a little kid eager to show me his new prized possession, and he managed to instantly draw my mind out of the fearscape I’d drummed up. I worried a bit when my hand fell onto his lap as we swerved coming out of the driveway, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. It embarrassed me some. It was an accident, and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Not that I didn’t like him—I did. I wished I could have left my hand on Jackson’s firm thigh. I blinked my eyes, willing the pleasurable moment away. I couldn’t allow my thoughts to go there right now, so … so soon after what just happened with Troy.
Jackson turned the SUV down something resembling a road, but from the looks of all the brush and trees growing among and through it, I couldn’t be sure it was an actual road.
“Don’t worry,” he said as I braced my hand at the top of the glove box for support. “I know this road like the back of my hand.”
Road? What road?I wanted to ask but decided my energy was better spent looking out for unsuspecting animals we might crash into, or worse yet, a cliffside that would take us plummeting to our deaths. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the path for fear I might miss the attack of a tree right before we rammed into it, killing us both. I wanted to be aware of my last couple of seconds of life. When he stopped the car beside a large oak tree and placed the gearshift into park, I breathed out a sigh of relief.
He heard me and laughed. “Did that ride scare you?”
“Maybe a little,” I admitted, releasing my fingers from their death grip on the dash. “Where are we?”
“Come on,” he said without answering me. He came over to my side of the SUV and opened my door. With the wine bottle and cups in his other hand, he waved them in front of himself, bending a little at the waist as he bowed his head and splayed his other hand and arm out toward the forest. “This way, m’lady.”
I smiled and stepped out, taking the outstretched hand that he offered to me.
Glancing around the woodsy surroundings, I couldn’t imagine where he was taking me. The little voice inside my head wanted to scream, No! Don’t go into the woods, but I managed to squash down the panic rising in my chest. If Jackson wanted to hurt me, he would have done it by now. I took a deep breath and followed him into the forest. The narrow path we entered didn’t look too bad, growing wider as we continued and resembling more of a trail than it did initially. A small hill sloped up toward our right, with pine trees looming from the ground as we kept going. Some were so tall I wondered how they stayed straight, growing from the side of the slope that way. To our left, the hillside swept downward with trees covering almost every inch of free space.
“Let’s hurry. It’s getting close to sunset,” Jackson said as he led the way, pulling my hand with him. My side still tender; I clutched at it with my free hand. Jackson noticed and slowed down. “We’re almost there. Stay close.” I kept my eyes on the ground, watching where Jackson stepped, making sure to step right behind him.
When we stopped walking, I looked up. My eyes widened at the sight of the large expanse of water in front of us. “Over here.” Jackson tugged to our left and led me over to a small metal motorboat perched upside down on the bank, secured to a tree with heavy twine. He untied it and turned it over. Under it, two oars lay side by side. “It’s not fancy or anything, but this is my fishing boat, and this,” he gestured toward the water, “is my fishing hole. And in about ten minutes, that sun is going to sink below the water’s edge over that way. His eyes were bright with excitement as he pointed down at the far end of the lake. “If we hurry, we can catch it. Take that end,” he said, motioning to the opposite end of the boat from the motor end he was now lifting. I helped him pick up the boat, and we carried it to the water. It wasn’t as heavy as I had thought it would be. “Hop in.” I did as he told me and immediately sat down at the end, away from the motor. Jackson pushed the boat away from the shore and hopped in.
I sat staring at Jackson. He wore a silly grin that he didn’t seem to realize until he glanced at me and frowned. “You might want to turn around and face that way.”
“Okay.” I picked up my legs and twirled around to face the front of the boat. He started the engine, which was, to my surprise, relatively quiet, and we floated away from the beach toward the sinking sun.
It was the most beautiful picture I’d ever seen. The colors of blood-red orange mingled with purple covered the entire sky as wisps of clouds scattered throughout. The way the reddish-orange met the lake looked as if the sky above the water was on fire. I couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped my lips. “Oh my God, Jackson, this is beautiful.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
“Like it? I love it.” I turned briefly to see his grin or to make sure he was there and real. I wanted to reach out and touch him to be sure I wasn’t in some beautiful dream that I’d wake up from, disappointed that I couldn’t stay asleep.
Jackson sat straight, confident-looking with his hand on the steering shaft of the motor. My God, he was so handsome. His green eyes shimmered with the light cast from the sinking sun, and he smiled at me. Satisfied he was real and I wasn’t dreaming, I quickly swiveled back around. I didn’t want to miss a single moment of the majestic sensation before my eyes, consuming every inch of my soul. “This truly has to be heaven,” I whispered, knowing that, as real as this beautiful moment was, it could only be temporary.
