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“Donuts! I have been craving these donuts since the first time I tried them!”
“You mean yesterday?” I pointed out.
Lettie rolled her eyes. “Yes, but it seems like it’s been too long already.”
She peeked inside. I had gotten half a dozen of Lenora’s most famous donuts. There was pistachio, maple crumble with bacon, peanut butter chocolate chip, banana pudding, double stuffed strawberry, and good old-fashioned yeast with a glaze.
“Wow, okay, this is incredible. Now I don’t even care if I end up on some documentary… Worth it!”
Lettie reached her hand over, headed for the box, and I closed it. “Be patient. We gotta get where we’re going first.”
Lettie sunk back into the passenger seat and pushed her lower lip out in a pout. “Fine. And where is it we’re going? Also, how long does it take to get there? Because if you say more than five minutes, my hand might actually slip into that box. It has its own mind, I swear. I can’t always control it.”
I shook my head, amused. “You are a little impatient, aren’t you?”
Lettie’s nose scrunched. “Maybe a little. It’s a terrible flaw.”
“Nah.” I turned the key and started the engine, hearing it roar. “I don’t think so.”
I didn’t think Lettie had any flaws as far as I could see.
We arrived at one of my favorite spots, but before we got out of the car, I had to swear Lettie to secrecy.
“If I take you here, you can’t tell anyone about it. Deal? This is an Aveline secret.”
Lettie perked up, her hand on the door handle. “Oh man, I love secrets. I’m actually really good at keeping them too so you don’t have to worry about me. I promise. I won’t tell.” She made the gesture of locking her lips with a key.
“You swear? Because if anyone finds out I brought an outsider here, they won’t be happy.”
“I swear! Cross my heart, hope to die…” She made a cross over her chest.
“Stick a needle in your eye?” I finished the phrase.
“Exactly.”
We got out of the car and walked through the woods briefly until we made it to a swimming hole with a beautiful waterfall. Aveline’s best-kept secret, dubbed Hidden Hollow. There was no community pool in Aveline, so we all came here to cool off from the heat in the summer. We knew that if anyone from the neighboring towns found out about it, we would surely lose it to the masses. There would be people driving from everywhere to hide in the woods and take pictures at the waterfall. That’s why, if you didn’t know where it was, there was no map that could take you there.
On a normal summer Saturday, the swimming hole would have been flooded with people. Today, however, just happened to be both a town meeting dayandthe first day of our annual Summer Solstice party planning day. The town would put their swimming on hold until after church on Sunday.
Lettie’s eyes were bright, and she placed her hands over her mouth as she took in the scenery.
“Tuck, this is beautiful. I honestly think this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.” She took off her shoes and began walking around the rocks that surrounded the pool of water the waterfall flowed into.
“You like it? It’s one of my favorite places.” There was an open space off to the right where I set a blanket from my truck and placed the box of donuts on top of it.
“Like it? I love it. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She dipped her toes into the water. “Can you swim in it?”
I sat on the blanket and leaned back, my hands behind me. “Oh, no. I wouldn’t.”
She dipped her toe again. “Why not? The water looks clear. I can almost see to the very bottom.”
“Oh, it’s not the water you have to worry about. The water is great. It’s the monster at the bottom of the lake you have to look out for.”
Lettie put her hands on her hips. “Okay, how dumb do you think I am? There is no lake monster. You’re lying.”
“Would I lie to you?” I asked her, standing up.
She squinted her eyes, trying to decide if I would or not. “I don’t know yet.”
