Epilogue

Dylan

Seven Months Later

Damn, the water’s cold.

I let myself have one good shiver before I kick my legs, dragging the lane rope from one dock to the next. It’s early June, but the waterfalls feed Blackhawk Lake. I have to remember some of this water was snow in Canada a week ago.

My teeth chatter, keeping faith. The sun will beat the cold into submission by July. Unfortunately, the kids arriving to the camp in a week will still suffer a little while longer.

“Need help?”

I look over at Hunter, standing on the dock in his shorts and nothing else. His triple triangle tattoo on the left side of his torso, same as Kade’s, has completely healed since his brother took him to get it a month ago. They surprised Fallon. Three intersecting triangles: mind, body, and spirit. Mother, brother, son.

Kade and Hawke pass behind him, each carrying the blowup water equipment on their shoulders. “You only slow her down,” Hawke gripes.

“Oh, don’t sell Hunter short,” Kade says. “I’m sure he can be unbelievably quick.”

Hunter shoves the folded-up turbo water slide off his brother’s shoulders, Kade spinning around and both of them laughing as they wrestle each other.

Hawke turns, still holding what looks like the inflatable bongo bouncer. “Guys, come on!” he barks.

I keep swimming.

Hawke must be planning to take over his parents’ summer camp someday. He doesn’t let anyone on staff have any fun. Even me, and I’m his favorite.

Well, other than Aro.

I shout over to Kade. “At least my man has a repeat customer.”

He works his head out of Hunter’s hold, backing away. “I only need one date to do everything I could possibly want to do with someone.”

I roll my eyes.

He stands at the edge of the dock, looking out at me. “You remember opening up new toys on Christmas? It only took five minutes to push all the buttons…” He curls two fingers. “And twist all the knobs…” He holds his hands, splaying his fingers like he’s squeezing boobs. “And take the new wheels for a little spin.” He balls his fists and jerks his elbows back twice, thrusting. “Before you got bored? Same thing.”

It takes a minute to realize my mouth is hanging open. Oh my God.

But Hawke and Hunter are laughing, Hunter grabs his brother in a headlock again and both of them fall into the water.

They crash onto my line, jerking it out of my hand, and I slap the lake with both hands. “Thanks!”

They resurface, splashing water at each other and still smiling.

“Y’all are being useless!” Hawke growls.

“Your dad will still pay us, because we’re family,” I tell him.

He scowls, continuing on down the dock as Kade scales the ladder to get out of the water. They’re supposed to inflate all of the water toys, make sure they’re ready for the campers, but Hawke knows Kade will need to play on everything for a while first.

Hunter swims the lane rope back over to me, and I take it.

“You have thirty minutes!” Juliet shouts from the shore.

We look over to see her standing on the beautiful lawn, the main lodge in the background and the flag whipping in the wind.

“Counselor meeting in the Astronomy Tower,” she reminds us. “Quinn dropped off pastries. Bring your tablets!”

I hook the rope onto the next dock. “Yes, I’m starving.”

Hunter comes in, wrapping an arm around my waist, both of us with one hand on the dock.

“Twenty-five minutes to finish this,” Kade goes on. “Four minutes to change and get over to the lodge, and one minute of you on her. You can do it.”

Hunter chuckles, kissing me as I circle his waist with my legs.

I’m so excited for this summer. Sun, splash, and steamy nights.

“You’re smiling,” he whispers, coming in to kiss me again and again. “Happy?”

I nod, moving my arms around his neck. “Quinn is finishing her four-year degree in three, so after she graduates next May, we’ll have pastries year-round.”

He snorts. He thought I was happy about working with him this summer. Psh-please.

Actually, I am happy. So happy. I love Blackhawk Camp, I like working with kids, and my boyfriend will only be a cabin away.

He kisses me again, and I deepen it, grinding into him and taking full advantage that no kids have arrived yet. I hope we can sneak in some night swimming this summer.

Shouting hits our ears, and we pull away a little, recognizing his sister’s voice. We both look over, watching her bark at people to get off her obstacle course. She’s personally designing one for the Color Powder War on the Fourth of July.

“A.J.’s already set to be a counselor-in-training,” he says. Then he looks at me. “Where’s James?”

We forgot that two kids actually are on the premises today.

I jerk my chin to Chimney Lock Island, out beyond the docks. It’s not much land, only about an acre or so. I see my brother’s canoe on the shore. “Making that altar to Jason Voorhees’s mother’s head from Friday the 13th Part II.”

Hunter’s face falls, and he looks at me. “He’s not.”

“Oh, it’s brilliant.” I grin big, pressing my finger to my lips. “Don’t tell anyone.”

We laugh, because everyone is scared of that island. It’s part of the camp fun. The veteran campers pass around stories to the new ones, and every summer, Jax catches at least one batch of kids trying to sneak out there in the middle of the night.

I hold Hunter close. “You’re smiling,” I say back. “Happy?”

“Yeah.”

But I draw in a long breath. “I feel like you should still go to the University of Chicago.”

It was his dream, and I feel like he’s sacrificing it for me. I could never get in there, but he did.

But he simply says, “There’s always graduate school.”

But…

“I’m excited I’m not leaving,” he tells me before I can protest more. “Kade and me in the dorms at Clarke, my family close, and I get to fulfill the fantasy of climbing that tree and sneaking into your room right under your dad’s nose.”

He kisses me again, and tingles spread over my body.

I know he’s happy to stay and keep building his relationship with his brother. And I know he feels he owes it to his parents to stay close for a little longer since he thinks he cheated them of taking part in his life for more than a year.

“I just don’t want you to miss what you were meant for,” I say.

“My family—and you—” he says, “are what I’ll need through every hard thing that ever happens in my life. This is where I want to be right now. Home.”

I hug him tightly. He’s right. Chicago has graduate school.

I pull back, pouting a little, though. “I should be in the dorms too.”

“You will,” he says. “Between classes.”

And he grins, full of plans for us this fall, already. It’s not enough, though. I need my freedom if I’m going to be forced to continue my education.

It was the deal I made with my parents, though. Dad agreed to continue training me and sponsoring me if I committed to going to Clarke University for one year.

Their hope is that I’ll love it and keep going. We’ll see.

If I do, then I’m moving into the dorms my sophomore year. I’m pretty sure they’ll agree to that if I continue college.

I’m not all that excited about quickies in Hunter’s dorm room, though, with guys shouting down the halls.

“I prefer our place in Weston,” I tell him.

Knock Hill’s trees are in bloom, and the air is so thick, you can drink it. I want to sweat in a house where we can be as noisy as we want.

“And I like it here.” Excitement makes his eyes go big. “The Sports Shack, the Hobby Nook, the showers, the Swallow’s Nest, the archery range, the boathouse, the barn…” he lists all the places to sneak away, and my pulse rises.

I bite his bottom lip. “The tents…”

He groans, wrapping his arms around me tighter and twirling us around in the water.

“I wish summer would last forever,” I say.

“There are plenty of places to hide in the winter too.” His lips trail to my neck. “As you remember.”

His mouth runs over my skin, and I drop my head back, losing my breath. God, I love him.

“We’re literally getting paid for this!” someone shouts at us.

I pop my head up, and he turns his, both of us seeing Aro standing on the dock in shorts and a bikini top. She glares.

Hawke passes behind her. “You tell ’em, baby.”

We break into laughter, and I can’t wait to catch them all over each other this summer like they’re any different. They love the barn as much as we do.

Later that night, or maybe it’s already early morning, Shelburne Falls is quiet and asleep, having their fucking sugarplum dreams, as someone stands on the bridge between the Falls and Weston.

She looks down into the river, her long white hair with blue tips wrapped up in a wild ponytail as locks whip across her face in the wind.

She had to wait for Dylan to graduate. And for the winter to end and the spring rains to slow. She didn’t know if it was possible, but her chances were better with the water level lowered.

Today, the river stage measured seven feet.

That’s manageable.

Of course, that doesn’t mean this area of the river will only be seven feet, and she actually hopes it’s not. She’ll need more cushion to break the fall.

But she points her flashlight, seeing the outline of something below and she knows she’s in the right place. She flips the light off and tosses it on the ground, next to her dad’s tow truck.

He’ll bluster and break things if he sees she took it, and he’ll threaten to beat her ass, but he never does.

Clutching the rope wrapped around her hand, she lurches forward but stops, her heart jumping through her chest. She knew this would be hard. Water frightens her, but more so because she’s alone and it’s dark. She looks around, seeing no one on either bank, no boats coming, and no traffic. She may not get another chance.

Now.

She jumps, gasps, and instantly regrets it, but it’s too late now. Inhaling a deep breath, she plummets down into the night river, her stomach rising past her diaphragm.

But she pushes the fear back down her throat and closes her eyes, hitting the water. She’s engulfed, cold immediately seeping into her bones, but she squeezes her fist around the rope, pushes her arms, and kicks her legs.

Shooting through the surface, she looks around and then up, the rope stretching between her and the tow truck above. Pulling her head lamp out of her pocket, she wades as she fits the band around her skull and presses the button. The brown water around her lights up, and she sucks in a breath, diving quickly.

The light from her lamp illuminates the area around her, and she descends, kicking hard.

Things glint, like shiny rocks below, and it takes a second for her to realize it’s the coins that people toss when they cross.

And then… A straight line appears. Nature doesn’t make straight lines.

She reaches out, touching the steel locker, caked in mud and slime. It sits almost upright, its back corner buried in the river floor. Working quickly, she pulls the rope, having left herself plenty of slack, and ties it around the middle, coming up for air only once before she dives back down to tie it again, head to foot.

She starts to swim up, but the light from her head lamp catches a patch of clear water about fifteen feet away.

She stops, seeing the driver’s side of a vehicle come into view.

The car…

It’s there.

And then a cloud of mud passes with the current, and the vehicle disappears again.

She thinks about swimming over but decides not to. Popping back up through the surface, she swims quickly for the Falls side of the river and climbs back up to the bridge, walking for the truck. Pushing the lever, she reels in the rope attached to the chain that’s attached to the crane. Peering over the side of the bridge, she watches the old school locker rise from the river, spilling water from its cracks.

Bringing it in, she guides it onto the truck bed, rips off her head lamp, and picks up her flashlight. Getting into the truck, she makes a U-turn on the bridge and drives back into the Falls.

It doesn’t take long. She’s a planner. Accounts for all challenges. She knows which roads to take in order to avoid cops. She brought a rolling cart to load the locker onto. She knows which door in the senior hallway of Shelburne Falls High School doesn’t lock.

She doesn’t need help. Doesn’t need pity.

An hour later, she stares at her mom’s locker back in the display case where it belongs.

“Sorry, Dylan,” Thomasin says, wiping off the water under her chin. “But I think I’ll let Kade have his fun, after all.”

She slides the glass door shut and walks away, letting out a long breath.

“I’ll be fun, too, someday,” she whispers.

THE END