Lost and Found: Sara Martin Series Read online

  “Pretty lady, you must be lost, because around here we don’t grow such beauties.” Awww, who was this sweet, old man? I turned around to see a short, old man, about seventy-five years old, maybe older. He wore a nice button-down shirt, black slacks, and leaned on a cane. He was looking up at me smiling.

  “Oh, thank you. You’re sweet,” I replied, feeling my cheeks get hot. “You’re right. I’m not from around here.”

  “I hope you’re not on your honeymoon, because if this is where your husband takes you on your first trip it’s not too promising a future. You might just divorce him now and run away with me. I'll take you somewhere really nice, with some of those tall trees with the coconuts and sandy beaches,” he said, in a raspy voice that was just too cute for words.

  “That’s a great offer. I’ll have to keep you in mind, should I ever get divorced.” I told him, smiling ear to ear.

  “Reggie, you leave her alone.” I looked over to see a an older woman about the same age dressed almost the same. This must be his wife, I thought. I quickly checked for rings, and there they were. She was adorable too. Lots of make-up on, hair aqua-netted into a round shape that suited her well. “Don’t mind Reggie. He’s always making the ladies blush. He’s harmless. Well unless you’re me. I fell into his trap of compliments fifty-one years ago and look where it got me,” she said, winking at him. She walked on, carrying a small box of items. He smiled at her as she passed and at the last minute he poked her in the butt with his cane. She jumped a little, shook her head and continued walking to the shelf in the back. Cute.

  “So do you like the earrings?” Reggie asked me.

  “I do,” I said, “I’ll take them.”

  “Okay, love. Bring them up here to the counter,” he said. I followed him to the front of the store. “These are handmade by my granddaughter. She makes all the jewelry you see in here. She's about your age, lives closer to the cities. Stays at home with her daughter and makes jewelry in her spare time. She ships us new stuff every month.”

  “Really, that’s great! She does amazing work, please tell her that for me,” I said.

  He nodded, “Where are you coming from today?” he asked. “I mean, you said you weren’t from around here. Are you on a vacation or just out for a drive?”

  “We’re staying in a cabin about twenty minutes south of here. Rented it with another couple for the weekend. We’re staying for the week. It’s on a lake named Hawsawneekee. Very pretty property, tons of trees, nice cabin and a great price.”

  “Really, Lake Hawsawneekee. I know where your talking about,” he said. He looked at my hand and reached for my credit card, but instead he placed both hands over my hand. He leaned forward on the counter, toward me, like he had a secret. His eyes looked very concerned. I instinctively leaned forward and looked him in the eye. But then I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He lowered his voice and said. “Strange things happen on that lake. People in this town said they see things around there . . . like ghosts. It changes people. I’m not into all that weird stuff, but I'm telling you what I know. Just be careful.” he told me.

  “Okay,” I said, “I’ll be careful, I promise.” I freed my hands and placed the card on the counter. He took it and rang up my earrings. He handed me the card back and handed me a cute little paper bag with the “Lost and Found” logo on it.

  “Sorry if I scared you. I don’t mean to. Just that I like you. You seem like good people, and I’d hate to hear anything bad happened,” he said apologetically. He seemed really sincere.

  “Oh, it’s okay. You didn’t scare me.” Lie. “I appreciate the advice,” I said, as I gathered my bag and purse. “And I will be careful, thank you.”

  I looked over to see Lily walking towards me. “All done?” she asked.

  “Yup, a new pair of earrings,” I said, lifting my little bag. I decided to keep the crazy conversation to myself.

  We quickly passed through the remaining shoppes and headed over to the Saloon to collect the boys. I entered first through the authentic, swinging, wood doors. “Yo, Martin, Berens, y'all ready to take us lil' ladies to lunch?” I asked, in a southern accent. I wasn’t sure why I thought I needed to use a southern accent. We were in Minnesota for heaven sake, pretty far north too. Maybe it was the redneck feel of being in the country. I didn’t really know. I added a wink for effect.

  Jake smiled and said, “Sure, pretty ladies. Let’s go across the street to the fancy restaurant.” He stood between me and Lily and puts his elbows out to his sides and said, “Shall we? Mark, get the tab, will ya buddy? I got my arms full.” With that, Lily and I took an arm and let Jake lead us to the door. Jake could be so cute sometimes. It helped a little that he hadn’t shaved this morning, so his dark facial hair was looking mighty fine in this setting. He had that naturally dark skin from his Italian and French connections. And thick, dark hair all over. He was naturally handsome, and I felt lucky to be holding his arm. A rush of heat moved through me, taking my mind back to the island counter in the kitchen.

  We enjoyed a country style Bar-B-Que lunch and decided that we’d had enough of this town for a day. We swung through the gas station on the edge of town that we'd noticed on the way in. Jake topped of the gas tank and took a spin through the car wash. Oddly, on the way back the puddles were not as fun. The weather had cleared up, and it was getting hot. I instinctively pulled my hair back into a pony. Frizz was on the way. I gazed out my window and noticed three deer munching on corn in the field. Neat.

  5

  When we got back, we decided to hang at the cabin. Lily and I changed into our swim suits, Jake and Mark into their swim shorts and tanks. The boys set up the bean bags and golf game, while I untied the floaties and grabbed extra rope to tie them to the dock. Lily carried the beer, and we headed out to the water. It was perfect, warm water, warm air, cold beer. No noise at all, which I thought to myself was really odd. No boats, no kids, no cars. It was total silence, I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It was nice but almost uncomfortable. I'm sure I could get use to it though.

  A few moments later, Lily and I were floating, tied to the dock and each other so we wouldn’t float away. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. Lots of thoughts raced through my mind, but I quickly pushed them out. I was going to remain positive. I found myself thinking about the old man. He was so sweet and kind and so concerned. Honestly, he had me a little worried, not really sure what I was worried about but it was a strange conversation. I took a long pull on my beer, then tipped my head back and closed my eyes again. Complete relaxation. Moments later, I heard water splashing so I slowly opened my eyes. I saw a boat off in the distance. It was about a hundred yards from me. Was that what I heard splashing? It couldn’t be. Must have been a fish jumping. Lily looked like she was asleep and I could see Mark and Jake up by the far side of the cabin tossing bean bags. I looked back to the boat. It looked small, like an old fishing boat. It was made of wood and the white paint was peeling off it. I could see someone in it. I put my hand up to shield the sun from my eyes. It was so bright and the sun was reflecting off the water, so I couldn’t see well at all. It looked like a girl or a young woman in the boat. She appeared to be looking at me. I kept looking, blinking my eyes to try to see better. She was standing up in the little old boat. She was going to fall! What was she doing? I sat up a little, still shielding my eyes. Was she waving at me? It looked like she was waving, a big “come over here” wave. I looked at Lily. Still sleeping. Should I wake her? What if this girl needed help? “Lily,” I said, “look, Do you see that boat over there?” I pointed.

  She sat up and asked, “Where?” shielding her eyes with her hand. I looked over and pointed further, but when I looked again the boat wasn't there.

  “What the heck. I just saw a boat out there. Now it’s gone.” I told her. I kept looking all over the lake, but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

  “Oh, was it big or what? What did you want me to see?” she asked me.

  “Umm, no. It was nothing
. . . never mind. Sorry, I thought I saw a girl in a boat waving like she needed help. It must have just been a weird reflection. It’s probably the beer mixed with the heat.” I added, hoping I wasn't losing my mind. “Do you want a margarita?”

  “Sure,” Lily said.

  “Okay, I'll be right back. Save my spot.” I told her. I hopped in the water and waded to shore. When I got to the cabin, I turned around and looked one more time for the boat, but it wasn't there. Weird. I said, “Hey” to the boys, who looked like they'd just finished the game.

  “Margs anyone?” I yelled to them. They both said yes.

  I came out of the cabin door carrying four strawberry margaritas and a pitcher full for the next round. I looked out to the lake and Lily was still on her float. Mark was hanging on to the side, and Jake had taken over mine. I passed out drinks and Jake sat up. After I set the pitcher on the dock, I jumped on the float with him. It sank a little but it was holding. I looked out at the lake as Lily filled them in on my “vision.” I defended myself by smiling, slamming my drink and reaching for a refill.

  “It's really good tequila!” I informed them, to lighten the moment. Noting to myself—never slam a margarita. Major brain freeze. Oooow!

  We spent another hour on the water and were all feeling the burn, and our skin was wrinkly from being wet, so we decided to take a break. Jake and Lily carried the patio table over to the shade of a big tree, and Mark and I grabbed chairs. We all sat down and wasted another hour chatting. Mark was pretty quiet. Lily was trying to include him in the conversation but he wasn't biting.

  When I got up to grab more drinks, I asked Lily if she wanted to help me. She said sure and joined me in the kitchen. She was busy slicing a lime while I collected four Coronas and popped them open. After we poked the limes in, Lily grabbed two and so did I. I followed her out the patio door. She walked over to Jake and handed him one, so I gave my extra to Mark. They both thanked us and again, I felt suspicion. I took a long drink of my beer and mentally noted that I needed to stop after that one or have a lot more to make it through the night.

  We decided on frozen pizza for supper, with chips and salsa. No one wanted to volunteer to cook I guess. I think we are all feeling the effects of laziness, alcohol, and sun. I had an extra piece of pizza to help soak up the alcohol, and then decided to have at it with another shot of the tequila. I was getting pretty drunk.

  “Wow, the room is starting to spin,” I stuttered.

  Lily chimed in, “It's spinning for me too, and it's a good thing we don’t have to drive anywhere.” The last time the four of us got drunk, we forgot to designate a driver and ended up paying for a very expensive cab. Lily did another shot.

  I looked around the table. I thought they all looked as drunk as I was. Jake stood up and suggested we start a fire. We all slowly sauntered outside, Mark brought out the portable stereo and put on some music. Lily was instantly dancing. I was watching Jake stumble around the fire pit trying to get a fire going, giggling softly. He wasn't having much luck because it was pretty windy and his balance wasn't good.

  Lily walked up and put her arm around him and slurred, “It’s okay, Jake, I still love you.” He smiled and they both start laughing.

  Then he put his arm around her and said, “Let’s go in the house and get out of the wind. Mark, put the tunes on in there,” Jake stammered.

  We all moved in, and Mark shot me a look. I half smiled back and finished another beer.

  We moved into the living room, and everyone was kinda dancing in their own way. Mark went to the kitchen and filled up four shot glasses with tequila. We followed him and took another shot together. Pretty soon the room was spinning faster, and Lily had now fallen over twice, both times I had picked her up.

  “I think you've had enough Lily,” Mark scolded.

  “Mark, you're such a jerk. Just let me have fun,” she stammered at him. “I wish you’d lighten up and be more like Jake here.” Lily returned her eyes to Jake and changed her voice. “Jake is tons of fun, aren’t you baby,” she said, as she slung her arm around his neck, her face inches from his.

  Mark stepped in and grabbed her other arm, “It’s time for bed, honey. Tell your friends goodnight.” he told her, while trying to pull her toward him. But she ripped her arm free and put that arm around Jake, too. Now she was seriously pissing me off! Jake was reaching behind his neck and trying to unhook her hands.

  “Jake, you're so much fun. We have fun, don’t we?” she asked.

  “Yes, we do.” I answered loudly. “Tons of fun, but I think Mark is right. We’ve all had enough. I think we should call it a night.” Jake was staring really hard into her eyes and looked mad.

  Mark reached for Lily’s hand again, and she pulled back. She shot me an “I hate you” look and marched off to her room. Mark apologized to us and followed her.

  “Well, that was entertaining,” Jake said and finished his beer. He went to the radio and turned it off. Then started picking up the kitchen. I was fuming. That was all a little too much for me, plus I was drunk, so that made it worse.

  “I think Lily’s been a little too friendly lately. She seems to think she needs to make extra efforts towards you.” I said, quite frankly and leaned back against the counter and folded my arms across my chest.

  “Oh, geez. Let’s not make a big deal out of this, Sara. She was drunk and just having fun. She’s our friend,” he replied, looking at me like I just did something wrong.

  “Yes, I'm aware she's our friend, Jake, but she's crossing lines lately, and actually I think you are too. Is there something going on I should know about?” I asked, trying my hardest not to slur my words.

  “What?” Jake said, as he snapped his head toward me. “Are you actually implying I may be having an affair with your best friend? What the hell, Sara? Now I think you’ve had enough too. I’m going to forget you said anything. We’re going to go to bed and going to forget this night ever happened.” And with that, he walked to the bedroom.

  Shit, now I was concerned he was right. I may have just said something really hurtful. I basically just told him I had no confidence in him or our relationship and that I didn’t trust him. If I was wrong, I’d forever regret that.

  I turned all the lights off except the one above the stove and shuffled to the bedroom. Jake was in bed and the room was dark. I climbed in and stayed on my side of the bed. I noticed the clock, about eleven-thirty. Jake didn’t move. I closed my eyes, and the room started spinning. Man, I hated that! Why did the room have to spin? Slowly, I started to relax and eventually fell asleep.

  6

  I woke up with a start. My tequila wanted out! Shoot, I really hated throwing up. I laid there with my eyes open in the dark and tried to ignore my stomach and swelling tongue. It wasn't working. I rolled over and sat up. It was one, and oddly Jake was not in bed. Maybe he was sick too. Then I heard something . . . voices, quietly whispering. I tippy toed across the room and put my ear to the door to hear better. It was Lily and Jake, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Shit, I needed to throw up very soon, but I really wanted to stay here and spy on them. I stepped back from the door and the floor creaked. Oops! I jumped back into bed and covered up. Moments later, Jake opened the door quietly and peeked in. Then he closed it and walked back down the hall. I jumped back up and ran back to the door, and I heard the deck door slide open and shut and then I heard nothing. I slowly opened the door and peeked out. They were not in my sight, so I jumped across the hall into the bathroom. Moments later, I was feeling better stomach wise but now what should I do, go back to sleep or spy? Geez, seriously I never thought that I’d have to ponder that in my life. Fact of the matter was, it really bothered me, and I needed to know if I was being cheated on by my husband and best friend.

  I quietly slipped out the front door of the cabin, and crept carefully along the side to the back. I got to the patio corner, stopped and backed up against the logs. I could hear them now, so I stayed out of sight and listened har
d.

  “I said sorry. I don’t know what else to say, Jake. This is really hard for me. I have to watch you with her the whole week and pretend it doesn’t bother me. Then I have to sit around and be her friend. You know it’s not easy even to look at her. I love you and want to be with you, but I don’t like sneaking around. I can’t stand this. Plus it’s been four days, Jake. I miss you and I need you,” Lily said.

  And there is was! The truth. My suspicions were confirmed. I couldn’t believe it. I tried to control my breathing and put my hand over my mouth to help. I felt tightening in my chest, and my knees suddenly couldn't support my weight. I couldn’t breath, and I really want to scream and cry, but I couldn’t. I thought I was going to hyperventilate. My blood was pounding so hard through my veins that my heart was literally knocking on my ribs. This wasn't happening! I loved Jake so much, and he loved me. No, no, no! My mind was racing as fast as my heart. I shook my head and tried to control my heart rate. I was shaking from head to toe. It was like nothing I'd felt before.

  “Lily, we have to be careful,” Jake said. “Just get through the rest of this week, and then it’ll be easier. We’ll figure out what to do when we get back. For now, you need to behave and stay calm. And lay off the alcohol a bit. We don’t need anymore outbursts. We need to get back in there.”

  “Okay,” Lily said, “but I don’t like it. It seems like you’re still in love with her. Are you? Do you want to end this?”

  “It’s hard for me too, Lil, and I'm not in love with her anymore. I haven’t been for a while, but I do still care about her. I don’t want her to get hurt, but I know she will, and it’s all my fault. I feel awful. But, Lil, I am in love with you. We’ll make it through this.” Jake said, in his soft, affectionate voice.