* Who Said That?! *

THE LAKE HOUSE

by JRo

The fire was slowly starting to lose its intensity. Catherine pulled the blanket more tightly around her as she watched the flames flicker. Alone in her father’s lake house, it was quiet. Other than the crackling of the fire and the occasional window rattling from the wind, there was nothing else to hear. The selections from her parents’ music cabinet didn’t fit her mood, so she chose to just embrace the quiet. There was only one sound she yearned for, one voice that she wished for, and she was fairly certain that she would never hear it here in the lake house.

Catherine was exhausted. She had been working overtime steadily for months, and several recent intense investigations and two court cases had required nearly all of her time and energy. Once the verdicts were in, she had let Joe know that she needed a break. Considering how quickly Joe had agreed, was proof that he knew she had reached her limit.

The final straw was Peter calling yesterday to let her know that her family’s lake house had suffered damage when a tree fell during a storm. While exterior repairs were already being completed, she needed to evaluate which of her family’s belongings were salvageable and meet with the contractors as they finished the exterior repairs and started working on the interior damage.

Vincent had come to her balcony and she told him of her plans to stay in Connecticut for at least a week. She was sorely tempted to ask him to come with her. However, she knew what his answer would be, and couldn’t bear to be rejected. When it was time to say goodnight, he had held her longer than usual, as if to try and share some of his strength.

When she arrived that morning, men were already working to finish the roof, siding, and window repairs. A friend of Peter’s was a home inspector, and he stopped by to walk through the damaged rooms to help determine all that needed to be addressed. He shared a list of contractors that he trusted, along with references from others in the lake community.

Once the workers left, she drove into town for food and supplies. After putting away the groceries and eating a little, she started the fire and practically collapsed onto the sofa. She lay there until it was time to turn in for the night, but she decided to stay on the sofa, rather than go upstairs where a good bit of cleaning was needed. She changed her clothes and washed up, and grabbed a pillow and extra blanket from her bedroom. She curled up on the sofa and closed her eyes, hoping to slip into a dreamless sleep.

Just as she started to drift off, a loud bang brought her to her feet. With her heart pounding, she ran to the back door and turned on the light. A branch from the tree outside was lying on the ground, right in front of the door.

Grateful there didn’t seem to be any damage to the house or door, Catherine headed back to the sofa. Again she closed her eyes, but after only a few minutes, someone knocked on the front door. It was still early evening, so she guessed that Peter had asked one of their neighbors to check up on her. When she opened the door, the sight that greeted her stunned her to the point that she couldn’t speak.

Vincent stood there on the front porch, rucksack over his shoulder. He waited for her to say something, but she seemed to be frozen in place, trying to decide if what she was seeing was real.

“Catherine,may I come in?”

At the sound of his voice, she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms. He gently lifted her and stepped into the house, using his foot to close the door behind him. He held her for a few minutes until she began to calm. He set her down and took a moment to drop his pack and hang his cloak on a hook by the door. When he turned back to her, she had wiped her eyes and stepped forward into a fierce, but less frantic hug.

“Are you really here?”

“Yes,” he said.

“But how?”

“Peter came Below last night to see Father. I told him that I was worried about you. He said he was worried too, and had decided to come up for the weekend in case you needed him. I asked if I could join him.”

Catherine pulled back so that she could see his face.

“What did Father say?”

Vincent chuckled. “I think Father was as shocked as I was to hear me say those words. Needless to say, he was against it and tried to convince me that it was a terrible idea.”

“Then how did you get him to agree?”

Vincent tilted his head. “Catherine, I am an adult. While I value Father’s advice, I have come to learn that I don’t always have to follow it. Peter was on my side. He assured Father it would be perfectly safe. He said your property was large enough to ensure privacy, especially at this time of winter, and that there would be no workers at the house over the weekend. He picked me up in his car this evening.”

“And now that you’re here, are you ok with your decision?”

He pulled her into his arms again. “Catherine, I regretted not coming here with you when you asked the last time. I am happy to be here, with you.”

“Vincent, you have more courage than anyone I know.”

He stepped back to look in her eyes. “It wasn’t courage. It was love.”