Butterfly Lane (4 page)

Chapter Five

D
riving around the mountain to his parents’ driveway took fifteen minutes. John used the time to think about his reaction to seeing Zanny again. Much like when he’d come home for Christmas two years earlier, his reaction was visceral and swift. Every cell in his body swung toward her in yearning. His response wasn’t just physical, either. Zanny’s presence called to him, speaking to him of comfort and home. It always had. He’d just never realized until that Christmas.

For a while after he’d gone back to school in Richmond, John had struggled with that need. He just hadn’t expected to feel so strongly about someone he’d known half his life. Expecting the feelings to fade, he’d looked forward to his trip home at Easter. Instead of diminishing, the attraction grew. Every time he came home after that, up until last Christmas, that had been the case. When Zanny hadn’t been around due to her grandmother’s worsening health, John had almost been relieved. He’d tried to act disinterested, but he hadn’t fooled a single person besides himself.

Before he went back to school, his mother had taken him aside. “What do you plan to do about Zanny?” Her voice was soft and concerned, but at the same time, firm.

John didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know what she meant. “I don’t know what to do, Mom. She’s…she’s different. She’s not just a girl I can date for the fun of it. She’s been through too much.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that and that you recognize what she’s had to deal with.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t get me any closer to figuring out what to do.”

Sarah smiled. “You don’t have to decide right this instant. It’s enough that you’re thinking about it.”

Thanks to a bad cold, he hadn’t gotten to come home for Easter the next year. He’d taken the time to start formulating a plan. He was studying to become an accountant, and planning was something he was nearly obsessive about. He was also good at it. Much like his father, John had certain special abilities. He was abnormally proficient at spotting patterns and could run complex columns of numbers in his head. Compared to Owen Campbell’s ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a deer, John’s were nothing special, but they had helped him become a star pupil in his chosen field.

His academic success had also caught the eye of the owner of a local accounting firm. The man had contacted John through Sarah, who was a librarian in town, and offered him a paid internship for the summer. John had accepted without hesitation.

Not only would it help him gain important experience in the accounting field, it would give him the opportunity to explore whether or not a relationship with Zanny had any future.

As he pulled his car in to the long driveway that led to the family homestead, he felt a part of him settle into place. He hadn’t seen his family since Christmas, and that was too long. After parking next to the main house, he got out and stretched. Wondering where to go first, he looked over at the modern wood-and-stone structure a couple hundred feet back from the farmhouse. Owen’s smaller house, which he’d built after his parents had died, had been his and Sarah’s house for their first three years of their marriage, but it had become Owen’s writing studio and a getaway of sorts.

“I’ll try the house.” Though the outside still looked much like it had when John’s paternal grandparents had lived there, the inside had been completely renovated. The house held bad memories for Owen, and he and Sarah had debated on whether to tear it down completely and start over or to just renovate. When Sarah’s second pregnancy turned out to be twins, they’d decided to renovate. All the rooms that haunted Owen had been redone, and according to John’s parents, the layout was hardly recognizable as the old house.

After grabbing his bags from the car, John let himself into the house with his key when his knock went unanswered. Hurrying upstairs, he called out, but got no answer. He dumped the bags in his room then headed to the studio. Owen met him on the small porch, a huge smile on his face.

“There’s my boy.” After a tight hug that lasted for a full minute, Owen drew back. “You look more like your mother every time I see you.”

John grinned. “She says the same thing, only that I look like you.” He was the same height as his father and had been for a few years. Not for the first time, he realized how young his father still looked. “How are you, Dad?”

They chatted for a few minutes, until John glanced at his watch for the third time.

“You have a hot date?” Owen asked.

John knew the tips of his ears were probably red. “I stopped at the store on the way home. Saw Zanny. We kind of made plans to meet at the pool.”

“I see.”

John figured he probably did, and that made him squirm a little. After all, Owen and Sarah’s own relationship had blossomed over that pool. “You could come along. It’s a good day for a swim, hot and muggy.”

“That does sound good. Okay, let’s go change.” He left the porch, then turned at the foot of the stairs to look back to John.

When John just blinked at him, Owen laughed. “Oh, that was worth it, just to see that look. I’m teasing. I’ve got some drawings to finish up. I won’t play a third wheel. Not today.”

His lips twitching with amusement, John just shook his head. “What time is Mom going to be home?”

“Probably around five. That gives you a while to relax. Just mind your manners.”

“I will.”

John tried to act casual, but he was anxious to get changed into his swim trunks and get down to the pool. He had a feeling his father knew that. John wasn’t terribly clear on whether or not Owen approved, but he hoped his father did.

Zanny got to the pool before John, and dropped her towel, thermos of lemonade, snack bag, and beach wrap on the large, flat granite boulder that overlooked the pool. She hobbled down to the water’s edge, then eased to a seated position beside the pool on the wide ledge that made up the rim on one side. When she swung her legs over and into the water, the rush of coolness felt so good that it was almost painful. She couldn’t prevent a low moan of pleasure from escaping, and she closed her eyes as some of the day’s tension melted away.

After a couple of minutes, she heard someone coming down the path toward the pool. She opened her eyes and shielded her face against the sun, looking up to see John standing on the edge of the boulder.

“Hi. Where’s your dad?”

“Home. He has to work. So I guess you could skinny dip, after all, if you wanted.”

Zanny laughed. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“Nah. I’m stubborn like that.” John shucked off his shirt and disappeared, then reappeared coming down the other side of the small stream that fed the pool. He stopped on the lip, a devilish grin on his face as he dipped a toe in the water. “Not too cold.”

Before Zanny could respond, he jumped straight out and did a cannonball into the middle of the pool. She shrieked as the subsequent splash cascaded over and around her. The shocked look on John’s face when he resurfaced made her laugh harder, and soon, she was holding her sides.

“Colder than you thought, huh?”

He wasted no time climbing out of the pool to recline on the ledge beside her. “Maybe a little. Why don’t you go in and warm it up for us?”

Without looking at him, Zanny reached out and gave his arm a gentle shove. “No, thanks.”

For a while, they sat there, not talking, just basking in the warm sun and their quiet surroundings. Finally, John sighed, relaxing fully onto his back. “I’ve missed this place.”

“I thought you had a big fancy pool up there at school.”

“We do have a big fancy pool. Still can’t hold a candle to this one.”

Zanny cautiously stretched out beside him. “Have you heard from Ben and Emma?”

“Dad said they left Savannah today. Should be here later this week.” The two of them were in school in Georgia, where Sarah’s mother lived. Ben was studying botany and biology, and Emma photography. Zanny had missed her best friend tremendously, but didn’t begrudge her the opportunity to get an education.

Seeming to read her mind, John spoke. “So what are you planning on doing, now that you’re free to make some choices?” He winced. “That sounded awful. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. That’s exactly how I feel. And I don’t know. I’ve thought about it and thought about it. Nothing feels quite right.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John turn to face her. “How are things with your dad? I noticed the new trailer.”

Zanny’s laugh didn’t quite disguise her bitterness. “He barely gave me time to get everything boxed up from the old place before he tore it out of there. If it hadn’t been for your dad and Uncle Jack pulling strings at the mobile home store, I wouldn’t have had time. And things are okay. Could be better, could be worse. He’s gone most of the time, and that helps.”

When she felt John’s warm hand come around hers where it lay beside her hip, she stopped breathing for an instant. He squeezed gently, then twined their fingers together. “I’m sorry, Zanny.”

She squeezed back. “So am I.”

The next couple of hours seemed to rush by before he could blink. He and Zanny just relaxed together, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. He didn’t even remember what all they talked about for the first hour, he was so wrapped up in just watching her. The curls that were unruly when she was a child had been tamed somewhat and had gone from a muddy brown to a warm chestnut highlighted with gold and copper. She’d grown past her petite stage, but not very far. The top of her head just barely reached his chin when they stood next to each other.

John was very pleasantly surprised to discover she had a curvy little body that she hid away under her regular clothes. She wasn’t quite voluptuous, but she wasn’t rail thin, either. In other words, she was perfect.

After the first couple of times he’d made her laugh, he made it a mission to keep her smiling all afternoon. His instincts told him Zanny didn’t laugh nearly as much as she should. He was just shameless enough to use his siblings’ past transgressions as fodder for her amusement.

“Remember Ben’s first girlfriend? The one who started calling him at three in the morning, just to ask him if he was asleep?”

Zanny nearly snorted her lemonade through her nose. “That poor boy. He was so sweet on her, and then she turned…a little odd. Emma said he worried over that for weeks. We were in different classes that year, so I didn’t get to see it firsthand.”

“He did, God bless him. He’s such a softie, he didn’t want to hurt her. Even though she was aggravating the snot out of him. He nearly fell to his knees in gratitude when Mom made him break up with her.”

They’d moved up to the top of the flat rock and had spread out the old quilt Zanny brought. The late afternoon sunlight fell on the pool, dappled by the shade of the trees surrounding the small clearing, and it was just pleasant enough without being too hot.

“You know, you’ve been giving all of your siblings a hard time this afternoon. You’ve not mentioned anything about yourself. I know you aren’t perfect, so come on, tell me something on yourself.”

“I object. You have only Emma’s testimonial to my imperfections. She’s biased. I’m quite remarkable, I assure you.”

“Oh, are you studying to become a lawyer now?”

The little smile at the corner of her mouth and the knowing look she sent him made John want to pull her into his arms and kiss the living daylights out of her.

“I can’t think of anything. Sorry.” Shrugging, he sat back against the natural ledge that formed a bench on the back of the rock. He occupied his hands by playing with the edge of his shorts.

“I can. I can think of a couple of things off the top of my head, as a matter of fact.”

John quirked an eyebrow. “Really? Well, let’s hear them.”

“There was the time Rachel treed you.”

John looked at her sharply, drawing in a surprised breath. “You know about that?”

“Uh-huh. Emma told me. Said they all laughed so hard, they nearly peed their pants.”