Lost Lake (Lost Lake, #1)(50)

“When was the last time she left Lost Lake? I mean for a trip or a vacation?”

“It’s been years.” Wes raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I think Eby wants to leave. But the more I think about, the more I’m convinced she doesn’t want to sell.” There. She said it out loud, and it didn’t sound as outlandish as she thought. There was something more going on with her great-aunt. Eby’s decision to sell wasn’t as straightforward as she was letting on.

Wes shook his head. “I think it’s too late.”

“She hasn’t signed anything. She told me.”

“What I mean is, it’s not just a matter of wanting to stay. There’s a matter of capital, too,” Wes said tactfully.

“Oh. I see.” She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. It never occurred to her that Eby couldn’t afford to stay.

Several quiet minutes passed. The thought had been immediate. She kept pushing it away, but it kept rolling back to her. Could she? Would she? Was it possible? Would Eby even let her?

“I know that look. You always got that look on your face before you jumped out of a tree or poked a snake and ran. What are you going to do now?” Wes asked suspiciously.

That made her laugh—that he knew her on such a level. “I’m thinking, what if I offer to buy Lost Lake, or at least buy into it? That way Eby won’t lose it. She can come back to it. Everyone can come back to it.” She turned to him and asked earnestly, “Does that sound crazy?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

That made her laugh again. “Good. Because if it made sense, I’m not sure she would agree to it.”

“Kate…”

“I haven’t said anything about it to her,” she said quickly. “Maybe I won’t. I don’t know. When I think about it, it makes me happy. That’s a good sign, right?”

“What about your life in Atlanta?” Wes asked, giving her the strangest look.

“What about it?”

“Your friends. Devin’s friends. Family. Job. You’re just going to leave it all?”

She finally understood. “Oh, you thought I meant I’d buy into Lost Lake and move here.”

“That’s not what you meant?”

“No. But…” Kate allowed herself to enjoy the thought. “Maybe I could. That doesn’t sound any more crazy than just giving Eby the money and leaving.”

He looked away. “Giving up everything isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

“Only if you have a lot to give up. The only thing that matters is Devin. And I think she’d be happy to stay here forever.”

“It’s getting late,” Wes said, suddenly standing. “We should get back.”

Kate stood and called to Devin. When Devin ran over to them, Kate asked, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“No. This would be so much easier if I was told what I’m supposed to find instead of just being given stupid clues.”

They followed Wes, who had already started off back down the road, running away from whatever ghosts he had here.

“You just said a mouthful, kiddo.”

*

After dinner, no one was in any particular hurry to leave. The evening held them down the quiet way a mother puts her hand on her infant’s chest to lull it to sleep. At least half an hour passed in silence, and they all remained seated, staring off into the distance.

But then Devin got up when she saw a frog. And Jack got up to show her how to feed it dead moths. Eby and Bulahdeen started cleaning and clearing. Kate had told Wes about “accidentally” throwing her phone in the lake, and he asked her to walk down to the dock to show him. Maybe he could retrieve it. Only Selma remained motionless, nursing the last of her drink, ignoring everyone, as she was wont to do. But Kate could feel her eyes on them, curious, as they disappeared into the darkness.

When they reached the dock, the blackness of the water made it look like silk, billowing as if pulled from a bolt.

“It’s out there in the middle of the lake, near the ghost ladies,” Kate said, pointing in the general direction she remembered throwing it. “I don’t think it’s retrievable.”

“I don’t know. We dove for a lot of treasure back then. The lake isn’t that deep.”

“It’s not worth it. Besides, according to Devin, there are alligators to think about.” Kate paused. “You know, when Devin mentioned earlier that her imaginary alligator talked about you, it startled me a little. I know she misses her dad, but she dealt with the transition so well, better than any of us. She always seemed to have him with her emotionally. I just … Why would her alligator talk about you and not him?”

Wes shook his head gently. “She’s not going to forget him, if that’s what you’re worried about. If Devin’s obsession with alligators is anything like my brother’s, then it’s harmless. It was just his way of dealing with things.”

“What sort of things?” she asked as they walked back to the lawn.

“Our father, mostly. Alligators are powerful, and Billy was powerless. I think it helped him to imagine a way of being in control, when our childhood was full of such chaos.”

They got to the lawn in time to see Selma floating down the path toward her cabin. The light from the lawn touched her red dress, making it glow with strange images, like a slide show as she moved.