Love on the Lake (Lakeside #2)(61)

“It’s wonderful to meet you, too, sir. You have a lovely home.”

“Just call me Arnie, and this place is getting to be far too big. I keep telling Aaron he should subdivide his property and let me build my own little cabin so I can retire up there.”

Aaron snorts a laugh. “Little cabin my a—butt. You’ll build some monster home and steal all my afternoon sun on the dock. Besides, I don’t live on the right side of the lake for the kind of place you’d want to build, and I can’t subdivide my property. I can set up a nice tent trailer for you, though.”

Arnie shrugs and gives me a wink. “Guess I’ll have to look at some listings and see if I can’t find my own slice of heaven out there on Pearl Lake.”

Aaron and his dad are quickly pulled away by Jamie, who wants to show them his new LEGO set.

“Are you okay for a bit?” he murmurs, kissing my temple.

“Of course. I’ll help with lunch, and then we’ll join you.”

“Jamie’s a LEGO fiend,” Lydia explains. “He’s been waiting for Aaron to get here so they can start the new project.” She calls out after Aaron’s retreating form, “And I’m warning you now that it’s probably going to take up a good chunk of your afternoon.”

Less than ten seconds later his head appears around the corner. “Fifteen hundred pieces? He’s freaking six.”

“It says twelve and up. Between the two of you, you should be able to manage.”

Aaron purses his lips and gives her an arched brow.

“You pretend to be put out, but we both know you love LEGO as much as he does.”

“Come on, Aaron, Jamie’s already opened the first two bags,” Arnie calls out.

“What? No! One bag at a time!” Aaron disappears into the living room.

Lydia reaches out and gives my hand a squeeze. “I know I’ve already said this, but I’m so glad you came this weekend. Aaron has been on his own for a long time, and it’s so nice to see him putting himself out there again. It’s like you breathed new life into him.” Her eyes fill, and she shakes her head. “Oh my gosh. I promised him I wouldn’t do this.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.” I wink and give her what I hope is a reassuring smile.

“Thank you. You know, he puts on this amazing front, but I can see the difference you’re making in his life. This is the happiest I’ve seen him since we lost Devon.” She stops arranging crackers on the tray. “They were so close. Losing him was hard for all of us, but especially for Aaron, because he blames himself for what happened.”

This is what I’ve been hoping for—insight into Aaron from someone who knows him better than I do. I glance toward the living room. I can hear Jamie chattering away and Aaron’s words of encouragement. “Can I ask about that?”

“Aaron hasn’t told you?” Lydia’s expression shifts to sadness.

I shake my head and drop my voice. “He said hypothermia, but that was it. I just found out about all of you last week.” I explain what happened to precipitate my coming here.

“Oh. I had hoped he’d made the conscious choice to tell you.” She leans against the counter. “Aaron has a lot of guilt over how Devon died. There are a lot of layers to him, and to the situation, starting with the way he was raised and what he believed about his dad. I know his mother was just trying to protect herself, and it was a complicated situation, but Aaron was the one who lost out, and Arnie.”

Lydia glances over her shoulder. “Aaron came with us on a family vacation during winter break of his senior year. We’d spent the day skiing and then came back and hung out in the hot tub. Arnie was already in bed, and I was exhausted. Devon and Aaron were thick as thieves. They could stay up all night talking, and I knew if I stayed up any later, I’d have a terrible time getting up to ski in the morning.

“The guys stayed in the hot tub for a while longer, and they’d been drinking. I don’t know what time they eventually came in, but Devon left his phone outside. He told Aaron he’d be right back, and Aaron fell asleep on the couch. He’s always had the annoying ability to pass out in seconds.” She smiles softly, and her eyes turn glassy.

My stomach turns to lead as I put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Devon didn’t come back inside.”

Lydia shakes her head and wipes away the tears as they fall. “Devon was obsessed with the stars. He would stare at them for hours. And he was drunk and not thinking right. He must have fallen or tripped or something. We’ll never really know what happened, but the next morning Aaron found him about fifty feet from the cabin, lying in the snow. It had been so cold.”

She doesn’t need to say more. He hadn’t survived, and Aaron had been the last person to see him alive and was the first person to realize he was gone. “I can’t even imagine how awful that was for all of you. I’m so, so sorry.” I would be devastated if something like that happened to Van or Bradley.

“It was hard on all of us, but I think Aaron has suffered the most. I had his dad to lean on, but Aaron shut himself off from everyone for a while. And his mother doesn’t know that he kept up the relationship with his dad and brother. He was living these two very separate lives. We didn’t blame him for what happened. If anything I should have made them come inside. I knew what they were like when they were having fun.” She wipes away another tear. “He blamed himself. He dropped out of college and moved back to Pearl Lake. I think he planned to cut himself out of our lives entirely, but I found out I was pregnant. I think Jamie gave him a piece of his brother to hold on to. He comes to see us every month.”