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I stared at Erin and saw the same pain in her eyes I carried in my heart in that moment, but through the web of mistrust and untruths they had spun, they had unwittingly created a mutual bond as we suffered together.
Chapter Twenty
Poor Ryder must have thought he’d entered the twilight zone with everything he witnessed during that evening at James’ family retreat. He was very gracious and threw in a few cliché comments such as, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives.”
At least Ryder was correct on that score and his comment made Erin smile, but I had thought it especially cruel of our so-called parents to have arranged such a visit and to have left me oblivious as to who I was meeting.
Worst of all was the way my mother had insisted my ordeal was never to be discussed again, for fear of my father finding out, when from the picture Erin had shown me it looked as if my dad had always known.
“Erin and Ryder are going to spend the day out on the lake on Jet Skis. They’re both into water sports so I’ve arranged for our sports instructor to take them out.”
“You have a sports instructor here?”
“Yeah, he has a few hats, but it’s his job to supervise any guests on the water. He also oversees the gym and the boats, maintains the equipment, and that kind of thing. Dad let’s some friends use the place, so he’s kept pretty busy at certain times of the year.”
I should have known better than to ask. A place such as their family retreat couldn’t have run by itself. “Why aren’t we going with them?”
“I have something different planned for us. I want to show you something,” he added, with a secretive playful smile and a wink. “We’ll go our separate ways and meet back here at the house for dinner.”
“Sounds intriguing,” I replied, and tried to sound upbeat for the rest of the group at least. It had taken most of my energy to appear upbeat after the revelation of the photograph the night before.
Leaving Erin and Ryder behind, in the hands of the estate staff, James took me back to the helicopter. The pilot stood waiting by the door.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I thought we’d take a tour in the bird for a few hours, have a late lunch, maybe stop off in Woodstock and take a walk?”
“Sounds like a perfect day,” I replied, pulling him close by his belt. Stretching up, I kissed his jawline. Moving quickly, he dipped and kissed my lips, it was just a peck because he knew Erin and Ryder were standing by the garage doors with the instructor and were watching us.
Unlike the trip up to Vermont, we sat in the front. Watching the ground disappear beneath us, as the helicopter took off and gained altitude, had felt exhilarating. The rumble and vibrations from the engine, together with the noise from the blades whirring up above us, made my heart race in a good way for a change. It had felt invigorating after all the distress I’d been carrying from the evening before.
During the flight there were times when I’d forgotten the pilot even existed, as James held me protectively close and told me stories from his childhood, which coincided with various landmarks he pointed out.
The views of the mountains and small towns below looked calm and idyllic, and eventually the pilot set down in a long meadow a few miles past the amazing site of Quechee Gorge. The tranquil surroundings were exactly what I needed to bring calm to my heart.
As the pilot topped up the fuel from two extra gas cans we’d carried with us, James took out a picnic basket and a neatly folded quilted blanket. Taking me by the hand, he led me deeper into a clearing near a waterfall and laid the picnic setting out.
“Wow, this is very romantic,” I mumbled, a soft smile curving my lips for the first time that day.
“You think so?” he asked a little shyly, while he pulled a bottle of champagne out of an insulated sleeve, popped the cork, and poured it into a glass for me.
Taking a sip, I hummed at the sharp cleansing taste and took a bite of a sweet juicy strawberry he held up to my mouth.
“Damn, you’re on your game today,” I teased, in reference to how I’d imagined he must have captured many girls’ hearts in the past.
“You think I’ve got game?” he asked, playfully sounding amused. I considered my comment in light of everything I’d learned about him.
My smile dropped and I looked serious. “No, no I don’t. I think at one time you did, but since I’ve known you, I think you’re the most genuine man I’ve ever met in my life. The way you consistently take care of me, challenge me to be myself, love me, despite all the shit that somehow keeps seeping up to the surface in my life…”
“It’s my pleasure to take care of you and it’s because of how strong you have been through all of this that I probably love you even more. Every time I learn something else about you, I am amazed by how you’ve survived. Not many women could have gone on to an Ivy League college and aced their career in the way you did with all that worry on your mind. You even went farther than that, when you stepped out of that life and decided to try to give back.”
I nodded and stared quietly in amazement. “You always want to see the best in me.”
“No, Tricia, I believe you are the best. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt worth my time. I’ve known hundreds of beautiful women, women with personality and charm, pretty looks, and some have been great fun, but none of them have ever remotely touched me in same the way that you have.”
“That sounds like a Nobel Peace Prize kind of speech,” I stated, slightly embarrassed for his compliment.
He chuckled. “I’m not going to lie, there’s been a pile of shit to wade through because of your past, but that has only been one part of who you are. It’s everything else that makes what happened with Erin so damned important, because helping you find peace is the key to making the rest of our lives the best it can be.”
