Walker

A pair of mourning doves coo down the road. As we approached the lake, I can hear the current slapping up against the sand, bubbles forming in its wake as it rolls back into itself.

Sometimes, when things had been tense the night before, or when we just needed an escape, my brother and I would wake up early and go out for a hike. We'd burn off the residual thoughts from the previous day and clear our heads for the new one about to begin.

When we broach the shore, Cian is the first to notice her. Hence, he kept himself upright. I was lost in my own head or I would've seen her, too. As it turns out, by the time I realize she's there, I'm tripping on top of her. Going down with a crash I land on my ass with a thud, hitting a nearby fallen log in the process. I look up, rubbing my head, and remove dead bark from my hair. Jenny is biting her lip and looking at me. I can't tell if she's doing it to keep from laughing or to try to maintain the serious mood I interrupted by falling on her.

"Good One, Walker," my brother says, peering down at me. He takes a seat on a nearby rock and just shakes his head at the two of us. "Well, isn't this a coincidence?" He sighs and looks out towards the water before standing up again. "You two need to talk." As he turns to leave, Jenny stands up and grabs his hand.

"D...o...n't l...ea...ve. Sta...y. S...it."

Cian glances between us and with a weary sigh, sits back down. As he repositions himself on the rock, he rubs the back of his neck and looks like he wants to throttle the both of us. The night before fresh on my mind, I had really been looking forward to an escape this morning. With Candace back at our cabin, and Jenny here next to me, my head is a mess. I'm pretty sure Jenny is feeling similarly out of sorts. Coming to the lake alone the night before and now again at dawn today in her PJs is a pretty big clue. As if reading my mind, she looks up. I can see her mental wheels turning. It's clear she has a lot to say, but doesn't know where to begin.

"This is crazy. Walker, you're a big boy. Fix this," Cian says, moving up and away from us again.

Since it's still so early, his retreat is a pretty slow one, but short-lived at that.

"Oh, shit! SHIT! Crap. Ouch." I hear him yell. He's jumping up and down, swatting his legs over his pants. He looks in our direction and curses some more. "Fu...I mean, shit. Ouch. Yo, get up. Get up! Move! Ouch! Fuck! Shit! They're everywhere. Go! Get in the water! Get up, get up! Shit! That hurt! Run!"

Jenny and I exchange knowing looks and take in the path around us. It's narrow and leads right to where Cian is standing, not ten feet away. We have two options, run into the yellow jackets or into the lake. At 5 o'clock in the morning, the last thing either of us want is an early morning swim in frigid water. Why are those wasps even still active this time of year? I know it's been a warm fall but shouldn't they be dormant by now? Getting stung by a swarm of yellow jackets doesn't sound too appealing so the decision is pretty clear.

I look at Cian again and see that he's quickly coming our way, losing socks and shoes as he goes.

"Help! Ouch! Shit! Shit!" he curses, tumbling by and towards the lake at high speed.

Hearing the approaching frenzy of wasps, Jenny and I follow suit, losing some of our own clothes and shoes before dashing into the water as well. Cripes, it's cold in here! Damn! Body parts that were still asleep two seconds ago are wide away now. Fuck!

I look around to find Jenny on my right shivering in her nightshirt and PJ pants. She dropped her slippers back on the bank. Cian is still mumbling curses under his breath, rubbing his arms for warmth and poking at sting spots simultaneously.

"So NOT what I wanted to do this morning, Walker," Cian growls.

I roll my eyes at him and take in the three of us. Cian is jumping around like an idiot, Jenny is standing in the cold water shivering, t-shirt gone see-through in places that would make it easy for me to reach over and...I shake my head.

Man, I need to snap out of it. Candace is up at the cabin.

I pinch my nose and close my eyes to make the thoughts go away. When I open them again, both Cian and Jenny are gone.

I turn around in the water trying to figure out where they went so fast, when all of a sudden Cian jumps out of the water and pulls me under. Jenny comes out of nowhere to help. All of a sudden the seriousness of the situation burns off and we're like three little kids again; playing in the water, carefree and careless. I grab Jenny's foot from under her and she shrieks before laughing and going under. Cian tries to get me from behind again, but I'm too fast for him. I dunk his head under the surface and he comes up sputtering.

Caught up in our revelry, we don't notice Candace's approach until she's just about to where Cian had been standing when he stepped on the hive.

"Walker?" I hear her say tentatively above our horseplay.

And just like that, the three of us stop what we're doing.

"Candace, be careful. There are yellow jackets. Don't come too close," I say, splashing my way to the shore, grabbing my shirt and shoes from the sand. I look back at Jenny and Cian one last time before moving around the hive and closing the distance between Candace and I.

"Come on. I was just out for a walk. Let's go up to the cabin," I say to Candace, dripping water everywhere.

"Ok. I was worried. I woke up and no one was home."

As I leave the beach, the unease in my stomach grows. My heart is behind me in the surf with my brother, and I'm following Candace home. The situation is wrong. Candace doesn't deserve this. I have to fix it.

Cian

Jenny and I slosh our way to her house, clothes sopping wet from the lake. Jenny's quiet. When I look towards my cabin, I see Walker sitting on the porch, talking to Candace. They look pretty serious and she doesn't look happy.

Jenny sits down on the picnic table by her fire ring.

"So," I ask. "You and Walker, huh?"

Jenny looks up, startled. A quick blush chases the freckles across her skin and I know I caught her off-guard and embarrassed.

Blowing her hair out of her eyes, she considers my question before throwing her hands in the air.

"I...I...I," she replies.

I give her a look and wait for her to continue.

"love...Walker," she finally whispers, hanging her head in misery.

Whistling, I just shake my head. This is exactly what Walker needs to hear, not me. Everyone knows they've both been in love with each other since they were kids. They just never acted on it in the right way, accept that one time.

Now, time itself, and conflicting circumstances are in the way of something that should be so simple. Things are a mess. Walker's only home on leave for a few days. He has to settle this before he goes back. I move my hand to Jenny's chin and bring it up so I can look into her eyes.

"Candace slept on our couch last night, Jenny," I tell her. "Alone."

I can see the hope in Jenny's eyes grow and it breaks my heart.

"Listen," I say. "I have no idea how this is going to work out. But, trust me, it will. It has to. Just give Walker some time."

Jenny nods and stares down into her hands. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and give her a reassuring hug.

Walker

I walk into the cabin behind Candace, spilling water all over the living room floor.

"Crap. Wait, Candace," I say, backing out. "I'm soaking wet. Let me sit out on the porch a few minutes so I dry off enough not to drip water everywhere."

I walk outside but when I turn around, Candace is still inside.

"Where'd you go, Candace?" I call.

I'm standing in my front doorway, when I hear her shout back from down the hall, "Just getting you a towel. Hold on." Two minutes later, she appears with one of my old beach towels. It has a picture of a deranged shark on it. It is from one of my Sharknado movie days. They were dumb movies, I know, but when I was younger I couldn't get enough of them. I smile at the memories as I wrap the towel around my waist and sit down on one of our rockers.

Since it's so quiet this morning, we can hear Jenny and Cian approach and sit down on her picnic bench next door. They're talking, but we can't make out what's being said. After a while, Cian puts his arm around her. I take a deep breath. Probably for the best, I think to myself. I shift in my seat in discomfort. Funny, these chairs never felt so confining before today.

"Walker?" Candace asks.

"What?" I ask quietly, turning back towards her.

"You know you're an idiot, right?"

I laugh.

"Who you calling dumb?" I reply.

"You, Walker," she sighs. "Though truthfully, I'm the real idiot." Candace blows her hair up in the air with her breathe. "I should've known. I mean, you did tell me."

I look at her, confusion written all over my face.

"That's her, isn't it? Jenny? She's the one, right?"

I scratch my neck and look down at my feet. When I glance back up at Candace, I can't deny it. I don't want to hurt Candace, but I have to tell her the truth. Nothing is ever going to happen between us.

"Yeah, she is. I mean, that's her. Jenny. I've been in love with her since we were kids. I thought maybe she might've moved on, and if so, maybe you and I could've hung out, seen where this thing might've led, but..."

"But now you're home, and she is too, and she's not dating anyone."

"Right."

"Well, there's only one thing left to do. I'm gonna go in and pack."

Candace gets up to go inside and I grab her hand as she passes.

"Wait," I tell her.

"What?"

"Look, Candace. I'm sorry. This wasn't fair to you. I feel bad about how all this went down. You don't have to go. Stay the weekend. I- We'll figure something out."

Candace laughs.

Now what?

"You really don't get it, do you, Walker?" She scolds, throwing her arms out in frustration. "I've been hung up on you for a while now. I thought maybe if I got you to go out a few times...maybe party some...perhaps we might, you know, end up as something more. I mean, I said we'd have no strings, and whatever, but if I'm honest with myself, I know I wanted more. I thought I could make you want more, too."

She absently folds her arms over her chest before continuing.

"You told me from the start that night out in the desert, though, didn't you? You gave me fair warning. Coming here was a mistake. I'm a big girl. I should've known better. That said, I'm not going to stick around and watch you tank this, Walker. You love that girl. She deserves to know how you really feel. And, you deserve to be happy with her. You two need to talk. My sitting around this cabin isn't going to do either of us any good."

As she goes inside, Cian approaches the porch. Looking up the stairs he eyes Candace's retreating steps.

"What's going on with her?" he asks.

"Nothing," I reply. "She's packing up."

"She's leaving? What happened?"

"Again, nothing. Nothing happened," I answer him. "We never got anything off the ground. It was...it's a long story. How about we take a hike and I'll explain. I never did get to fill you in earlier, before all this," I say, throwing my hands up and down over the wet towel hanging at my sides and off the chair, "happened."

"Alright. Let's get changed and we'll go. Say your goodbyes to Candace before we do, though. And, I've got a better idea. Instead of a hike, what do you say we hit Cold Creek and talk about everything while we fish? It's been a while since we tossed some lines out together and after all the excitement yesterday and this morning, I think I'd rather chill out than go on a hike with you. Knowing you, you have some crazy boot camp hike in mind, anyway. I'd rather relax.

"Sounds good, Cian. I'd like that," I say, standing up. I turn to go inside and Cian follows behind me.

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