Cradle Creek

Chapter 25, Find the River

"You're going to have to earn your keep while you're here. There are walls to be painted, food to be cooked..." Drew said.

"I'm used to work and happy to help," AJ responded.

"I'm kidding. But, help is always appreciated. Just don't cook. Please? I'll do that or we would all starve," he said.

The three friends drove back to Drew's house, dropping Nick off at the restaurant. Drew took her bags into the cottage. There were three drawers that had been cleared out for her. The bathroom was wiped clean, the bed made from where she had slept in it the night before.

"Get settled. I'll be in the big house if you need me," He said, leaving her.

She unpacked and followed the sounds of Dave Matthews wafting through the open windows.

Proving to be as helpful as she was easy on the eyes, AJ and Drew spent that first afternoon finishing the small parlor and the evening with Nick over pizza and a pool table.

That night, they walked back to his property and he walked her to the cottage door, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Night," she said, "Thanks, again," a pause lingered and he waited for her to finish, "For everything."

"Good night, my beautiful friend."

Leaving her on the porch, he walked to the big house and his new sleeping quarters. Having spent the day working, he did not have the energy to do anymore. Drew trudged up the stairs, closed the door behind him and switched on the light. He was bare chested as he washed his face, changed into a pair of shorts, and looked out the window. Over in the workman's cottage, the house lights were off, sans the bedroom. He could see AJ in the window looking out. He raised his hand to wave; she responded with the same gesture and, for the moment, as the kaleidoscope clicked, all was right with the world.

—

The two spent the next several days working on the house, swimming in the pond and eating at Nick's. AJ started to worry about her figure and Drew reminded her of all the calories she was burning by helping him.

After a week in this steady rhythm, they quit working early and a lazy afternoon turned into evening with neither wanting to leave the water they were drifting in. Drew broke the silence.

It was strange being outside of the convent walls. She missed the structure, feminine discipline and the muffled isolation. But, here with Drew, she also felt pieces of her soul drifting home. She felt safe, protected. Even outside those walls, she was still cocooned in Cradle Creek, hidden from the world and able to keep the promise she made to herself. She was setting herself to live a lie, but it was a lie she felt worthy of life.

"I've got a forty-eight tomorrow and then you're gone, right?" he said that afternoon.

"Yep, the next week. Bitsy is going to meet me at the airport before lunch and our flight is around 4."

"When do you come back stateside?"

"I'm not sure. I think she bought an open ticket. Probably a month? At least a couple of weeks. She made all the plans. In the past, we spend two weeks in Paris and a little less in London."

"And the airport? How are you getting there?"

"It's two hours from here and I can't very well hitch hike. I was hoping that maybe, if you weren't too busy..."

"You want me to ask Mother Superior if she'll drive you?" he asked.

"Are you crazy? Have you ridden with her? There's a reason they don't leave the convent."