Pine Lake

“Maybe you sensed my presence up there on the beam or felt my hand on your shoulder. I did my best not to startle you.”

“Thank you. That could have been disastrous for both of us.” Now that she was on solid ground and the danger was over she found herself growing curious about him. He still seemed familiar and very capable. “You said you and Nathan go back. Did you go to school together?”

“From kindergarten on.”

“Wait. I know you,” she blurted as recognition dawned. “You’re Jack King.”

She saw a frown fleet across his face. “My reputation precedes me, I guess.”

“It isn’t that. I remember you from the year my mother and I moved to Pine Lake. We stayed with Nathan and his dad until we got our own place. You used to come by the house with Tommy Driscoll and some of the other seniors. You’d hang out by the pool. I was invisible to most of Nathan’s friends, but you were always nice to me.”

“Was I?”

She gave an awkward laugh. “I guess I was invisible to you, too. You don’t remember me, do you?”

“I do now, but you’ve changed. No glasses, no braces.” He canted his head, peering down at her in the light. “I think I can still see some freckles, though.”

A thrill chased up Olive’s spine at his scrutiny. She’d never told anyone—had barely admitted it even to herself—that she’d had a crush on Jack King that year. Nathan’s other friends were rude and boisterous, but Jack was different. To a hopelessly romantic fourteen-year-old, he’d seemed deep and introspective. And devastatingly handsome. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she said.

“I’d wait for better lighting to make that assessment.”

“I can see you just fine.”

Car engines sounded on the road. Doors slammed and male voices carried in the dark.

“That’ll be the sheriff.” Jack turned toward the trees and called out to the newcomers. “Down here!”

Olive scanned the woods anxiously. “You called the police? Why didn’t you wait for their help to get me down?”

“I didn’t think it a good idea to leave you up there any longer than was necessary. Besides, I didn’t call the cops because of you.” He hesitated, his eyes going past her to the water. “No easy way to say this. I found a body in the lake before I saw you on the bridge.”

Olive’s hand crept to her throat. “A body?”

“A woman.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“No. But if she’s local, the sheriff or one of his deputies can likely identify her.”

Olive closed her eyes in dread. “If she’s local, she’s probably someone I know.” A former student perhaps or even a friend. “Pine Lake is small. Everyone knows everyone.”

“I remember.”

She turned to the lake in horror. Someone she knew could be out there in the water at that very moment, dead and drifting. It gave her the oddest feeling. Part fear, part sadness, part relief. If she’d fallen from the rafters, she’d likely be dead and drifting, too.

But she was safe and sound thanks to Jack King and this night was no longer about her.

She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Could you tell how she died? Was it a drowning accident?”

His gaze on her deepened. Olive shivered at the intensity of his stare. The scruff on his lower face made him look dangerously enigmatic. The way he towered over her made him seem just plain dangerous.

“You should wait and ask the sheriff those questions. I wouldn’t want to be accused of interfering in his investigation.”

“Of course. I understand. It’s just...what if it is someone I know?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said with a nod as Tommy Driscoll and two of his deputies came crashing through the underbrush. The subordinates wore uniforms, but Tommy had on jeans, cowboy boots and a white dress shirt with pearl buttons. He looked as if he had been out dancing. Or up to no good.

He stopped dead when he spotted them. Then he said something over his shoulder to one of the deputies before he joined Olive and Jack on the bank.

Olive tried not to show her disdain for the Caddo County sheriff. She respected his position but not so much the man. If Jack King had been her favorite of Nathan’s friends, Tommy Driscoll had been her least. Even as a teenager, he’d been arrogant and overbearing and she’d seen no evidence of evolution.

Unlike Jack, the years hadn’t been kind to him physically. His muscles had softened as his features had hardened. He was still married to his high school sweetheart, but rumors about affairs had run rampant for years. Beth Driscoll taught science at Pine Lake High School. She was a lovely woman and a dedicated teacher. Olive would never understand why someone who had so much going for her would put up with a man like Tommy.

He and Jack eyed each other warily before Tommy gave a brief nod. “Jack.”

“Tommy.”

They didn’t shake hands, Olive noted.

“Good to see you, buddy. Sorry it has to be under these circumstances. When did you get into town?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Helluva homecoming.” Tommy’s gaze slid to Olive, taking in her pajamas and bare feet. “Olive? What are you doing down here?”

“She just got here,” Jack said.

Tommy frowned. “Got here from where?”

“From the road. She said she heard my boat.”

It was all Olive could do not to turn and gape at Jack. Somehow she managed to stifle her shock under Tommy’s narrow-eyed inspection.

“Let’s let Olive answer for herself,” he said.

She nodded. “I was out for a walk when I heard the boat. I came down here to see who was out on the lake so late. I thought someone might be dumping trash. You know what an environmental hazard that poses.”

“I know you like your causes,” Tommy said. “But you’re telling me you were out for a walk at this hour? In your pajamas? Without shoes?”

“I didn’t expect to end up so far from the house. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I only meant to get a bit of fresh air to clear my head. Next thing I knew, I’d walked all the way to the lake.”

Tommy’s gaze went from Olive to Jack and then back to Olive. He lowered his voice as he took a step toward her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

His implication couldn’t have been plainer and she resented it on Jack’s behalf. She told herself it was silly to feel so protective of a stranger, but she found herself pressing closer to him anyway. “Of course, I am,” she said coolly. “And I think you’ve more important things to worry about than me.”

He gave her another curious look before turning back to Jack. “Where’s the body?”

Jack gestured toward the lake. “I can take you out in the boat and show you.”