White Picket Fence

Chapter Four

"It's the boulder!" Anaya shrieked. "It's the boulder, we're almost there!"

"You're hurting my ears, Anaya," Lucas said, swatting at his sister.

"Anaya," River said, twisting around from the front seat, "I'll give you another juice box if you stop trying to deafen your brother."

Joel chuckled. He looked more at ease than River had ever seen him, one arm resting on the open window, other hand on the steering wheel. He was dressed for the beach, in shorts and a loose white button-down and sandals. He had the radio on low, and it was playing some classic 80s hits.

River closed his eyes and leaned his head towards the open window, letting the breeze sweep by him and ruffle his hair. It was a relief to be away from everything for a day, given how strained everything had been between him and Aaron this past week.

Aaron hadn't exactly said anything, of course. Confrontation wasn't his style. Instead, he'd just make passive-aggressive remarks under his breath and give River the cold shoulder when River tried to make advances, whether they be friendly conversation or romantic. It was driving River crazy—he wanted to fight, to argue, rather than tiptoeing around each other and pretending nothing was wrong.

He shook his head a little, putting Aaron from his mind. This weekend was about relaxing and having fun, and he wasn't going to let Aaron's presence in his mind ruin that.

"She's right," Joel said. We're almost there." He glanced over at River. "The lake is cold, even during the summer, but the kids are going to want to jump right in as soon as we get there."

He was right. The moment they were parked, the kids were ready to race towards the lake, laughing and bounding with excitement. Joel and River together had to corral them before they could disappear into the water. "Help us get everything inside," Joel said. "Then we can all go swimming together."

Their family cabin was in a cluster of a half dozen other ones, within sight of Lake Whipple. A big dock stretched out over the water and crowded pine trees sweetened the air with their scent. A couple of the other cabins looked like they were being used; their families were on the beach, kids splashing and shrieking among the shallow waves.

River helped carry in the bags and set most of them down in the kitchen. The plan was to stay overnight, so Joel had taken care to bring food for lunches, dinner, and breakfast. River smiled as he withdrew a box of pancake mix and set it down on the counter, smiled again when he opened the cooler and noticed that his favorite sours were in there, along with a bottle of Joel's favorite whiskey.

"Can we go down to the lake now?" Anaya whined, pattering into the kitchen barefoot. Her hair was wild from the wind during the car ride and Lucas, next to her, was just as much of a mess.

"Sure," River said. Mostly everything was unpacked, anyway. "Go get your swimsuits on and I'll take you down there."

Anaya squealed. She and Lucas ran off to get changed.

Joel stepped down the stairs, his footsteps creaking the wooden floorboards. He was dressed in swim trunks, to River's surprise. "You don't have to come down to the lake with me," River said. "I can take the kids."

"You think I'd come all the way here and not go down to the lake?" Joel said, amused. He glanced around at the cabin, as though admiring it. "You know, I helped build these cabins."

River stared. "You did?"

"Hm. The owner bought the land and wanted to rent and sell vacation spots. My construction team was hired to build the cabins and he offered one of them to myself and my wife at a discounted price."