Summer's Loss

Chapter 11

Abigail

The way the tall grass waved like threads in the wind along the river bank filled Abigail's soul with nostalgia. Images of a child version of herself ran through the tall blades laughing in the sun, watched by her mother. Her heart ached at the thought. It had almost been a week now and she already missed her easy going, fun loving mom.

Farther on, hidden behind the wall of pastel greens was the creek that they were here to check. It winded lazily in and out of trees and under fallen logs, taking its time to get to wherever it was headed. It was almost 4 feet wide and varied in depth, but Abigail knew exactly where she was headed when she first got out of the truck. As she walked along the creek, Brice silently followed. His demeanor sullen and quiet, the stark opposite of his earlier friendly self. Abigail recalled the sudden snap in his actions this morning. She had been surprised that he wasn't upset about the day prior, when she had practically combusted in his office. For a moment, she had thought that he might be pleasant company for the remainder of the summer, but as quickly as his good mood had come, it vanished.

She looked over her shoulder and took in his tense shoulders, she way he continually clenched and I unclenched his fists when he looked as though he was in deep thought. He looked up and met her eyes, but instead of looking away like she might have before, she stopped. Her abrupt halt caught him off guard and he almost collided with her, but managed to step around her instead.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her, taking a step back so there were several feet between them.

"I could ask you the same." She replied, still eyeing him uncertainly.

"Whys that?" His fists clenched again, she could see the whites of his knuckles. Abigail opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. Why did he look so tense? He was like this the last time she worked with him too, but she had also seen him when he wasn't tense, when he was with other people he was never tense. In fact, he was extremely laid back around others, it was only her that he acted so strange around. Again, Abigail felt that familiar feeling of anger rising inside her.

"I'm only going to ask you one more time," Brice's jaw almost fell open with surprise at her sudden change in tone, "do you have a problem with me?" Brice's face flashed so many emotions in that moment that Abigail didn't even know how to process them all.

"Why would you think that?" He asked her in return, his voice much calmer than her own.

"Because every time I'm around you it's like you're a whole other person, you get tense, and snappy, and you're never the same." Abigail took another step forward, her voice rising, "so if you're only working with me out of pity right now, then don't bother, because I can go back to YCC if you really can't stand me that much."

Brice chuckled and surprised Abigail almost making her trip on her own feet . "You're just a stick of dynamite aren't you." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"What?" Abigail stammered, still shocked by his sudden swing of emotions.

"Nothing." He smirked and looked up at the canopy of aspen trees above them. He stepped past Abigail and continued walking towards the creek.

The creek was abundantly full and lapped at the edge of the grass that bordered it. Abigail's squeal of excitement made Brice jump, and she ran to the waters edge and practically jumped with joy. This was one of her absolute favorite places in this valley, due to all the time spent here as a child.

"This is where I swam when I was a kid!" She exclaimed, not looking away from the slowly swirling currents that floated lazily by.

"I'd never thought about swimming in it before." Was all Brice replied with, his demeanor now more relaxed, but there was a certain edge that Abigail couldn't place.

"Well you'll have to do it some time." She smiled and looked up at Brice's face. His eyes glowed with an intensity that she hadn't seen before and her smile faltered and she looked back at the water. He was judging her for acting so childish, she knew it. Grown men don't just swim around like there isn't a problem in the world, neither do girls her age. She must seem so immature to him. She cleared her throat, "So now what?"

Brice looked at the water in front of him and then down the creek one way, his eyes slowly sweeping until he was looking up the creek the other way. It took him a long time to reply and Abigail waited anxiously, needing something to do so she didn't just stand there feeling dumb.

"Well," he finally said, his voice deep and slow, "I don't see any dams here, do you?"

Abigail quickly surveyed her surroundings and saw nothing blocking the waters flow, "No."

Brice then looked up at the cloudless sky and the sun high over head. "It's pretty hot right now, wouldn't you agree?"

Abigail looked up at the sun too, then at Brice who was again staring at her with that puzzling intensity. She nodded her head, it was really hot, but no hotter than it had been all week.

"Do you have a phone is your pocket?" Brice took a step towards her as he asked.

His question confused her. Yeah, she had a phone but not with her. "I left it in the truck." He took another step towards her. Abigail stiffened. "Why?"

"Because," Brice practically whispered, he was right in front of her now. He was so close she could see the stubble of a day old beard on his face, "I'd hate to break it."

Her eyes widened when Brice suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her into the creek. She went down in an unceremonious manner. When her head broke the surface of the water she looked up and saw Brice practically rolling in laughter.

"That wasn't fair!" She yelled at him. "What if I had been hurt?" Brice stopped laughing when he saw that she was mad. "What if I had drowned?" She glared at him. "Help me out, now.", she demanded.

Brice hurriedly crouched by the creek bank and held out his hand for her, but when she caught it with her own she smirked at him, before giving a sharp yank and he fell face first into the water. It was Abigail's turn to laugh as he popped up in front of her. The water hole was deep enough to reach her chin in some places but it lapped at Brice's shoulders as he sputtered water from his mouth. He looked at her and broke into a wide grin, one that Abigail had never seen before, and she laughed in return.