"I don't remember saying that." Raine is out of breath and panting as he looks at me with sincerity.
"You made a pretty big deal about staying away from me last night—"
"We can be friends," he says. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"Friends," I repeat. How could any woman be friends with a man who looks the way he does?
"Hop in the truck." Without giving it a second thought, I look around for spying eyes as I jog across the lawn and up to the passenger door. I climb inside and close myself in. Even if Paula saw me, I don't think she would rat me out since she has told me many times how sorry she feels for me. Raine hops in and doesn’t waste any time starting the truck.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"You'll see." Part of me would like to ask him if he plans to kill me there, but at this point, my sense of concern for danger is muted by the excitement of adventure.
Every moment longer I'm in his truck, I relax a bit more. He avoids the center of town and takes some back roads I haven't been down in years. Pulling up against a thickly settled area of trees, he throws the gear in park. "I knew I should have been a little more concerned that you were going to kill me and bury my body in the woods," I say, half joking.
"Oh shit, is that the rumor you heard? I'm a murderer now?" he asks with a scoff, apparently offended by my comment.
"Nope, that's not what I heard, but you never know," I reply. He jumps out of the truck and runs around to my side, opening the door and helping me out. His truck is lifted and higher than most, making the distance from my seat to the ground more than a few feet, which didn't seem as high when I stepped in off the curb at my house.
As Raine walks into the woods between the trees, I consider the thought of not following him, but the alternative is to go back home and melt into my bed for the remainder of the day. Like any girl with a death wish, I follow him into the woods, through a mess of leaves and roots. There is no path, and I don't see one anywhere in the distance. "I'm not going to kill you, Haven." I needed that reassurance.
I follow in his footsteps for several minutes before we end up on a man-made path. Side by side, we walk in silence as I try to figure out where we could be going. "I didn't know there was a path back here," I tell him.
"I would have thought you'd know all the hiding spots in this town, seeing as you don't want to be noticed by anyone."
"The park at night. That's my thing," I remind him.
"But here, you can be outside during the day."
"In the middle of the woods?" I question.
His hand wraps around my forearm as he pulls me off the barely carved path and into a new section of the woods where we approach a steep hill that descends into a lake. How could I have lived here so long and have no idea there is a lake back here? We slowly walk down the hill, and he doesn't remove his grip from my arm until we settle into the small area of flat ground in front of the water's edge. He walks off to the side and I follow, keeping my gaze set on the royal blue, silky water. I hear a hollow thud and look forward, seeing Raine stepping up onto a boat dock. He walks to the end and sits down, dangling his feet over the side.
We're surrounded by trees, and the scent of pine with lake water blends in the most satisfying way. There are no houses or row boats, nor anyone in sight. I sit down beside Raine, letting my feet dangle next to his. "This lake used to connect to the one you see at the park. It was much larger and open, but after too many droughts, the water level decreased, and the land separated the lake in half. It has been fifty years, and no one has given this part of the lake much thought because the land is owned by a Native American tribe; therefore, it can’t be built on without their permission. Over time, the lake has basically become abandoned."
"How do you know all of this?" I ask.
"My granddad," he answers curtly.
"Does he live around here?" I place my hands behind me onto the soft wood of the dock and lean back, letting the sun warm my cheeks.
"He died a few years ago," he says.
I sit up and place my hand on his back, more curious than ever about his life. "I'm so sorry. Were you close?"
"He was my guardian." Raine shrugs and sniffles while squinting at the sun.
"Where are your parents?" I ask, wondering if I might regret the question in a moment.
He exhales loudly and pulls his knees into his chest. "Well, my mom died from a drug overdose when I was two, and my dad is in prison." His words take my breath away but don't shock me. His explanation is exactly what I heard them discussing when I overheard Mom and Dad’s conversation about Raine.
I don't offer sympathy because I doubt that's what he wants to hear. Instead, I try to sound insightful. "You should be proud to have overcome their demons. Despite my short-lived assumption of you being a murderer, you seem like a pretty nice guy. Smart, and clearly motivated to make something of yourself.”
He laughs softly and drops his head. "Yeah, I live on a friend's couch and mow lawns for a living. It isn't something to be proud of. I did want more for myself, but that's not an option now."
I twist my body to face him, pulling my legs up from the edge. "It's not too late," I tell him.
"For you, it's not too late, Haven. You can graduate high school and go to college if you want. As for me, though, I dropped out of high school. I wouldn't be able to get a salaried job even if I offered up a limb. You know how it is in this area."
