Fate of the Fallen Read online

  Nope. No break at all.

  Savannah’s words echoed in Cooper’s mind: It’s too perfect a day to be in a foul mood. Trying to stay positive, she turned on the radio and did her best to ignore her frustration.

  All things considered, the drive to the park was a pleasant one. Traffic was light, and the weather was beautiful, just as Bryant had said it would be. With a distinct lack of humility, he reminded them that he’d predicted great hiking weather for today when he’d conducted his channel six forecast earlier in the week. With windows rolled down to let the breeze in, they talked and laughed all the way to the park. By the time they reached the parking lot, it was already starting to fill up.

  Cooper drove up to the lot attendant and handed him a five-dollar bill.

  “Go down to the fifth row and turn left,” he instructed. “You’ll see a guy in an orange vest. He’ll direct you to the closest space.”

  “Thanks,” Cooper said, driving behind Quinton to the fifth row. Just as the attendant had said, a man in an orange vest directed them to two spaces toward the middle of the lot. Cooper parked and hopped out of her truck, stretching her arms up over her head.

  “It feels so good to be outside!” she said as the other car unloaded beside her. She drew in a deep breath. “Smell that? So much fresh air!”

  Trish and her massive beach bag stood between the two cars. In her hands she held two bottles. “Who needs sunblock and bug spray?”

  Nathan came around the truck, backpack slung over his shoulder. He raised his hand. “I need both. Didn’t think to bring them myself.”

  Cooper eyed his backpack. “Then what did you bring?”

  “You know, the usual. Water bottle, hat, bird identification book . . .”

  “Do you have a little room left over in there?”

  “I might. What for?”

  Cooper reached into her truck and retrieved the camera. “Daddy just bought this and insisted I bring it today so I can learn how to use it. Then I’m supposed to teach him. Mind putting it in your backpack until there’s something to shoot? I’m a little afraid of having it out.”

  After pretending to waffle for a moment, he smiled and opened up the backpack. Cooper set her daddy’s camera in, right on top of the bird book. Nathan slung the bag back over his shoulder and gratefully accepted the bug spray and sunblock from Trish.

  “So we all know what I have in my bag,” he said. “Trish, why do I suspect yours is much more interesting?”

  “Because mom bags are always interesting,” Trish said with a laugh. “A little of this and a little of that. First aid kit, sewing supplies, sunglass repair kit, fruit snacks . . . It’s the bag I always take on vacations.”

  “Did you just call it a mom bag?” Cooper asked.

  “That’s what Phil dubbed it. He said I never leave home on vacation without my mom bag.”

  At the mention of the “mom bag,” an image of Ashley and Hannah came to mind. Cooper tried to imagine her sister trading in her Louis Vuitton purse for a giant flower-adorned canvas bag like Trish’s. The absurdity of the thought made her chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?” Nathan asked, applying bug spray to his lower legs.

  “I was just wondering if Ashley might get a mom bag when Hannah’s old enough for real vacations. What do you think? Can you see her with a bag like that?”

  Nathan stared at Trish’s bag for a moment before shaking his head. “Not really . . . unless Gucci comes out with a mom bag. Then she’ll be first in line.”

  “I’ll have to write Gucci and suggest it.”

  Nathan passed the sunblock and bug spray back to Trish.

  “Anyone else need it?” she asked.

  Everyone shook their heads.

  Quinton checked the food in the coolers and closed his trunk. “Ice is cold and the food is secure. Whenever we want to eat, we can just carry the coolers to a picnic table, and until then, there’s enough ice to keep our meal good and cold.”

  Savannah took Jake’s arm. “Where do we start? Craft booths? Swimming? Hiking?”

  Shading his eyes, Bryant turned his face toward the sky, donning the same expression he wore on the air. “We should probably hike before it gets much warmer.”

  “I thought it wasn’t supposed to get too warm today,” Jake said. “At least that’s what the channel six meteorologist told me.”

  “And I meant it. However, when you hike you do tend to heat up a little more than usual. So I vote we hike now and then do the more relaxing activities later . . . when it still won’t be too warm, but just warm enough we don’t want to be hiking.”

  “I’m game,” Trish announced, tucking the bottles back into her bag. “Although maybe I should leave my mom bag in the car while we hike. It’s like carrying a child.”

  While Trish put her bag away, Cooper spoke up. “I’m certainly ready for a hike. Nathan, you’ve been here before, right?”

  Nathan nodded.

  “Where do we start?”

  He put his fist to his chin in thought. “The trailhead for my favorite hike is across the lawn. It’s not too difficult, and it has some pretty scenery. Follow me.”

  Nathan led them away from the cars and into the park. Holding his hand, Cooper surveyed her surroundings as they walked. It really was a nice day, and she couldn’t help but smile when she saw the crowds of people, all happy and enjoying themselves. The cars themselves spoke of the varied mix of people attending the festival—pristine sports cars, mud-spattered Jeeps and nondescript family sedans, one with a “Baby On Board” sticker on the back windshield. Just past the parking lot, a grassy expanse separated the cars from the tree line.

  The section of the parking lot abutting the lawn was sectioned off with chains and signs reading “Food Trucks Only.” Already, several trucks were pulled into their spaces, and according to Nathan, there would be quite the smorgasbord. Cooper was excited to see the variety of foods once all the trucks had arrived.

  The lawn was perfectly green and perfectly level, with immaculately cut grass and not a weed in sight. Several groups played Frisbee and catch, and another engaged in a friendly game of touch football. Some teenagers stood in a circle, lobbing a volleyball back and forth and laughing. Professional photographers wearing “Event Staff” lanyards snapped pictures of the activities. Several rows of tarp-covered booths stood in one part of the lawn, populated by local artisans, some of whom were still setting up shop. Already there were thirty or so booths, with space for twice that many.

  To the left stood the stone amphitheater where the bluegrass acts would play later in the day. Members of the event staff stood talking in the amphitheater. The whole park buzzed with excitement.

  Savannah had been so right. It was going to be a perfect day . . . or as perfect as imperfect humans could experience.

  “So when do we set up our blankets out here?” Jake asked. “Looks like it’s already getting crowded.”

  Cooper looked out over the lawn near the amphitheater. Jake was right. Already picnic blankets and camping chairs littered the area around the amphitheater—early birds who had staked out their claims to good seats.

  “Don’t worry,” Nathan replied. “There are always a few people who decide to set up insanely early. It probably won’t get much more crowded until late afternoon. We’ll get seats before it’s packed.”

  Cooper squeezed his hand. “I don’t care where we sit as long as we sit together and can hear the music.”

  Nathan smiled. “I can guarantee both of those things. Even if we go sit in the car, we’ll be able to hear the music.”

  The lawn came to an abrupt end at the tree line. In the shade of massive oaks and pines grew dogwood and wild cherry trees, while larkspur and mountain laurel bloomed beneath them. The Bible study group crossed from the sunlit grass to the woods, veiled by a canopy of leaves and branches. Sunlight fell onto the dirt path in bright shafts. The air smelled of blossoms, bark, and earth.

  The path was wide and smooth, easy to tra
verse even as it wound around larger trees and smaller thickets. A little deeper in, the woods erupted in a rainbow of color. Beneath crab apple trees ornamented by little white flowers, black huckleberry bushes thrived. Sprays of deep purple larkspur and bright yellow straw lilies bordered the path, framing the pristine white flower clusters of wild hydrangea. The group rounded an especially massive willow tree to find a deeply set cove of pink wild bleeding heart just off the trail.

  Little birds flitted from branch to branch, their chirps and songs melding together into a symphony sure to rival the music of the bluegrass bands. Nathan stopped on the trail to retrieve his bird identification book, and Cooper saw her daddy’s camera, still sitting in the backpack.

  “I completely forgot. I’m supposed to be learning how to use that.” She motioned to the camera. “Would you hand it to me?”

  Nathan gave her the camera, and as they continued he pointed to the different birds and told everyone their names. Meanwhile, Cooper snapped their pictures, getting a feel for the weight of the camera and the different settings.

  When they finally came to a fork in the trail, Nathan led them to the right. “This will take us to a little hill over the lake,” he explained. “It’s a great view. The trail isn’t too rocky or steep, and we’ll see some pretty sights.”

  Savannah held tightly to Jake’s hand. Even the fairly smooth path was more uneven than she was used to, and she was depending on him for guidance. “Sounds perfect to me.” As they walked, Jake whispered to her whenever a large rock was in the path, and he put his arm around her waist when the trail dipped or rose unexpectedly.

  Cooper wished she could take a picture of them without intruding, but she knew that neither would appreciate it.

  Instead, she snapped pictures of the trees, the flowers and the wildlife. She took pictures of Nathan as he pointed to birds and finally did capture a very cute shot of Jake and Savannah posing in front of a gray ironwood tree adorned with ivy.

  The trail inclined gradually, so that Cooper could hardly tell she was walking uphill, save for a dull ache in her calves. The larger trees gave way to smaller ones, and the sun poked through the canopy more easily. A little stream ran alongside the path, adding its trickling laughter to the opus of nature sounds. It tripped over the rocks in its bed, splashing rivulets up onto the edge of the trail. Cooper took pictures of this, too.

  For a good twenty minutes, the group walked in relative silence, admiring the view and enjoying the peace of the woods. Life usually moved so quickly that this kind of harmony was something to be revered, cherished. It was the kind of calm that would be broken by a whisper or by the breaking of a twig underfoot, the kind that was hard to come by and easy to lose yourself in. For those twenty minutes, Cooper didn’t even take a picture. It felt wrong, somehow, like snapping away during a church service. This was a sanctuary, and it deserved respect.

  Finally, the path wound around a thick patch of elderberry bushes and crossed over the stream by way of a small wooden footbridge. Here, the scene was too beautiful to pass without a picture. Cooper raised the camera, and as she snapped the photo, the silence broke, and everyone began to talk again.

  Trish bent down to smell the elderberries. “This place is absolutely gorgeous! Cooper, I want copies of all your pictures.”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Cooper replied. “I’ll send you the files if you’ll take a picture of Nathan and me on the bridge.”

  “You got it.”

  Cooper handed over the camera, simultaneously pulling Nathan to where the wood of the footbridge bordered the dirt of the trail. He put his arm around her.

  Trish crouched slightly as she pointed the camera at them. “Smile!”

  Both Cooper and Nathan did as they were told and looked at the camera with broad, happy smiles. As Trish pressed the shutter button, Quinton snapped his own picture with his smartphone. Trish looked at the view screen, wearing a smile of her own. “Not a bad picture, if I do say so myself!” She squinted, getting closer to the screen. The smile faded as she looked up, past Cooper and Nathan. “Actually, we may need to take it again. People in the background.”

  Cooper swiveled around to see who was approaching. A group of six men and women, wearing matching blue golf shirts and silver and gold lapel pins that Cooper couldn’t make out, hiked down the trail toward them. In the lead was a tired-looking man of medium height and fit build, with a gold pin on his lapel, a Rolex on one wrist, and a thick silver bracelet on the other.

  He waved at the Bible study group. “I hope we didn’t mess up your picture.”

  “It’s no problem,” Nathan replied, returning the wave. “We’ll just take another. The beauty of digital photography!”

  All of a sudden, a member of the group, a twenty-something woman wearing a low-dipped baseball cap, came forward, beaming. Before Cooper could figure out who she was, the woman put her arms around Nathan. He scooped her up in a big hug.

  Trish leaned in close to Cooper. “Are you okay with this?”

  3

  The woman’s baseball cap fell off, and Cooper instantly recognized her. She burst out laughing. “Yeah,” she managed to say. “I’m okay with it.”

  Nathan put the woman down and presented her to his friends. “Everybody, this is my kid sister, Christine. Christine, this is the Sunrise Bible Study Group.”

  Christine moved from Nathan to Cooper, offering another friendly hug. Cooper held her tight. “Almost didn’t recognize you,” Cooper said. “Your hair’s shorter than last time I saw you.”

  Christine scooped her baseball cap up off the ground and placed it back on her head. “It was time for a change. And by the way, I cut it almost a month ago. It’s been way too long since we hung out.”

  “A month?” Cooper shook her head in disbelief. “Doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you start all this wedding planning. You lose track of time. When do I get my invitation?”

  Nathan smirked. “Who says you’re invited?”

  Christine responded by smacking him on the arm before returning her attention to Cooper. “Engagement looks good on you, Coop. Even if it is to my brother.”

  “I could do worse,” Cooper said with a laugh.

  Christine smiled. “Yeah, I guess you could at that.” She took in the other members of the group with a sweeping glance. “So this is the group I’ve heard so much about! It’s so nice to finally meet you all!”

  “Likewise,” Savannah replied. “We’ve heard quite a bit about you, too.”

  Christine smirked, and the resemblance to her brother was almost eerie. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

  “It was good stuff,” Jake said, a twinkle in his eye. “Mostly.”

  His arm resting around his sister’s shoulders, Nathan gestured to his friends. “This is Quinton, Bryant, Savannah, Jake and Trish.”

  She greeted them with a wave. “I feel like I know you all already. I’m grateful to you for getting Nathan out of the house.”

  “I’ve been working a lot.”

  “You know what they say about all work and no play, right?”

  “Yes, it makes a successful business.”

  The man leading Christine’s group stepped forward and tapped Christine on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to break up the family reunion, but . . .”

  “Oh, right,” Christine said. “We ought to get going. Hey, Sinclair, meet my big brother, Nathan. Nathan, this is Sinclair Gordon, CEO of Sphinx Digital Systems and Solutions. That usually just gets whittled down to Sphinx. We’re on a mini work retreat today.”

  Nathan and Sinclair exchanged a handshake and a smile. “I’m sorry to take her away from you,” Sinclair said. “We’ve got a full day planned.”

  Christine gave Nathan another hug. “We really need to spend some time together. You, me and your wonderful fiancée.”

  “You got it,” Nathan said. “Do you want to meet up later for supper?”

 
“Can’t. I’m all booked up with retreat stuff.”

  “Then I’ll give you a call and we’ll make a date, okay? Now, go have fun on your retreat.”

  Sinclair led his group around the bend in the trail, and soon they were out of sight.

  “They must have a fun workplace,” Quinton said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a kerchief. “The closest to a retreat my office got was when the fire alarm broke and we had to wait outside for two hours. We started up a game of gin in the parking lot.”

  “I guess that could qualify as a retreat,” Jake said. “Your sister seems real nice, Nathan. Glad we finally got to put a face to the name.”

  Savannah nodded in agreement. “There’s such a family resemblance, too!”

  Cooper arched a brow in her direction. Although Savannah had a gift for perception and could see the good in others, she was legally blind. How could she see any family resemblance?

  Sensing the unasked question, Savannah explained. “I could hear it in their voices. The way they laugh. The way they tease. It’s the same. Not all family resemblances are in the face, you know.”

  Nathan laughed, and as Cooper listened to it, she realized that Christine’s laugh was exactly the same. She smiled. “I never noticed it before.”

  “Like I said, family resemblance.”

  Bryant knocked back half a bottle of water and wiped the overflow from his chin. “I’d say that was a nice break. Anyone else ready to head on up the trail?”

  The group replied with nods.

  “Wait!” Trish said. She pointed the camera at Nathan and Cooper once again and snapped a picture. “Now we can go.”

  It wasn’t an arduous hike, but even if it had been, the view would have been well worth the effort. As the larger trees continued to thin, dogwoods and wild cherry trees became more numerous. Honeysuckle vines clung to the trunks of ironwoods and scented the air with a sweet perfume. The stream crossed under another footbridge and then disappeared into the hollow under a mass of boulders. At last the trail came to an end, widening to a lookout above the park’s lake. Cooper began to snap pictures. With the hill high enough to afford a clear view of the scenery, this was her chance to really test the camera’s capabilities. Below, people swam and fished. A few rode in paddleboats. And all around on the lookout were wildflowers and bird feeders teeming with birds.