Cabin by the Lake Read Online Free PDF

She told her aunt as much, suddenly grateful to have been offered this hospitality. Vivian nodded in her perfunctory way and led her back downstairs and out to the covered back porch.
    They sat in matching rockers, and she saw that the passage of time had not changed Vivian much. She was still slim, her hair a little more gray now, but still thick and wavy and, as always, on the verge of being out of control.
    She felt uncomfortable, not knowing how her aunt felt about her. Even if their relationship was tense, she hoped at least she could make amends for her spiteful, childish behavior all those years ago. She was twenty-eight now. A decade had passed, and she hoped—prayed—that Vivian would forgive her and let bygones be bygones.
    They rocked slowly, side by side, facing the lawn that led down to the lake’s edge. It was staying light a little longer now, but at five thirty the sun, barely visible, was already lowering over the lake. The sky was brilliantly lit by lightning strikes in the distance as angry clouds continued to move in. Soon they would have to go inside if the lightning got too close.
    “You sure don’t talk as much as you used to,” Vivian said after a few minutes of strained silence.
    She smiled slightly at her aunt’s straightforward comment. “I guess I’ve learned to listen a little more than I used to.”
    Nodding, Vivian asked, “Is that your way of apologizing?”
    She had forgotten how direct and to-the-point her aunt could be. Caught off guard, she snorted a laugh. “Yes, Aunt Vi. I am sorry. I’m sorry for a lot of things.”
    Vivian nodded again, as if a weight had been lifted. She gave her the old smile, the one that she remembered from her childhood. “Then forget it. I’m sorry, too. I’ve missed you.”
    “I missed you, too.” She swallowed past a lump in her throat. “That was a terrible day.”
    “And it was a long time ago. Let’s start over.”
    With that simple statement, she knew her aunt had put the past firmly behind them. She began to rock again as they watched the line of rain approaching from across the lake, like a curtain sweeping forward.
    “I wish it could be as easy as that with Mom.”
    “Katie loves you. You’re just—”
    “I’m just not Brittany?”
    Vivian laughed. “No, you’re certainly not Brittany, and thank goodness for that! You’re you, and you are perfect just the way you are. You went through a little rough patch, that’s all. Your mother tends to have a harsh streak sometimes, and I’m afraid you always received the brunt of that.”
    “That’s what it still feels like.”
    “I always felt sorry for your father and the three husbands who followed,” Vivian continued. “Nothing was ever good enough for Katie.”
    “Except Brittany, you mean.”
    Vivian shook her head in mock sadness. “Ah, Brittany. Poor girl, smart as a whip in school, but hasn’t got sense enough to get in out of the rain.”
    Lydia threw back her head and laughed. That was an apt description of her sister. She relaxed for what felt like the first time in a really long while. Maybe this could be home, at least temporarily. At least until she transitioned herself into a normal life—one without bars around it, both literally and figuratively. She imagined a tiny band-aid attaching itself to her heart and felt a renewal of the love for her aunt who had been such a big part of her childhood.
    Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a figure approach out of the corner of her eye.
    “Excuse me, ma’am,” the man called. His sudden appearance on the pathway that led around the house startled both women. He was a big guy, dressed in ripped jeans and a well-worn coat that had seen better days. He carried a large hiker’s pack on his back, and his ball cap couldn’t conceal the shaggy blond hair sticking out from underneath.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, stepping forward with his hands up, palms facing outward to show he meant them no harm. “I didn’t