Alex frowned and snapped the phone shut again. That was the third time he’d tried to contact his inspirational columnist. The same one who’d left the office unannounced in the middle of the day. He was also turning into a headache an overworked, thirty-year-old chief editor of a newspaper didn’t need. It didn’t matter that the inspirational column wasn’t due until the next morning at nine, Alex always liked to have all of the pieces on hand the night before. Unfortunately, it seemed that his goofy, lovable best friend had disappeared. The only reason he was worried was because Brian was always ahead of schedule with his column.
He had grown up next door to the Littrells and had been best friends with Brian since they wore diapers. They’d gone through the pains of school and growing up in a small town together and shared everything from secrets to enemies. Brian had played basketball, baseball, and sung in the church choir, while Alex had headed the school newspaper, yearbook, and had sat on the School Board as a student representative. Both of them, though, had always had a passion for writing. However, for Brian, writing was a second passion.
Alex remembered when Brian had gotten the audition for Julliard for his voice and had dragged him down to New York for it. They’d been excited and nervous, knowing that Brian was sure to get into Julliard with his voice. It would also mean that Alex, having been accepted early decision to Northwestern, would be fifteen hundred miles from Brian.
Unfortunately, the day of the audition, Brian had caught the flu and hadn’t been able to perform. Another audition was impossible to attain, and Brian had made the most of it by getting into Northwestern’s Medill. They’d spent the best times of their lives together, and Alex knew his friend inside and out.
He started the car and glanced at the clock. 5:35. Well, that would do it, he realized. Brian had probably left his phone in his car because he wouldn’t pick up while he was doing his hour-long radio show. Alex decided to tune in and fiddled with the buttons until he heard Brian’s cheerful voice on the local station.
“Thanks for calling, Mrs. Penny! What can I do for you on tonight’s show?”
“Oh, Brian, dear. You’re always so helpful,” an elderly woman’s voice crackled. “What’s a nice young man like yourself doing unmarried, huh? What’s the world coming to when the good, young, devout Christian men are still single?”
Alex grinned, wondering how Brian was going to evade their former babysitter’s question tactfully.
“Those are great questions, Mrs. P. I’ve often asked myself when I’ll find that right person for me, too! But, you know what I believe, Mrs. P?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Well, I believe that God has made one special person for all of us, and no one else will do. I’m just waiting for the day God gives me mine.”
“Well, then, you let me know the day you find her. I worry about you, child,” Mrs. Penny told him.
Brian chuckled. “You’ll be the first to know. And, because we’re in a very romantic mood on this show tonight, one of the interns here at WRTI has picked a song she thinks fits the mood. Here’s ‘Eighth World Wonder’.”
Alex pulled into his driveway and flicked the radio off as the first chords of the song filtered through the speakers. He stepped out of the car and breathed in the cooling evening air.
“Here’s to the beginning of another night full of work,” he muttered as he turned the key in the lock. “Maybe I’ll go bug Dana and Carter.” He thought of his sister and his friend, who lived three blocks away, before his thoughts swung to his wife.
He’d married his high school sweetheart when he’d come back to Seven Falls after graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Christine had been in the middle of med school at Brown, but they’d gotten married anyway. Now, years later, she was more often than not overseas, working with Doctors Without Borders, while he was making sure the town paper was published each day. She loved her job, he loved his, and, while it meant lonely nights, they had both agreed being together this way was better than nothing at all.
He shut the door and turned. And stopped in his tracks. “Chris?”
She stepped into the foyer wearing a huge smile and a flowing white dress that made Alex think he was dreaming. There was no way that his wife could be here when she was halfway round the world.
He rubbed his eyes. “Damn. Too much work has got me hallucinating.”
Christine laughed, and he knew she was really there. “Surprise! I decided to cut this trip short,” she told him as he scooped her up and met her lips with his own.
“Why? I mean, not that I mind because, hey, you’re here! But, why did you decide to cut this session short?” he wondered when he let go of her—a little.
She took his hand and pulled him into the living room where candles glowed, flowers scented the air, and a dinner for two was set. “Why don’t we sit and have dinner first?” she suggested, uncorking the bottle of sparkling cider she’d chilled. They’d decided, years before, that they would avoid alcohol because Christine’s father had been an abusive alcoholic.
Alex took the glass she gave him and sat at the table. “I love you, Christine.”
She smiled and slid in across from him. “I love you, too.” She lifted her own glass to her lips but stopped and set it down. “Okay. Okay. I was going to wait to do this, but I can’t.” She stood and, squeezing her hands together, smiled hugely. “Alex, I’m pregnant!”
He sat, frozen in shock for a moment before he could think. A baby? Him? A father?
Unnerved by his silence, Christine fidgeted. “Alex? What do” she let out a muffled yelp as he swept her up and swung her around. “I’ll take that as you’re happy,” she murmured as his lips crushed down on hers.
***
Gwen picked her way down the narrow, gravel path that wound through thick Appalachian foliage. The birds were chirping in the trees that rose above her, and the smell of fall flowers was nearly intoxicating. The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, gilding everything with gold. She could faintly hear a thundering sound and wondered if they were nearing the falls.
She and Kevin had been on the trail to the waterfalls for ten minutes with no sign of the reason she was there. She shifted her tote bag on her shoulder and wondered how much further they would have to walk. Not watching her step as she admired a bush blooming with flowers, she tripped on a stone and would have gone flying had a pair of strong arms not caught her.
“Careful, there,” Kevin murmured as he caught her before she flew headlong into a patch of poison ivy.
Gwen muttered a thanks and got out of his reach as soon as she could. Having his hands on her had tripled her heart rate, and she was pretty sure he knew the effect he was having on her. “How much further do we have?” she wondered aloud, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach.
Kevin knew exactly what she was feeling and couldn’t help but smile. It had been a while since he’d played the attraction game, but it was coming back to him. “Just around the bend up ahead. You can hear the water from here, though.”
She could certainly hear it for it was nearly roaring, in her opinion. Curious now, she picked up the pace and hurried around the bend to see the famed falls. She pushed aside a leaf-covered branch and her breath caught in her throat.
“Oh, my.”
Kevin found her leaning against the railing on the lookout, staring, mesmerized, as water fell from seven points to a large pool of water that flowed into a river. He knew what captivated her and everyone else who had seen these waterfalls, a secret New Hampshire kept tucked away safe from the kitschy tourists. The sight of the seven waterfalls, each over one hundred feet tall and bordered by the dense Appalachian foliage was enough to stop people to wonder. The absolute peace in the area and the accompanying legend was enough to keep people there.
He knew some didn’t find peace here, but, instead, a sorrow and pain. Kevin squashed the wayward thought that would surely lead him into the painful past and concentrated on the woman he’d brought to see his favorite place to spend time.
“What do you think?”
She felt him step up next to her and turned to smile at him. “They’re great! I understand why Howie wanted me to see them, and why Brian made such a fuss about them being included in the final memorial. I can definitely understand why a pair of lovers would hide behind them, too.” She scanned the falls. “Did they hide behind the falls? Is there some way to get back there?”
Kevin was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to believe in the tale, nor had he expected her to want to go behind the falls. “There’s a rocky path you can take to descend down and behind the falls.” He studied the sun. “We have a little time to go back there if you want.”
“I do. And maybe you could tell me the story again. I’ve heard many variations, but I hear you’re the one I should hear it from.”
He guided her down the path, making sure her heeled feet didn’t stumble over the rocks and tree roots that speared up in their way. Concentrating on the tale he’d learned when he was young, the tale he’d seen in his dreams, he managed to avoid thinking about the sensations that were streaming through his system just from holding onto her arm.
“When Seven Falls was founded towards the end of the seventeenth century, it was by a group of French settlers. They figured the falls and the river would be a good way to send the furs they caught from their trappings down the river. There were two best friends who set up the town together, and their families were good friends. The town grew peacefully and flourished. Unfortunately…watch your step,” he told Gwen as he helped her skirt around fallen tree branch in the middle of the path. “Anyway. Unfortunately, their sons were greedy and, once their fathers were dead, they began to argue over who would control the town. Their fathers had been almost co-mayors of Seven Falls, but the sons were too proud to share. One night, after a vicious quarrel on the town green, one of the men quietly poisoned the other and ruled. The family of the fallen one was sure of the killer, but, because there was no proof, nothing could be done. This resulted in the town being split between the feuding families. The feud continued for several years with either side hurling insults against the other at any given time.” He paused as they reached the bottom of the path close to the first waterfall. “Gwen, if you wanted to sketch, this would be a great place to do it.”
“Hmm?” She looked up and found herself surrounded by the falls. They were immense, and she was overwhelmed by their grandeur. They were no Niagara Falls, but they had their own charm, their own appeal. “Actually, I think I will.” She whipped out her sketchbook and pencil and sat on a patch of grass off to the side of the path. “You can feel the water splashing here,” she noted, flipping open her book.
“We’re really close,” Kevin pointed out. “If you wanted to go behind the falls, this is the starting point. Once you go behind the Monday Fall, there is a trail inside that leads to all the rest.”
“Why is it called the Monday Fall?”
“It has to do with the lovers,” he replied.
She watched the falls and decided that if she were to roam a place for three centuries, this place was better than any others. “Well, then, go on and finish it please.”
Nodding, he settled down next to her and, staring up at the water, continued. “The grandchildren of the founders met when they were with their mothers at the market. Both were playful children and hid from their mothers together. Of course, they were scolded later, but they had fun doing it.”
“I bet,” Gwen murmured, a smile on her face as she drew. Kevin found he liked it, much as he liked her face.
Reminding himself that he was only a guide for her, he returned to his tale. “Liliane Dormet and Laurent Montfolier quickly figured out that their families despised each other, but they found ways to play together. It was the falls that became their hiding spot for the docks the town used were built further down the river.”
“How do you know their names? I’ve read a lot of things, but their names were never in any of the documents,” Gwen wondered.
How could he explain that he’d heard them in his dreams? The only ones who believed his dreams were his cousin, Howie, Alex and Christine McLean, and Nick and Dana Carter. His wife hadn’t believed in the dreams he’d told to his daughter in the form of fairy tales.
“I found them once, long ago,” he lied. When she nodded, he sighed. “As they grew, Laurent and Liliane fell in love. I believe it was during their eighteenth year that the two professed their love for each other and knew the futility of it because of their families. The only place that let them be was the waterfalls.” He swept an arm out to gesture across the scenic spot. “They would meet in a different fall each night to avoid detection from anyone for the falls were popular for other lovers, too.” He grinned. “The falls are thus named for each day of the week.”
“So the first is Monday, then Tuesday, and so on?” Gwen wondered, watching the waterfalls. “That makes sense, I suppose.”
“It does. Unfortunately, their plan didn’t work for too long. In their twentieth year, they were spotted by another pair of lovers. Being the children of the most affluent and openly feuding families of the town, they were well-known and word quickly reached their families. Of course, the families were furious and sent out search parties to find them.”
Gwen set down her pencil and listened to Kevin’s voice. It had grown somber, and she knew the tragedy was about to come. Howie had been right. Sitting here and hearing the tale in Kevin’s deep, yet captivating, voice was enough to send shivers down her spine. She wondered if she, too, would see the ghosts others claimed to have seen.
“They were behind the Sunday Fall when they heard the dogs barking. Knowing that if they stayed, they’d be caught, Laurent grabbed Liliane and began to run. Unbeknownst to them, it had been Laurent’s family’s dogs they’d heard—not both families. Liliane’s family had circled around to the other side of the falls. Unable to see where they were going, it was Liliane’s not-so-merciful cousins they ran into.” Kevin paused. He hated the ending of the story and the feeling of helplessness he always felt. He hadn’t known the lovers, they weren’t his ancestors, yet he felt the most honor-bound to change their destinies. “Instead of taking Liliane back to her family and sending Laurent back to his, they beat both of them—to death. No one quite knows why or what motivated them to do such a heinous act, but it was done. The following day, Laurent’s mother arrived to see the bodies that had been left where they’d been killed. It is said that she had Merlin’s blood flowing through her bloodlines and was a sorceress in her own right. When she saw what remained of her oldest and only son, she was angry with him.”
“Why?” Tears clung to Gwen’s eyelashes, and Kevin tried to ignore them. Women’s tears always weakened him, made him want to protect and soothe.
“Pride. It always comes down to pride. She couldn’t believe her child had the nerve to betray her and their family with their enemy. So, she condemned him and Liliane to wander the falls for three hundred years,” Kevin finished.
Gwen hugged her arms, trying to fight the chill she felt from the tale. “It’s so sad, and Brian’s right. I have so much more I need to put into this memorial.” She brushed the tears from her cheeks and smiled at Kevin. “Thank you. Thanks for showing me the falls.” She stood and dusted herself off. “I guess we should be getting back. Your daughter’s probably waiting for you.”
He nodded and stood, too. “We can slip behind the fall for a minute if you want to see it.”
“Yeah?” She looked over at the waterfall. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Within moments, Kevin had helped her slide easily behind the falling water and followed her in. She was delighted with the cave behind the water and reached out to brush her hand through the falling drops. When she turned back to him, her face was wet and laughing. The punch of lust shocked him and had him taking steps toward her.
“It’s fantastic! I’ve never been behind a waterfall before, but this is so cool!” She grinned up at him, but the grin slid away as he approached her, a serious expression on his face. What she saw in his eyes surprised and scared her, but she felt the same emotions thud through her. “Kevin?” she whispered.
He was going crazy. That was the only excuse he could come up with as he cupped her face and brushed the water off of it. He could see the confusion, fear, and, beneath it all, the thrill in her eyes.
“Gwen.” Kevin murmured her name once then, forgetting where they were, who they were, he pressed his lips to hers. She made a small sound, perhaps of surprise, before her arms came around him. The sensations pulsing through him were new, though he’d been in love before and had thought he’d felt all there was to feel. But Gwen was new, refreshingly different from Mia. The thought that he could gladly spend the rest of his life here with his lips on hers ran through his mind an instant before he ended the kiss.
Leaning back, he studied her face. When her eyes opened, they were still clouded with confusion, but, now, lust competed with it.
“Kevin? What…” she shook her head. “What was that?”
He shook his head and let go of her. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll understand if you’re angry.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, we should get going.”
He turned to slip back out, but she caught his arm. “I’m not mad, just…curious, I guess. It was kind of out of nowhere, you know?” He nodded. “So, um, I think we can chalk it up to the magic of the place, right? The lovers, their tragedy, the romance of this place?”
She was giving him an out, and, wondering if he’d kick himself later, he took it. “Yeah, I think that must have been it. Out of sight, out of mind, now?”
Gwen nodded a little disappointed. “We should go.”
“Right.”
***
“I’m sorry, Brian, I just had this last-minute emergency patient call in,” Juliet Stevens explained. “I’m sure you’ll be fine without me.”
“Oh, I know,” Brian replied. “I just thought, you know, after I showed Reena around, you and me could spend some time out there. Alone.”
She understood what he was trying to say. She’d been dating Brian for the past six years and understood what he was saying most of the time. Of course, she figured it had more to do with the fact that she was in love with him and focused a good amount of time figuring him out. So he didn’t love her back…yet, she reminded herself. She would just keep working on it, though.
“Brian, baby, it sounds like a great idea, but…”
He sighed and imagined he could see her making a face. “You’ve got a patient. Got it. Don’t worry about it then. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Sorry, Bri, I have to go. My patient’s here. I’ll find you later,” she promised before hanging up.
He stared at the cell phone he held and, shaking his head, snapped it shut.
“No romantic outing tonight, huh?”
Brian glanced up and found himself face-to-face with a striking face offset by sharp green eyes and tumbling auburn hair. The pretty, bow-shaped lips curved in a smile.
He found himself smiling back. “Nah, but I’ll make it up to her. Reena Phillips?”
Reena nodded and held out a hand. “I take it you’re the goofball Littrell I keep hearing about?”
“The one and only. It’s nice to meet you,” he said and shook her hand. When the touch sent a sizzle through his arm, he frowned slightly and let go easily. “Well, shall we get up to the falls, then? If you want sunset pictures, we don’t have much longer to do them.”
Reena nodded, unsettled by what had just happened. She rubbed her hand on her jeans and slid into Brian’s car.
***
“So you’re Gwen Phillips’ younger sister, huh?” Brian wondered aloud as he watched her snap picture after picture of the falls.
They were standing on the lookout that Kevin and Gwen had stood on a few hours earlier, and Reena had had much the same reaction that her sister had had. The surprise and delight had been channeled into her work, and she had taken what Brian judged to be at least two rolls of film already.
“Yup. She’s thirty, I’m twenty seven,” Reena told him as she adjusted the knobs on the camera.
“Cool. So why did you decide to move here with her? Didn’t you have another place in…I don’t think I know where you ladies moved from,” he admitted.
“Boston. I did have a shop there, but I had a…falling out with my partner. So when Gwen said she was moving up here, I thought, ‘Hey! Fresh start!’ And here I am.”
“Here you are,” Brian echoed and gazed out over the waterfalls. “I was born here,” he said after a few minutes of silence.
Reena looked over at him, surprised. “Really? Here? At the waterfalls?”
He grinned. “Actually, behind the waterfalls. My parents have always been really active, and they were hiking when my mom was about eight and a half months along. She claims she wanted to get fresh air, that it would ease the birthing process.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, they got out here, and she started having contractions. Since the falls were much more off the beaten track thirty years ago than they are now, my parents ended up using their Lamaze class knowledge, and I was born!”
“That’s why Kirby said you have a special connection to the falls,” Reena murmured.
Brian smiled. “Well, when you’re born somewhere this awesome, you’re going to want to keep coming back. I mean, it’s special all on its own, too.”
“I think you’re pretty lucky to have been born in such a powerful place, what with the legend and all.”
He nodded. “I think I’m lucky in all manner of things. I mean, I get to live my life the way I want, don’t I? Doing something I love. Well, some things I love.”
“Yeah? What do you do?”
“I write an inspirational column for the newspaper, coach basketball at the high school, and, right now, I’m coaching Little League baseball. Plus, every night, you can catch me on the local radio station doing a gospel music and inspirational hour.” He ticked off the activities on his fingers.
Reena grinned at him over her camera. “Yeah. You’re right. You’re pretty lucky, getting to do all those things. It’s an impressive amount. So,” she snapped another picture. “I take it you’re a pretty devoted Christian, huh?”
Brian snapped back to what she was saying instead of watching her pretty hands twist the dials on the camera. “Hmm? Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think God’s had the biggest hand in helping me get where I am in life, so praying and spending time glorifying him is the least I can do.”
She nodded. “I agree. I mean, Gwen and I weren’t brought up in a particularly religious family, but, a couple years ago, I was studying the Bible for a class I was taking and got sucked into it. I’m a regular ‘Bible-thumper’ now,” she added, jokingly.
“That’s great!” It also made her a lot more attractive than he was already finding her. She was smart, had a sense of humor, talented, and…what was he doing fantasizing about her when he was dating Juliet? He shook his head. Not for you, Littrell. Even if he did want to run his fingers through those russet curls and see if they were as soft as they looked.
Reena knew he was watching her, could feel those startlingly blue eyes on her. She had to admit he was attractive…really attractive. And taken, she reminded herself. He’d cancelled a date to take her up here, and here she was lusting after him. It was the voice and those eyes that got her, she thought. No, no. It was the voice and the smile. Or…well, screw it, she told herself. It was the whole thing.
Knowing she had taken all the photographs she could with the setting sun, she packed away her camera and turned to face him. “Well, that’s it for today,” she announced and watched his eyes turn from the falls to her.
“All done, huh?” He glanced at his watch. Maybe he’d still have time to lure Juliet out from her clinic and into a restaurant for a late dinner. When he looked up, Reena was a lot closer to him. When he saw the interest in her eyes, his pulse sped up. “Reena?”
She took his hand. “Brian, I’m gonna tell you, right now. I’ve never been one for beating around the bush, so I have to tell you that I’m attracted to you. Hell, if there was a patch of grass around here, I might just have my way with you. Just kidding,” she added, seeing the surprise on his face. “I haven’t known you long enough for that. But I have to do this or I won’t be able to sleep tonight,” she murmured, cupping his face in her hands and bringing it down so their lips met.
Later, he would tell himself it was surprise that made his fingers tighten in hers. It was shock that had him scooping her closer against him. It was astonishment that had his fingers running through her hair, as soft as he’d imagined, while his lips drank her in, the taste, the scent, Reena.
Shaken by the feelings that pulsed within her, the intoxication she felt in one kiss, Reena pulled back and rested her forehead against his shoulder and smiled as she felt his fingers slide through her hair. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed.
“Reena.”
She pressed a finger to his lips and shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. Give me a second.”
He was quiet, not knowing what he would have said nor what he could say. The kiss had been more than he’d expected, and he would’ve loved to keep kissing her. His conscience, though, was a wicked thing, and Juliet’s image kept surfacing in his mind. He shouldn’t have enjoyed the kiss so much when he knew it would hurt Juliet if she found out.
Steadier now, Reena slipped out of his hold and lifted her equipment before turning back to face him. “I’m not going to lie, Brian. That was the most exhilarating kiss I’ve ever had, and I’m not sorry I kissed you. However, I am sorry because I know you’ll feel guilty because you’re involved with someone. We’ll just call this kiss an experiment, a highly successful one, and leave it at that. Is that okay?”
All his arguments had gone up in smoke at her words, and he wondered what was wrong with him that he found himself a little disappointed. But, he nodded. “That works, and, Reena? For the record, that’s one of the most amazing kisses I’ve ever had, too.”
But nothing could come of it, she wanted to scream at him. She had never been the romantic one, she’d left that to Gwen. Now, with another woman’s man, she found herself wishing that, against the backdrop of the tragic waterfalls, Brian had disagreed with her and, sweeping her into his arms again, kissed her into oblivion. It just wasn’t possible, though, and she’d have to live with it, she reminded herself as she followed him back to his car.
“You don’t always get what you want,” she whispered to herself and watched the last rays of sun fade.
Author's Chapter Notes:
it's a long one, but i think it's worth the read!
