Warrior at Willow Lake by Mary Manners Page A

settled on it, bringing her with him. Their shoulders touched as he continued. “Three of us—Mason, Brody, and I—had come here to hang out. Ryder was back with Ali at the inn. Later I found out that Ali’s parents had asked her to watch Josh while they ran errands in town. They did that a lot—Ali was like his second mother. Josh could be a handful, even on good days. It wore Ali out, but she loved him anyway.”
    “She once told me that his disability made it hard for him to understand things sometimes.” Maci tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as the breeze carried it.
    “That’s right. But he managed pretty well, and we didn’t mind having him around. Except that day, Ryder was put-out because he was leaving soon for basic training, and he wanted some alone time with Ali. Even then he had a thing for her, something so powerful you could feel it whenever you moved within a hundred yard radius of the two when they were together. But, time alone was out because Josh…well, he made that impossible.”
    “I can imagine.” Maci shifted on the boulder. “But I don’t understand how you play into all of this.”
    “I was on the cliff. Brody was in the water below, with Catherine. They’d just gotten engaged, if you can believe that. Only eighteen, and they were headed for the altar, white picket fence, the whole nine yards. It ended up not working out. But, that’s a story for another day.” Hunter picked a blade of grass, shoved it between his teeth, and continued. “Mason…he was horse-playing with Josie.”
    “Josie Parker, who owns Posts and Pages?”
    “Yes, her.” Hunter rubbed the scruff of stubble that darkened his jaw. “Everyone had someone—everyone but me. I guess I was feeling a little out of sorts. After all, I was Willow Lake High’s star pitcher…a Warrior destined for the major leagues…fame and fortune. Soon, I’d be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and hounded to appear on ESPN. It just didn’t seem fair. So I started showing off there at the cliffs.”
    “Showing off how?”
    “All of us liked to jump—everyone but Ali.”
    “She’s terrified of heights.”
    “Right. But sometimes Ryder could talk her into taking a leap, if she was in the right mood. Anyway, that section of the cliffs was a good spot, the water nice and deep. But, jumping wasn’t enough for me that day. I talked some smack, tried some new stunts. I was reckless…dangerous. Mason got mad when I did a back flip and landed only inches from Josie. We exchanged words, which only spiked my temper. I climbed the cliff trail and was about to jump again when Josh came over the knoll. He was running with that lumbering gait that had become so familiar over the years. I can still see the impish grin on his face and the way his hair skimmed across his eyes, turned up at the corners like slivers of almonds.”
    “Ali said he had Downs.”
    “He did. But none of us saw that. We just saw him . We all tried to include him and protect him. Ryder had even taught him how to jump from the cliffs, despite Ali’s protests. Josh was a little afraid at first, but he caught on pretty quick.” Hunter nodded, jabbing the point home. “That particular day there was no fear, only excitement.”
    “What happened, Hunter? If he’d jumped before and did fine…”
    “Josh had asthma. It kicked in when he got too excited. That day, when he saw me, his face lit up as he barreled over the ridge. The exertion of scaling the hill so fast was just too much, and he began to wheeze. I heard his labored breathing, and I knew he’d pass out if he didn’t get help quick. Ali usually carried a rescue inhaler, but she was nowhere in sight. I tried to grab Josh—stop him—as he came toward the cliff edge. But he stumbled and plowed into me. I couldn’t hold him, and we both tumbled over the edge. We didn’t clear the rocks below. The force of the impact broke my hand in three places and fractured Josh’s skull.” Hunter shook