Free Poison by Leanne Davis

Tim up in boots and a thick coat, then did the same to herself. The day was brilliantly sunny, and cold. Late January shouldn’t be a beautiful time to go sight-seeing, but today it was.
    Just as they were climbing into Luke’s truck, John’s SUV came down the driveway. Cassie sighed. John had been in a foul mood toward her and rarely showed up at the house. Her presence in his life had done wonders for his relationship with Sarah Cassie suspected, seeing as how he nearly lived at Sarah’s in order to avoid her.
    “I’m taking Cassie and Tim to Cape Disappointment, want to come?”
    “No.” He was careful to avoid glancing her way.
    “Please John?” Tim asked, walking over to look up at him. “Don’t you want to come with us? Luke said there are some lighthouses to look at.”
    Cassie smiled sweetly. “You don’t have to bother, we don’t want to disturb you.”
    John’s dark eyes narrowed as they stood there in a childish staring contest. Then he said cheerfully to Tim, with eyes glued to Cassie. “Sure I’d like to come with you Tim. I’m sure your mother would love the company.”
    “Right,” Cassie mumbled as she and Tim climbed into the jump seat of Luke’s truck, and John took the front seat. Then she was stuck in the cab with John on the four mile drive from Seaclusion, to Ilwaco, where they turned off toward Cape Disappointment State Park. Four miles that should have been a pleasant diversion touring the area, but John’s presence in the cab made Cassie overly aware of each movement she made or word she uttered. Why did she give John the power to make her feel so self-conscious? Around John, she was reduced to feeling like a kid waiting to be disciplined by the school principal.
    They started up the highway, a twisting two lane road, with thick woods covering each side; Cassie’s interest in where they were going started to get piqued. Finally curiosity won out. “What is this place?”
    John glanced back. “You don’t know much about this area do you?”
    “No. Why would I? I didn’t exactly read the travel brochures when I decided to hide out here.”
    Luke laughed, then added, “This park is pretty well known because it’s the southernmost tip of the state, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. It’s called the graveyard of the Pacific.”
    “The what?”
    “Over two hundred ships sunk at the mouth of the Columbia River, killing over seven hundred people. They’ve since engineered it so it isn’t so dangerous.”
    “Is that where the name Cape Disappointment came from?”
    “No, that name came from when one of the original explorers looking for the Columbia River missed it,” Luke said, smiling at her in the rear view mirror.
    She’d relocated to a place with the name of Cape Disappointment? Like that could be a good omen for the place she’d chosen as refuge from a violent stalker. Or that this was the graveyard of the Pacific. She shuddered at what the name conjured up for her.
    John had been watching her. Their eyes met. She looked away first.
    “So what are we seeing?”
    “All of it. There’s the Lewis and Clark Museum, Waikiki Beach, the two lighthouses, campground, and to top it all off, an old military post.”
    “How big is this place?”
    “Do you have somewhere else to be?”
    No. She didn’t. She had nowhere to be. Ever. Nor did she have anything to do. They explored everything, and finally, their excursion lifted Cassie’s spirits. The scenery was beautiful, big waves, big blue sky, lighthouses, towering cliffs and endless evergreen trees.
    Finally Luke ended his tour at the North Head Lighthouse. They walked the half mile trail to the white and red structure. The four of them stood nearly two hundred feet above treacherous cliffs and rocks, watching the ocean’s show of thrashing waves and spray below. It was a panoramic view of blue sky against pale blue ocean, pine trees and cliffs, and the unusual beauty of Waikiki beach below them, until