Free Spirit Lake by Christine DeSmet

with me, until you got in trouble. Then you had to focus on running away from trouble. Then, you had to focus on making a marriage to Stephanie work since ours didn't, but then other things must have impinged on that marriage, too. So you had to leave that in order to focus on something else, such as the racing."
    He slammed the rock down hard on the top of the stake, spiking it cleanly into the earth.
    Flinching, she continued, “You like projects. You concentrate on one adventurous project at a time."
    “You haven't seen or heard from me in fifteen years and you know all this?"
    “I did plenty of reading about men after that summer. There are men who consider women projects. They focus all their energies until they've fixed them to their liking. And then they move on."
    “I wasn't that way.” Plopping back in the grass, he stared up at her slackjawed.
    “You didn't try to remake my wardrobe or anything—"
    “For cryin’ out loud, you hated getting dressed up. You were a tomboy."
    “You never stopped focusing on your little adventures to ask what I liked and didn't like. You saw one side, the side that could be coaxed into doing stupid shenanigans and you focused on that."
    “I didn't care if you wore a dress!” He struggled to his feet, grabbing a tent stake and the rock before heading for another corner of the tent.
    “That's my point. You didn't care enough about all the other sides of me. I finally convinced myself that I was glad I never married you with society's legal paper back then. That reality and a family takes juggling and you can't juggle more than one ball in the air at a time. You're always in a crisis, and as each crisis hits, you forget all else."
    “You're nuts.” He dropped the rock and barely missed his toe.
    “No, not anymore. If a tomboy suffices to feed your little plots to get in trouble, why risk messing up the fun by seeing another side to her, right? It's probably the same reason you wanted me to butcher your leg instead of going to a hospital. I'm at hand and easy to focus on. I'm no trouble and you face no responsibility with me. Even a quick kiss to satisfy your curiosity—hit and run—only proved it to me that you haven't changed a lick over the years."
    “This is the most ridiculous psycho-babble I've ever heard."
    She knew she should just leave, but he had her ire up now. Her pride wouldn't let go. “You asked my opinion but you don't really care what I say, do you? You just go on your merry way. Never mind the feelings of others swirling around you."
    “Laurel, come on. That's not me anymore."
    “It's not?” She scoffed. “You expressed undying love to me, but when trouble came, boom, you're gone. On your merry way. Now years later you drop everything, even your son, to avenge your brother's death."
    “I love my son."
    A stabbing ache hit her heart. “Oh? You're here and he's in hiding. Quaint proof of your love."
    “My life's at stake."
    “And that makes you a hero in your son's eyes? What if you get killed? Where's the responsibility and love in that?"
    He scrambled up, cursing his sore leg to get to her. His eyes simmered with fury when he stabbed the air with a fist. “I didn't plan this misadventure, but I won't get killed. I'm not stupid."
    She plucked the first aid kit from the grass and backed away. “You guaranteed that to your son?"
    “Damn you, I can't guarantee anything."
    “Pity the next woman who falls for you."
    “You'll come back over here again?"
    She turned to go but he caught her arm. Electricity skipped along her skin. “I doctored your leg and that's all you'll get from me. If you'll excuse me I have to check on an owl. At least it's not interested in pecking my heart out."
    Releasing her, he grunted, “You're way too controlled."
    Except for my thudding heartbeat . “Unlike you, I've changed. Now go to the hospital and get that leg looked at. Don't worry about being recognized. If I didn't recognize you at first, I'm sure you can put