Gina Ranalli - House of Fallen Trees

She couldn’t allow that. She needed to know the truth. And there was only one place she could go to find it: Fallen Trees, Washington. Sean’s last known residence, his last known connection to the world and the people in his life. Groaning at the stiffness in her body, Karen got to her feet, massaging the back of her neck with one hand. She would clean up the coffee and broken mug later. Right now, she had a phone call to make.

In the living room, she clicked on a table lamp and found Rory’s phone number immediately, something that was a bit unusual for her in the chaotic state of her condo.

She picked up the phone and dialed the number she’d jotted down, suddenly certain the line would go dead or an automated voice would tell her the number had been disconnected, was no longer in service. Something.

But three thousand miles away in Washington State, a phone rang. It rang half a dozen times and just as Karen was about to hang up, frustrated there was no voicemail on which to leave a message, a groggy male voice said, “Hello?”

“Rory?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“It’s Karen Lewis.” She waited for his reply, but received none. “Sean’s sister.”

“I know,” he said. “Do you realize what time it is?”

She glanced at the clock. “It’s five AM. Which would make it…” She tried to calculate the time difference.

“Two o’clock,” he answered for her and sighed loudly. Maybe he was yawning.

With her free hand, she scratched her forehead. “Sorry. I didn’t think about the time.”

Rory cleared his throat and Karen heard the rustle of bed sheets. “What can I do for you, Karen?”

“I want to come out there,” she said. “See the B&B. Meet you. See where my brother lived.”

More silence on the other end of the line. Finally, sounding genuinely confused, he asked, “Why?”

“Wouldn’t you? If you were in my shoes?”

“I…yeah, I guess so. But—”

“No. No buts. I have to do this, Rory.” She hesitated, reluctant to show any weakness. “It would mean a lot to me.”

Rory didn’t say anything for a long time, long enough to make Karen suspect he’d hung up on her. At last, he asked, “What about your parents?”

“What about them?”

“Do they know you plan to come out?”

“No.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way, if you can. That’s one headache I don’t need.”

She ignored the implication that she was a headache to him and said, “That’s fine. I have no intention of telling them anything. They probably won’t even know I’m out of town.”

“How long do you intend to stay?”

“I have no idea,” she said honestly. “However long it takes, I suppose.”

“However long what takes?”

She thought about it. “I’m not sure. I guess I’ll know when I get there.”

Once more, his silence revealed more to her than words ever could.

“I won’t be any trouble,” she said. “At least, I’ll try not to be.”

“Okay,” he replied, the reluctance in his voice all too obvious. “Just don’t expect much.”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean the house. It’s not quite finished.”

“Oh, I don’t care about that. I probably won’t want to spend more than a few hours looking the place over.”

“You don’t understand,” he said slowly. “The house is in the middle of the forest. The road doesn’t even go all the way up to it. You have to hike onto the property.”

She was somewhat taken aback by this new information. “Jesus. You really are out in the boonies then.”

“That’s one way of putting it. But, I’m down in the town now. I have a small house I rent. You’re welcome to the sofa if you like, but I’m telling you, getting to the house is a pain in the ass. If you go up there, you won’t want to hike back down the same day, especially now that it’s getting darker earlier. And colder.”

She chuckled uneasily. “You make it sound like it’s on the moon.”

“It may as well be. There’s hot water and electricity, but no phone lines.”

“That’s no problem. I’ll bring my cell.”

It was Rory’s turn to laugh. “And no cell towers either.”

“Oh. Well…I’m sure I’ll make do. I’m not one for much company anyway.”

“Good, because you won’t find it up there. I haven’t been there myself for about a week.”

“I see.” They were silent for a few moments, and then Karen wanted to get to the practicalities. “So…where should I fly into?”

He sniffed. “Spokane. Call me back when you book a flight. I’ll pick you up.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can take a cab.”

He laughed again. “To Fallen Trees? No, I’ll pick you up.”

“Ok, then,” she said, doing her best to sound friendly and appreciative. “I’ll call you back with the info once I get it.”

“Cool. And Karen?”

“Yeah?”

“Pack something warm.”

She smiled. “Will do. Go back to sleep.”

“I heard that ,” he said.

She disconnected long enough to dig out the phone number of her travel agent. No phone service, she thought. Out in the middle of nowhere. No people around. What she had initially found slightly alarming was now sounding more and more appealing to her.

Think of it as a writer’s retreat, she thought. If nothing else, maybe I’ll be able to finish my novel.

Suddenly in a better mood than she had been before calling Rory, she went to clean up the mess in her office, then shower and call the travel agent.

The day brightened around her and the unease that had been plaguing her — words like carcass and men —began to fade a bit. Not completely. They were still there, somewhere deep in the pit of her stomach, but she did her best to ignore them and, for the most part, was successful.

The cross-country non-stop flight was uneventful and Karen spent most of it buried in the laptop she’d forced herself to bring/carry/open/work on. She drank several glasses of white wine and became completely lost in her fictitious world, barely glancing up when the captain announced the time and weather in Spokane. It wasn’t until the captain insisted everyone shut off all electrical devices that she closed the computer and looked around at her traveling companions, a dazed expression on her face.

It was Tuesday, 5:50 pm PST.

She was surprised by how dark and cold it was when she crossed the tarmac, canvas bag slung over one shoulder, computer bag slung over the other.

Rory had said he would meet her in baggage claim and not to worry about the fact that she had no idea what he looked like.

“I’ll know you,” he’d said over the phone. “I’ve seen pictures.”

She was surprised to hear Sean even owned any pictures from his past life, never mind actually showed them to people.

Once she arrived at baggage claim, she felt odd and conspicuous. He could have been anyone, watching her from afar or standing right beside her. For the first time, she began to wonder about the wisdom in traveling across the country to meet a man she didn’t know, had only spoken to on the phone, both times only briefly.

“Karen,” a voice spoke from behind her.

She turned, already smiling politely.

Rory Luden was quite handsome, as she’d known he would be. Maybe mid-thirties, tall, receding dark blond hair, blue eyes, and the full lips of a movie star. He held out his hand. “I’m Rory. Good to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Karen said as they shook, eyeing another man who stood beside Rory regarding her quizzically.

“This is my friend, Saul,” Rory said. “He just came along for the ride.”