Chapter 1
Jack Danik was camped a short distance off the highway overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene. Picturesque and serene, he wanted one last look at the lake he’d fallen in love with twenty years earlier.
Inhaling the clean sweet scent of the tall pines he broke a slight smile then exhaled slowly, listening to the screech of a distant hawk flying somewhere near a white wisp of one of the few clouds in the sky.
Sitting on a rock, perched two hundred feet above the bay, Danik stared quietly at the scene before him. Looking down for a moment he printed the name Adam with a stick on the ground in front of him, tracing over the letters repeatedly.
Jack Danik moved out West from Florida to get away from the rapid development in the South, hoping to live out one of the great American dreams in the Rocky Mountain West. However, after twenty years of ups and downs, he was emotionally, physically and financially spent.
As he stared, trance-like, he recalled when he came to Idaho and beautiful Stanley Basin on the Salmon River where he lived; about a failed relationship in the first three years, and about his oldest son, Matthew, who was now twenty-two.
He thought about a promising music career that rose and fell by the wayside and a brush with the law that nearly destroyed him and recalled how hard he’d fought to overcome the odds of that situation. The loss of his most recent career position with an automobile dealer for the last five years completely devastated him.
He’d been hospitalized a little over a year ago with an infected foot that almost had to be amputated. His jet-black hair was starting to turn gray and the dark eyes that once sparkled when he talked were now showing the years of stress and age. Once athletic and healthy, his weight had dropped from one hundred fifty to one hundred and fifteen pounds, his diabetes raged out of control and he’d been diagnosed as being severely depressed. He likened his life to being lost in a great abyss with no way out.
Danik stretched a little and slid down off the rock to lie against it. Crossing one boot over the other, he lit a cigarette, continuing to stare at the mountains and the mirror like surface of the bay below him.
He shook his head and let out a disgusted chuckle as he thought of the judge he’d appeared before in Seattle attempting to explain why he was unable to pay the court ordered amount of child support in the original decree. She hadn’t sympathized with him and told him if he didn’t pay the ordered amount within ninety days she’d have him thrown in jail. She further added he looked just fine and didn’t want to hear any excuses or she’d see that he’d never see his son again. The court made good on that promise.
Little did anyone know Danik felt he would’ve had to get better simply to die at that point in his life and the unshakable pain of the entire ordeal had become an all-consuming destructive power and obsession, ruling his every waking moment.
He couldn’t understand how he’d let things get this far out of control in his life. It was a mess and he knew deep down inside, he’d let it happen.
He ached as he thought of Adam and couldn’t come to grips with the thought of anyone working the system so well they could abduct a child from a non-custodial parent, legally through the courts. But, Paula did and he was paying the ultimate emotional price for it now. In Danik’s mind, the only thing he’d been guilty of was caring too much for his son and wanting to be a part of his life.
He’d always believed the courts would temper common sense and compassion in decisions about custody and visitations but that was a presumption he was living to regret. Danik found there were no such thing as fair and no such thing as justice. There was only the law, the attorneys, and the judges who administered the laws, without passion or prejudice.
He’d never had a great deal of admiration for anyone who made a living from anybody’s personal miseries, but he especially disliked attorneys who sued for the sake of a dollar and not the sake of the client’s best interest. Especially intense was his dislike for divorce attorneys. In his way of thinking these people were hybrid parasites who merely operated to perpetuate there own self-interests and ineffectiveness by creating legal grid-lock in the civil courts causing ex-spouses to become bitter adversaries with little or no regard for the best interests of the children. Divorce and custody is a high profit, multi-billion dollar a year growing industry and furthering his dismay, Danik found he was part of the growth.
Jack knew that leaving wouldn’t look good to a lot of people but they weren’t the ones living through the hell and constant legal hassles originating three hundred fifty miles away. Also, they weren’t the ones watching a small boy being ripped apart while the ordeal lingered on. He knew if he didn’t do this now he’d end up doing something he’d regret or dead from the consumption of the entire experience, destroying Adam in the process. Danik’s love for his son was far greater than his contempt for his former wife, Paula.
For all the things he wasn’t in his life, he knew he’d been a good father and provider to both his boys. So, why, he thought, why do I feel so guilty?
Danik lay motionless staring at the lake in the calm of the morning light as his mind drifted slowly back to when he’d first met Paula.
* * *
Jack Danik met Paula Schultz in Seattle just after she’d graduated from college and was working for the summer as a waitress at a well-known restaurant. He and his band had come to play music for two weeks at the newly remodeled eatery. At a staff meeting the night before the restaurant was to re-open he’d seen Paula for the first time. Actually, his guitar player, Darrell Manton, had noticed her.
Darrell was the member of the group that would screw a rock if he knew a snake was underneath it. You couldn’t insult him and he never took no for an answer. By the end of the meeting he was talking to Paula but he’d struck out. She wasn’t buying any of his worn out lines and told him she had plans to go out with her girlfriends. Normally, this would’ve sent Darrell into a fit and he would’ve simply found someone else to soothe his beastly needs for the night, but not this time. The proverbial bug had bitten him.
Danik and the rest of the band were laughing when Darrell rejoined the rest of the group to finish arranging the band equipment for opening night.
“What happened, Darrell? Trolling with the wrong bait tonight?” asked the laughing drummer, Bobby.
“Did you guys see her? I mean, did you really get a good look at her? Those long legs! And, those blue eyes. What a body! She’s awesome! That, my friends, is a keeper! Peaches and cream! That could be the next Mrs. Darrell B. Manton!”
“Jesus Christ, Darrell! You’re like a dog in heat,” Danik snapped, sarcastically. “They’re all keepers and peaches and cream as far as you’re concerned! Besides, don’t you think she’s a little too young? I know she’s way too quiet for you. I didn’t see her lips move but once the whole time you were over there. She does have a great yes and no nod, though.”
“I’m telling you, this one is different,” Darrell said, excitedly.
“Please don’t screw this one, asshole. I don’t want any mad boyfriends, relatives or, soon-to-be ex-husbands causing a commotion in here the next two weeks. We had an agreement, remember? No screwing the help! I don’t care how different this one is; you are not to shit where we eat!”
The next two weeks were very interesting. Darrell tried everyday to persuade Paula to go out, even for an innocent cup of coffee in the middle of the day, but her answer was always the same quiet, “no, thank you”. Jack started liking this girl. Maybe she did have some redeeming qualities.
It got down to the guys in the band making bets as to whether Darrell would score or strike out with her everyday. By the end of the two weeks, the score was Paula, fourteen and Darrell, zero! Darrell had been shut out.
For two weeks, the lounge had been packed with over three hundred people every night. As the band loaded their equipment to leave, Paula came over to Jack.
“You guys are really good. You put on a great show and I made fantastic money. I hope the next group they have in pulls the kind of crowd you guys did.”
“Thanks. I’m flattered. I’m glad everything worked out for you,” Jack responded politely with a smile.
Paula shuffled a little, appearing uncomfortable, like a little girl asking a boy for a dance.
“Well, I heard you talking about how you loved the mountains and my family has a cabin up on Chinook Pass. We could take a day trip up there. You’d love it.”
Jack was astounded. The girl could actually talk and she was asking him out! Darrell would be crushed!
“You really handled yourself well with Darrell. He’s not an easy person to say no to. You impressed the hell out of the band, I can tell you that!”
“How about you, did I impress you, too?” she asked, with a smile and a gleam in her blue eyes.
“I don’t usually go out with people I work with. It’s just not a good policy, but Darrell, he’s a different story. Hell, he thinks the creamy white centers in Twinkies are good for you.”
Paula smiled and shook her head.
“Why don’t you go out with people you work with? I don’t see the harm in that.”
“I just don’t shit where I eat, honey. It’s not good business,” Jack said in his best smart-ass tone of voice.
“Oh,” she said with a slight sigh. “Well, I’ll see you next time. Thanks, again. You guys are great,” she said, looking at Jack for a long moment and walked away.
* * *
The next four weeks passed slowly for Danik. The more he thought about Paula, the more he wanted to get to know her. True, she was a lot younger than Jack would have liked, but there was something about her and he didn’t have to worry about Darrell being offended. He’d found a new keeper the first night they’d arrived in Boise, to play a three-week gig. In a perverse way, Darrell was a true work of art!
When they finally arrived back in Seattle, Jack was more nervous than a kid about to go on his first date. It was just before lunch and to Jack’s surprise Paula was working.
“Hey, Paula. What are you doing working days? Have they got you working split shifts?”
“Hi, Jack! Gosh, it’s good to see you.” Her face lit up, her delight evident in her warm, open smile. “I’ve been thinking a lot about you guys coming back. Everybody’s real excited. It hasn’t been too busy around here since you left. The band they had in after you guys wasn’t good at all. I stopped working nights, so now I can come in and just listen. I told my family about you and the band. They can hardly wait to hear you guys and see your show. Even my grandparents are going to come. If they stay more than thirty minutes, consider yourself something special. By the way, how long does it take you guys to set your stuff up? I know you’re not playing tonight. Are you going to set up tomorrow?”
“Whoa! Slow down, girl! Let’s cover one thing at a time. It takes us about two hours and we’re going to do it tomorrow. We’re just here to unload the truck and go to the motel and maybe practice a little. Why all the questions? Is somebody planning a welcome home party for us?”
“Well, no. I know you probably rode your motorcycle over and I was just thinking, it’s such a nice day, maybe when I’m done you’d like to ride up to the Pass to my dad’s cabin? Or, have you thought things over and decided not to poop where you eat?”
Jack looked at her a moment and thought, Poop? Boy, I’ll bet she wouldn’t say shit if she had a mouthful. She’s probably got a collection of Barry Manilow records, too!
“I’m all right with everything. It’s not like we’re going on a real date. We’re just going for a ride, right?”
“Right! I’ve got a change of clothes in the car. I’ll change as soon as I’m done and then we can leave. You guys ought to be finished by then, too,” she excitedly responded.
As Jack walked towards the stage he thought, Holy shit! What’s this all about? This chick’s got bigger balls than Darrell, for Christ’s sake, and she’s so matter- of-fact about it all…like it was a planned event. I’ll bet she does have a collection of Barry Manilow’s shit! That’s probably the reason she doesn’t have a boyfriend. God ain’t I the lucky one!
* * *
He and Paula left for the mountains a couple of hours later. She was right on time and ready to go. Jack felt pretty good riding up to the cabin, especially with something as good looking as Paula hanging on to him. She didn’t feel too shabby, either.
It was a beautiful ride and Jack thought this wouldn’t be a bad place to live. The river was pretty as it wound slowly down the canyon and it wasn’t very populated…something else he liked. As they reached the turn off, Paula told him to be careful going in. It was pretty rutted up, but they made it down to the cabin all right.
Paula found the hidden key and they went inside the cabin. She quietly gathered some kindling from the woodpile just outside the door and started a fire in the wood stove. The water had been turned off in the cabin so they walked down to the river and filled a one-gallon jug. Both the woods and the cabin were dead quiet. Paula put some water on to boil as Jack looked over every inch of her awesome body, fantasizing.
“Boy, that’s going to feel good. I got a little chilly when we got out of the sun riding up. There’s nothing like a hot cup of coffee and a cigarette to warm you up!”
“Golly, I don’t have any coffee. I don’t drink the stuff. It’s really not good for you and it discolors your teeth. I was going to boil some water and put in some sugar. That’s good for you and it’ll warm you up and give you energy. We drink it when we’re cross-country skiing all the time. And, I don’t smoke, either.”
Jack took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and returned it to the pack.
“Wow, I’ve never heard about this water thing before, but I’ll try anything once! I guess my thing with coffee is a love affair and when I don’t have it I miss it.”
“That’s not a love affair, it’s an addiction. It’s like cigarettes,” she said, pointing at his shirt pocket.
Trying to pass it off and not get started on any touchy subjects, Jack searched for another subject to talk about as he looked around the dark cabin for something of possible interest.
“You mentioned cross country skiing. Do you go a lot?”
“Oh yeah…my boyfriend and I go all the time. We usually come up here on the weekends in the winter and we hike in the summer.”
Smiling, she set the two cups of hot water down on the small kitchen table.
Danik tried not to look shocked. Going out with women who had boyfriends or husbands was simply not his thing and it was one of those touchy subjects he was carefully trying to avoid.
“Your boyfriend? You’re worried about my health with coffee and cigarettes and you’ve got a boyfriend roaming around out there somewhere? We’re out of here! I do a lot of shit, but I don’t do this kind of shit. This is not only wrong, it could be fatal!”
“Calm down, Jack! Paul is on a business trip to Wenatchee, and besides, we’re not doing anything wrong. I’m just with a friend on a motorcycle ride for the afternoon. There’s nothing wrong with that!”
“Paul, huh? Paul and Paula! That’s cute! Just like that group from the sixties. Pack it up, kiddo! We’re out of here, right now!”
Paula tried to offer up an explanation but Jack wasn’t buying any of it. He made sure the fire was out and waited while Paula stashed the key away. Then he gave Paula a ride back down the mountain she wouldn’t soon forget. The ride that had taken two hours coming up took only an hour and fifteen minutes going back. He was very upset and she knew it.
Danik dropped her off at her car in the restaurant parking lot.
“Jack, please listen to me!”
He stopped her before she could get started.
“I don’t think there’s anything to listen to or talk about. You’re a nice person. I’m just not into doing shit like this and that’s it. Maybe someday you won’t have a boyfriend. That’d be different, but until then, no way! I’ll see you later.”
Paula tried again to convince Jack everything was okay but Jack wasn’t buying into it. There was something about infidelity that ignited things inside him.
Jack put his helmet on, pushed the starter button and the black Harley roared to life as he revved it a few times.
Paula stood silently, in seemed disbelief, as Jack and the Harley thundered off.
* * *
Danik suddenly came to full consciousness and shook his head, still starring at the lake.
I should’ve known, ten years ago this would happen if I got involved with her. What a dumb shit you are Danik!
He slipped deeper into thought, the whole ugly mess unfolding in his mind.
