Tomahawk'd Part 1

Tomahawk'd.

by Diane S Bauden.

DEDICATION.

For Amy.

Perhaps this is the me you see J.

Acknowledgments.

A very big thank you to Intaglio for giving my girls a good home. I think we're going to be very happy here. To Day and Ruth, thanks for cleaning up my messes. To Ann, thanks for being my sounding board. To all of my loyal readers who waited patiently for my muse to return, you guys rock!

To my mom and dad, if it weren't for our summer vacations together, I'd never have this place in my heart. I'm so grateful and miss you terribly. - #7.

Chapter One.

1985 The NorthwoodsIslandCity.

The crunch of tires on the pebbled drive alerted the cabin's young occupant of an arrival. Her two excited eyes, one blue and one greenish-brown, appeared in the cabin window and watched a small blue Toyota pull into a parking s.p.a.ce. The cabin's young occupant, a skinny, dark-haired girl, observed as a family emerged slowly from the vehicle.

Turning from the window, Jackson Thomas shouted to her aunt, "Jackie, they're here! They're here!"

Arriving quickly in response to the call, Jackie Thomas patted her niece's shoulders as they both looked out the window at her latest guests.

Hands resting on the windowsill, Jackson looked on restlessly as a man and woman stepped out of the car and walked back to the now open trunk. She was about to look away when the rear door opened and revealed a girl, about her age, who got out of the backseat. Sighing unknowingly, she watched closely as the girl's parents handed her a teddy bear suitcase and a pillow.

Chuckling at her niece's emotion Jackie said, "Looks like you'll have someone to play with after all, Jack."

The girl nodded enthusiastically, looking up and smiling at the older version of herself, then turning her attention back to her potential playmate.

The little blond girl was smiling at something her father said then started to look around the property. Apparently mystified by all the tall trees, young Erin Hawkins' feet moved slowly in a circle as her head tilted back as far as humanly possible.

"Erin, honey, be careful. Watch where you're going," her mother warned.

"Yeah, Peanut, you look like a Pez dispenser gone wrong."

"Daddy!" Erin cried, swinging her head around toward her father then following that with a long, drawn out "Mom" as she looked to her mother for a.s.sistance.

Stifling a laugh, Katie Hawkin's swatted her husband's arm. "Joe, be nice. We just got here. G.o.d knows after six hours in the car, the last thing she needs is more ribbing from you."

"Sorry, Peanut." He tweaked her nose. Looking to his wife, he continued, "Let's check in and find our cabin."

The family grabbed the lightest of their bags and headed toward the main cabin. Only their footsteps were heard as they followed the wooded path that led to the main office of The Northwoods Island City, not far from the parking lot. As they walked, the Hawkins took in the scenery reverently, not wanting to disturb any denizen of the gorgeous landscape and the nature surrounding them. Everywhere wildflowers were in full bloom of purples and oranges. The fragrance in the air was nearly overwhelming The sound of waves. .h.i.tting the sh.o.r.e could be heard from not too far off as they reached the cabin that housed the office. Not seeing a doorbell, Joe knocked on the screen door.

Jackie opened the door with a welcoming smile on her face. "Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins?"

Joe and Katie smiled back at their hostess and nodded. "I'm Katie Hawkins and this is my husband, Joe, and our..." She looked back to find that Erin was transfixed by a bird's nest in one of the trees close to the cabin. Smiling, she finished, "That's Erin, our daughter."

"Nice to meet you all. Welcome to the IslandCity." Jackie extended her hand. "I'm Jacqueline Thomas, but please call me Jackie. I hope you enjoy your stay. You picked a great time to visit."

Joe's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Why's that?"

"It's still too early to be considered fall, but late enough that the seasonal tourists aren't hanging around. There are a number of water shows still happening this week, but you'll have a lot of the lake to yourselves most of the time," she explained as Jackson inched her way to the door.

Joe looked down to see mismatched eyes looking back at him. He was amused at her cutoff jean shorts and dirty knees. "And who are you, little lady?"

Standing up proudly, Jackson stretched out her hand in imitation of her aunt. "I'm Jackson Thomas, sir. It's nice to meet you."

Her broad smile made Joe grin. When she repeated her actions with Katie, the woman's expression mirrored her husband's.

"Well, Jackson, it's nice to meet you, as well." Joe looked to Jackie. "Your daughter?"

"No, thank G.o.d!" she said in a kidding tone. Receiving an outraged look, she patted the girl's head. "Jack's my niece."

Two sets of eyebrows raised in tandem. Katie said, "You look so much alike, I would've thought you were her mother."

The look of sadness that flitted over Jackie's face was quickly masked. "I get that a lot. Her mom and I were identical twins." She watched as Jackson eyed the smaller girl in pink overall shorts who was still enthralled with the bird's nest.

Catching the past tense, Katie said softly, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

Silence settled in like an unwanted guest and both parties felt the comfort level drop. Before it became protracted, Jackie smiled and said, "Why don't I show you to your cabin?"

Grateful for the change of subject, the pair grabbed their bags and moved out of the way as Jackie and Jackson stepped outside.

"You'll be in cabin six. It's one of the only cabins with air conditioning. With the scorchers we've been having, I'm sure it'll be welcome. Even this close to the lake, the days have been awful and the nights not much better."

Joe nodded his appreciation. Turning to his daughter, he called out, "Hey, Erin, come on! We're gonna find our cabin."

Jackson turned to him with a charming smile. "I'll show her where it is, sir."

Grinning at her niece, Jackie said, "She's a regular eleven-year-old Welcome Wagon. She knows this place better than I do."

"Okay, Erin, listen to Jackson, okay?" Joe picked up her discarded suitcase and pillow. Chuckling to themselves, Erin's parents turned to follow as Jackie led the way to their home for the next month.

From her spot near the nest Erin shouted out, "Okay, Dad." She turned to look at Jackson for the first time and immediately noticed her eyes. "Wow!"

Looking around her for the cause of Erin's excitement but finding none, Jackson was confused. "What? What is it?"

Erin hesitantly reached for the taller girl's hands. "Your eyes! How did you do that?" Her voice was awe-filled as she stared shamelessly into the objects of her attention.

Jackson grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, them. Well," she began the story her aunt had told her, "I was lying down one day on the gra.s.s over there..." She stopped and pointed in the direction of the land in front of the lake. "I fell asleep on my side. While I was sleeping, this eye turned into the color of the sky above it," she said, pointing to her right eye, "and this one turned into the color of the ground below it." Jackson laughed at the girl's amazed expression.

A look of wonder on her face, Erin studied the different colored orbs. "Like magic!"

"Yeah, something like that." She grinned at the younger girl. "So, you're Erin?"

Erin realized she hadn't introduced herself to her new friend. Letting go of Jackson's hands, she said, "Yep, my name is Erin. What's yours again?"

"Jackson."

"What kinda name is that for a girl?"

Jack sighed and put her arm around Erin's shoulders. "Let's go find your cabin. I'll tell you some other time."

"Come on, tell me," Erin prodded. "I can keep a secret if it's a special story." She looked up at Jackson with sincerity.

Charmed beyond measure, Jackson found herself agreeing. "Okay, I'll tell you. I was named after my grandpa, Jackson Thomas. My Aunt Jackie was supposed to be a boy and wasn't, so they named her Jacqueline. Then, my mom thought I was gonna be a boy so she named me after him, too. When I popped out, it was pretty obvious I was a girl, but they didn't change my name. I'm kinda like Jackson the second! It's a family thing." She shrugged her shoulders. "I know it's not a regular girl's name, but it's still pretty neat." She smiled.

"That is really neat!"

"So can we go and find your cabin now, shrimp?" she teased.

"Hey!" Erin ducked away from the taller girl's arm. "I'm not a shrimp! You're just a...a big tree!" A pout forming on her lips, Erin crossed her arms over her chest.

Hiding her amus.e.m.e.nt at the flummoxed young girl, Jack replied, "Okay, so what should I call you then, if you aren't a shrimp?"

Confused, Erin replied, "Call me Erin."

Stroking her chin in thought, Jackson shook her head. "You don't look like an Erin. What's your last name?"

"Haw...Hawkins," she stuttered, not understanding how she didn't look like an Erin. She was Erin.

"How about I call you Hawk? We've got some hawks that fly around here sometimes. I think they're really cool."

Standing taller, Erin decided that she liked the name her new friend was suggesting. "I like Hawk." She bit her lip in thought. "Can I call you Jackie?"

"Um, no, that's my aunt's name. How about-"

"How about Jack?"

"Sure, shri...Hawk," she quickly amended, seeing the hurt look on Erin's face. Having corrected the moniker, she was graced with a beautiful smile from her younger companion. Seeing Erin's face light up convinced Jackson she would spend the whole month making Erin smile as much as possible. "Let's go find your folks." She put her arm around Erin's shoulders, only to have Erin grab her hand, pull it to her side and entwine their fingers as they skipped along toward cabin six.

"So, where do you live?" Jack asked "I live at two-five-two Forest Way, Paldeer, Illinois." Erin smiled with pride at being able to recite her address so quickly.

"I live here," Jack offered, gesturing around with her free hand.

"Wow, do you still have to go to school?" Erin looked at the lake. "This is vacation!"

Snorting a laugh, Jackson replied, "Of course, Hawk. I gotta learn stuff other than how to catch fish."

Eyes wide, the blond-haired girl asked, "Can you teach me how to catch fish?"

"Nothin' to it."

Jackson's confidence rea.s.sured Erin that she would indeed, much to her excitement, learn how to fish this summer. Erin squeezed Jackson's hand, antic.i.p.ating a fun-filled vacation with her new friend.

Joe and Katie Hawkins enjoyed the brief jaunt to cabin six with their hostess. They briefly walked along the waterfront before they reached their destination, with Jackie showing them the boathouse, fish house, and sandpit area.

Jackie Thomas was very proud of her resort and liked to talk about it to her guests. "My grandfather opened this resort over fifty years ago. I can't remember a time when I didn't love this place."

Katie smiled. "It's quite obvious that you love it very much. It's so serene and just...breathtaking. I can't believe it took us this long to come out here."

"If the fis.h.i.+ng is half as good as I've heard, I'll never want go back to work," Joe said with a nod.

Jackie looked sympathetically at Katie. "I'll just apologize now then if he quits his job."

"Oh, dear Lord, he can't quit. He's the boss!" Katie exclaimed, laughing.

Chuckling along with Katie, Jackie said, "Well then, I hope you've got good people taking care of things for you while you're here."

"Actually, we close the shop for a month at this time of year. It gives everyone a nice breather. Our clients know our schedule, so any pressing needs are taken care of before we shut down. It really works for everyone." Joe closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh air. His lungs seemed grateful of the reprieve from the pollution of the city. "Everyone comes back refreshed and ready to work hard. Our employee turnover is low because of it as well. It's a system my dad inst.i.tuted when he opened our doors. It just works."

Jackie regarded her new guests thoughtfully. Of average height, Joe had wonderfully warm green eyes, brown hair that had begun to thin, and a tiny bulge in his midsection. He seemed to be very kind. His wife had strawberry-blond hair and pale blue eyes, and was very thin. She also seemed kind. They were charming and witty, and Jackie thought they were very likeable indeed. "If everyone had policies like that, I think people would be much happier-kinda like that kindergarten nap rule, or three months off for summer vacation. Some things should just carry over into adulthood."

"Right on," Katie chimed, laughing along with her husband.

Jackie led them to the front door and ushered them inside. The couple smiled at the cla.s.sic charm of the cottage. Avocado green and mustard yellow tones were prevalent in the small square kitchen. An old yellow range and oven stood proudly in the center of the small counter with a window above it. The green refrigerator and the kitchen sink completed the L-shaped counter. Carpet of a red, black, and green plaid was laid throughout the cabin. Curtains that matched the green in the carpet hung on rods over every window. Joe sat on the gold couch and bounced a little to check for bad springs, while Katie was shown the bathroom, which had a shower, toilet, and sink with exposed pipes that led into the wall and floor.

Finally, Jackie led Katie into the main bedroom. Katie threw her bag onto the bed and called for Joe to bring in the others. "This is charming, Jackie. We're going to have a great time here."

Joe joined the two women and handed all but Erin's things to his wife. "Yeah, this place is great. I think the TV even has cable."

Katie rolled her eyes at Jackie, who smiled knowingly at her. Turning to Joe, she confirmed, "Yes, it's a recent upgrade here at the resort. There aren't that many channels available through our provider yet, but they've said they'll have over a hundred channels by the end of the year. Next year, we should have a huge lineup for you." She grinned at his wide-eyed expression.

"I'm sure I can guess your schedule this month, honey. Fis.h.i.+ng all day, and cras.h.i.+ng on the couch in front of the television set at night." She smirked as she put her hands on her tiny waist. "Am I close?"

Joe blushed at his wife's ability to read him. "Uh... uh..."

Katie cut off his stammering. "Mmhmm...that's what I thought."

Laughing at their comfortable banter, Jackie said, "Well, folks, if you need anything, pick up the phone and push pound, or just come on over to the office. Please enjoy your stay." As Jackie turned to leave, she remembered a detail she'd not mentioned, "Oh, and Joe? Your boat is docked in slip number four. It's the white and blue nineteen-foot Harbercraft. It's got a one hundred and fifty horsepower engine, so you'll be able to fish and ski if you want. LakeTomahawk offers many activities for you to enjoy. Oh, and we've also got a giant tube if you want to take Erin out on it. Jack can't get enough of tubing." Hearing her niece's footfalls, she opened the door to greet the girls. "Speak of the devil."