Read Online Hydraulic Level Five (1) by Sarah Latchaw, Gondolier - Free Book Online Page A

man he’d grown into, from the deep-feeling boy I’d once known.
    I dropped the towels on the counter of Samuel’s bathroom and made my way back through his room. I’d been in here a few times since we split. Instead of hurting, it was strangely comforting—a warm, familiar embrace. His encased fossil collections, countless Moleskine notebooks, a shelf full of smudged baseball trophies. His high school letter jacket was still in his closet, hanging in a plastic dry-cleaning bag next to a row of grown-up suits, slacks, and dress shirts. He’d only worn it once or twice. While he’d been a star left-fielder and one of the best base runners on Lyons High’s varsity baseball team, he wasn’t a letter jacket kind of guy, and favored a black ski coat because I told him it made his shoulders look sexy.
    I shouldn’t have snooped, but a piece of me was caulked in the walls of this room. There was a five-by-seven picture frame lying face down on his desk: his high school graduation. Samuel was in a cap and gown, grinning for the camera. I was piggy-backing behind him, arms wrapped around his neck, my cheek pressed next to his. The picture had once been in our apartment after we married. I thought he’d taken it with him to New York, but he must have abandoned it to his parents, probably along with a pile of other mementos.
    I’d heard Danita turn off the shower down the hall a while ago and probably should have cleared out right then. But something caught my eye on Samuel’s desk—a pile of papers, typed and marked up in his handwriting. A single phrase jumped out, and so did my heart: Planet Bluegrass . What the heck? A brief scan told me it was a draft chapter of his writing, with the heading “Hydraulic Level Five”…a whitewater story?
    A throat cleared behind me. I dropped the page, spinning around to see Danita in the doorway, arms crossed. Her damp hair curled around her shoulders, but she was dressed and ready to hit the trails.
    “Looking for something?” The corners of her mouth twitched.
    So busted. “Nope! Just dropping off towels.” She swatted my tush as I swept by, and I yelped.
    “You’re bad, Kaye. Come on, there’s nothing in here you haven’t seen before.”
    Nothing, except for Samuel’s draft chapter that had something to do with Planet Bluegrass and whitewater hydraulics. It was enough of a mystery to stir my nosiness. Already, my brain plotted ways to get another peek at that manuscript…
    “You’re awfully quiet.”
    Sofia’s voice pulled me out of my reflection. I took in our surroundings and was surprised to see we were already at the old McGraw Ranch, a hundred-year-old home surrounded by meadow and gnarled pine trees. She’d huffed alongside me for a good hour, face flushed and glistening, and I hadn’t been stimulating company.
    “Sorry. Just enjoying nature.”
    We walked around to the front of the old wood cabin and found a porch. Dropping our packs, we settled against the wall while the other three wandered through the tall grass, exploring the site. I was alone with Sofia, and sudden inspiration struck. Maybe she would be more forthcoming than Samuel. I settled for directness.
    “Sofia, why do you believe Samuel left our marriage?”
    She frowned, torn. “That’s for you and Samuel to discuss, mi corazón .”
    “But I want to know what you believe.”
    “Why are you asking this now, after all these years?”
    I avoided Sofia’s warm eyes, fiddling with my very fascinating shoelaces. “I’ve thought a lot about his motives, lately, because of the new book, and the wedding, and…and Caroline. She’s Mexican-American, like your family. I know how passionate Alonso is about preserving your heritage, and it would be a lot easier for her to understand and to fit in…”
    “Oh, Kaye, asking me this puts me in an extremely difficult position, do you see?” She stooped over and plucked a blade of grass, wrapping it around her fingertips. “Alonso can