Read Online The Wildman by Rick Hautala - Free Book Online

had once been. The bottom line was, when they were kids, even though he and Evan had shared a deep and, at least they said so at the time, lasting friendship—
    BFF.
    — it had been so long ago it felt like it had happened to someone else.
    He had no idea who this person was. Looking at him carefully now, Jeff thought Evan could be just about anybody. It took a real stretch of imagination to see the person Evan had once been. Jeff wondered if he had changed as much in Evan’s eyes. He didn’t feel much different, but you never knew …
    “ Well … one thing’s still the same,” Jeff said.
    Evan shot him a quizzical look as he leaned into the trunk and grabbed some bags of groceries.
    What’s that?”
    “ None of the other guys bothered to show up to help. Are they still the same old lazy crew?”
    Evan indicated the boat tied up to the dock.
    “ Boat’s too small for all of us at once, anyway, not with all your stuff. When we leave on Sunday, we’ll have to ferry people and luggage back and forth.”
    “ Just like the old days,” Jeff said with a grin.
    “ Yeah … Just like the old days.”
    It took them a couple of trips from the car to the dock to get all of Jeff’s supplies and luggage loaded into the boat. As the sun started to set, the wind picked up, carrying with it a biting chill. Jeff was glad he had packed some winter clothes. All he could think about was how he was probably going to freeze his sorry ass off, trying to sleep tonight.
    Just like the old days, indeed …
    Finally, once the boat was loaded, Evan fired up the engine, and Jeff cast off. He was glad he sat back down right away because Evan gunned the engine and cut a couple of sharp curves that would have thrown him overboard if he hadn’t been sitting.
    It wasn’t long before the pounding of the boat on the water got to Jeff. He definitely didn’t have his sea legs back—if he’d ever had them. Gripping the gunwales, he narrowed his eyes against the wind as Evan opened up the engine, pushing it as hard as he could.
    Jeff didn’t see any point in trying to carry on a conversation with the boat’s engine whining so loudly and the cold wind whistling like a banshee in his ears. He felt self-conscious, knowing Evan, who was at the back of the boat, couldn’t help but look at his back.
    Maybe he was studying Jeff the way Jeff had looked at him, trying to see his childhood friend in this man he didn’t really know.
    Maybe he was trying to dig past all the years and see the little boy Jeff had been back then.
    Or maybe he was studying him the way he was today, trying to figure out what kind of person he was.
    With the cold wind tearing at his face, making tears stream from his eyes, Jeff stared straight ahead and watched as they approached the camp. A flood of memories swept through him as he scanned the shore from left to right. It struck him as funny how the horizon hadn’t changed a bit after all in these years. There were the same sloping hills to the west and the same towering pines.
    Some things never change, he thought, or, if they do, it’s at a pace too slow for anyone to notice.
    Further out on the lake, the water was a lot choppier. It banged the bottom of the boat hard enough to rattle Jeff’s teeth, but he kept his jaw clenched tightly. It wasn’t long before the chill worked its way into his bones.
    When they were more than halfway to the island, Evan said something that Jeff couldn’t hear above the roaring engine. Turning around and leaning closer, he shouted, “ What’s that? ”
    Evan smiled and, with a wave of one hand, indicated the shoreline to the right.
    “ This will all change soon,” he shouted. “This coming spring, we’ll break ground for the first houses and condos. Eventually, we’ll have tennis courts and a swimming pool.”
    “ Why do you need a swimming pool when the lake’s right here?” Jeff shouted.
    Evan either didn’t hear him or else was ignoring him, so Jeff smiled and nodded as if