The Way Back

By Marilyn DeMars

Jody gets a tip as to the whereabouts of her long-lost brother, Don. Ever since he took off eight years ago, when he was nineteen and she fourteen, she's missed him and worried about him incessantly. Finding him now and bringing him back to their home in Winona, Minnesota becomes her obsession. She persuades her boss, Elliot, to take a break from his failing motel business and go with her on the up-north trip. Due to some unexpected circumstances, a simple plan turns desperate and crazy. Returning home does not prove to be everyone's solace. Besides the brother and sister each having a nagging past that won't leave them alone, and an uncertain future to face, Jody struggles to reestablish their once close sibling relationship. Unusual obstacles work in strange ways toward keeping all of them, Jody, Don, and Elliot, searching for resolutions toward stable and meaningful lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 30, 2003
• ISBN: 9781469728339

Marilyn DeMars

Marilyn DeMars lives in Crystal, Minnesota with her husband Dick. With her passion for writing, she always has another novel in the making.

Book preview

All Rights Reserved © 2003 by Marilyn M. DeMars

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

iUniverse, Inc.

For information address:

iUniverse, Inc.

2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100

Lincoln, NE 68512

www.iuniverse.com

Author’s photo

taken by Terry Bartle

Cover photo

taken by Marilyn DeMars

ISBN: 978-0-5952-9172-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4697-2833-9(eBook)

Contents

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 42

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER 45

CHAPTER 46

CHAPTER 47

CHAPTER 48

CHAPTER 49

CHAPTER 50

CHAPTER 51

CHAPTER 52

CHAPTER 53

CHAPTER 54

CHAPTER 55

CHAPTER 56

CHAPTER 57

CHAPTER 58

CHAPTER 59

CHAPTER 60

CHAPTER 61

CHAPTER 62

CHAPTER 63

CHAPTER 64

CHAPTER 65

To my husband, Dick… who lights the stars in my sky

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my husband, Dick, for his awesome editing help, a few good pushes in the right direction, and for loving this book as much as I do.

Thanks to my daughter, Terry, for her endless support, enthusiastic belief in this book, and for one adventurous trip to the Isabella River.

CHAPTER 1

The phone woke Jody Mitchell out of a sound sleep and sent her lunging across the bed toward the nightstand before even realizing what she was doing. She grabbed the receiver automatically. Hello?

Jody. It was a man’s voice she didn’t recognize.

The green numbers of the digital clock glowed in the dark. 11:37 PM. She sat up amidst her rumpled blanket, voiceless, frightened, heart pounding.

Jody, I know it’s late, but it’s important.

Though by now the guy sounded familiar, she still couldn’t put a name on him. She blinked her eyes, ran a hand through her hair, tried to think, sharpen her wit, stay calm.

Jody? Are you there? the voice asked urgently.

For whoever this was and whatever it was about, there was a distinct sense of trouble. So far she felt the safest keeping silent.

Jody, he said.

If only it were daytime instead of…

It’s Larry, your cousin Larry, the caller identified himself.

Larry. Knowing him, being related to him, wasn’t settling enough. Though he lived here in town, the two of them didn’t communicate often, and his calling now at this hour was way too strange. What’s wrong?

I know it’s late. Sorry. I’m at a bar in Myre and—

Myre? she questioned.

It’s up north beyond Two Harbors. Glen and I have been camping near here. This is our last night in the area before heading home to Winona and we stopped in for a few beers. I wanted to call and tell you right away that I ran into Don.

Jody felt as though she’d just had the wind knocked out of her. "Don? You saw Don?"

Yeah, Larry said in his own dismay. About an hour ago. Glen and I were coming in as he was going out. Don and I were suddenly face to face. We just stood gawking at each other without saying anything for about a minute. Then finally I said, ‘Is that you, Don?’ He nodded and said, ‘Hey, Larry.’ I asked if this was where he’d been hiding out for eight years. He didn’t answer. So then I go, ‘Hey, man, why don’t you come home? Because isn’t it about time? Glen and I are starting back first thing in the morning. You can come with us. I’d really like you to. I really think you should.’

And? Jody prompted.

He wasn’t for it.

What’d he say? What’d he—

He gave me that look. You know, that look of his, told me to piss off, then he left.

Jody dropped back against her pillows, feeling numb from the super fast rise and fall of hope that Larry just took her through regarding her long-lost brother. How dispiriting that the first word ever of Don, since he’d left home in an angry rage eight years ago, should only come like another harsh good-bye.

So what happened next, Larry? she asked, eager for anything more he could give her. Did you go after him?

Yeah, sure, I tried. Both me and Glen, we took off outside after him. But he was gone, disappeared just that fast.

How could he? Surely you would’ve—

There was no sign of him anywhere, believe me, Jody. Nothing, no one on the street or parking lot, no car racing off. He was as gone as if he’d only been an illusion.

Was he? Disappointment made her challenge Larry’s report.

Your brother was real, Jody. That’s why I’m calling. To let you know I saw him and spoke to him. After he took off I checked the phone book but he wasn’t listed. I questioned people here in the bar, but it’s like nobody knows nothin’ or aren’t sayin’ if they do, know what I mean? I lost him. Sorry. I had him but I lost him. Don still wants to be lost, that’s all I can make of it.

As always, Jody was left hanging between anger and hurt where her brother was concerned. Stupid! This is just so stupid! she said from her frustration. Only to add more softly, How’d he look? Did he seem okay?

"A little older, of course, otherwise pretty much the same as when any of us last saw him. Ornery. Still ornery. Sad. I thought his eyes looked sad. But I suppose it could’ve been from drinking. I could tell he’d been drinking, but he

wasn’t drunk."

Did he ask about me?

No. Like I told you, Jody, he barely said anything before he split. But hey, he’s right here in Minnesota. At least we know that much now.

I’m glad for that, she said, trying to let it be enough.

You okay? Larry asked, as if he knew, over the phone, that there were tears welling into her eyes.

She stared into the darkness and aloneness of her room. Not really. But I guess I have to be. How about you?

He gave a short laugh. Still in shock. I mean, figuring how long we’ve all been on the lookout for Don and then I go running smack into him in a remote little out-in-the-sticks place like this. Unbelievable.

Jody knew that if she’d been the one who had run into Don, he wouldn’t have gotten away.

A sigh from Larry indicated his own regret. I don’t know if he actually lives around here or is just passing through like me and Glen. I wish, Jody, that I could stay longer and hopefully meet up with him again and get more out of him, but I can’t. My schedule’s really tight. Glen and I have to make it back to Winona by tomorrow night, because the day after I’m booked on a flight to New York for a week-long business trip. I recently got this big promotion and I can’t—

Jody understood his limits. It’s okay.

I wish my news about Don could’ve been better, something more solid.

She deepened her breathing, trying to own up to the fact that the situation with Don might never get better. Sometimes…I don’t know…I just really feel like giving up on him.

But you won’t, Larry said.

A twitch of a smile slipped through Jody’s despair. You seem awfully certain about that.

I am. Because even though I don’t see you very often these days, little cousin, I know, like I’ve always known, that you’re a girl with guts.

Guts? She grimaced at the concept.

The kind that gets you what you want in life.

So far I have nothing, she said.

You’re young, Larry denoted, as if his being a couple years older than she made him so much wiser. Eventually you’ll get what you want, just wait and see.

Like my brother coming home?

Sure. Probably. That and a whole lot more.

Because of my guts?

It’s your power, kid. Use it. Whatever you want, you only have to go after.

Just like that?

Just like that.

Jody pulled her pajamad knees up to her chest, drawing herself into a tight little huddle. She wished she was as confident as Larry. But the fact was, most of the time the way of the world seemed too big and difficult for her to mess with.

You haven’t forgotten, have you, Jody, her cousin continued, how when you were ten you went after the neighborhood bully who stole your bike, fought him for it, and got it back all on your own.

I remember, she said, amazed that Larry still did.

You were one feisty little tomboy.

Well, that was then and this is now. I’m no longer ten, nor anywhere near that brave.

I’m just saying, Jody, to hang tough on whatever is important to you.

It took a moment for her brain to get the signal. Like…you think I should come up there and look for Don?

I don’t know. Maybe. Whatever.

Because it sounds like that’s what this call is about.

Why don’t you ask that feisty ten-year-old inside you what’s important to her and what she wants to do about it?

Sure, Jody scoffed.

Really, he said.

Like, she’s still here?

Isn’t she? Larry returned the question, making it seem like the answer.

Myre, she verified his location.

Yeah.

I don’t know, Larry. Her free hand tucked some of her dark hair behind one ear. She squiggled her toes against the sheets, blinked her brown eyes, felt a whole new wave of panic swelling inside her. I just don’t know.

Yeah, well, it’s a shock, that’s for sure. Glen and I, we’ll probably hang around here for another half hour or so then go back to our campsite. Got a lot of driving ahead of us tomorrow and need to get some sleep. If I should get anything more on Don, I’ll call you back. Otherwise…hey, how about if you and I get together when I get back from New York?

Let’s do that, she said.

Okay, great, we will. Take care, Jody.

You, too.

Yeah. See ya.

Thanks for calling. See ya, Larry.

Jody hung up, left her room, and walked down the hall past the doorways of the two other bedrooms. She felt more alone than ever now in the old family house, hearing that Don had been seen but still had such a hostile attitude toward coming back.

The steps creaked beneath her bare feet as she descended to the foyer. The banister wobbled when she took it, and her hand flinched at the instant reminder of its unstable condition. The foyer nightlight, on the side table near the front door, shone dimly into the living room. Jody strolled about aimlessly, her mind spinning with the news of Don.

It was hard, living with the agony of having a fugitive brother. She’d spent eight years of her young life hating how he’d taken off, but nonetheless forgiving him. Missing all they might have had together as brother and sister. Longing to reunite with him, but heartsick that might never happen. Worrying continually, praying for him to be okay. Myre…tonight he’d been spotted in a place called Myre.

She lifted a family portrait off a shelf and tilted it into the faint light. She studied the foursome. The mother, dad, brother, and sister. Everyone was smiling happily. But it was soon after that time that her mother had gotten sick and died from a swift, cruel illness. Jody’d been seven, Don twelve.

She picked up another picture off the end table beside the couch. It was of Don at age nineteen, the last picture taken of him before he’d left, a very solemn look on his handsome face. He hadn’t been pleased that day, at her coming around the corner with her camera and catching him sitting on the front porch in his funk mood. He yelled at her for invading his privacy. And it left her wondering so many times after if she’d been one of his reason’s for leaving home. Strange, how she both hated and cherished this photo. I’m sorry, she whispered, setting it back on the table.

Jody was twenty-two now and Don twenty-seven. Unbelievable, how time passed. Unbelievable, how while she grew older and ought to be thinking about some sort of future for herself, she only seemed to be going around and around in hopeless circles connected to her past. She couldn’t begin to imagine what Don might be doing with his life.

It was stuffy in the living room. She went to the side window, turned the lock, tried to lift it. Nothing. She gritted her teeth and tried again. Nothing.

Stupid window! She pounded the frame with the heel of her hand. Finally she managed to budge the window up a few inches.

The sweet night air drifted in through the scant opening, rewarding her effort. She inhaled deeply, gratifyingly. The breeze outside danced gently through her next-door neighbor’s maple tree that hung part way over the property line fence, and moonlight sifted softly through the leaves.

Life wasn’t easy for Jody, losing her mother so young, then her brother, then her dad only last year. When Fred Mitchell died, there’d been no way for Jody to get in touch with Don. Besides her aloneness and sadness, she agonized over and over how Don could disassociate himself like that from his family. Didn’t he have a heart? Conscience? Didn’t he ever think how much she needed him? She’d been left with a lot to handle all by herself, legal stuff, financial stuff, household stuff, emotional stuff. She needed him. He was her brother. He belonged home.

Suddenly hitting like a bolt of lightning, Jody felt the feisty ten-year-old come alive within her, deciding that she was going to go find Don and bring him back.

She flicked on the desk light just long enough to dial a number, then turned it back off. Standing in the dark, gazing out the window at the night, she waited for an answer.

On the third ring, a groggy voice snarled, Yeah.

Elliot, it’s me. I can’t sleep, she told the guy who owned the motel where she worked. He lived at the motel in room number one, adjoining the office. She could do this to him because he was more than just a boss. He was a good friend, her best friend.

You woke me up to share that with me? Gee, thanks. The occasional gruffness that sprang from Elliot Treggor meant nothing. It was only his manly attempt to cover the teddy bear image he was stuck with.

I won’t be in tomorrow, she said. I’m leaving town.

What? Huh? What’re you talking about? Jody? Wait a minute…gimme a chance to get my senses here, okay? Jeez.

She looked out the window again, allowing Elliot some time. Listening to the wispy rustle of leaves helped soothe her impatient wait.

When she figured Elliot was awake enough to handle it, she said, I’m going to drive up to Myre to look for Don.

You…you know where he is? Elliot was now awake, but no less muddled.

I got a phone call from my cousin Larry. He saw Don tonight in Myre.

He did? Really?

They ran into each other accidentally.

Amazing. And your cousin…he found out stuff? They talked?

Not much. Don didn’t say much at all. He basically told Larry to piss off, and then he split.

What is it with that brother of yours?

I don’t know, she said dismally. But I aim to find out soon as I find him.

So you’re— Elliot interrupted himself with a moan. Where the hell is Myre?

Somewhere up past Two Harbors. I’ve got to go, Elliot. In all these years I’ve never had a clue where Don might be. Now that I’ve got one, I’ve got to act on it. You can get by without me for a—

No. I mean, yeah, sure, the motel can manage without you, but no, you’re not going off alone like that.

I didn’t call to have you try and talk me out of this, I just called to let you know that I’m going.

Jody. No. Slow down. Elliot’s words came faster and louder. We’ll talk about this in the morning.

It’s already morning. I’m leaving.

No! I can’t let you do that.

Let? She was partly amused, partly annoyed.

You’re a kid. You—

Right, I’m ten years old and madder’n hell.

Huh? There was no way he understood that.

It’s time Don came home.

According to you.

I’m going to go get him, Elliot, she said in a that’s that tone.

Look, Jody, you owe me more than a phone call in the middle of the night about this. Come to the motel, we’ll have coffee and talk. At least promise me that before you take off, okay?

I have a lot to do and I—

Please.

It won’t do any good for me to—

Jody. His desperation reached the point of hers.

She blew a puff of air. Okay.

Good, he said, notably relieved. Let’s make it a few hours, like after we both get a little more sleep. Okay?

But, I—

App, app, he said as a reminder for her to slow down.

She agreed to the get together and hung up.

Still at the window, she took an endearing look at the house next door. There was a light in the kitchen. Matthew, who was eighty-five and often had trouble sleeping nights, was likely fixing his cure-all cup of warm milk. Jody hated warm milk but took some comfort of her own in simply finding that he, too, was up at this very same hour. She watched the shadowy figure move back and forth between the counter and stove several times before sitting down to the table. And then he was still except for the periodic lift of his cup.

When Jody’s eyes eventually grew bleary from staring across the way at Matthew, she lifted her gaze upward to the open patch of black sky that stretched north in the promising direction of Myre.

CHAPTER 2

It was a beautiful summer morning. Sixty-four, low dew point, the rising sun slanting between trees and buildings like an affirmation of goodness. The Treggor Motel was ordinarily a twenty minute drive from Jody’s house, though possibly fifteen as she drove today. The wind through her Reliant’s open window ruffled her dark hair. An upbeat song played on the radio. Showered, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt, and on her way to talk to Elliot, she felt really good despite not having slept more than three hours last night. After her late phone calls with Larry and Elliot, she’d curled up in a living room chair with an afghan over her and only dozed sporadically between her new and surging expectations of finding Don.

Three months ago, in the line of progress, the town of Winona completed a major redesigning of Highway 64. More lanes were added and unduly twists and bends eliminated, ultimately allowing the usual heavy east-west traffic to flow more smoothly and safely.

The Treggor Motel, unfortunately, was now left sitting back along the cropped off old stretch of Highway 64, out of sight and almost out of commission. It was a small motel, ten rooms in a row. Along with its decline in business, its appearance was slipping as well. Spreading weeds were choking the grass, windows were filmy, paint was peeling, and the front name sign hung faded and crooked. It was hard to figure Elliot Treggor’s precise feelings toward the motel these days, because while he showed no desire for bringing it back to life again, neither was he willing to let it go.

He was in the office when Jody walked in, sitting on the stool behind the counter, sipping a mug of coffee. Hey, he greeted her.

Hey, she said, going directly over to inspect the register book that was lying open before him. Nobody again last night, she observed, irked but not surprised.

Elliot cracked a laugh. Yeah, we’re on a roll…three days in a row without a guest. He was thirty-six, with slightly graying dark hair and a few extra pounds on his mere five six frame. He was funny, caring, sweet, and generous except for not having paid his employees in two weeks.

Jody pursed her mouth and slammed the register cover shut purposely hard. Having shared in the running of the Treggor as much as she had over the past two years, it pained her to watch it die. She knew it was painful for Elliot, too, even though his feelings about it always seemed to reel with more wisecracks than recovery tactics.

You should be out there mowing the lawn, she said, motioning through the dingy front window.

Yeah…I know… he agreed lazily. Tell you what, stay home from this trip you’re carrying on about and I’ll let you mow it.

I’ll mow it first, if you want me to, she said seriously to his kidding, but then I’m definitely leaving for Myre.

Elliot poured coffee into the other mug and slid it across the counter toward her.

No thanks, she said.

But you like my coffee, he said.

She jingled her car keys. I just came to hear what you have to say, then I’m going back home to pack. So…?

Elliot took another drink from his mug. So this trip, then that means you’ve actually got Don’s address?

Jody stilled her keys and rolled her eyes. Not exactly.

But you said Myre, your cousin saw him in Myre, wherever that is.

I told you, it’s somewhere up past Two Harbors. Larry saw Don there, yeah, but he wasn’t sure if he actually lives there or was just traveling through.

Great, Elliot said like a strike against hope.

Larry would’ve stayed and tried to find him again, but he’s scheduled to fly to New York on business tomorrow. I thought about this, Elliot. It’s something I have to do. I have to go up there and find Don. I have to.

Elliot nodded skeptically. And when you find him, if you do, then what?

I’ll bring him back here with me.

He knows your address, Jody. Why do you suppose, in all this time, that he’s never come home on his own?

I don’t know. She blinked to keep back the tears burning behind her eyes, and stuck her hands on her hips. But that’s what I’m going to find out.

You’ve got money to make this trip? Elliot asked doubtingly. With what I’m paying, or rather not paying you?"

It won’t cost that much. Gas for the car and—

I don’t like it. Elliot slipped off the stool and came out from behind the counter, flapping his hands in the air as if he were shooing away her plan. Your wanting to go off on your own like this to some unbeknownst place called Myre, looking for someone who obviously doesn’t want to be found.

I’ll be okay, the ten-year-old within Jody argued the adult. I’m determined. And determination makes one strong.

It can also make one crazy. Jody, Jody, come on… Elliot’s caring reeked of warning, don’t do this. He stood before her, and in their sameness of height their eyes met straight on and earnestly.

I’m not crazy, she said.

Elliot turned up a debatable grin. You’ve never driven more than twenty miles outside of Winona.

That doesn’t mean I can’t. She spun away from him and headed for the door.

I’ll see you when I get back.

Elliot caught her by the arm. Whoa! I can’t let you do this.

Jody gave him another moment, another choice. Then go with me.

You’re kidding, he jeered. But in the next moment decided, Okay, you’re not kidding. But you are forgetting that I’ve got this motel to run.

She glanced from left to right at the small, inert office and gave a shrug. What’s to run?

Elliot saw more. We might get customers. I have to be here.

Tom and Rose can watch it for you, she suggested of the Rissens, the married couple in their sixties who worked in short intermingled shifts with her and Elliot."

I can’t afford them full time, Elliot said.

They’d probably baby sit the place for nothing if you asked them.

He chuckled at the truth of it. Yeah, probably, but I can’t ask.

Then close the place down. Just close it down for a couple days.

Elliot held his head between his hands and moaned. You’ve got all the answers, don’t you?

No, not all of them.

Jody, Jody…I’m the only one you’ve got looking out for you, and you know how much I care about you.

I know, she said appreciatively.

Therefore, I just can’t let you—

I’m going! With or without you. So make up your mind, which will it be, Elliot. She started toward the door again.

All right! he barked.

Jody spun around and went back to throw her arms about his neck. Thank you, Elliot! Thank you! This means the world to me! I love you!

Yeah, yeah, he said modestly, as if the force by which he was doing this hardly deserved any merit.

Jody was ecstatic that he was going and didn’t mind that his heart wasn’t as into it as hers. Pack a bag and I’ll—

Whoa! He raised his hands in the air. I thought this was going to be a quick trip…just a matter of going there, getting Don, and coming right back.

Just in case, she reasoned. We won’t stay any longer than necessary, but we’ll have a change of clothes along just in case.

Elliot gave in reluctantly. Yeah…sure…okay…an extra pair of socks and a clean shirt, what the heck. So okay, uh, let’s say I pick you up at seven tomorrow morning.

She narrowed her eyes at him. We’re going today. I’m driving.

Tomorrow, he argued. And I’m driving.

Jody offered a compromise. You can drive, but we leave today.

Elliot chuckled at her shrewdness.

I mean it, she said. We’re leaving today. It has to be today.

Okay, okay. I’ll pick you up at one.

Ten.

Noon.

Ten-thirty.

Eleven! he said with the sound of finality.

Okay. Jody simmered to the fact that he was at least going and a definite plan was in effect. Think about mowing the lawn first, she said on her way out.

The door swung shut on an indistinguishable mumble from Elliot.

Matthew was in his front yard watering flowers and shrubs when Jody arrived home and pulled into her driveway. Everything okay, Jody? he called as she stepped out of her car.

Yeah, sure, Matthew. She strolled toward the neighbor she dearly adored.

He was a tall, thin, slow-moving man who almost always wore an old red cardigan sweater and spoke with a chopped-up Jimmy-Stewart sort of drawl. Well, uh…seeing you home at this time of day, it, uh…scared me a little.

Ever since Jody could remember, Matthew had been like a grandfather to her. She could not have loved a real grandfather more, had she ever known any. But there had never been one for her on either side of her family. Only Matthew.

I came home to pack, she said cheerfully. I’m going on a trip.

He turned off the hose to lend her his full attention. Trip?

Yes, was all she could say about it. Though she was