A Family Summer
Copyright© 2026 by Sonarflash2026
Chapter 1
Even for August, water in the mountain lake remained icy. Sixteen, lithe and athletic, Dana clambered up a ladder on the lodge’s floating dock, certain that one more dive would push her limit. Dana knew she wasn’t indestructible. She settled on burlap decking, shivering. After squeezing out short, wavy black hair, she pulled a dry beach towel around shoulders, glad that bright summer sunlight was taking the chill off her body.
Moments before, vehicle sounds had caught her attention. Gradually swelling, plumes of dust appeared in a southern notch between hills. First, a large van appeared, climbing out of the canyon, rounding a fringe of trees near the outflow creek. Next, there was a bright red Ford Yukon, then a car nearly obscured by roiling dust. Well back in the cavalcade, a big motor home lumbered into view and started around the lake. Finally, as dust settled, a crew-cab pickup trailing a large fifth wheel brought up the rear.
Dana spotted racks loaded with dirt bikes and winced at thought of their noise.
“So much for peace and quiet,” the teenager muttered, grimmacing and huffing out an exasperated breath.
She watched the line of vehicles with mixed emotions, glad only that a fairly steady breeze was coming out of the north, blowing dust away from the lake, not towards the old lodge and log cabins.
Dana sighed, muttering, “now my vacation is shot to hell. Everything gets crowded, complicated and confused.” Despite liking some of her relatives, Dana had one particular cousin in mind. “Shit! Now, I’ll have to put up with Melinda!”
Dana rose to her feet, wrapping herself in a dry beach towel, pondering the invasion.
‘A new step-aunt, with her older daughter,”Dana thought, mentally reviewing the list. a gaggle of cousins and step-cousins, pedantic Uncle Dan, and of course, cousin Melinda with her big boobs’
Dana cinched the towel around her torso, concealing anything revealed by her bikini.
‘Uncles, aunts, cousins, half cousins and blended families!’ she thought, groaning. ‘Lord help me.’ She gave a resigned shrug. ‘If it gets unbearable, I’ll slip off around the lake to my secret refuge for a few nights of peace and quiet.’
Resigned to the inevitable, she crossed the floating dock barefoot, heading for the main lodge. There, she avoided gathering with the family, stepping up onto the porch, leaning on a rail, trying for inconspicuous.
Though bunching up, slowing down, all the vehicles were still kicking up a trail of dust. One by one, they passed between fence posts, clattering over the rods of a metal cattle guard. A leathery old ranch hand directed traffic, waving the line of vehicles away from the lodge and stables, onto a parking area behind a string of weathered, lakeside log cabins.
The SUV parked, doors sliding open, small, energetic boys appearing. A willowy, mature beauty with short, ash-blond hair smiled at Dana’s father. Tuning out her greetings, complaints about the terrible road and choking dust, Dana focused on the lumbering motor home as it rolled to a stop. After a minute, the door opened. Her Uncle Dan stepped out. Her dad’s brother was followed by a teenage replica of the attractive woman. Dana immediately noted the older girl glance about with an exaggerated look of dismay. Eyes going wide, the young woman crinkled her nose, theatrically taking in their surroundings. Close by, two small girls and two younger boys rushed off with her little brother to see the horses. Dan gave her father a quick hug. His new wife gave him a kiss on the cheek. Soon, a confusion of adults and teenagers were laughing, milling between lodge and vehicles.
Her cousin Melinda emerged from the motor home and joined them, ostentatiously flinging arms around Dana’s father, giving him a smacking kiss. Dana rolled her eyes at Melinda’s phoney display.
Finally the big crew-cab pickup and fifth wheel eased into place. Hair prickling up her nape, Dana grew alert. She caught a breath, experiencing an almost imperceptible, inner shift. She waited, knowing without total understanding that her sixth sense was gathering force. Beyond her control, she knew that one indefinable moment would affect what remained of her summer holiday.
Her father was turning, looking her way, about to call her off the porch when it happened.
Dana stared at the pickup. The driver’s door opened. Summer blonde hair a mess, eyes bleary, a young man appeared. He circled the truck, stretching expansively, only just covering a wide mouth of perfect teeth as he yawned.
Across the expanse of yard, leaf-green eyes met Dana’s and time stopped. She knew her father was going to call her off the porch. Her new Aunt Grace would gush, uttering polite social inanities. Dana even knew what each would say, and that the older girl would give her a swift, dismissive glance. Dana experienced the familiar tingling jolt at her core with a rippling expansion of psychic awareness. A moment of ‘déjà vu’ enfolded her. As in a dream, she could hear the shaggy blonde young man with green eyes comment about his sister’s rudeness, offer his hand and say, “Hi, my name is Ken.” She could see his glance over the beach towel covering her body, his smile and appreciative grin.
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