120 days... (15 page)

Halting, she stepped up to him, and poked her finger in his chest. “Yeah, you’re not the first, but you’re here for who knows how long while you figure your life out. Once you’re done, you’re gone. I should have known better than to rely on you for anything.”

He grabbed her finger to stop her from poking at him and didn’t let go. “Listen here, lady, when I make a commitment, I stand by it. Sure I’m only here for a bit, but while I’m here, I give it my all.”

“You didn’t give it your all this morning.”

“There were extenuating circumstances.” He threw up his hands in frustration.

“Funny thing, I had those same other
circumstances
this morning too, yet I managed to make it here on time.”

“Samantha,” he said quietly. “Cut me some slack, I’ve never seen anyone die before, let alone someone who came here the same date as my brother. It was a difficult night.”

Her shoulders slumped and she looked down. “I know it was. It was hard for me too. They all are. But that doesn’t matter, what does is getting up and being here for the guests who are still living.” When she looked back up at him, her eyes were brimming with tears. “Think about it, Ethan, don’t you think they’d love to feel how bad you are today instead of the pain they live in? That’s what gets me out of bed every morning, no matter how shitty I feel, or how late I was up tending to another guest.”

She turned and disappeared into the shed, leaving him alone with his thoughts. She retuned shortly with something heavy wrapped in a cloth. “Here.” She handed it to him. “This is Patty’s handprint. Please add it to the wall.” Without another word, she turned and left him again.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled back the cloth to expose her small handprint. There were a few other guests who had died between Evan and Patty, but they’d be pretty close to each other on the wall. It made him wonder how many other people had come here as strangers, but ended up with a new friend. Sometimes, even though someone is only in your life for a few days, or weeks, they left a lasting impression on you. He’d always remember Patty and what she did for his brother, and how he was able to be there for her in the end.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he looked up and watched Sam’s figure getting smaller as she walked down the path toward the main house. She always seemed to be walking away from him. He wondered what would happen if she stopped and actually let him catch up to her. He knew no matter what happened in the future, she had already left such an impression on him that he’d never be the same. He shook his head, he was so different now from the man who first came here, so sure she was running a scam to get their money when they died. Ironically, he felt as if he had buried that person, and he was finally becoming the man he was destined to be.

He went into the shed, collected the cement and the tools he would need, then headed into the garden to add her handprint to the wall. Kneeling at the next open spot, he looked down and could see his brother’s handprint along with so many others. So many people were dealing with cancer, so many had lost the battle. He’d heard the stories from some of the guests, who didn’t have anyone, or their families didn’t want to deal with it and they were pushed aside with very little help. There was a fee to stay there, but not everyone could afford it. If they couldn’t, Samantha would still make sure they were welcomed and treated just like everyone else. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like, to be someone, who was alone in this world with no one to take care of them, having this heavy sickness hanging over their heads. Maybe not having enough money for medicine, food or even a place to live. To be able to come to Last Resort and not only have all of those things, but also love and laughter with a little bit of adventure if they wanted some would be a miracle to those guests.

Looking around the garden, he was amazed at how many butterflies flew around. He remembered what Sam had told him on the first day about the butterflies. Slowly, Ethan stood up and looked around. The garden was filled with them. There were hundreds. He contemplated if they were all guests, who had previously died and were up there to welcome Patty as one of them. His hand hesitated at his pocket, he wanted to pull his phone out to take a picture of it, but then he stopped himself. The moment felt bigger than him, bigger than any picture could be.

He turned his back on the butterflies and set about carefully hanging up her print, making sure it was straight. “I hope you know how much you helped me.” He placed his hand on hers for a moment before he stood and collected his tools to put them away. Restlessness thrummed through him. He looked out into the distance and toward the hill to Sam’s tree. No sooner had he headed in the direction and climbed the hill, when his unease calmed. He turned around and looked down over the property, his developer mind making calculations and trying to decide on the best possibilities for the use of the land. There had to be a way to get more out of it. He moved a few feet to the left and wondered if this was even the best piece of property for the resort, maybe something else would be better.

He’d done his research before coming out to the ranch. He knew the value of the land and all of the other investors who had been looking into it. Some of them not using the best methods in order to get her to sell. She was sitting on a gold mine, literally. There were stories of an abandoned mine around these hills, most likely on her property. Which was the main reason why the other developers wanted it, that and to build a new housing development. He had to hand it to them. It would be the best use of both. They’d be able to mine for gold, while also planning a master community. They could end up making at least double, if not triple their money with very little effort. Of course, if the gold was really there, who knew what those numbers really could be.

Maybe he could work that to his advantage. He pulled his phone out and quickly started making notes and doing some research. If this resort was going to become the place Samantha had always dreamed of, she was going to need his help. By that point, he was already in trouble with her, might as well see what happened when he brought up his ideas. Sometimes, you needed to clear the air one way or another.

Day 24

Ethan–

You know, I’d begun to think of Sam as some kind of Wonder Woman. She is always on the go, helping everyone. But today I looked at her, and she actually looked tired. I wanted to help her, but she wouldn’t let me. I don’t think she ever lets anyone help. I wish someone would take care of her.

Evan

Sam wasn’t about to admit it to anyone, but she was exhausted and felt terrible. All she wanted to do was go home, turn on some music and maybe read for a few minutes, before she finally passed out and slept for, hopefully, ten hours. When she walked into her home, the first thing she was greeted with was the empty scotch bottles from the night before. She couldn’t believe they had drank so much, no wonder they both felt so terrible. All day she’d been thinking about why Patty’s death had affected her more than the others, and the only thing she could think of was the fact that she was connected to Evan, and therefore connected to Ethan.

Taking the bottles to the recycling bin, she continued to straighten up, knowing as soon as she stopped, she’d drop, and she hadn’t had dinner yet. Opening the fridge, she stood, looking blankly at its contents, not knowing what she wanted to eat. She mentally kicked herself for not stopping by the main house kitchen and grabbing some of what the guests were having for dinner before heading to her house.

When there was a knock on her backdoor, she jumped and her heart sank. She couldn’t deal with another death so soon after Patty, her mind not realizing that someone would have called her first, which was quicker than coming up to her house if something was wrong. Seeing the shadow of a man, and knowing it was Ethan didn’t make her relax either.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“I’m pretty tired, Ethan.” She sighed.

“Which is exactly why I brought dinner.” He held up a bag in one hand. “And there’s dessert in here too. I think some kind of double chocolate fudge mousse cake or something decadent like that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re fighting dirty.”

“Hell yeah, I’ll do whatever I need to, in order to spend some more time with you and show you how sorry I am for this morning.” He held up his other hand, which held a large bouquet of flowers. “See, I tried to find something that matched your beauty, but none did. These were the best I could do.”

A smile twitched at her lips. “And now you’re charming me. What else do you want?”

“Nothing, I just want to spend some time with you . . . please?”

“Okay, but no repeat of last night.” She held the door open for him as he walked in.

“Of course. Honestly, I don’t think I want to look at any booze for the next decade or so.” He stopped in front of her and looked down. “But I do need to know, does that include the kissing part too?”

All day she had wondered if she had dreamed the kiss; it appeared she hadn’t. Lord help her, but she wanted more. “Yes, it does include the kissing part.” She couldn’t help it, she smirked at him when his face fell. “For now.”

“As long as there is hope . . .” He quickly leaned down and kissed the top of her head before going over to the counter and putting the bags down. “Here.” He handed her the bouquet. “You put those in water and I’ll take care of everything else.”

When he turned his back, she buried her face in the flowers and inhaled deeply, touched he’d brought them for her.

Once she’d arranged her flowers, Sam crossed over to the sink, and placed them on the windowsill above it. She’d be able to see them from her back porch while she relaxed on her swing. When she turned around, Ethan had the table all set, and the aroma of the food permeated the area and made her mouth water. Holding herself back from running to the table and shoveling the food in, she crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of lemon flavored water, pouring them each a glass. She knew better than to offer a glass of wine after their drinking session.

He pulled out a chair for her. “Please, sit.”

“Thank you.”

They didn’t talk much through the dinner and it didn’t feel uncomfortable to be sitting there eating in silence together. Sam didn’t feel the need to fill the gaps in the conversation with nonsense. By the time dessert came around, she was full, but there was no way she was going to pass it up. She needed to move before she could eat another bite. “If you don’t mind, let me clean this up and then we can finish on the porch. I always like to sit out there this time of evening. The trees are starting to change. Just wait, another couple of weeks and it’s going to be spectacular here.”

“I think it’s already pretty spectacular from where I’m standing,” he said in a low voice.

She turned and saw him looking at her. Shaking her head, she brushed him off. “There you go again, trying to sweet talk me.”

“It’s the truth.” He moved closer to her and she backed up until she was trapped between Ethan and the counter. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as beautiful as you.”

“Come on, I’m not going to fall for that. I know all about you. You’re worth more money than I can count. I know you’ve had all the beautiful, single, and sometimes married women throwing themselves at you.”

“Yes I have, but none can compare to you.” He cut her off when she tried to interrupt. “Hush now. There is the beauty everyone sees first, then that which is inside.” He tapped her chest, above her heart. “It’s what’s inside you that makes your outer beauty pale in comparison. You give so much of yourself to others and never ask for anything for yourself. What you do here.” He gestured wide with his arm. “It’s nothing more than a miracle to these people. Don’t you understand that? Not many people would ever even think to do what you do. And yet here you are, again and again, allowing people to come here, and help them make the most of their last days while you hold their hand. To someone who has nothing, that would mean everything. To someone who doesn’t want to burden their family, it
means
everything. More people should know about you and this place.”