Beneath the Palisade (28 page)

He thought about catching some television, but the thought of sitting in that pigpen living room disgusted him. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out a can of Dew. His dad hated the stuff and left it alone. Switching the light on in his room, he closed the door and locked it. It was the only way he could relax. He fired up his laptop. It used to be Colin’s. His parents had gotten him a new one for Christmas. Colin had helped him run a phone line into his bedroom without his old man knowing it. It was slow going accessing the Internet this way, but it was better than nothing. It was a miracle the old man’s phone hadn’t been cut off by now. He knew he was running on borrowed time.
I’ve got to research my escape.
The last couple of nights he’d been looking at motel rates in San Francisco.
Fuck! Are you kidding me?
I’ve got to find a place to share with someone. It’s the only way I can make it work.

Reaching into his pocket, he hauled out his tips from today’s lunch. Altogether, he had thirty-one dollars and change. Not the best, not the worst. Jotting down the amount on a piece of paper, he scooped the money up in his hand and walked over to the old dresser in the corner by his bed. Tucked in back of it was a slender gift box he had rigged to slide in and out of a cardboard sleeve. It was the Bank of Alex. Unless he was mistaken, today’s deposit brought him within a few dollars short of four thousand.
Not bad.
It was enough to keep him going for a month or two once he left. More if he picked a place cheaper than San Francisco. If he had any luck at all, he’d add another thousand to it before he blew town.

Jimmying the dresser away from the wall, he reached back for the box. His hand slid right into the cardboard sleeve where the box should have been.

What the fuck?

Pulling the dresser out further, he wedged his head between it and the wall and confirmed his worst fear—the box was gone.
The fucking box, my money, it’s gone. He’s fucking taken it!

Stumbling backward until the edge of his bed forced him to sit, he clutched his stomach and began to rock back and forth. He struggled to breathe. His eyes welled up with tears.
Where did the drunk fucker go? It was him, it had to be him. He must have….
Alex stood and looked around the room. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it had been given the once-over. The mattress was slightly off its frame. The two lower drawers of the dresser hadn’t been shut. His desk….
How could I have missed it?
The stacks of magazines and check stubs were all mixed up.
Christ, the fucker hadn’t even tried to cover his tracks.

The money had been there last night. If he caught up to his dad soon, chances are he’d still be able to retrieve most of it. And he would. He’d kill the fucker if that was what it took. Racing out of the room, he jumped into Zits and screamed down the dirt road to the highway.

S
ITTING
at the vintage Formica table in the tiny kitchen, Ian compared his sketch to the photograph he’d placed beside it. There was so much potential here it was maddening. After talking to Andy, he’d decided the best approach would be to identify areas throughout the property where the look of established growth was needed—clusters of shrubs, trees, and various vines. It would be important to get those planted as soon as possible so it wouldn’t take so long to realize their benefits. Maybe just a season or two in some cases. Except for adding ornamental trees here and there, the property already had an ample amount of large shade trees. Almost too much, but that was a problem he’d happily work around. It was all about the North Shore experience, and the wooded setting played nicely into that. The guests would also benefit from the shade on those rare days when the thermometer climbed up into the nineties. It didn’t make sense to air-condition the units because, for the most part, it wasn’t needed.

“There’s something about this deal we need to talk about.” Harper walked out of the bedroom, drying his hair with his bath towel.

“Shoot.” Ian knew by the look and the hesitation in his voice, Harper had something serious on his mind. He had noticed in the short time they’d been a couple that Harper’s words were chosen for accuracy and precision. Once the idea had been baked to Harper’s liking, was there room for negotiation?
I guess I’ll find out.

“I know this is all very new to us, but I have to be honest and tell you I can’t live here… in this. I just can’t do it. I won’t be happy no matter how much we fix it up.”

“Okay.” Ian pushed his chair back from the table.
I called the serious part right. Wow!
“I don’t know what to say. I mean, I guess I just assumed we’d give it a shot. I can’t see us running this operation from Minneapolis. Can you?”

“No. Sorry, I started this out poorly. Let me start over.” Harper took the seat across from him.

Please don’t tell me you can’t make the whole idea work.
“Talk to me, hon.”

“Well, I have to be honest. From the minute we looked at this place and toured the living quarters, I knew it would be impossible for me to be happy here. I didn’t want to say anything at the time because everything else about this place seemed so right, and, well, I didn’t have a solution to my problem. I wanted to spend a few nights here just to make sure, and I’m sure. This isn’t going to work.”

“I guess I’m confused. You mean the whole cabin rental idea isn’t going to work, or just the living situation? It’s a little late in the game to question the whole idea of running the cabins, isn’t it?”

“It’s a wonder I ever set foot in a courtroom. Not sure what’s happened to my presentation skills, but I’m failing this one miserably. Okay, let me try this again. I think we should build ourselves a home here that is comfortable, modern, and a welcome retreat from a day of pleasing our guests.”

“Well, I wish rainwater was beer, but what the hell? Harper, how do we make something like that happen? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be snotty here, but I don’t see how we could make something like that happen. We haven’t even figured out the total cost of bringing the cabins back to where they need to be. Or the cost of landscaping and, well, with all we need to do here, where’s the money going to come from to build ourselves a home?” As much as he understood where his partner was coming from, the alternative, what was being proposed, was impossible. Unrealistic.

“Me.”

“Huh?”

“I have money. Plenty, actually.”

A wily smile blossomed over Harper’s face. Ian had seen this smile a few times before, but up until now, it had never been produced with such a definitive sparkle. He laughed nervously. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“The plane crash that killed my parents, there was a settlement. My grandfather invested it. Turns out he had a knack for making good decisions. I’m worth, well, I feel kind of creepy for not telling you this before. The last time I checked, I was worth over several million.”

“Hang on, I might have just pooped my pants.”
Didn’t see that one coming.
This unexpected development was more than Ian could process sitting down. Getting up, he began walking a tiny circle in the kitchen.

It was Harper’s turn to laugh. “My grandparents kept it a secret from me for the longest time. When Gramps first got sick, he sat me down and went through all of it. Of course I’d already worked my ass off in law school, bartending and everything else it took, but I guess that was the plan. I’m a hard worker, but I have a small fortune in the bank if I need it. I’m tellin’ ya, Ian, we need some of it now. Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not sure yet.”
Why am I just hearing this now?

“Are you okay?” Harper laughed.

“I guess I’m not okay. I’m trying to think of reasons you might have had for not sharing this little piece of information with me. Was it by any chance because you didn’t trust me?”

“Ian, no. God no. I’m kind of freaked out by the money.” Harper made a move toward him.

“Not as freaked out as I am. I mean, come on, this is pretty big news, Harper.” Ian moved further away.

“I don’t know what else to say. I guess I never thought it would be a big deal.” Harper leaned up against the counter.

“Do you have any idea how crappy I’ve felt for not having the money to match your investment? I’ve spent nights laying awake trying to think of ways to cut costs so you won’t be pinched so hard.”

When Harper failed to respond, Ian continued, “Do you think I was looking forward to living in this piss hole all winter long? I was fired up to do it because I didn’t think we had a choice. God, I feel like a fucking idiot right now.”

It was Harper’s turn to walk in circles. “Okay, I made a terrible mistake in not telling you. I had no idea this money thing…. I had no idea how sensitive you are about it.”

That was the wrong thing to say. The wrong thing.
“I’m not that sensitive. You didn’t level with me. I’m more sensitive about that. I’m really pissed off.” Before he could check himself, he turned his back to his partner and slammed his fist down on the counter.

Minutes passed. Neither of them moved or said a word.

“I don’t blame you for being angry.”

I know you didn’t mean it. I can’t explain to you why I feel this way.

“I know you didn’t mean to offend me.” Ian turned around and backed into the counter. He found it impossible to make eye contact. “I can’t explain why this makes me feel so crazy.”

“You have a huge sense of pride, Ian. It’s one of the things I love so much about you. I offended your pride, and I’m deeply sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I love you so much, I’d never intentionally hurt you. Do you believe that?”

Ian looked up from the floor. He hated the distressed look on Harper’s face. “Yes, I know that.”

“I don’t want you to walk away from here without getting it all out. Is there more fueling this? I’m not patronizing you. I want you to let me have it. I deserve it.”

“No,”—Ian couldn’t help but chuckle—“that’s pretty much it.” It felt good, for some reason, to have these feelings surface.

“Will you let me hold you?” Harper took a step forward.

Ian chuckled again. “Yes, you can hold me.”
I feel like I’m twelve.

Harper took him into his arms. “I hate seeing you upset. I promise to do whatever I can to not let this happen again. Well, at least until the end of the week.”

“Does this mean I get a raise in my allowance?” Ian broke the embrace and traced his finger innocently up and down his partner’s chest.

“You’re going to get a raise out of me, but it won’t be your allowance.”

Ian laughed. “That works.”

Harper went for a beer. “Want one?”

“Like you’ll never know.” Accepting the cold beer, Ian sat back down.

“What’s changed is that we have some money up front to invest in our dream. We still have to recoup our investment. I want this place to make us money. And you know what? I think once you get it looking like it already does in your mind, we’ll be well on our way to making that a reality. I believe in you.”

“Man, Harper. I’m still digesting the fact you’re a millionaire.”

“I know. I pooped myself too when I found out. You know what’s funny, well, funny in a weird way?”

“Huh?”

“Had I not survived the gunshot, a small library in central Iowa would have been the happy recipient of one big-ass testamentary gift. That’s the Lollie way.” Harper raised his bottle in a toast.

“I love Lollie, but I’m so much happier things turned out differently.” Ian returned the toast. “Testamentary gift?”

“Yeah. I only know that because of a case we had a few years ago when the surviving members of a family contested their mother’s will.”

“Gotcha. So, what’s plan B? Were you thinking we’d tear this little apartment down and rebuild it?” This should be interesting. No doubt, Harper had a plan.

“No. I think we leave it for a while until we figure out what to do with the space. I don’t think we should alter the place much. With the exception of the money we spend on landscaping the property, I don’t want people to think there is big money behind this enterprise. But that doesn’t mean we have to live like slum dogs either.”

“That’s a good point about the money thing. Besides, this place has its own charm. I think we can build on that and make it better without having to change it much.” He looked at his sketches.

“Let’s take a walk.” Harper got up and gestured for him to follow. “Okay,” he said when they’d both stepped outside. “The left side of the property is all about the guest cabins. But the right side, the piece we were thinking of using for trails? Follow me.” Harper grabbed him by the hand and marched over to the edge of the woods. “Let’s build something nice in here. Let’s build a home we’ll be comfortable in year round. Not ostentatious, but comfortable. If we locate it back here somewhere, we’ll have privacy from our guests. We don’t know it now, but trust me, by the end of the day I’ll bet we’ll have had our fill of them. It’s hard to imagine, but all it takes is a few difficult guests to suck the fun out of life. Consider this our sanctuary. Off limits to everyone but us.”

“Wow!” Ian giggled. “I like it.” He peered up to the top of the huge trees. “It’s already fall. Is this something you think we should start next spring? We need time to plan, right?”

“Let’s go back inside.” Harper took the lead back to the apartment. Ian sat at the table.

“Don’t get mad.” Harper moved to the end of the room. “This isn’t another secret I’ve been harboring. It’s something I just stumbled on when I was trying to come up with an alternative to living here. Wait, I’ll be right back.” Harper went to the bedroom and came back with a folder. He took his chair and moved it over to Ian’s side of the table. “There’s this place up here that manufactures prefab homes. The homes are built at the plant and then moved onto the site. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can customize the interiors to however you like. Here’s one I’ve been looking at.”

Moving his designs, Ian made room for Harper to lay out his materials.

“Here, what do you think of this one? Isn’t it cool?” Harper presented two color photos: the outside of a large two-story, log cabin-style home and an interior shot showing an awesome kitchen connected to a spacious great room.