Blue Heaven (Blue Lake) (20 page)

His kisses fell like sweet drops of rain on her cheeks, her neck, her lips. They looked at each other; she saw desire in his eyes. Could he see the same in hers? She unbuttoned his shirt as he nibbled her earlobe, letting his teeth drag lightly down her throat, his tongue hot on her neck, then in her mouth. This was the warm center of everything, right here in his arms. She felt safe and cherished and desired. It made her bold and she broke a long kiss to take his hand and lead him into her bedroom.

He walked next to her, moving her shirt up, brushing greedy fingers over the silk of her bra. When they got into her room, she pulled the shirt over her head. Their hands and bodies moved , tearing clothes off, zippers, shoes, every defense down.

Nothing more to hide, they lay skin to skin on the soft quilt of her bed. She felt adored as he tasted every inch of her skin, pulling her nipples into his mouth, igniting new pleasure deep down inside her with each flick of his tongue. Then his fingers found the center of her pleasure and waves of sensation roared over her. She could feel his hardness against her thigh and reached for him, rubbing his silky thickness. He groaned, pushing her hand gently away as he lowered his mouth to taste her. He treated her like a banquet, and took his slow sweet time. She lay across her pillows, open to him completely. She let herself be caressed and cared for, let her mind go while she reveled in the warm sensation of his tongue on her.

His mouth made its lazy way to her belly and she gazed through almost closed lids to see him reach for the condom on her bedside table. Without regret, she took the packet from him, opened it, and slid it down him.

He filled her, his eyes half-closed but still seeing right down into her soul. As he moved, she caught his rhythm. He let her into his heart through his eyes as surely as she’d let him into her body. The feeling was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, as if a ray of light pooled through them, brightening their bodies and bonding them in a mystery she could feel but not understand. It wasn’t important to understand with words. The feeling was enough. They moved as one, and they alone filled the world.

She quickened their pace, her heart beating in frantic need. He stayed with her, opening his eyes to gaze down at her, deliberately moving to please her, waiting until he saw the release in her eyes as they drifted completely shut, heard it in the low moan from her throat, felt it in her delicious shudders.

Only when her body’s deep throbbing subsided did he stop his slowed movements to rush into her with a final dynamic thrust. Now, he too moaned and lowered his head to the pillow next to hers, their bodies still entwined. He kissed her cheek and as she turned to reach his lips, she opened her eyes again. His were closed, blond lashes against flushed cheeks. She closed her eyes too as they kissed for a long moment, sightlessly devoted.

“I love you,” he said.

Her eyelids raised a slit. He was looking right into her, intent, serious.

“I love you, too,” was all she could think to reply. It was the truth, and for now, it was more than enough. He pulled her next to him, his arms around her, his body spooning hers. He kissed her back, each tiny bone of her upper spine, then pressed his nose deep into her neck and rested there.

Chapter Twenty-Six

She woke up later, as he covered her with her quilt. Opened her eyes. The light outside her window showed dawn breaking. Before long, the sun would be coming up over the lake. He was already dressed.

“You wouldn’t have gone without saying good-bye.” It wasn’t a question. He’d made her sure of a few things last night. She drew an arm from under the quilt and took his hand in hers. He sat next to her.

“I don’t want to leave,” he said. “But I know the kind of day you have ahead of you.”

“And it’s Bob’s first day home. He’ll wonder where you are.”

“He won’t be up for hours yet,” Daniel said.

As he unzipped his jeans, she moved over to let him slip into bed beside her. This was a new Daniel. The real Daniel. Vulnerable and giving. Kind and gentle. Sweet and protective of those he loved. Including her.

****

Eva had cleaning to do. She thought about calling Wanda, Luke’s mom, who had seemed so in charge and at home in her kitchen yesterday. Most of the people in town welcomed paid work, but no, she decided, this was her project and she’d complete the job herself. After a pot of strong coffee, she gathered her cleaning materials and hit the cottages. Lily’s first. She tossed every single thing Lily left away. Wrapped the paper ring around the toilet to show it was scrubbed. Folded a point on the bathroom tissue and stuck it with a foil seal. Shined the faucets and filled the mini-fridge with bottled water. She set out the individual coffee packets she’d bought at Costco and the mini-creamers that didn’t need refrigeration. She filled an antique sugar bowl.

She changed the sheets and made the bed with hospital corners. She dusted and vacuumed and mopped. And then she did it all again, five more times. It took her twelve hours to get every cottage ready for the guests, and even then, she wanted to do the windows before it got dark. All forty of them, if you included the bungalow.

By ten that night, the bungalow, including the airplane addition, had been polished, waxed, and shined to a high gloss. A high table on the wall of her office held a basket of individually wrapped muffins she’d baked herself as she’d wolfed down take-out pizza. Next to the muffins sat a large wooden bowl of fresh fruit.

Everything was done. She’d cleaned her own bathroom too today, and she couldn’t wait to get into a nice warm bubble bath. She turned off her phone. She’d already spoken to Daniel, Jane, and her mother on quick mini-breaks from cleaning. Daniel said he loved her again before they ended their conversation. She told him she loved him back. Everyone wished her luck. Luck, she thought, sinking up to her neck into the lavender scented bath, was just hard work meeting opportunity.

****

The next morning she rose before dawn, refreshed and ready to greet the first day of the rest of her life. This was her favorite part of the day, although she didn’t always get to see it. She sat on her porch with a mug of tea and looked out over the water at the rose pink sky splashing across its silver surface.

She thought of her father, because his ashes were scattered there, and because watching the sun rise was a holy experience. She hoped he was in a place where he knew what she’d done, how she was honoring his past. She thought of all of her ancestors, growing up here, every generation, even her own, until the family had scattered. This had once been a working vacation rental property. Now it would be again.

Check in was at eleven, but with the way the sun was shining in the cloudless blue sky, she thought everybody would get here early to make a day at the beach.

By noon she knew she was wrong. Still no arrivals, although she’d been stationed behind her computer for two hours, catching up on email and watching the video of the open house again and again.

She made herself a sandwich and mentally shrugged. Okay, so nobody was here. People got late starts. They would get here when they got here. She had a little thing where people could check off if they were arriving late, but after double and triple checking, she saw that nobody had taken that option. So supposedly, everyone should be here before six. Too late to take advantage of a day at the beach, but still. She’d have a full occupancy to wake up to in the morning. And she was glad about that, because she was getting sort of bored. And nervous.

At three in the afternoon, the phone rang, the first voice she’d heard since the pizza delivery guy last night. She lunged for it.

“Is this Blue Heaven?”

“Yes, this is Eva Delacroix. How may I help you?”

“Well, this is Linda Spellman, we had a reservation you cancelled, but decided to take you up on the offer to come up to Sugar Bush instead. We just wanted to say thank you. This place is amazing.”

Eva could not get the words Linda Spellman was saying to make sense.

“I have your reservation right here,” she stalled.

“Next week? Right? Luckily, my husband was able to get two weeks off work. So thanks again.” And Linda Spellman hung up.

Eva’s confusion turned to anxiety.
What the hell
?

She called the other guests who had not arrived, and piece by piece, a pattern began to emerge. All of them had received calls from a woman claiming to be Eva. All of them had been told the cottages wouldn’t be ready until next week, but they could come then and also enjoy this week on her at the Sugarbush resort in Traverse City.

Eva didn’t argue with what she was told. She tried to sound cheery and in control. The customer, of course, was always right. But something here had gone very wrong. Maybe an internet prank? Could a hacker have gone into her website and messed with her life? Why would someone do that?

Looks like she’d have all week to figure it out. She wanted to call Daniel, but first, opened her bank account. Empty. There was, in fact, a debit mark next to the amount. She kept clicking, looking in her saving account, which was also empty, checking her Visa card balances, way too high to help her now. She’d had several thousand dollars in her checking account yesterday. Now she was minus over a thousand and the loan payment was due in one week. The date she would have run her customer’s credit cards and been comfortably solvent.

This was a nightmare.

Every single checking account withdrawal had been credited to Sugarbush Resort.

This went beyond hacking. Someone was out to sabotage her. Marcus? Is that why he’d come up? To get a look at her computer and her passwords? But why? He’d been the one who’d dumped her. He didn’t need revenge.

It was after five, which meant the bank was closed, but she called Jane at home, spilling the whole story. Jane was sympathetic, but didn’t think it was Marcus.

“Why? Who else would do such a thing?”

“I don’t know, but we can get it straightened out Monday morning when the bank opens.”

“Think, Jane. Who would do this?”

“Well, I hate to say.”

“Please. Tell me.”

“You know Daniel. You know how he is about Bryman. And he does own half the bank. He could add your property, which as you know is the only Bryman property on the lake, on any lake, which makes it that much more covetous in Daniel’s eyes…oh shit, I hate to even say this. I like Daniel. But this is why I broke up with him. I saw the way he would trick people into selling him their Bryman homes at rock bottom prices. I felt bad about it, but I brokered the deals. I have to take the offer to the client that the buyer submits. That’s just business.”

Eva couldn’t believe, especially after the night they’d spent together, that Daniel was behind this. Maybe he had been a bit of a hustler when he was younger, but he’d changed. He’d mellowed. And he’d done everything he could to help her. Or, maybe, help himself. No, that was ridiculous. Jane was not seeing clearly. She had a past with Daniel that made her bitter.

“Well, it really doesn’t matter who did it. What matters is that I get an extension on my payment. I just spent my emergency fund on really nice vacations for three lucky couples.” She didn’t even want to think about the double booking next week. If she didn’t get this straightened out, she might not be the owner of this property by then. That’s how tightly the loan agreement was worded.

“Christ,” Jane said. “I’ll try.”

Eva’s heart sank.

“One week. I just need a week.”

“Well, Daddy might listen to me, but if it’s Daniel that did this, he’s going to say no. That’s the whole point. He didn’t want to give you a loan to begin with.”

Eva remembered that.

“He’s wanted Blue Heaven for as long as I’ve known him, which is basically forever.”

It couldn’t be Daniel. It wouldn’t be him. He wouldn’t do this to her. Even as little things like the way he worked so tirelessly, for free, occurred to her, she was punching his cell phone number. He didn’t pick up. She grabbed her keys and drove to his house, calling Marcus on the way. Because she just couldn’t bring herself to believe Daniel would do it.

“How could you?” she said, when Marcus picked up on the first ring.

“What? I just wanted to visit. To wish you well.”

“You know damn well what I mean.”

“No. I don’t. Why don’t you enlighten me.”

So she told him.

“I didn’t do that. Why would I do that?”

“You ruined my career before.”

“I gave you your career.” He was right.

“But then you took it away.”

“That was just business. Listen, Peanut. You saw what happened here. What’s still happening. It’s not personal. I taught you everything you know.”

Damn. She believed him.

“Is it money? Because I can give you a loan.”

That’s when she was sure he didn’t do it. Why would he give her money if he’d wanted to ruin her?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

She tried to call Daniel all the way to his house, but he still wasn’t answering his phone. She tried Jane again, too, but her phone went right to voice mail. She called Daniel one last time, just as she pulled up to his house. Why wouldn’t he pick up?

Bob answered the door.

“Is Daniel here?”

“Hi there, Eva.”

She’d already pushed her way inside.

“What’s up?”

“I need to speak to Daniel.”

“He’s not here.” Bob yawned.

“Where is he? When will he be back?” Her eyes cast about the front room. Empty. She almost looked under the sofa, but instead moved into the kitchen. Bob followed.

“Port Huron. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

Port Huron? “What’s he doing there?”

“Hey, Eva, take it easy. Is something wrong?”

“Bob. Why is Daniel in Port Huron and when will he be home? Why isn’t he picking up his cell?”

Bob poured a cup of coffee. Took his time stirring in cream and sugar. Eva wanted to shake him. “He went to a sports bar with the guys. They were getting rooms in PH. Nobody wanted to drive back home after.”

So, maybe he couldn’t hear his cell phone over the music. Or maybe he’d turned it off. She tried to keep her panic at bay.