Fire Angel (18 page)

“After I was stabilized and could be moved, Minette traveled back to Canada with me. Mila was born three months later. They've been here ever since; without Minette, I don't know how I'd manage the inn. She looks after the meals and the housekeeping; I get to man the reception desk now and then and do the books. They stay in the apartment, so you don't have to worry about being alone with me.”

Alexis could see that her earlier comment still hurt. She tried to speak, but the lump in her throat prevented it. She should be ashamed of herself. That poor woman had suffered and if she had earned Jake's admiration, she deserved it. She probably still felt responsible for him the way a parent would. She shivered imagining what might have happened to her if the road had been icy like this on Sunday — moose, one; Alexis, no score.

“Are you going to tell Minette about the shooting? I wouldn't want her to worry for nothing. She has enough to do, and the bullets were meant for me.”

“No, I'm not going to tell her; Minette has a real problem with guns. This is work related, and she mothers me too much already. Let's keep it quiet; besides, the fewer people know about it, the better.”

Alexis relaxed.

See, you were jealous for nothing; he thinks of her as a mother,
she thought.

“I'm glad I won't be spending the night alone in the cabin. I'll feel much safer in the apartment with you and Minette. I'd really feel isolated out there in this weather.”

The rest of the drive back from Paradise was a slow, difficult one. Jake described some of Mila's antics, and the way she sometimes drove her mother to distraction. It was easy to see that there was a real, deep and genuine love between him and Minette. Alexis envied him that; she had lost her parents so long ago that she had forgotten what it was like to have a mother.

By the time Jake pulled into the inn parking lot, Alexis's nerves were fried.

He parked the vehicle next to the main door. Before Alexis could get out of the car, a woman rushed out of the inn with an umbrella. She opened Jake's door and handed him a small package.

“I've been watching for you; Everett called as soon as you left the station. I knew you'd want these. How bad is it?”

“Bad enough, I doubt Mila will have school tomorrow; the buses won't be running. I'll put the car in the garage; it'll save me having to scrape a couple of inches of ice off it if there's an emergency.”

The woman nodded and moved around to Alexis's side of the truck. She wore a long rain coat with a hood that obscured her face. She opened the cab door, but the light from the vehicle's interior barely pierced the gloom.

“Ms. Michaels, I'm Minette. I've made sure that the emergency lamps in your room are working. With this weather, we may lose power. Here, take this and go inside while I get the dog.” She handed Alexis the umbrella.

“Mila's watching television” she said to Jake. “She'll be glad that you're back. I'll get dinner on the table as soon as you're ready. Be careful; even with ice grips, it's slippery.”

Mutely, Alexis grabbed her bag and tool box and closed the door of the vehicle. Jake immediately reversed and drove off towards the garage.

Minette turned to Alexis, who stood there staring at the truck as if she had been rooted to the spot.

“He'll be fine. He's stubborn and strong, and getting better every day. Come on; let's get inside where it's warm and dry. I've never liked this miserable weather. We used to have ice storms in Quebec, and I hated them.”

Alexis obediently followed her hostess into the inn. The doorway to the apartment was beside the desk. She had not noticed it before. As she walked past the lounge, she observed the large number of Temagami guests, most of them in traditional dress, milling around the fireplace.

Jake was certainly telling the truth about that
, she thought and then chastised herself for not believing him without this proof.

Minette opened the apartment door and entered a small foyer with a second glass door at the end of the hall.

“The double entry keeps Maya from wandering into the main inn and bothering the guests. She can be quite the little beggar when she puts her mind to it. Please, leave your boots and coat here. I brought your slippers out for you. The floors can be cool.” She indicated Alexis's blue mules.

“Thank you.” Alexis removed her jacket and boots. “I should return your hat, scarf, and gloves.”

“No, please. Keep them; I have others. Despite the rain, it will be cold again soon enough. You'll need them.” She unbuttoned her coat and motioned towards the door.

“Please, go in; I'll be right with you.”

Alexis opened the glass door and walked into a combined living room and dining room. The far wall was devoted to a massive fieldstone fireplace that had been converted to gas most likely because of Jake's injury. It would have been hard for him to chop and carry wood during his rehabilitation.

An archway to the left of the fireplace led to an efficiency kitchen. Just inside the archway was a door, no doubt a storage closet. On the opposite side of the room was a hallway leading to the bedrooms.

A flat screen television had been mounted above the mantel. In front of the fireplace, a couch and a pair of matching recliners made a comfortable seating area. Sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a pink blanket, was a small child.

“Mila, this is Ms. Michaels,” said Minette coming up behind Alexis. “She'll be our guest for a while. She is helping the police.”

The child smiled shyly, showing the gap produced by her two missing teeth.

“Hi,” she said timidly, looking at Alexis, her chocolate-brown eyes wide with wonder.

“I'm five. I don't have a daddy; mine died in the war where Uncle Jake left his leg.”

“Mila, please;
ce n'est pas le temps!
I told you that talking about that hurts Uncle Jake's feelings, remember? Here, let Maya sit with you until supper.”

Minette walked from behind Alexis and set the dog on the sofa. She turned and smiled.

Alexis felt her stomach drop into her shoes. This was Minette, the woman who mothered Jake? The woman who had saved his life?

She was devastated. How could she compete with this? Instead of the plump, motherly woman she had expected to find, she was confronted with an exquisite beauty that made her feel gangly and unattractive. How could she ever hope to attract Jake's attention with this beautiful woman around?

Minette had long, dark, silky brown hair that hung in a braid almost to her waist. She had beautiful, large, doe-brown eyes, and a clear olive complexion devoid of any type of cosmetics. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, younger than Alexis was, but it was sometimes hard to tell people's ages. She was petite, with an hour-glass figure, and the jeans and peach cashmere sweater she wore emphasized her curves. She had a beautiful, friendly smile, and her welcome was genuine.

“Come, Ms. Michaels, your room is down this hall. Will you be ready to eat in about half an hour or so? I know it's early, but Mila goes to bed by eight. If you prefer, I can make something for you later after she's asleep.”

Alexis miraculously found her voice, amazed that it actually functioned.

“Call me Alexis. That won't be necessary; I don't want you to go to any trouble. I want an early night; I'm sure Jake does too.” Realizing what she may have implied, Alexis backpedaled. “I mean we can all eat early, together.”

Minette opened the door to a well-appointed room.

“Jake had this room redone a few years ago for his parents. They come to visit each summer. It isn't as large as the cabin, but it has its own bathroom through there. I placed the fruit over there on the dresser and put your snacks in the closet, but I didn't want to appear too forward, so I didn't touch your suitcase. The clothing in your duffel bag is in the drawers and I washed and dried the things in the plastic bag. Your nightdress is hanging in the bathroom. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“No, I can't think of a thing,” she said, walking over to the desk and examining the photograph sitting on it. She recognized Minette and Jake, but the other three were a mystery.

Seeing her interest in the picture, Minette walked over and stood beside her.

“I'd forgotten that was still in here,” she said dismayed. “I didn't notice it earlier. I took out several pictures from Afghanistan for Mila for Remembrance Day — your Veterans' Day. She wanted a picture of her father in Afghanistan to take to school. When she brought it back last week, I meant to put it in the trunk. Somehow, I forgot about it.” She reached for the frame.

Curiosity aroused, Alexis asked about it.

“I recognize you and Jake, and I gather your husband is one of the others. Who are they?”

Minette smiled; there was a touch of sadness in her eyes. She held up the photograph, so that Alexis could see it clearly.

“That man on the end is Andre, Minette's father. Me, you recognized. The man on my left is David, Jake's older brother, and next to Jake is Irena, his wife. She was killed in a suicide bombing.”

Understanding flashed through Alexis's mind. That's what Jake meant; being married once and losing his wife was enough. He must have loved her very deeply.

“No, you can leave it; it's fine.” She looked at the image of the beautiful Afghani woman wearing a hijab and Western clothes. Jake's smile was filled with love and happiness.

“She was very beautiful, it's a shame she died that way.”

Minette turned to Alexis, worry etched on her face.

“Please don't mention this to Jake. Talking about Irena and what happened over there is very painful for him; I don't think he'll ever get over it. I hope he can move on one day, but for now … Forgive me, I've said too much.”

The sorrow in her eyes told Alexis that this subject was a painful one for her too. She seemed to deeply regret the fact that Jake couldn't let go of the past. Obviously, Minette was ready to move on, but he wasn't. Alexis was no longer sure that it was a mother's love Minette felt for Jake.

She nodded. “Of course; I'll just clean up, and then I'll join you all for dinner.”

Minette excused herself and left the room. After she'd gone, Alexis stared at the desk where the picture had been.

With her small build, dark hair, and dark eyes, Minette resembled Jake's dead wife, a woman whose memory was still so raw and painful that he couldn't discuss her. She had heard the bitterness and sadness in his voice when she had asked him if he and Minette were a couple. Now, she understood. If she wanted Jake's love, she would have to battle a living woman and a ghost for it. How could she ever win that war?

Alexis stripped, and took a shower. She rubbed her hands along the scars that marred much of her upper body. How could she hope to compete with such stunning women? She was imperfect, disfigured. No man would want her. She was flawed, and nothing would ever change that.

She let the tears of tension and disappointment mix with the water on her face. After she'd finished, she used the blow dryer provided to style her hair, which she pulled into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. She went to her suitcase and took out a lavender sweater and a pair of gray wool slacks. She did her make-up, hoping that by looking her best, she would feel better, but the regret she felt was a sharp pain in her heart.

She did not bother wearing her gun, but she made sure it was secured in the portable gun vault she carried with her when she traveled, and placed it inside her closet at the far back of the top shelf, behind the junk food that Minette had unpacked.

She had heard Jake go into his room and shower since their bathrooms abutted. She waited until she heard him leave the room and pass her door before venturing out. Somehow, of its own accord, her unworldly heart had revived its crush on the boy she remembered from sixteen years ago. Knowing that he might be lost to her hurt a lot more now than it had back then.

Anticipating Christmas less than a month away, Minette had set the dining room table for four with festive placemats and fine white china. Everything gleamed. Homemade snowflakes, Mila's creations, had been pasted on all of the windows. In the center of the table, there stood a miniature, gold spray-painted, macaroni Christmas tree.

“I made the decorations at school.” Mila exclaimed with pride. “Uncle Jake really likes them.”

“I'm sure he does,” Alexis answered. “They're beautiful. I really like the snowflakes. We don't have snow where I live.”

“You don't!” exclaimed the child. “How does Santa deliver the presents? Does he use a hepacopter?”

“Helicopter, Mila,” her mother said.

“Do you want me to make you some snowflakes to take home? I'm very good at it,” added Mila ignoring her mother's correction.

“I'd like that,” said Alexis, knowing that she would cherish them and the memory of the time spent with this beautiful, outgoing little girl. Her biological clock had started ticking, even louder than before, the moment she had laid eyes on her. “I'll hang them every Christmas.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” said Jake. “You could be going home with enough snowflakes to decorate all of San Francisco.” She laughed. Judging by the number of snowflakes here, he could be right.

Although eating was the last thing that she wanted to do, Alexis quickly consumed her meal, cleaning her plate without even realizing it. The food, simple and unpretentious, had been delicious.

“Jake tells me that you used to live around here; do you still have family in the area?”

“I have an uncle, but we're not close.”

“My parents died shortly before we left for Afghanistan, but I have a new family now. The McKenzies have adopted us, lock, stock, and barrel as they say. Perhaps we can invite your uncle to share a meal with us while you're here.”