Longing for Home (10 page)

Chapter Eleven

A
lex opened a cabinet door and came face to face with another heart-shaped sticky note, waiting for him like a fluorescent pink booby trap.

“Abby,” he growled his sister’s name, although she was thousands of miles away.

Alex wasn’t sure if the Bible verses he’d been finding tucked in odd places around the inn were meant for him or if they had something to do with Abby’s newfound faith. Knowing her, it was probably both.

He skimmed the words and frowned.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?”

Alex shut the door but the question clung to his thoughts like the adhesive on the back of the paper.

Was it wrong to work hard? To finish what his parents had started?

In a way, Alex had gained the “whole world.” But it had never been about money. Or possessions. Those were a by-product of a promise he had made to himself after their parents died. Neither one of those things stemmed from a desire to build a reputation for himself, but to continue to live up to the one he had been entrusted with.

How could that be a bad thing?

“Our parents built walls to protect us, Alex, but they’re not as thick as the one you’ve built around your heart to protect yourself.”

He could still see the look in Abby’s eyes the day she turned in her resignation. Not anger, not bitterness, but pity.

“I’m tired of living like this.”
Abby had reached for his hand.
“I want to be free.”

Free from what? Alex had wanted to ask.

Abby was walking away from a lifestyle the majority of people could only dream about; and yet, she felt sorry for him.

It hadn’t made sense at the time.

“It still doesn’t make sense,” Alex muttered. “She gave up everything.”

And she seemed at peace.

That didn’t make sense, either.

When Alex’s cell phone rang, he snatched it up as if it were a lifeline.

“Porter—”

“Is Kate there?” a lilting, feminine voice wanted to know.

“What?”

“I’d like to talk to Kate,” the voice repeated, enunciating each word this time.

“Who is this?”

“Missy Martin. I’m a waitress at the café.”

Right. The blond, perky teenager who’d wanted more hours. “This is my private number, Missy.”

“I know,” the girl said cheerfully. “I tried to call the inn but no one answered. And Kate forgets her cell phone
everywhere.
I called Abby and she gave me your number.”

She called— “Abby is in Paris.”

“Uh-huh.” Missy giggled. “She and Quinn are having a great time and she said to tell you hi. So,
hi.
”

An expectant pause followed.

“Oh.” Alex closed his eyes, feeling a little ridiculous but knowing there was only one thing that would move the conversation toward a swift and satisfying conclusion. “Hi.”

Half-hearted, Alex knew, but it seemed to satisfy her. “I’m not sure where Kate is at the—”

“That’s okay. I can’t talk long anyway, Zach and I are going canoeing this afternoon. Will you give Kate a message for me?”

“A message?”

“Yes. A message.” Missy raised her voice until she was practically shouting into the phone, making Alex feel as if he were as old as Rip Van Winkle. He had no one to blame but himself, asking her to repeat half the things she’d said.

“You could always leave a voicemail,” Alex suggested. “On
her
phone.”

“Kate doesn’t check her voicemail, either.”

And apparently sarcasm did not stick to the Teflon coating of Missy Martin’s sunny personality.

He gave in. “What’s the message?”

“Do you have a pen?”

“Yes.” Alex was tempted to add that he also had four hotels and a master’s degree in business. That, when added together, gave him the ability to remember a simple phone message.

“The youth group girls are having a makeover party tomorrow night and Kate’s invited.”

“Makeover?”

“Right.
Makeover
. That’s when a bunch of girls get together and play with cool makeup and do their hair and—”

“I know what a makeover is, Missy.”

“Awesome.” Missy sounded impressed. “And tell Kate to bring her killer cappuccino brownies.”

“Okay—”

“And a movie. Maybe
Ever After
. Or
The Princess Bride
.”

“Killer brownies. Movies. I’ll pass that on.” Along with a few suggestions about cell phone responsibility.

“Thanks a lot, Mr. Porter. ’Bye!”

Alex slid the phone into his back pocket and headed down to the lake, where Charlie and Irene Gibson were dangling their feet over the side of the dock.

The couple turned to him with matching smiles.

“Mr. Porter! Kick off your shoes and join us!” Charlie said. “The water is beautiful.”

“And you’re way too buttoned up for a day like this,” his wife chimed in.

Alex resisted the urge to pluck at the silk tie around his neck. “I appreciate the invitation, but I can’t right now. I’m looking for Kate.”

“Two boys showed up a little while ago and they disappeared into the woods.” Irene pointed beyond the cabins, where a thick stand of mature white pine hemmed the shoreline.

“Kate went with them?

“She was carrying something. I assumed the boys needed help.”

Then they should have taken a number. Missy wanted cappuccino brownies and two movies that Alex could no longer remember the names of. And
he
needed to post the breakfast menu for the guests that would be arriving tomorrow.

“That young woman is a gem. I know one when I see one.” Charlie cast an adoring look at the woman sitting beside him. “Proverbs thirty-one says, ‘A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.’”

It was a conspiracy. Alex cast a wary glance up at the sky, wondering if the next thing he would see was a skywriter weaving a Bible verse between the clouds.

Irene noticed Alex’s expression and smiled. “A mother is giving her son, the king, advice on what qualities to look for in a wife.”

Advice that might be helpful if he was looking for a wife. But, right now, Alex happened to be looking for a stubborn, outspoken redhead…who had the most intriguing freckle under her left eye.

His heart cinched at the memory of their recent argument. Alex wasn’t
used
to having people argue with him. Having a conversation with Kate was like trying to navigate a raft down a river. A river filled with unexpected twists and turns. Hidden obstacles.

It was frustrating.

Exhilarating…

Alex sucked in a breath.

Impossible.

“Mr. Porter?” The voice seemed to come from far away, echoing through a long corridor and eventually finding Alex frozen in the midst of his panic.

He stared at Charlie Gibson. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

Charlie nudged his wife.

“What did I tell you?” he whispered.

Irene nodded sagely. “You’re right every time.”

There was no way Alex was going to ask what the man was right about every time. No way at all.

“I don’t think this one is going to work.” Kate wedged her foot more firmly into a notch in the tree trunk and peered up at the grid of branches above her head.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy Sutton squinted up at her, his face solemn. “My calculations were based on the circumference of the trees and the distribution of the weight of the platform on the lower branches.”

Kate ducked her head to hide a smile. “And I’m sure those calculations would have been fine—if a Pileated woodpecker hadn’t weakened the entire structure of this particular tree.”

The boys exhaled in mutual adolescent frustration.

“Now what do we do?” Cody wanted to know.

Jeremy sighed. “Revise the plans. Again.”

“Thomas Edison made nine hundred and ninety-nine attempts before he invented the light bulb.” Kate liked to put a positive spin on things.

“Thomas Edison didn’t have school,” Jeremy pointed out.

“Or woodpeckers,” Cody added glumly.

“I have confidence in you boys. You’ll figure something out.” Kate inched her way down to the next branch, heard another snap and dropped to the ground, glad she’d intercepted the boys when she saw them heading the woods with a load of lumber.

At her apartment the day before, Jeremy had mentioned that he and Cody were planning to build a tree fort but Kate didn’t realize that Abby had offered the use of her property.

And even though Alex had been sitting two feet away at the time, she had her doubts that he did, either. She’d have to wait for the right time to let him know what the boys were up to.

Maybe when Alex was safely back in Chicago.

A squirrel scampered up the tree beside her and crouched on a nearby limb, chattering a warning.

Mulligan lifted his nose and let out a warning bark.

“What do you hear, buddy?” From her vantage point above the ground, Kate caught a glimpse of something moving through the brush.

“Oh, no.” She closed her eyes, hoping it was a figment of her imagination.

“What is it?” Jeremy sounded a little worried. “A bear?”

“Worse,” Kate muttered.

“A wolf?”

If only. “It’s—”

“Mr. Porter!” Jeremy grinned as the intruder stepped into the clearing.

Oh, the innocence of children, Kate thought. She would have preferred the bear. Or even the wolf. But it was Alex, a man who understood hotels, not tree forts.

Alex’s gaze swept over the boys, the mismatched pile of lumber, and Kate, who pressed her back against the trunk of the tree and wished she had the ability to blend into her surroundings like a tree frog.

“Kate?”

She tipped her head, completely fascinated by the number of questions Alex could contain in a single word. She decided to answer the easiest one.

“I was helping the boys pick out a spot for their tree fort.”

“Doesn’t Abby own this land?”

“You did it again,” Kate breathed, impressed in spite of the fact they were probably in big trouble.

“Quinn said we could build it here.” Jeremy spoke up. “Me and Cody live in town and Mayor Dodd says the trees in the park belong to everyone—”

“And have to remain in their natural state,” Cody finished.

Kate couldn’t help but smile at the boy’s spot-on imitation of the mayor’s booming voice.

“Don’t you think this is a cool place for a fort, Mr. Porter?” Jeremy searched Alex’s face, his expression earnest.

“We even drew up the plans.” Mustering his courage, Cody handed Alex a black notebook.

Kate sidled closer and couldn’t prevent a tiny gasp from escaping.

When she and her friends had built a tree fort back in elementary school, they’d hammered a few boards in place to create a platform. Attached the extra pieces to the trunk of the tree to make a ladder.

Jeremy and Cody’s version was a bit more…elaborate. A Swiss Family Robinson getaway, complete with a pulley system, multiple platforms and something that looked suspiciously like—

“A suspension bridge.” Jeremy grinned. “That was my idea.”

Kate slid a glance at Alex. She could almost see visions of injuries and lawsuits dancing in his head.

“But Kate climbed up first and said we shouldn’t use these trees.” The toe of Jeremy’s tennis shoe ground a circle in the moss. “Because the structure of the center one has been compromised.”

Cody heaved a sigh. “Woodpeckers.”

Alex slowly pivoted to face her. “You climbed the tree?”

Kate reminded herself that she had to act as a positive role model for the boys and tell the truth. No matter what the consequences.

“I wanted to make sure it was safe.”

“And it wasn’t.”

“Well…” Kate sensed she was treading on dangerous ground. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought Alex was concerned about her. “Someone had to test it out.”

“You don’t like heights.”

She opened her mouth to disagree but Alex gave her a look. A look telling her that he remembered the night she’d been stranded on the roof of the gazebo.

Kate lifted her chin. “I don’t like boys climbing potentially dangerous trees even more.”

Alex stalked over to the largest oak for a better look. To her surprise, the boys trailed behind him, not at all put off by the grim expression on his face.

“Abby said we could sleep out here and everything,” Cody said, unable to hide his excitement.

“We’re going to have a skylight for my telescope—”