The Lure of Love (12 page)

Billy stopped
in the act of sitting down. “You’ve been here for a while?”

She lifted
her shoulders. “I worked for about an hour. It’s a good time to get things done.”

Billy smiled
his approval. “That’s my girl.” He settled in.

Matt looked
back and forth between them. “I didn’t know you two…” His words tapered off
as Leeza appeared. His dark eyes lit up and it was Brooke and Billy’s turn to
exchange knowing glances.

“Morning
everyone.” Leeza had taken care with her appearance this morning. Soft slate
eye shadow enhanced her dark eyes, and Brooke thought she detected a hint of
blusher on the chef’s cheeks. Matt was looking at her as if he’d never seen her
before. She sat down and their server was at their table immediately. They
ordered a carafe of coffee and a pot of tea and re-hashed last night’s baseball
game.

“Let’s talk
about the elephant in the room.” Billy placed his hands flat on the table. “We
all want to.”

The other
three smiled and relaxed.

“You mean
Brooke’s idea,” said Matt, glancing toward the Office Manager. “Leeza told me
about it.”

Billy leaned
forward eagerly. “So what do you think Matt? What’s your professional opinion?”

“Well at
first I thought it sounded like a bad fit with the resort, but now I don’t
think so.” He flashed a questioning look at Brooke. “You’re not worried about
putting up your money when the economy is in such turmoil?”

Brooke
smiled. “Billy said the same thing about the bad fit, but like you he thought
about it and changed his mind. As for the money, it’s the perfect time. My bank
accounts are earning very little interest right now and this is a perfect time
to talk to the Municipal Planning Department. They’re eager to increase their
tax base which means they’ll be easy to work with.”

Matt pulled
back, a smile of admiration on his face. “Remind me not to go up against you in
a business deal.” He took a sip of tea and turned thoughtful. “I don’t think
your money is in any danger. I was just playing devil’s advocate.” He turned to
Leeza, who had been quietly watching the exchange. “Leeza and I were talking
last night and she told me that Jamie owns more land to the north. I’m going to
go back and check it out this morning. Get the lay of the land, as it were.”

A soft blush
stained Leeza’s cheeks.

Matt
continued. “Does anyone know if there’s a marker where Jamie’s property ends?”

Leeza spoke.
“There’s an old gate about a mile up the road. It has a padlock on it and you
can tell that it hasn’t been used for a long time. That’s the property line, I
think.”

“Would you
like some company? Billy glanced over at the buffet. “After breakfast, I mean?”

“Yes, I
would.” Matt looked from Billy to Brooke and took a deep breath. “But before we
go any farther I have something to tell you. “I’m being investigated for
mortgage fraud.”

“You’re
what?” Billy almost shouted, then lowered his voice when he realized that other
diners were looking toward them. “Say again?”

Matt told
them the story. Brooke listened silently, then shook her head. “You’re not
guilty of course.”

Matt exhaled
slowly. “Thank you for saying that. No, I’m not. My lawyer is trying to unravel
everything and he said it would be better if I wasn’t around; that’s why I’m
here. I can only hope he comes up with something.” He looked at Leeza and his
eyes softened. “It’s been a rough time.”

Brooke was
smoothing the already flat tablecloth. “When will you know?”

“They said
about a week. Could be any day now.”

“Then a
scouting trip is probably just what you need.” She smiled confidently. “It’ll take
your mind off your problems. In the meantime, I have a busy day. First thing I
have to do is type out a notice for the bulletin board at the campground store.
People need to know how to borrow the baseball equipment, and where to return
it.”

“Good idea.”
Billy smiled at her as if she’d just discovered the cure for cancer.

“I’d better
get busy too.” Leeza shoved back her chair but remained seated. “We have extra
people coming for lunch. One of those small tour buses with a group of
Japanese.” She lowered her voice and spoke to Matt and Billy. “It’s going to
get busy in here; you might want to eat lunch out.”

Matt raised
his eyebrows. “Then I won’t see you until later?”

She gave him
a cocky smile. “I’ll be here. You’re the one who’s going out.”

“Let’s have a
campfire tonight.” Billy looked to Leeza for confirmation. “Remember last year,
when we had campfires at night down by the water? It was fun.”

Leeza nodded.
“That’s right. I’d forgotten about that.” She looked at Billy. “Can you make
sure we have some firewood? Maybe check with Floyd? That’s his department.”

“Sure. And if
Floyd doesn’t have any, I’ll pick some up in town.”

The two women
rose reluctantly, and the men scrambled to their feet as well.

“I’ll find
you,” murmured Matt, running a hand down Leeza’s arm until his fingers were
linked with hers.

She couldn’t
have spoken to save her life. She nodded and turned toward the kitchen.

“Okay,
Darlin’. Have a great day.” Billy kissed Brooke lightly on the cheek.

“Billy!” she
admonished, but made no move to pull back. “You have a good day, too.”

* * *

Craig stood
on the dock clutching a small tote bag. The lake reflected the blue of the sky
and for a moment he forgot to be nervous. Goldie came bounding onto the deck
and ran to his side, tail wagging.

“Hello
there,” he said, reaching down to caress her head. He looked up to see Jamie
striding down the lawn, hair flying loose behind her. Goldie barked softly then
ran back up the dock to greet her mistress.

Jamie stopped
part way down the dock and waved to Howie, who was fussing around his little
shed on the adjacent dock. “Hi, Howie. I’m flying some people out this
afternoon but I’m going on a short run now. If they show up before I’m back
make sure they know I haven’t forgotten, okay?”

Howie smiled
and waved. He’d been dealing with eager anglers longer than Jamie.

She continued
down the dock, stopped inches away from Craig and gave him that frank, open
smile that had first captured his heart. “You’re nervous, aren’t you.” It
wasn’t a question.

“No.”

She was
staring at his hands and he looked down. His knuckles were white where he
clutched his bag. “Okay, maybe a bit.”

She laid a
hand on his and her strength flowed into him. “We don’t have to go, Craig. You
don’t have to prove anything to me.”

Those words
confirmed for him what he already suspected; he was falling in love with her.
“I want to do this. Come on, let’s go.”

She got him
settled in the co-pilot’s seat with a set of earphones, then untied the aircraft
and pushed off into deeper water.

She adjusted
her mike and smiled at him. “You’ll feel vibration when we take off, but that’s
only for a few moments. She spoke as she did her pre-flight checks. “It’s
natural to be a little nervous after what you’ve been through, but I have a
feeling you’re going to enjoy it.”

And she was
right. Jamie took off into the slight wind and the moment they were airborne he
forgot his fear. She handled the controls as competently as he’d known she
would and within seconds he’d stopped watching her and started to see the
landscape through the eyes of a film-maker.

“There’s your
island,” he said, as they gained altitude and headed in a south-easterly
direction. “I can see the shallow water between it and the land.” She acknowledged
his enthusiastic comment with a nod of her head and banked the aircraft in an
easterly direction. A broad expanse of rolling hills lay ahead, dotted with
cattle. He raised his eyebrows in question.

“We have some
of the largest ranches in the world in this area,” she said. The pride in her
voice was obvious. “Look at all the young.” Calves lay sleeping near their
mothers, ears twitching in the sun. “Should be a good year.”

She took him
over hills carpeted with stands of timber and long narrow lakes in the valley
bottoms. “Most of these lakes have excellent fishing,” she informed him. “I
keep boats at two of them.

“Don’t they
get stolen?”

She shook her
head. “No, but then we don’t leave the motors on them. We bring electric motors
and oars when I fly the fishermen in. Every once in a while someone borrows
them but as long as they put them back, no harm is done.”

He watched
the landscape unroll below them. “I didn’t realize that the terrain was so
varied.” They rose slightly to clear a sparsely treed hill. “There are a lot of
small lakes back in here; no wonder the fishing is so good.”

They’d only
been flying about ten minutes when she started to descend. “Our destination is
just over that hill.” She pointed to a long narrow hill just ahead and to the
left.

He looked
down. “How can you tell? After a while it all looks the same.”

“I’ve been
here before.” She grinned and tapped one of her instruments. “GPS.”

He laughed
and looked back out the window. “You could have told me anything. I’d have
believed you.”

“I’ll
remember that,” she said as they crested a hill.

A dark green
lake lay below them; a gem surrounded by tall trees. The water was perfectly
calm and mirrored the trees.

“See that old
seat cushion just behind me?” Jamie motioned behind her seat. “Grab that will
you?”

Craig did as
he was told.

“Okay, now
I’m going to make a pass and I want you to throw it out.” She tugged on his
seat belt. “You’re safe. Just open the door and toss it out when I say. When
it’s calm like this it’s hard to judge where the surface of the water is.”

He nodded his
understanding and tossed out the pillow on her command.” It floated down and
landed with a small splash, a bright spot of colour against the dark green of
the water.

She pulled
up, turned and touched down just ahead of the seat cushion.

“The
propeller wash will push it to shore. We’ll pick it up later.” The aircraft
slowed. She turned and headed toward a small narrow beach beside a stream. The
water was so clear he could see the sandy bottom. She killed the engine and
their momentum took them to within a few feet of the shoreline.

“Grab our
bags while I tie her off, will you?” Jamie jumped out. “We’re going on a little
hike.”

She pulled a
machete from her tote bag, unsheathed it and started walking up a narrow trail.
“Looks like nobody has been here for a while,” she said, hacking at the growth
that threatened to crowd out the trail. She turned to make sure he was
following. “You can clear on the way back. That’ll make it easier on the next
people who come up here.” The recently sharpened edge of the machete glinted as
she swung it at the encroaching greenery. Craig had never used one of the long
blades and he studied her technique as he scrambled to keep up.

They walked
without speaking for a few minutes. Water burbled somewhere nearby. “We seem to
be following a creek,” he said. “Are we hiking to another lake?”

“No, but where
we’re going is connected to the creek.” She pointed ahead to a spot of
brilliant sunshine in the middle of the woods. “We’re headed for that
clearing.”

Craig
followed eagerly and almost bumped into her when they stepped from the trail
into the clearing. It was like stepping into the glare of a spotlight and he
blinked, trying to take it in. The scent of sulphur hung in the air and he
realized that they were at a hot springs. On the far side of the clearing, the
stream tumbled down a gentle incline, falling from one pool to the next as it
made its way into the clearing. Around the perimeter of the pool, ferns and
other succulents sparkled in the sunshine, droplets of mist on their leaves.

“It’s a
fairyland,” he said, stepping carefully between the lush plants.

“You brought your
bathing suit, didn’t you?” She put the machete away and started to take off her
jeans.

“I’ve got it
on.”

“Good.” She
pulled off her T-Shirt and piled her hair on top of her head. “You’re going to
love this.”

Craig
estimated that the bathing pool was somewhere around twelve feet across.
Someone had created a stairway of flat stones leading into the pool, and flat
stones had been strategically fitted into the edge of the pool to act as seats.
Smaller flat stones rimmed the edge of the pool and tiny ferns grew between
them, their delicate leaves dripping with mist.

“It looks
like a movie set,” he said, then turned to look at her. She wore a simple navy
one piece suit, cut high at the thighs. On her it looked sexier than any skimpy
bikini he’d ever seen.

“You look
beautiful,” he said and quickly removed his jeans and shirt, hanging them on a
branch beside her clothes.

She stepped
into the water with a soft sigh. Fingers of steam curled up from the water,
silvery in the sunlight. She turned to find him watching her. “Come on,” she
said softly, indicating where she wanted him to sit. “I’ve wanted to bring you
here since I first met you.”

“You have?”
He gasped at the heat of the water, but soon adjusted to it and sank down.
“Why?”

She sat at a
slight angle to him, where she could see his face. “Because you looked like you
need to relax. I knew right away I had to bring you here.”

He sank down
until the water was over his shoulders and closed his eyes. “This feels so
good.” He opened his eyes again. “Who knew there were hot springs in the middle
of British Columbia?”

She tucked up
a strand of hair that had come loose. “Fortunately, this one is remote but
there are probably others the same. There are at least three I can think of in
the southern part of the province that have been developed.” She gave him a
curious look. “You’re the globe-trotter. Surely you’ve heard of the Ring of
Fire?”