by Judith Keim
I choked back a laugh and caressed her cheek. Gazing into her blue eyes full of misery, I said gently, “Having babies isn’t about being in a competition. I thought Chad wanted to wait until his business became more secure.”
“He did,” Liz admitted, “but now he agrees with me that we should try right away.”
“You know, I wanted more children. That didn’t happen for me for a couple of health reasons. But your body is healthy and strong, Liz. It’ll happen for you, but it’s best not to think about it so much. That puts a lot of pressure on both of you.”
Liz let out a long sigh. “You’re right. I just have to let it go.”
“Good. Now let’s have a pleasant evening. I’ve missed seeing you. Rhonda and I are going to set up a meeting with you and Angela tomorrow, hopefully. There’s something we need to tell you about one of our guests.”
“Is it about the vice president?”
I stared at Liz in surprise. “What do you know about the vice president?”
“I heard someone in the store mention that the vice president was coming to town, and I assumed she might be staying at The Beach House Hotel.”
My heart sank, then frustration took over. “Oh my God! What is it about this town? Everyone knows everyone else’s business,” I sputtered, uneasy about the situation. Before we knew it, the press would be hanging around the hotel. “I’ll tell you the full story tomorrow in the conference call, but in the meantime, please keep all inferences to Amelia Swanson staying at the Beach House down to a minimum. She needs all the privacy she can get.”
Liz tossed her long blond hair over one shoulder and gave me a steady look. “You and Rhonda aren’t in any trouble with this, are you?”
“Not yet,” I said, wondering how to keep the press at bay. In the past, sometimes a small press conference would settle things down, but in this instance, there’s no way something like that could happen.
CHAPTER FOUR
Liz left me to get dressed, and I immediately called Rhonda.
“Oh, hi, Annie!” she said. In the background, I could hear the sound of her children shrieking with laugher. “Excuse the noise. Will is playing ‘monster’ with the kids, trying to get them in the bathtub.”
I laughed at the image of Will, a quiet man in his early 60s, acting like that. But he loved his kids and was proud to have had them at his age. Rhonda called him an aging rooster, preening about the fact that Willow and Drew were his.
“What’s up?” Rhonda asked.
All laughter left me. “Liz just told me there’s talk downtown about the vice president staying at the hotel. We’re going to have to be very careful about keeping any such information to ourselves and keeping Lindsay out of sight. The press will soon be nosing around. I suggest we put up some natural-looking barriers to the road leading to the cottage and add extra security.”
“Okay, I’ll get hold of Tim. He’s on duty tonight,” said Rhonda. “I’ll have him see that something is placed there right away. Manny and Paul can take care of it. Bernie told me he already called in more security guards in case they are needed.”
“Oh, good. Thanks,” I said. “Vaughn and Robbie have planned a surprise sail, and I don’t want to disappoint them.”
“No problem. By the way, I think Angela’s baby is coming sooner than we thought. Reggie’s mother is already planning a trip to Sabal.” Rhonda’s voice shook with anger. “I just can’t warm up to that woman. Not after the way she treated Angela.”
“You have to find a way to do it. You share grandchildren,” I said, understanding how she felt.
“I know, but you might have to help me practice being nice because she’s one of the snobbiest women I know. If I weren’t rich, she wouldn’t even speak to me. But now that my daughter has married her son, she can’t get away with pretending I don’t exist.”
“Reggie is one of the kindest, most honest people I know. He’ll help keep things pleasant,” I said, trying to encourage her. The truth was, his mother, Katherine Smythe, was a pain in the ass.
I hung up the phone, thinking of Angela and Reggie’s wedding and how painful some aspects of it had been with tensions between the two families. Funny how babies could bring people together.
After I finished dressing, I hurried out to the boat, carrying sweaters for everyone. The evenings on the water could get cool in this spring weather.
Trudy jumped off the boat onto the dock and hurried toward me, her short legs pumping furiously as she tried to reach me. She wore a pink lifejacket around her body, making her look like a hibiscus blossom gone wild.
Amused by her antics, I encouraged her to trot beside me back to the boat. It had turned out that Trudy was a good sailing companion. On board, she usually propped herself between cushions atop the seats in the cockpit, where she could watch activities both above and below deck.
Vaughn picked up Trudy, handed her to Robbie, and then offered his hand to me.
“Welcome aboard,” he said, smiling. “My co-captain is awaiting the chance to get you settled in the cockpit so he can hoist the mainsail.”
I glanced at Robbie. Wearing a yellow lifejacket, he was standing behind the wheel of the boat with a big grin spread across his adorable face. “I’m going to help steer the boat out to the Gulf,” he announced proudly. The breeze ruffled his dark-brown hair.
“I know you’ll do a good job,” I said, sitting and sliding into a lifejacket that had my name on it. Liz was sitting opposite me. Chad was standing on the dock, ready to toss the line to Vaughn and hop on board.
The sound of the engine as Vaughn and Robbie backed up the boat and turned it caused Trudy to bark with excitement. She loved sailing adventures as much as the rest of us.
As we motored through the inlet and out to the Gulf, a couple of dolphins splashed playfully nearby. I watched them with joy, treasuring these creatures of the sea.
We passed other boats and waited until we had plenty of room around us before Vaughn gave Robbie instructions to bring the boat head to wind and stand by for raising the mainsail and then the small genoa jib before falling off onto a port tack.
Vaughn helped trim the sheets as the wind filled the sails, and then he cut the engine and took the wheel. In the quiet that followed, we surged forward, making me feel as if we were flying in the wind.
I caught Vaughn’s eye, and we smiled, content to be together sharing a love of sailing. Thank goodness, our children loved it too. Robbie stayed right at Vaughn’s side, gazing at the sails with a serious expression, learning how best to keep the sails full. Liz had stretched out on the foredeck enjoying the downdraft from the jib. Chad sat nearby, holding her hand. Seeing this, my earlier worries about any tension between them evaporated.
Vaughn lowered himself onto a cushion next to me but stayed within safe distance should he need to take the wheel from Robbie.
He wrapped his arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. “Mmm ... glad I had these few days off,” he murmured in my ear. “If we’re lucky, all this fresh air will make Robbie sleepy after dinner.”
“And?” I teased.
“And we can go to bed too,” he replied, grinning.
The thought of it sounded wonderful. The coming days were going to be difficult at work, and he’d soon return to the City.
A gust of wind came up, making the boat heel and causing it to swing a bit off course. Vaughn got to his feet and stood behind Robbie, helping him guide the boat to a better setting, keeping the sails full, and making the wind work for us.
Observing the two of them, I thought how alike they were with their dark hair and brown eyes and wondered what it would’ve been like to have a child of Vaughn’s. He was a great father to Nell and his son, Ty, who lived in San Francisco with June Chung, his new wife.
After we’d let the wind carry us back and forth, up and down the coast for an hour or so, Vaughn announced it was time to find a spot to picnic. He took the wheel from Robbie, and we drew close to a more protected area closer to s
hore. Vaughn brought the boat into the wind, and when it lost forward motion, he called to Chad, “Okay, drop the anchor!”
“Aye, aye, captain!” he answered, dropping the decorative anchor I’d bought for Vaughn when he’d purchased the boat. “So, you won’t stray too far from home,” I’d told him, loving his delight in it.
As if he’d read my thoughts, Vaughn caught my eye and grinned.
###
As we ate, Liz talked about the new display she’d put in their store window. Located among clothing stores and eating places along Fifth Avenue, their small storefront, Bits ’N’ Bytes, attracted computer geeks, game players, and men whose wives were busy shopping. In addition to selling items, Chad ran his IT consulting business, overseeing computer and other technical programs for companies in the area.
I turned to him now. “I have a question for you. Bernie received an unusual phone call earlier today. It was someone claiming to be from the White House. He knew it was a crank call, but it showed up on his phone as coming from a number in Washington, D. C. That’s an easy thing to do, isn’t it? Set up a false Caller ID?”
Chad gave me a thoughtful look. “Yeah, it’s not difficult. Why would the White House be calling The Beach House Hotel anyway?”
“The vice president,” said Liz. “People in the store were talking about the vice president supposedly coming to stay at the hotel.” She glanced at me and back to him. “But we’re not to mention any possibility of it.”
“It’s important,” I said. “Rhonda and I pride ourselves on offering our guests privacy. A good number of our bookings are due to this policy.”
As soon as I got back home with some privacy, I would double-check with Tim to make sure the added security guards were patrolling the hotel property. The vice president’s plan was already fraying.
###
Back at the house, after saying goodbye to Liz and Chad, I took a moment to slip into the library to call Tim, our assistant manager on call. He picked up right away. “Yes, Ann,” he answered to my question, “we’ve taken care of it.. I’ve also taken the liberty of speaking to the front desk people again to alert them that people who might appear to be dining guests might be snooping and to be careful what they say.”
“Good idea. That’s exactly right. I had no idea word would spread so quickly,” I said, unable to hide the worry in my voice.
As I walked out of the library, Robbie came running toward me, his hair wet from his bath, his soccer pajamas from Christmas already looking small. He was going to be a large man. Even though they weren’t biologically related, it was another way in which he resembled Vaughn.
I swept Robbie up in a hug. “Bed time! You have school tomorrow.” He attended a private school and loved it. That attitude would undoubtedly change in the future, but I intended to encourage it, along with plenty of hugs for Mom. He was growing up too fast.
Vaughn and I both tucked him into bed and lifted Trudy up beside him, where she’d sleep until morning. It was sweet to see those two heads sharing a pillow.
“See you in the morning,” I said softly, kissing his cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” he said, smiling at me even as his eyelids began to droop.
Vaughn ruffled his hair. “Love you, buddy!”
“Yeah, me too, Dad,” he replied, turning over on his side.
We left quietly, making sure to leave the door open a crack as he wanted.
As we walked down the hallway, Vaughn put his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.”
He grinned at me, revealing white teeth in his tanned face, sending anticipation shooting through me. It sometimes took me a moment to distinguish between the way he looked on screen and the way he was with me. Either way, he was a sexy hunk of a man. And either way, he was mine.
CHAPTER FIVE
I lay in bed next to Vaughn, feeling very lucky to have a man like him. Robert hadn’t been a generous lover. It was Vaughn who’d shown me what it was like truly to make love, giving and sharing the joy of it.
He turned to me and caressed my cheek. “As I said, it’s good to be home. What did you want to talk about?”
I told him about the situation with Amelia Swanson and her sister, Lindsay.
He frowned. “That’s a lot of responsibility for you and Rhonda.”
“I’m worried about it, but after what that poor woman went through, we’re both determined to keep her safe. It may be for only a week, possibly longer. Lindsay will decide once she’s become acclimated to the hotel.”
“I remember how awful the press was to Tina Marks when she stayed at the hotel. Can you help Lindsay in the same way by giving her privacy?”
“I think so. We’re going to try.” I cupped his cheek in my hand. “You said you had news too. You’re not going to tell me Lily Dorio is back on the show with you, are you?”
“No, no. The producers have kept their promise to me to keep her off the show. However, they’ve hired another young actress to take her place, and they’ve told me right up front that if the public wants to assume that we’re together outside the show, they, themselves, won’t do anything to deny it. They loved all the publicity with Lily trying to make it appear as if she was my lover on the side.”
I let out a sigh. “Who is the new actress? And what’s she like?”
He trailed his hand down my back. “Her name is Darla Delaney. I swear she’s not much older than our daughters. Though she’s fairly unknown in the industry, she’s very ambitious. I think the circumstances will mean a lot of the same bullshit as with Lily, but I’m in love with you. It’s even difficult for me to play the role of the mayor in town having an affair with her, a school teacher. It doesn’t work for me. I’ve mentioned it to the writers, but they don’t care. They have this crazy idea I’ll end up going for her.” He let out a sigh. “I love my job. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t stay. I just don’t want you to have to go through all the crap with her that you had to with Lily.”
“Is Darla nice? Is she married? Lily wasn’t a nice person, and no, I’d be unhappy if this Darla person wanted to pull the same stunts as Lily.”
“Let’s see. She’s twenty-eight, attractive, and as self-centered as any other actress. But she has a stuffed dachshund puppy that goes everywhere with her, and that makes me think she’s a whole lot better than Lily.”
I sat up. “A dachshund? Really? I think I like her already.”
He laughed and pulled me down on top of him. “I think I like you.”
“Well, then, I’m not going to worry about Darla. Hopefully, she won’t try to get publicity through you.”
He nuzzled my neck, and all thoughts of Darla disappeared in a fresh surge of desire.
###
The next morning, while Vaughn was taking Robbie to school, I googled Darla Delaney. She was a stunning young woman with auburn hair, attractive facial features, green eyes, and a voluptuous figure. Darla was twenty-eight, from a small town in Iowa, and had won a scholarship to an acting school in New York. If she was half as good as her promotional materials claimed, she should be an easy person to work with unless her ego got in the way. Studying her photos, I was glad Vaughn wasn’t attracted to her sexually. I wasn’t willing to share one minute of our time together with any other woman.
I showered, got dressed, and prepared to leave for the day.
“What are you going to do today?” I asked Vaughn.
“I promised I’d stop by the high school and talk to a group of kids in their theater club.”
“Nice. Since you’re leaving for New York tomorrow, I’ll try to come home early. We can have a quiet dinner ourselves. I’ve asked Cyndi if she’d have Robbie for dinner in exchange for having Brett here one day next week.” Cyndi and Charlie Brigham lived next door and had a little boy, Brett, who was Robbie’s age. The boys were best friends. It worked out well because Vaughn and I enjoyed Cyndi and Charlie, and the boys got along.
“Sounds good. I may h
ave to stay over in New York next weekend. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Okay. Then I’ll definitely be home early.”
His eyes twinkled as he leaned over to kiss me.
When we pulled apart, I said, “While I’m gone, decide what you want for dinner. If you wish, I can get Jean-Luc to put something together for us. I don’t know what’s on the menu, but you like most anything he makes.”
“And how! If I don’t feel like grilling a steak, I’ll let you know, and you can bring home something.”
“Deal.” I waved goodbye and left him to get in my car.
###
On the short drive to the hotel, I thought of Jean-Luc, a semi-retired chef originally from France who’d moved to Florida thinking he might enjoy early retirement. Soon bored, he’d agreed to work for Rhonda and me on a part-time basis when we first decided to include an upscale restaurant at the hotel. He and Rhonda had butted heads a few times about his taking over her kitchen, but they’d ended up best of friends. Good thing, because anyone who tasted his food wanted more.
Close to the hotel, I noticed news trucks parked on the street. Then as I drove through the gates of the hotel, a group of reporters swarmed my car, trying to stare inside intrusively. My lips thinned. Having to deal with the press was always an exercise in restraint. It was hard to tell someone off when you were trying to appear professional, and The Beach House Hotel was in the background.
I continued driving out back where I knew a security guard would be on duty during morning deliveries. Getting out of the car, I noticed Rhonda’s Cadillac was already there.
After greeting the guard, I hurried inside the hotel. Before I could even get to the office, Rhonda met me in the hallway.
“Annie, we’ve got to get rid of these press bastards; they’re making it difficult for our guests.”
I let out a long sigh at the thought. There was only one thing we could do to make the press back off. “Guess we’ll have to meet with them.”
“Okay, but Annie, you’re going to have to do the talking as usual because I’d like to wring their effin’ necks, every one of them. One of the guests complained these jerks surrounded her as she was returning from her morning run downtown.”
