TRUE TO HIS WORD, Michael didn’t let me change our tickets to fly to Colorado via Jerusalem. But we did agree I’d speak to Fritz about trying to contact Father McDermott while we were gone. Hopefully he could get a bead on my dad or the person impersonating him.
“I’ll try to get in touch with Father through some connections I have in Israel,” Fritz said, “but I’m not heading over to the Holy Land. Good God, I’d burn up upon entry for sure!”
Fritz grilled me for a while to get anything he could that might help him get a bead on my dad, but in his mind, he was certain it was a hoax. “I have a very strong feeling that someone is just messing with you, kid.” He frowned and squeezed my arm. “Just don’t get your hopes up too much, okay?” Still, he agreed to look through some of his magical databases and put out feelers. I knew that if there was anything to be found, Fritz was the man to find it.
Fritz had been an enormous help in flushing out the two guys that had made a crooked deal with my dad before his death. While I hadn’t known him for long, he’d become a great friend to both Michael and me and had recently played a key role in my life. He had even refused payment for his services the first time we worked together, saying he’d had far too much fun with it to charge me. Plus, he’d done quite well at the poker tables by the time he had left New Orleans, the place it all went down. This time I let him know in advance that there were no more freebies. Now that my trust fund was back in place, I had plenty of money to cover his fees.
The rest of our wedding reception was spent dancing, talking with friends and family, and performing all of the usual wedding traditions. Michelle caught the bouquet, her tall frame easily towering several inches over all the other ladies. Her boyfriend Chris had caught the garter, and the crowd whooped with joy at the thought of those two being the next couple to walk down the aisle.
After a couple of hours and increasingly provocative comments from my husband, we were both antsy to take our leave. The reception had been a great celebration of the beautiful marriage we had begun, but Michael flat out told me he was horny and it was time to go. I didn’t argue.
I had already made plans with Maria and Candy to house sit while we went on our honeymoon. They would help out at the antique store I now owned and stay at our house in La Jolla, watching over my cat, Daisy. Neither of them had full time jobs yet, so they were happy for the additional cash, and I was happy for the help. Plus, our house, though a fixer-upper and not in the best shape, was only a ten-minute walk to the beach. It was win-win for all parties involved.
We didn’t bother with a limo, and instead rented a sporty convertible that Michael’s nieces and nephews had decorated with shoe polish, streamers, and tin cans. Michael revved the engine as we departed, and we waved at our guests as they disappeared on the horizon, twirling sparklers, blowing kisses, and wishing us well.
“So, Mrs. Drake, are you ready for this?” Michael grabbed my hand and kissed it before setting it in his lap. My hair, now loose, whipped around my head as he drove. “Are you ready to spend eternity by my side?”
“You bet I am.” Trying to snuggle closer to him, I felt something press into my gut and pulled back in surprise. Looking down, I laughed. “Hmmm, is that a gear shift, or are you happy to see me?” I leaned back into him. I slowly ran my hand up his thigh and softly began kissing his cheek, tracing a line down his neck. His cologne had a subtle, woody scent, and his skin was warm under my lips.
“Oh boy,” he groaned, shifting gears with a screech. “Watch it there. You don’t want me to crash this thing before we even get to the B&B, do you?” He laughed huskily. “Focus, Michael, focus. Five more miles. Five more miles.” His foot pressed down hard on the accelerator, and the car raced easily along the winding ocean-side road.
I continued to tease him as he drove, careful not to go too far. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have this gorgeous, strong, hardworking, loving man as my husband. Forever.
We reached the B&B in no time, barely putting the car in park before we both jumped out and raced each other to the door. “Wait,” Michael said breathlessly, pulling me back, just as I tried to enter. “I have to carry you over the threshold.”
“Aw, if you insist.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I let him lift me as if I weighed nothing at all and carry me into the cottage.
A giant display of white roses greeted us, along with chilled champagne and a small fountain of flowing chocolate with strawberries on the side. Candles twinkled in their holders and a ceiling fan spun lazily overhead.
“Oh wow, this looks amazing!” I said, taking it all in. The B&B was a stand-alone, one-room cottage, with the back wall made entirely of windows offering a sweeping view of the ocean. The hostess had left several of the windows open, and a light breeze floated in, giving me goosebumps.
Michael set me down but held me close. “You don’t get to leave my arms all night,” he said, softly kissing my lips.
“Okay,” I answered, slipping my arms through his. “No complaints here.”
He slowly began undoing the buttons on the back of my dress as I slid my hands down to his hips, pulling him closer.
“I cannot wait to get you—”
Suddenly, a shrill ring pierced through the air, causing us both to jump back in surprise.
“What the—?!” Michael exclaimed in frustration. “Are you kidding me?” He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone, put it on mute, and threw it on the bedside table. “Damn phone!” My heart was racing, and I did a physical assessment to make sure I hadn’t peed my pants. Who would be calling us on our wedding night? Could it be about my dad?
“Now, where was I?” He took ahold of my face and drew closer.
“Wait, don’t you want to see who it was?” I asked breathlessly between kisses. “What if Fritz has—? What if it’s impor—? Michael!”
Michael stopped and took a deep breath, his gaze intense with heat. “I don’t give a damn who it is or what is going on anywhere but right here, right now, with you, inside this room, or outside on the balcony, the beach, the water, wherever.” He looked into my eyes, his lips again grazing mine, and my body again responded instantly. “I have only one thing in mind, babe, and anything else can wait.” He silenced me with another kiss, and I willingly succumbed. In that moment, the world could have been falling down right around us, and I wouldn’t have cared one tiny bit.
●CHAPTER 6●
OUR WEDDING NIGHT was amazing…and I’ll just leave it at that. The B&B hostess thankfully does not live on site, and she dropped off a lavish breakfast for us at a prearranged time. We fed each other fruit and buttery, chocolate-filled pastries out on the balcony overlooking the deep blue ocean. Seals sunned themselves on a large rock just off the beach in the distance. The beauty of this part of the country never ceased to amaze me.
I found myself wondering if we could ever own a place like this someday. I knew that even with our combined incomes and my trust fund, we couldn’t afford an oceanfront house unless we spent every penny, but just thinking about it was a way to keep my mind off of obsessing about my dad. Was Fritz having any luck finding Father? Had Father even landed in Jerusalem yet? It was all out of my hands right now but, despite our amazing night, my mind was racing and I had to work hard at relaxing.
I looked over at my husband lounging on the deck, staring at the ocean, his brow slightly furrowed. He’d checked his messages earlier and had seemed slightly distracted ever since. I knew he was trying to distance himself from work for our honeymoon, and I debated asking him about it. He had a few big construction projects lined up, but his crew knew how important it was for him to be completely hands off for a few days.
“Is everything okay? At work, I mean?” I asked hesitantly, grabbing his hand. “Can they survive a few days without you?”
“What? Why do you ask?” A puzzled look crossed his face as he turned to face me.
“The phone call last night? Wasn’t that from the crew?” Who else woul
d call on a person’s wedding night unless it was an emergency?
“Oh, yeah, that call.” He sighed deeply, avoiding my gaze. “That’s taken care of. Don’t worry about it.” His face told me he was irritated at the memory of it, and I felt bad for asking.
“Well good. I’m sure they’ll be able to handle everything while you’re gone. They know you need some time to relax.” He gave me a wry grin and nodded. I decided to change the subject.
Looking around the secluded property, I fantasized about living in such a place. All of the worries from a stressful day would be forgotten once you stepped on out on the back deck with this gorgeous view of the ocean.
“What would it take to get a place like this? Besides a few million dollars…” I wondered aloud. “This is really all the space we need.”
“Well, yeah, sure, but…what about kids?” Michael asked, yawning and stretching his legs out on the chaise.
“What about them?”
“There’s no room for kids here. At all. We’d have to add on.”
That was true, seeing as it was a one-room cottage. “Well, you could do that easily, couldn’t you?” I asked my contractor husband, still fantasizing. A project like this would be nothing compared to what he usually worked on. “Besides, why are you worried about kids already?” I wasn’t worried about kids. I had other things on my mind right now. Namely, solving this mystery of my father. Must work on thinking of other things. Serenity now. Serenity now. I tried deep breathing.
“I’m not worried about kids. I’m just saying we don’t have enough room here. But,” he said, looking around at the landscape, shrugging his shoulders, “this is a large piece of land. We could expand. Maybe add another living space, a big kitchen, five or six more bedrooms.”
“Five or six more bedrooms?” I laughed, turning to face him. “How many kids are you expecting us to have?”
“Well, I don’t know.” He paused and stroked his chin. “But I have a great idea.” He looked at me with a sexy grin. “Why don’t we go ahead and get started? Or at least practice some more. Because, you know, practice makes perfect.” He reached over and pulled me into his lap, gently wiped a crumb from my cheek, and kissed me hungrily. “Hmmm…we haven’t christened the balcony yet…”
Sometime later we disentangled from each other and decided we were going to miss our flight if we didn’t get moving in a different way. I reluctantly left Michael to take a quick shower before getting ready. I walked into the bathroom and stared in the mirror. What I saw was a woman whose face was flush with love and physical satisfaction. I was so grateful for what I had. With Michael, my friends, my new business…my life was abundantly full. To have my parents possibly alive and back in my life…well, I couldn’t even express the kind of joy that would bring.
I sighed and began to unpack my toiletries, putting all other thoughts aside and focusing on getting ready. I told Michael I would leave it in Fritz’s capable hands for the next seven days, and I would not break my promise. Or I’d at least try my best. Starting now. Michael’s voice carried from the other room as I laid things out in the posh bathroom. He had said he had one call to make, just some loose ends he’d forgotten to tie up. His deep voice sounded concerned, and I hoped his ongoing projects would be okay without him. I wanted his complete attention on our honeymoon, not a distracted, worried husband. I swear, sometimes I’m such a hypocrite.
As the shower warmed up and steam began to fill the room, I opened the door and got in. I had turned on the dual shower heads to warm things up more quickly and luxuriated in the scalding hot water, my muscles turning to putty in my self-made sauna. I let the jets pound on my shoulders, feeling the tension begin to wash away. After a few moments, a brief cool breeze wafted over my skin and I opened my eyes to see Michael standing before me, a big smile on his face and his pleasure…evident.
“There are two shower heads for a reason, Emily. I can’t believe you’d try to shower without me.” He got in and pulled me close, his mouth coming down over mine. This would never get old.
●CHAPTER 7●
THE FLIGHT TO DENVER wasn’t too long, thankfully, even from San Diego. However, I felt it necessary to drink a salty Bloody Mary because a) we were in first class, and it was free, so why not? And, b) so I would not have to use the airplane bathroom at all, if I could help it. My plan worked, but my feet also swelled up so much I could barely put my flip-flops back on once we landed.
Denver is a booming metropolis. The airport and traffic are crazy busy, but the Rocky Mountains are only about ninety minutes away by car. Navigating the airport and heavily traveled roads to get to that gorgeous destination would be worth it. It’s not much different than the craziness of Houston and San Diego, and we would have a view of the mountains in front of us the whole way. Plus, Michael was going to drive. All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the scenery.
As we departed the plane, we headed to baggage claim and then the rental car counter. Once we got settled with all of our bags (thank God—a minor miracle in this day and age) and our rental (a midsize, neon green 4WD SUV for off-roading), we set out to map our way to the resort. This entailed the tedious process of entering the resort’s address into our phone’s mapping app and hitting “Go”. Quite different from when I was a kid and my dad would awkwardly hand my mom a map the size of the front seat and ask her to navigate.
Once we got on the road and headed west, the view of the mountains became clearer and clearer. I hadn’t been to this part of the country since I was a kid. The Rockies had been one of my parents’ favorite destinations, and we’d come here every summer until we moved to Houston. It seemed only fitting, since Michael and I currently lived in the tropical paradise of La Jolla, that we enjoy a different kind of scenery for our first week as a married couple. In fact, we’d planned on a week at the B&B in La Jolla. Moving expenses and the cost of setting up both of our new businesses had made me hesitant to spend even more money on a lavish honeymoon. But then, as luck would have it, I won a honeymoon stay at a luxury resort in Elkston, Colorado, from a contest I’d entered on a whim. I saw it as a sign that we were meant to come to this place. We both agreed that we get enough palm trees and sun at home, so we opted for a romantic getaway in the mountains instead. I was so excited to breathe the cool, crisp, fresh mountain air. There is nothing else like it.
I gazed out the windows as the landscape slowly changed as we gained altitude. We drove with the windows down to get as much of the fresh air as we could. The smell of rain was in the air, probably from a late afternoon thunderstorm, which are very common in that area. I reached over and held Michael’s hand as he drove.
“Hey, no messing around with me while I’m driving today, okay?” he joked. “As much as I’d love it, I have to navigate winding mountain roads.” He frowned. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but save that for later.” He blew me a kiss and put both hands on the steering wheel.
“Fine,” I sighed, keeping my hand still on his thigh. Immediately, I felt his phone begin to vibrate through his pocket. “Do you want me to get that for you?”
He was quick to answer. “Nope. Whoever it is can wait.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. We’re officially on our honeymoon. No work calls allowed.”
“What if it’s Fritz?”
“Babe, I don’t think there’s any way Father could even be in Jerusalem yet. That’s a long day of flying and layovers for him. No way Fritz has gotten in touch with him.”
“But what if he’s—”
“Emily, be patient. You promised…” he gently reminded me. “Besides, if Fritz had any new info, don’t you think he’d be calling you instead of me? Is your phone ringing?”
He had a point, but just to be sure, I checked my phone one more time. No new messages or calls, but I noticed my battery was getting low.
I sighed and continued to focus on the beauty of our surroundings. Flat ranchland turned into low, rolling hills as we continued north
west. Gaining elevation, more and more rocky outcrops began to pop up. Sage brush replaced leafy bushes, and pine trees and aspen dotted the foothills. Small businesses selling local wares were scattered throughout the countryside.
I distracted myself by talking with Michael about what hikes we would want to take. He had been to the Rockies before, but only in the winter as a kid for downhill skiing and snowboarding. He’d never been hiking in the mountains, and the competitive side of me was eager to see which one of us would succumb to altitude sickness and sore feet sooner. We decided to start off with some easier hikes to give our bodies some time to get used to the altitude, and work our way up to the larger peaks and maybe even the tougher 14ers, if we got that far.
As we climbed higher into the mountains, the sun began to set and my stomach growled, reminding me that we hadn’t eaten real food in several hours. Thankfully, we soon reached the resort. Driving on those winding roads, with the mountains towering up on either side of us as it neared dark, was a bit unnerving. We pulled up to the circle drive where the valet offered to check us in, take our bags to our private cabin, and park the car so we could head to the restaurant to eat.
The resort was luxurious and rustic at the same time. It consisted of a main lodge and several private cabins that dotted the mountainside, all with sweeping views of the Rockies. Or at least, I knew as much from the travel agent. It was twilight when we arrived, so we had a sweeping view of…impending darkness and tall pine trees. The walk to the restaurant solidified the idea that we were in a lush resort. All of the finishes were high end, and you could easily tell much care went into the planning and design. Each cabin area was lush and secluded enough to create a sense of privacy without being totally isolated. The landscape was dotted with local flowers and shrubbery, twinkling lanterns, and towering pines. Everything looked impeccably maintained.
We followed a winding trail to the log cabin-esque restaurant, and opted to sit out on the patio, immediately ordering two local brews while perusing the menu. The view as the sun dipped below the mountaintops was stunning. The national park entrance was only a few miles away, and we were surrounded by mountains. A herd of elk grazed in the distance, barely visible in the light of the setting sun. Heat lamps were scattered around the patio as the temperature quickly plummeted. Luckily, we had pulled our jackets out of our luggage before leaving our car with the valet, and I quickly put mine on, wishing I had thought to grab my hat.
The Naked Truth Page 3
