“Oh, I do. I have to thank him and I have a million questions for him. I don’t want to get too excited before I know all the details of the grant. How long does the process take? Are there a lot of guidelines I’ll need to follow as far as what changes I make to the original structure? What about the paperwork? How do I go about completing it? And on and on and on.”
“Then go call him. I told him he should expect to hear from you today. I would imagine he’s waiting.”
“Thanks, Riley. Now, where is that silly dog? I haven’t seen him since we walked in.”
“I’m pretty sure I know where he is. Come on.” Riley headed up the stairs and motioned for Susan to follow. They climbed all the way to the attic and found Gusto asleep in the corner of one of the attic bedrooms where the ceiling came closest to the floor and a narrow beam of sunlight snuck in from the dormer window.
“Look at him. I guess he’s found his favorite spot.”
“Ever since I did a little work up here one day and he followed me, he’s been sneaking up here and hiding away in that corner.”
A slow smile spread across Susan’s face. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, nodding.
Riley cocked his head and gave her a questioning look.
“That’s it,” she said simply. “The Hideaway.”
Understanding dawned on Riley’s face…the next name for one of her rooms. “I’d say it’s pretty perfect. But you might have to add a disclaimer that the room comes with a dog.”
That got a laugh out of Susan. “It is perfect. And this day just keeps getting better and better.”
Omaha sucked. The crappy apartment she was sharing with three other girls sucked. And Dez really sucked. Even more than he had a few years ago when she’d worked for him. He had made her beg, that hadn’t surprised her, but his anger had. He hadn’t forgotten that she’d left town in the middle of the night without warning. He almost didn’t take her back, but he was nearly as desperate as she was, so in the end, they’d worked out a deal. This time she’d made it clear she didn’t plan on being around for long.
Now, here she was, squeezing into a short skirt, a tight top, and heels so high she’d had to practice walking in them. She didn’t know why it mattered what she wore, none of them ever noticed. She studied herself in the mirror as she applied heavy makeup. Looking back at her was a pale, thin ghost of her previous self with stringy, faded blonde hair and haunted eyes. She tried to cover and forget. Forget the twenty-one-year-old with rosy cheeks over tanned skin, bright blue eyes full of secrets and laughter, arms and legs toned from hours spent swimming and water skiing, and sunny blonde hair that bounced on her shoulders and was the envy of all her friends. Forget that day over six years ago when she’d looked in the mirror and seen that twenty-one-year-old for the last time before making the decision that had changed her life forever.
She sighed as she grabbed her purse and started to head out. Before she closed the door behind her she glanced over at the boy sleeping on the stained sofa, a thin blanket tossed over him and Spider-Man clutched tightly in his hand. The girls said they’d look out for him while she was gone. She hoped they meant it.
She closed the door and tottered down the stairs in the sky-high heels. In the midst of trying to forget, she hoped she’d remember one thing. She hoped she’d remember how to block it all out, how to pretend she was somewhere else, how to close off her ears to the sounds, her nose to the smells, and just float away.
18
They’d decided to make a weekend of it and Susan was nervous. Excited, but nervous. The shopping she was looking forward to. They’d have Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and part of Sunday to scour salvage shops and were hoping to find things to match existing pieces in the house. A couple of the glass doorknobs were no longer usable, a shutter was missing, and the stair rail and some floorboards needed replacing. On top of that, Susan was hoping to get an idea of what was available as far as fixtures for the bathrooms as well as kitchen equipment that met with food service regulations. They had a busy weekend ahead of them.
But first, she had to get over her nervousness regarding the hotel arrangements. Riley had asked her if she wanted a separate room. She had tried, desperately, to read his mind when he asked, tried to figure out what he meant, but he had kept his expression remarkably passive. In the end, she had tried to remain cool when she’d said one room with two beds would be fine—they could split the cost, save some money—but she knew he had seen right through her.
She glanced at Riley, wondering how he was feeling about the weekend. Did guys ever get nervous about such things? Did they ever think that far ahead? As if sensing her stress, Riley took her hand and pulled it to rest under his on the center console. The simple gesture went a long way towards calming her nerves.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that big pine tree on the southern corner of the house. I was working in the bedroom yesterday and with the wind blowing pretty hard, the branches were scraping against the window. You’re going to have to decide if you want to take it down or see if it can be trimmed.”
“I hate to take it down. Last fall when all the windows were open I loved going in that room. It smelled like Christmas…like heaven. It’s a happy smell. I don’t want to lose that. I’ll check into getting it trimmed. You don’t happen to know anyone, do you?”
“I can get you a name.”
“I never doubted it.” Then she grew quiet and stared out the window at the highway racing past, her lips moving and a crease deepening on her forehead.
Riley watched her for a minute before asking, “Care to share?”
She was slow in answering but finally turned to him and touching one finger at a time said, “Scotch Pine, Pine Woods, Big Pine, or…O Tannenbaum?”
“What?”
She responded with a long-suffering sigh. “You really should have this figured out by now. A room name, you goof. What do you like?”
“O Tannenbaum?”
“It means Christmas tree.”
“I know what it means, Red, it’s just kind of weird, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know, it has a nice ring to it. I could keep a Christmas tree in there year-round. Maybe I wouldn’t even rent it out, just keep it as my happy place.”
“I’d go with Big Pine or…what was it? Pine Woods?”
She nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably right. A pine log bed and dresser, maybe a mirror framed in pine branches, a deep green rug. Pine scented potpourri and soaps, of course. It’ll be gorgeous.” She made a check mark in the air with her finger. “That’s three. They just keep coming.”
“We’re getting close. Which place do you want to stop at first?”
“The big one, don’t you think?”
“They’re all big.”
“The really big one.”
Even really big didn’t do it justice. The place was massive. Merchandise stretched as far as the eye could see. Warehouse after warehouse filled with everything she could have imagined, and then some. They had been there an hour before Susan realized there were four floors and an outdoor lot, too. And even though Riley had warned her it would be cold, she was freezing.
They made their way through row after row of doors until they found just the right one to replace a door that was, for some reason, missing from one of the bedrooms. One entire room was devoted to bathroom fixtures and the selection of clawfoot tubs was overwhelming. Susan walked the rows, considering and debating. Some were in bad shape, but several just needed a good cleaning. The prices on the tubs that were in at least fair condition were much higher than she wanted to pay. She asked Riley’s opinion.
“You can probably talk them down some, they want to move the merchandise, but I don’t know how we’ll get everything back to Misty Lake. I still hope to find floorboards, a couple of windows, the stair rail, maybe some other stuff. It’s not all going to fit in the truck. Maybe we hold off on the tub for now.”
“Hmmm.�
�� She circled the tub she liked the best, leaning down to check the bottom and to examine the feet. Then she looked at the rows of similar tubs. “You’re right. If I can’t get this one, there will be another. We’ll forget it for now.”
As they headed off to check out the stock of stair rails and newel posts, Susan started shivering and felt her toes going numb. Her excitement was quickly waning.
They finally bumped into Jimmy, a muscled, bearded, red-faced giant who somehow seemed to know everything the salvage store carried, where it was located, and how to find it through the maze. When Jimmy saw Susan start to hop up and down in an attempt to get warm and took pity on her directing her to the employee office to warm up, he became her new favorite person.
While Riley followed Jimmy, Susan chatted with Francie over a blessedly hot cup of coffee and wiggled her toes, willing them to thaw.
“Where is this inn going to be?” Francie, who Susan learned had run the office for thirty-seven years, was a solid woman with tight grey curls, strong, capable hands, and a booming laugh.
“It’s on Misty Lake. Do you know where that is? I’m still kind of new to the area so I don’t even know how to explain where it’s located.”
“Misty Lake? You don’t say.” Francie slapped a hand to her thigh and grinned. “We used to go there when I was a kid. I have so many memories of fishing with my dad on that lake. We’d go out, just the two of us, before the sun came up. I loved those times when I had him all to myself. And I met my first boyfriend there…Teddy Franks. He kissed me one night on the beach with the moon and stars shining on the lake. I was fifteen and sure I’d found the man I was going to marry. Teddy had other ideas. Two days later I saw him kissing a blonde girl with big boobs. My heart was broken and I cried all night until my mom finally told me to snap out of it, a boy like that wasn’t worth my tears, and when the right one came along, I’d know it. Four years later I met my Wally and I’ve never looked back.”
“I hope some day people will remember their time at my bed and breakfast so fondly. That’s my goal, really, to help people make memories.”
“I get a little of that working here sometimes. I see people wander through and watch their eyes light up when they spot something that reminds them of grandma’s house or their old school. I think it’s knowing that we’re making memories for those we love, or even for those we don’t know, that makes things worth doing.”
“I think you’re right. I worked at a fancy hotel in Chicago before coming here. I met couples on their wedding night, friends reunited after years apart, little kids staying in a hotel for the first time, and once, the sweetest couple celebrating their seventieth anniversary. Their family threw a party for them at the hotel and then booked the honeymoon suite for Betsy and Wilbur as a surprise. I escorted them to their room filled with flowers, sweets, and monogrammed robes. I’ve never seen anyone blush the way Betsy did when Wilbur teased her that they would need to make sure the kids’ money was well spent. Times like those made all the long days and impossible guests worth it. The thought that, for those people, we were helping them seal a special time forever in their memories…you’re right, that’s what it’s all about.”
“I don’t doubt your place will be the setting for many happy memories. What will you call it?”
“Do you know what’s funny? With all the questions I’ve answered about the B&B, all the people who are curious and have asked everything from what kind of food I’ll serve to how many towels I’ll have in the bathrooms, not one person has asked me what I’m going to name the place with the exception of the one who helped me set up my website.”
“Seems to me like a logical question.”
“Doesn’t it? I gave it quite a bit of thought and decided I’m going to keep it simple, old-fashioned, even. Rather than a cutesy sort of name, I’m going with The Inn at Misty Lake.”
Francie considered for a moment, then a smile spread across her face as she winked her approval. “I think you’re going to do just fine with that inn of yours, Susan. Sit tight for a minute.” With that, she disappeared into a room off the office.
Susan looked around while she waited. The window in the office allowed her to watch people milling about, but there was no sign of Riley. She figured he must be close to frozen and felt a little guilty for taking refuge out of the cold.
Susan couldn’t tell what it was Francie had in her hands as she came back into the office. She held it out in front of her and told Susan, “This came in a while back but I always thought it was too special to just throw out there with everything else. I’ve been hanging on to it for the right person. I’ve found her. It’s yours if you want it.”
Francie was holding an old-fashioned-looking wooden sign hanging from an intricate wrought iron bracket. The sign creaked ever so slightly as it swung gently when Francie held it out to Susan. It was beautiful and Susan fell in love with it even before Francie turned it around and she saw the carving on the sign. ‘The Inn.’
“Oh, Francie, it’s magnificent. I’d love to have it, name your price.”
“No, honey, this is a gift. It was waiting for you.”
Susan began to argue then told herself she needed to be gracious and accept a gift when it was given to her. “Thank you, Francie, that’s incredibly generous of you. I happen to have a cousin who’s a whiz with wood and I’m betting she can add another level to the sign that reads ‘at Misty Lake.’ I can’t imagine anything more perfect. I’ll tell you what. If you want to make another trip to Misty Lake you let me know. I’ll have a room waiting for you.”
“I just might take you up on that…make myself some new memories.”
Susan was thanking Francie again when the office door squeaked open.
“Head on in, Francie will ring you up,” Jimmy said, holding the door for Riley.
As Jimmy went to give Francie a tally of what Riley had decided on, Susan rushed to Riley with the sign.
“Riley, oh, I hope you’re not frozen.” Before he could answer, she turned the sign to face him. “Look what Francie gave me. Isn’t it absolutely perfect?”
He admired the artistry of the ironwork before he read the sign. “The Inn? Is that what you’re going to call your place? I guess I never asked.”
Francie scolded him. “How does it happen you spend every day working there and you’ve never asked the name of the place?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am, but it’s definitely an oversight on my part. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize to me, son. Those are words your lady needs to hear, not me.”
Properly put in his place by a woman he hadn’t even been introduced to, Riley turned sheepishly to Susan. “I’m sorry, I should have asked you a long time ago. And if I would have looked at your website like I keep meaning to do, I’d know. What do you plan to call it?”
“Well, since you’ve asked,” Susan grinned, “The Inn at Misty Lake. What do you think?”
“I think I like it. It has a little bit of an old-time sound to it and from a marketing standpoint, it’s a good choice. Anyone searching for anything related to Misty Lake will come across it. Very good choice.”
“Thank you. I’m going to ask Sam if she can add a second tier to the sign so it displays the whole name.”
“It will look right at home hanging from the front porch.” Turning to Francie, he tried to redeem himself. “That’s a very considerate gift. It’s very well made and Susan’s lucky to have it. Almost as lucky as I am to be standing here next to her. You have a good eye, Mrs….?”
“Oh, call me Francie,” she answered with a wave of her hand, Riley having already won her over. “And you’re right, you are a lucky man. Don’t you forget it. And don’t you forget to tell her so everyday. A woman likes to hear those things.”
“You can count on it, Francie.”
They made a stop at the hotel to get checked in and to warm up and change clothes before the game. In the end, Susan agreed to wear the Wild jersey…but only af
ter Riley promised—and crossed his heart—not to take a picture. Once there, she found herself in a dilemma. The arena was electric with excitement, it was hard not to be swept up in it. When the home team scored the first goal, the place erupted and, somehow, she found herself on her feet cheering right along. It wasn’t until she caught Riley’s ‘I told you so’ look that she realized what she was doing. Sheepishly, she sat back down and reminded herself she was a Blackhawks fan.
Watching the game seated next to Riley was exciting, amusing, and educational. He twisted and turned and deked in his seat right along with the players. He called penalties before the referees, saw plays setting up before some of the skaters, and questioned the coaches’ decisions at what he deemed critical moments in the game.
“Have you ever thought about coaching?” Susan asked him during intermission.
“Interesting you’d ask that. I hadn’t ever considered it, but I got a call just this week from my old high school coach who’s still sacrificing a little of his hair every winter in hopes of one day making it here,” Riley swept his arm out in front of him to encompass the arena, “for the state tournament. His assistant had to step down mid-season due to health problems so he needs someone to fill in. He asked me to take the job. The season is winding down, it would be a short-term thing, but I know he’s convinced I’ll love it and agree to come back next year.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him I’d think about it. He wants an answer by Sunday evening.”
Susan studied him and couldn’t miss the gleam in his eyes. “So you’ve thought about it and you want to do it, but…?”
“But I’m busy. Really busy. I’m putting in long days, working some weekends already. I don’t want to risk getting behind schedule.”
“Riley, if you want to do it, do it. I think you’d be an amazing coach. There have been times tonight when I thought you were going to head down to the bench to have a word with the coaches. And besides, I happen to know your boss will look the other way if you have to cut out early some days.”
The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series Page 14
