“He must have been a child when he hid this. I wonder if he left and forgot about it or if something happened to him.”
“I might have to pay another visit to Bea, see if she can dig up anything on the Baumgartners. It’s a long time ago, but I suppose there could be some records. Now I have unanswered questions about Charlie and Heinrich. This place is full of secrets.”
Riley paused for a moment then a smug smile began playing at his mouth. “Sounds like it’s time to name another room.”
Her eyes flew to his and her surprise showed. “Aren’t you the quick one? Thought of that before I did.”
“What will you call it? Secret something?”
“I don’t know.” She looked around the room, studied the floorboards, examined the box and its contents again, then smiled. “How about Hidden Treasures?”
“That has a mysterious sound to it…I like it.”
“Thanks, so do I. Maybe I can have surprises around the room…a special bubble bath tucked in a fluffy towel, a bottle of wine hidden in a drawer, a couple of vintage games in a little toy chest, maybe even some kind of wishing well…I’ll have to think about it, but it could be some sort of different surprise all the time.”
“That would appeal to people with a sense of adventure or those wanting to channel their inner kid. Make it a game…‘You never know what you’ll find in Hidden Treasures.’”
“That’s good. I’m going to start adding more information on the website about the rooms so I need more teasers like that. Oh, and I’ll put the claw foot tub in this room. I hadn’t decided yet which room it would fit best with but definitely in here.” She nodded as she spoke. She leaned over the cards to study them again, keeping her hands behind her back so she wouldn’t be tempted to touch them. “And I think maybe I’ll have the cards framed and hang them in here with the story of where they came from…a way of explaining the reason for the name.”
Riley’s gasp came fast and loud. “Frame them? And hang them in here? Don’t you want to find out what they’re worth? Talk to a collector?”
Susan started to chuckle, but saw Riley was dead serious. “How much do you think they’re worth?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never had any cards this old but since they seem to be in pretty good condition, I’m sure it’s hundreds, maybe thousands for the lot.”
“Well, in that case…you’re the one who found them, they should be yours. Really,” she added when Riley started to shake his head.
“No, Red, they came with the house. I just hope you’ll at least look into the value before you decide to just stick them in a frame.”
“Okay, I promise. But let me ask you…what would a collector do with them?”
“I don’t know, I suppose for some it’s an investment and they would hold on to them waiting for them to increase in value. Some probably just enjoy looking at them.”
“Like maybe looking at them in a frame?”
“Touché, Red, touché.”
20
After three solid days of painting, Susan was ready for a break. Her arms and back ached, she had a kink in her neck from looking up she was certain would never go away, and not only did she have paint all over her, Gusto had snuck into Northern Lights and knocked over a tray of paint on top of himself. Frightened by the noise, he had bolted and had tracked paint along the hallway and down the stairs before Susan had corralled him. So, by Sunday, Dylan’s baptism was not only a cause for celebration but a welcome respite.
The McCabes were out in force for the service as was most of Karen’s family. With Jake and Karen’s sister Kelly serving as Godparents, the rest looked on as the priest baptized Dylan who, on cue, let out a wail as water was poured over his head.
Karen’s mother and mother-in-law had overruled her and insisted on handling everything for the luncheon following the baptism. Anna had pushed to host it at her house and Karen’s mother had agreed, so the group prepared to move from the church to the McCabe’s house.
“’I told Mom I’d have Rose and Kate ride with us so she can get going faster and get home before everyone else arrives,” Riley told Susan as they made their way out of the church. “They don’t always move too quickly.”
“Sure. I’d still like a chance to ask them a few more questions to see if they remember any history surrounding the house or the family that lived there.”
“They’d be the ones to ask. They’ve lived here longer than just about anyone else in town.”
The two made their way through the crowd and found the women chatting with the priest who, after greeting Riley and Susan, moved on to visit with a couple Riley didn’t recognize.
“I’ll pull the car up and meet you outside,” Riley told his great aunts.
Kate started to agree, but Rose interrupted as her face went ashen. “You know, Riley, I’m really not feeling very well. I think I’d like to just go home.”
“Are you sure? You could come over for a while, I’ll take you home whenever you’re ready.”
“No, no, I think I’ll just go home now. I’m tired and this bug I’ve been fighting all winter just keeps hanging on.”
Kate looked disappointed but agreed with her sister. “It’s probably for the best, a big crowd like that will tire her out. I’ll head back with her and we’ll have some lunch together.”
Riley was concerned. Normally a big crowd did just the opposite for his aunt…she fed off the chaos and the more people, the more stories she could tell. He had hardly seen her since Thanksgiving with her bowing out of the Christmas Day celebration at the last minute, and now that he looked more closely he could, for the first time, see her age catching up with her.
“Okay, if that’s what you want I’ll get the car and take you home.”
Rose seemed upset and started scanning the crowd. “Frank’s right over there, I’ll ask him if he can take us home. I need to talk to him about something anyway.”
Rose walked away without so much as a goodbye and Kate, after giving Riley and Susan an apologetic shrug, followed.
“That was weird,” Riley said. “I’m worried about Aunt Rose, I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t feel well. It’s been a long winter, spring will make everyone feel better.”
“Maybe, but I think I’ll talk to my mom, she always knows what’s up with those two.”
He did just that.
“I don’t know, Riley, she seemed better the other day when I stopped by and took the two of them grocery shopping. She couldn’t talk fast enough when she started telling me about the new woman who moved into the building and who likes to play her Elvis records well into the night. It’s been a winter of ups and downs for her.”
“She just seemed…old, I guess.”
“Well, she is old and maybe that’s all it is, but she’s scheduled for a check-up next week. I’ll mention to the doctor what’s been going on and see what he has to say.”
Riley nodded then noticed the grin blooming on his mother’s face. Turning to see what had her so pleased, he spotted Susan holding Dylan and fussing over him.
“She sure looks like a natural holding a baby,” Anna sighed.
“Oh, no you don’t. Jake’s up before me…way before me.” With that, he walked away leaving Anna to grin at his back.
Riley ended up asking Sam to help him choose a ring. He had been back to the jewelry store twice on his own but didn’t trust his judgment on something so important. What did he know about rings? Sure, he could listen to the salesman tell him about cut and carats and so on, but that didn’t help him figure out which one Susan would like best. Following the suggestion of the salesman who had helped him every time he’d been in, he had tried to get an idea of what type of jewelry Susan preferred. Did she tend to wear larger, flashier jewelry or understated, more traditional styles? Since he didn’t know the difference, that hadn’t gotten him far. And since so often when they were together they were working, she didn’t wear much jewelry
at all.
Sam had been a willing, even eager, assistant. Riley had sworn her to all forms of secrecy from pinkie swears to cross my hearts. He didn’t doubt Sam’s intent to keep the secret, just hoped that she didn’t let anything slip. Sam insisted the ring they chose together was exactly what Susan would have chosen herself. It was simple with a single princess cut diamond that seemed, to Riley, to sparkle more than the others they had considered. And Sam had even thought to bring along a ring from Susan’s jewelry box—one she swore Susan almost never wore and wouldn’t miss in just one day—so the ring could be sized before Riley proposed. A woman didn’t want to get a ring one day and then have to return it to the jeweler the next to have it sized, Sam had explained. With so much to ponder and consider, Riley found himself, on more than one occasion, helplessly deferring to Sam and thanking his lucky stars she had agreed to help him.
With the ring purchased and plans in place for a weekend away, Riley took to counting down the days like he had when he’d been a kid waiting for Christmas. Frank asked him repeatedly what was up when he was so distracted he forgot the frozen pizza in the oven until the smoke alarm went off, screwed up royally in their monthly poker game costing himself twenty bucks, and even forgot they were supposed to meet at Mick’s Bar to watch a hockey game. Riley tried to brush it all aside saying he was busy making up for lost time after his coaching stint, but he was pretty certain Frank wasn’t buying any of it.
She didn’t want to ask Dez but she was desperate. She knocked on his door and tried to hide her desperation and her fear. When he growled ‘come in’ she took a deep breath, nervously smoothed her hair, and opened the door.
“Well, well, what brings you here, Lis—”
“It’s Jasmine,” she interrupted.
“Sure it is, Jasmine.” When she just stood there staring he barked, “What are you doing here? If you’re going to tell me you can’t work tonight then you can walk out of here and just keep walking. I’ve put up with all I’m going to from you.”
“I can work tonight. I, um, I wondered if you could do something for me,” she stammered and broke out in a nervous sweat. Digging her hand in her purse she wrapped her fingers tightly around the vial and squeezed, drawing strength. Pulling it out of her purse, she held it in front of her. “Could you get my prescription refilled for me? I’m out and I, ah, I really need it.” She couldn’t meet his eyes as he started to laugh at her.
“Your prescription. That’s rich, Jasmine.”
“It is a prescription, see? My name’s on the bottle.” Her hand shook as she held it closer to him.
He snatched it from her and read the label. “Oxy, huh? Should have known. Oh, and would you look at that? It sure doesn’t say Jasmine on the label.”
“I hurt my back real bad. I need it, Dez. Please?” Her voice wavered as she begged.
Dez looked her up and down. “Right, okay, I’ll get it for you but you’re gonna work two nights for free. Take it or leave it.”
She wanted to be mad, wanted to argue, but knew she wouldn’t…couldn’t. She just nodded and looked at the floor.
“Come back in an hour, I’ll have it,” he smirked.
“Thanks, Dez.” She choked the words out as she turned and stumbled towards the door.
Once she was in the hallway, she forced herself to breathe deeply and tried to slow her racing heart. She checked the time on the cheap cell phone Dez had given her, ordering her to have it with her at all times. She’d be back in an hour. Exactly.
She’d turned off the phone Jenny had given her and had hidden it under the lining of her suitcase before coming to Omaha, figuring she could probably be tracked if she used it. She was sure Jenny had been texting and calling and was most likely plenty worried. Maybe she should try to find a computer and send a quick email. It would buy her some time, she figured, before Jenny did something. She wished she’d just leave her alone. She was never going to live up to Jenny’s expectations—to her family’s expectations—she’d stopped trying long ago.
When she got back to the apartment she made the boy a sandwich and sat him in front of the TV while she snuck away and counted the money she had managed to save. It wasn’t much, but she was getting closer. She’d tried to figure how much she’d need before she could leave and move on to what she hoped would be the answer to her problems. What would have to be the answer because she was out of chances. A few months ago the idea had terrified her but she had managed to convince herself she could pull it off. She needed to do something. She couldn’t go on like she was. She’d be in Dez’s debt forever, or until he decided he was done with her.
She calculated and decided a month, at the most, and she’d be out of there. The weather would be warm enough that they could sleep in the car to save money. Once she got there she’d figure something out. It would be early in the season, maybe she’d be able to work out a deal for a cheap room. Some money was better than no money, surely someone running a business would realize that. It will all work out, she told herself again.
She checked the clock and paced for a few minutes until it was time to head back to Dez’s.
“Can I please go with you, Mommy?” the boy pleaded.
“I said no. Can’t you ever just listen to me?”
He seemed to shrink as he dropped his gaze to his hands folded tightly in his lap. She turned away and pretended not to notice.
“Dina’s here. Don’t give her any trouble, you hear? I’ll be right back.”
She slammed the door and rushed down the stairs hoping Dez had followed through on his promise. She was sweating, her hands shaking, and her heart racing as she walked as quickly as she could to Dez’s apartment. She knew he would make her beg again before he handed it over and she knew she’d do it. She hated him…but she hated herself more.
21
Susan fired up her computer and found three new emails in her inbox. She read the first, an inquiry regarding a family reunion. The group was interested in reserving all the rooms as well as the event center for a weekend in December and wanted to confirm the policy regarding children. Susan’s fingers tingled with excitement as she typed a response and included links to caterers and restaurants in town. She highlighted some of the inn’s selling points as they related to a large group and included a couple of her favorite pictures of the inn after last winter’s big snow storm. She had given the subject of children a lot of thought and had decided if a group booked all the rooms, children would be welcome. She wouldn’t be providing cribs or cots, but kids could bunk with their parents in sleeping bags. She figured if she wanted to attract groups for family reunions or weddings, kids were part of the package. Besides, she loved kids and as long as everyone in the group knew to expect them, she didn’t foresee any problems. This was the third serious inquiry she had gotten and each one was thrilling. She already had two reservations penciled in and was crossing her fingers the Tanner family would like what they heard and would book their reunion.
The second email she opened was a good luck message. A bed and breakfast owner in Wisconsin had come across her website and had taken the time to send her best wishes along with a few words of wisdom. Susan was touched and immediately sent a sincere thank you hoping to keep the dialogue open between them.
Cheered by thoughts of the goodness of strangers, Susan opened the third email only to have those thoughts dashed. A cryptic, threatening message greeted her. ‘Stay away from what’s not yours.’ She had no idea what it meant. Someone upset about the changes she was making to the property? That was really all she could come up with. The message she had received a few months ago and had promptly forgotten jumped back into her thoughts. What had that one said, exactly? ‘You will pay,’ that was it. It hadn’t made any sense at the time and didn’t make any more now, but that made two strange emails.
Susan noted the Gmail account used to send the email and considered replying, but quickly decided that probably wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t want to encourage communication
with someone out to harass her. She had deleted the other email and didn’t remember if it had come from the same address. She didn’t even remember if she’d paid any attention at the time.
Somewhat stumped, she stared at the email for a few minutes before deciding to simply close it and wait and see if anything more happened. She wouldn’t delete this one, though, in case more followed.
Moving on to happier things, she began adding details to her website, unveiling the name for another of the rooms with promises of more to come soon, and uploading pictures of the progress. She had decided on two more room names in the past week.
Lakeview named itself while she was painting and was continually distracted by the view from the room’s window. The second floor room had, without a doubt, the best view of the lake. Even in the winter while still snow-covered, it drew Susan. She decided she’d decorate with a nautical theme and include Frank’s photographs of the lake taken during all four seasons.
Sam ended up naming The Igloo, the second attic room, when she stopped by one day and, shivering while she chatted and watched Susan apply the white base coat, commented that she felt like she was in an igloo. Susan had immediately latched onto the name and the two had brainstormed ideas for decorating that included crisp, white linens, white and blue décor, and a Jacuzzi for two. Susan planned to promote the room as the perfect place to snuggle into in the winter or the ideal place to escape the heat in the summer.
That left her with one room yet to name, but she knew it would come in due time. She wrapped up her work on the website pleased with the way it was coming together…pleased with the way everything was coming together.
Susan’s phone rang that evening and glancing at the display had her giddy with excitement.
“Hey, Cassie, how’s it going?”
“How’s it going? I’ll tell you how it’s going. Absolutely, craptastically horrible, that’s how it’s going.”
The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series Page 16
