by Bird, Peggy
I know Father never understood why I would give any of that up. He never understood why I would move an ocean away to live in makeshift structures in the woods when there were sweeping estates and land and wealth laid at my feet. They are all much better left in Daniel’s care. He may be the younger of us, but he is better suited for it.
I know you always understood that. Perhaps that is why you gave me your inheritance. You told me at the time that it meant very little to you: the jewels, the things. You said you were partial to very little of it and that freedom, independence were far more precious a commodity. You told me to cherish the freedom and use it wisely. I have not forgotten.
Yet, wise or not, here I am, streamside, wishing I could linger. I am afraid if I leave on this journey, I will return to find her gone. Not drifting away like smoke on wind. She is far too real for that. She is like sunshine gleaming bright on a knife’s edge; if she left while I was away, it would be on horseback with her long fall of black hair swinging in time with the galloping steed.
Still, I will go. I will keep my word because my business and sometimes my life depends on it in this unruly land. I have used only two of the pieces of your inheritance for travel and to fund the supplies I have needed to start up this new business. The rest is untouched and will remain that way. My fortune lies in my own efforts. That, too, is part of my independence. I have been making deliveries, bringing post, trading, serving as a guide. Since my arrival, I have come to know the people up and down the river valley, their languages and customs. They begin to know me as well. I will travel now but hurry back to this woman. I do not know her well, but she calls to me, just as her name and its meaning call to me. Independence. I will keep the promise I made to you to cherish my independence and to use it wisely.
Your loving son,
Adam
Jade made a copy before carefully placing the folder back in its place. Though her cabin was a mess, one place where Jade was meticulous was the office. She wrote a quick note to Matt, letting him know he could use her father’s research, and placed it with the copied sheaf of papers into a manila envelope. She’d have Stu or Maddie drop it off later. It would be easier that way.
• • •
Matt was in his cabin when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and sighed. “Hello, Mom.”
“Oh, good. I’m so glad I got you instead of that infernal voice mail. How is your trip so far?”
“Great. It’s nice up here. Very rustic.”
“Ugh, sounds awful.”
Matt laughed. “Yeah, it’s not really your type of place.”
“Indeed … which brings me to the point of this call. There is a fundraiser dinner at the Ritz-Carlton next week, and I’d like you to attend.”
“With …?” This had all the earmarks of a setup.
“Amanda Carmichael.”
“I wish I could, Mom, but I won’t be back from this trip.”
“I thought you were only staying a week.”
“Change of plan.”
“Samantha okayed it?”
“I’m a grown man. I pretty much get to dictate my own schedule now.”
“Just how long are you planning on staying there?”
As long as it takes, Mom. As long as it takes. “I’m not really sure yet. It’s very quiet up here. Perfect for writing. I’ll just have to play it by ear.”
“Well, that was noncommittal.”
“You know how I am.”
Elizabeth McLaughlin sighed heavily. “Yes, unfortunately, Matthew, I do.”
Matt smiled. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Matthew.”
“Bye, Mom.”
“Call me next week.”
Matt shook his head as he hung up the phone and settled down to write out what he knew about the Cartwright treasure.
• • •
Lakehaven was cloaked in the grey hush typical of fall mornings in the mountains. There was something caressing and intimate in the silence of nature that made Jade think of Matt with a delicious shiver. She shook off the thought and forced herself to think of something else.
The fog would burn off by noon, but at seven in the morning, Jade watched it curl around her feet as she made her way along the dirt path leading from her cabin to the main house. The tendrils of fog reminded her of a bracelet, and she filed the image away in her brain to sketch at her desk later. The lake stretched out to her left, completely still and pristine. She smiled at its graceful curve and wondered if she could work it into a necklace design.
Her pre-caffeinated brain jumped to thoughts of the day to come, the responsibilities that lay ahead and, of course, the first cup of morning coffee that waited for her in the kitchen. She had to make sure that the Kent sisters had enough blankets to keep them warm. The cabins had central heating and air-conditioning, but the sisters liked to keep the windows wide open while sleeping under piles of heavy blankets. Also, Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy had emailed last minute to see if they could reserve their favorite cabin for this weekend, and of course, it was already occupied. Jade would have to see if she could convince Mr. Boyle to move into another cabin and then arrange with Stu and Maddie to make it happen seamlessly while placating them for the inconvenience of extra work.
“Are you avoiding me?”
Jade jumped about a foot and let out a girlish yelp. Matt lounged against the frame of the door to his cabin with a coffee mug in one hand and the manila folder she had sent over the day before in the other. Steam swirled up from Matt’s coffee. It smelled like something Jade would sell her soul for. His hair stuck up haphazardly, as if he had run his hand through it but stopped the gesture halfway. His Adidas track pants were slung low on his hips. A well-worn lacrosse t-shirt stretched across his chest and shoulders but hung loosely over his abs. Jade’s eyes flicked back and forth between Matt and his coffee, sure that there was something she was supposed to say now, but she couldn’t for the life of her think of what it was. Matt waited for her to respond.
Crap on a stick! Jade shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. She opened her mouth, closed it again, and shifted her weight back to her right. Matt lifted his eyebrows and sipped his coffee. Jade stared at his mouth. Sipping the coffee.
“Uh, what was the question?” Jade asked.
“Are you avoiding me?” Matt held up the manila folder for Jade to see.
Jade crossed her arms in front of her rib cage. “Not purposely. It’s more of a convenient accident of timing. I just happen to be really busy this week.”
“That doesn’t seem convenient to me at all.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s not convenient to you.”
“Is this about our kiss? Because you seemed to enjoy it yesterday.”
“Oh, I think we know whose enjoyment this is about.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Look, we both know where this is going.”
“Do tell.” Matt’s eyes bored into her from over the rim of his coffee mug. He sipped at the heavenly brew with infuriating smugness.
“You’ll have some fun then leave in a week and go back to your Manhattan lifestyle, where you are probably a member of the socialite-of-the month club, and you’ll forget all about me. I’ll be hurt and angry and eat too much, gain ten pounds, and eventually resume my solitary-but-completely-satisfying single lifestyle.”
“Jeezus H. Christ, woman. You sure have managed to complicate this.”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything. It’s already complicated.”
Matt laughed. “Apparently so.”
“Don’t be condescending.”
“Well then, don’t be insulting.”
“Bite me!”
“Uh, no thanks, I kissed you and look where that got me.”
Jade threw her arms up in the air, professionalism long forgotten. “See, this is what I meant. It’s complicated!” She was yelling by now.
“You keep saying that like it’s a fact. It’s not. But you
insist on making it complicated. I bet you couldn’t have a simple love affair if you tried.” Matt began to raise his voice as well.
“I could, too! This is not about me. I’d looooove a simple love affair. I just don’t think it’s possible.” Jade paced back and forth in front of Matt, but he just continued to lean against the door with complete insouciance. It was absolutely infuriating.
“I know it’s possible. But I still bet you can’t do it.” Matt had a gleam in his eyes. He had dropped his volume, but his voice held a mocking tone that just pushed her every button.
“Can too.” Hah! So there.
Matt tilted his head to one side. “Want to bet?”
“Oh yeah, you are going to lose this one, mister.” Jade thrust out her hand and Matt shook it. Jade’s eyes shone with anticipated triumph.
“Not a chance.” Matt gave Jade his smug smirk again.
Jade had a feeling that between Matt and his biceps she had succumbed to a Jedi mind trick, but she ignored the niggling concern in the back of her brain and continued with her current bravado. “Oh, and what makes you so sure?”
“You know why I’m sure? Because I know that when you go out for coffee with a friend, you don’t over think that. You don’t go into a friendship wondering when, not if, but when, one of you is going to hurt the other. You don’t wonder if you will disagree, or if one of you will move to another part of the country or when one of you will get angry and start a fight. You just connect with someone, relate to them.”
“That is totally different.”
“Maybe different, but no more complicated. You make relationships complicated. You have friends you love, right?”
Jade glared at Matt, almost unwilling to answer. Almost. Instead, she said, “Yes.”
“So the only objection you have is the great sex.”
Jade swallowed so loudly that she was sure Matt could hear her. “Great?”
Matt’s eyes pinned Jade to the spot. He smiled and panned her body with his gaze, all the way down to her toes. He slowly took a sip of coffee. Jade felt the blood rush up her cheeks.
“Sex changes the relationship,” she insisted.
Matt shook his head. “Jade, every relationship changes you, touches you, and if it’s a good one, you evolve in it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend, a parent, or a lover. If you care about each other, then you make a difference for each other. You just think romantic relationships are different, somehow harder. But you’re still you in each relationship. Sex or no sex, romance or no romance, a relationship will not make you perfect or complete. It can’t because you already are.”
Matt stared into Jade’s eyes as she held her breath. A moment ticked by then another. Finally, Matt broke the silence. “By the way, check with Ben. I just extended my stay. I’m here for three months. The bet stands.” Matt turned and went into his cabin, closing the door behind him with a quiet click, and leaving Jade staring at the blank door.
Chapter 5
Jade stalked across the lawn of Lakehaven muttering to herself and gesturing wildly. It was a beautiful wide expanse of grass, perfect for Easter egg hunts in the spring and croquet games on warm summer evenings. The thick, lush plain stretched away from the house for a good sixty yards before gently sloping down to the lake. It was one of the highlights of Lakehaven’s scenery and featured prominently in the brochure and pictures on the website. Adirondack chairs dotted the edge of the lawn facing the lake, providing a beautiful sitting spot to sip lemonade and gaze out at the water.
Jade’s quick steps rapidly ate up the distance between her and her first cup of morning coffee. She was so intent on her destination and focused on her anger that she almost didn’t notice the Kent sisters and Mr. Boyle standing in a circle staring at the ground. Well, technically it was a distinct absence of ground that they were staring at—a hole about three feet deep and four feet in diameter.
“It looks a bit large to be a gopher,” Mr. Boyle said diplomatically.
“Quite right, Mr. Boyle.” Beatrice batted her lashes at him and shot Adele a tight little smirk.
“I didn’t say it was a gopher, specifically. I merely surmised that the hole may have been made by an animal of some sort in the way of a gopher,” Adele clarified.
“What in the world is this?” Jade fumed. If she sounded a bit harsher than she had intended, it was only because a pompous guest had somehow goaded her into making a ridiculous bet.
“It seems to be a hole,” Mr. Boyle clarified.
“A hole? A hole? No, that is a huge gaping maw of ignominy,” Jade sputtered. This was not good. Jade had two responsibilities here at Lakehaven: keep the guests happy and keep Lakehaven running smoothly. The large ditch in the center of the gorgeous expanse of green lawn was not copacetic with fulfilling her duties. Come to think of it, yelling at Matt wasn’t either. On the good side, the hole was occupying the Kent sisters. Maybe there was a logical explanation. Maybe Ben had some underground pipe maintenance scheduled, and he had forgotten to tell her about it. Ugh. It was just too much to digest before her first cup of coffee.
“Quite right, my dear. What do you suppose made it? We have a bet.” Beatrice beamed.
“Of course you do,” Jade snipped at Beatrice but then immediately felt contrite when she saw the woman’s expression sag. Now she was being mean to a sweet seventy-year-old guest who used to give her candy when she was a girl. Jade took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Ms. Kent. I’m having a difficult morning, and I seem to have lost all of my manners along with my sense. Please accept my apology for the sharp tone of my voice.”
Beatrice nodded at Jade. “It’s quite all right, dear. We thought we could hear you and Mr. Conner speaking loudly this morning. He must be quite confounding to get you so riled up.” Bea’s face lit up with a smile that twinkled all the way to her eyes. Jade frowned.
“Oh, now don’t do that. You’ll give yourself forehead wrinkles.” Beatrice tsked.
Jade took a calming breath. “Okay, I’ll go find Jeff and get him to fix this. Would you mind keeping an eye on things here until I get back? I don’t want any of the Jordan kids to fall in.”
“Oh sure, dear. Don’t you worry, we’ll keep an eye out. You don’t think it was a large animal or anything, do you?” Adele glanced toward the surrounding woods and then back down toward the large pit.
Jade leaned closer to the edge of the hole for a better look. “Not unless the bears are carrying shovels. There are tool marks along the sides here that look to be the exact size of the shovel in the shed.”
“Oh, very good, Jade! I hadn’t noticed that before. Well, that settles the bet. So sorry Adele,” Beatrice gloated.
Adele smiled back with a devious glimmer in her eye. “Not to worry. I’ll win every penny back and then some.”
“We’ll just see about that … ” Jade heard the sisters arguing as she walked toward the shed to see if Jeff was around and available to fill in the mysterious hole and maybe even provide some answers. She rounded the corner of the wood stack and stopped at the gaping shed door. Clanking and swearing came from inside.
“Jeff? Is that you?” Jade asked. More swearing from the shed. Jade peeked her head around the corner.
“Goddammit! I can’t find anything in here!” Hedge clippers slid from where they leaned against the wall, smacking into the shoulder of the hunched figure. “Ouch, shit!”
Judging from the grey argyle sweater vest and the khaki pants, it was not Jeff. Jeff was more of the ratty t-shirt or flannel type.
“Uh, Ben?” Jade asked. Ben lifted his head and cracked it against a low shelf loaded with gardening tools. “Oww. Motherfucker, that hurt.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m looking for Ben Stuart. I had no idea they were holding a truck driver convention in the shed.”
“Very funny. Why is this such a mess?” Ben carefully picked his way toward the open shed doors. He was cute in a geeky sort of way, with a medium build, reddish-brown hair, and wire-rimmed glasses that he w
as always pushing up his nose. He looked perfectly at home at the front desk but not so much in the shed.
“No one goes in here but Jeff.”
“Ah, that explains a lot.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, why are you in here? Have you seen him? And why is there a crater in the lawn?”
“Searching for a shovel, not this morning, and how the hell should I know?”
“Great.” Jade chewed on her lower lip. “Well, this sucks.”
“I cannot argue with you there. Any ideas?”
“Find the shovel? Fill the hole?”
“Easier said than done.” Ben gestured to the tangle of tools surrounding him. “I’m amazed Jeff can find anything in here, and I’m starting to think the shovel is MIA.”
Jade sighed. “All right. See if you can find rope and garden stakes to cordon off the area, then meet me in the kitchen when you’re done. I’ll go in search of Jeff.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Jade rolled her eyes at Ben and headed back in the direction of the main house. After ten minutes of looking for Jeff with no success, she headed to the kitchen, hoping there was a cup of coffee there with her name on it.
Meg was already in. Jade poured herself a cup, tipped her nose toward the mug, and inhaled deeply. “You’re here early.”
Meg moved around the kitchen with an efficiency and ease that Jade admired. Meg could lose her vision tomorrow, and she would still be able to navigate around the room. “Yeah, Doug didn’t have to go in to work until later today, so he drove the kids.”
“Mmm.” Jade nodded while she swallowed the first fragrant sips of fresh coffee. It was pure bliss. “Have you seen Jeff?” She closed her eyes as the warm brew slid down her throat.
“Coffee good?” Meg grinned.
Jade nodded enthusiastically then brought the mug to her mouth.
“Yeah, he was in here earlier, grabbed a muffin, and then left again.”
“You don’t happen to know anything about the hole in the lawn?”
“There’s a hole in the lawn?”
