Lake Dreams

by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  Cole lifted a stray tendril of hair from the back of her neck and tucked it back into her bun. “Don’t be,” he said, as he kissed her soft skin between her shoulders. “It smells marvelous, just like my grandmother’s.”

  At close range he inhaled her perfume, something strong and sweet. The scent mingled with the appetizing smell of the cabbage rolls, a heady combination so delightful Cole swore he could get high on it. He caught a whiff of her shampoo, too and something else tasty cooking. “Did you make yellow cake bread too?” he asked.

  Maggie leaned backward and shivered at his kiss on the nape of her neck. “I did. I also made mashed potatoes and some green beans. The whole dinner’s not Polish but the major things are. God, I hope you like it.”

  He’d woken a little bit hungry but now he was starving. “Let’s eat and find out.”

  Just like he remembered back at his grandparents’ home they dined at the kitchen table and Maggie served from the pans. She handed him a filled plate with two cabbage rolls, a scoop of mashed potatoes and a portion of green beans then sat down with hers. They linked hands, she asked a brief blessing and Cole cut off his first bite. He tasted the blending of the outer cabbage leaves, the ground pork spiced with garlic, black pepper, a bit of salt, and onion then let the flavor melt onto his tongue. The light tomato sauce covering the stuffed cabbage rolls added to the overall experience and he sighed with satisfaction. Cole savored the remembered flavor and took another bite before he said, “It’s good, Maggie, just as good as Babka’s.”

  Maggie relaxed, her shoulders slumping with relief and she exhaled. “Oh, I’m glad. So you like them?”

  “No,” he said with a mischievous delight. “I love them. Thank you, Maggie.”

  Her smile began like a flicker of light and blossomed into a brilliant shining sun. “You’re welcome.”

  Cole enjoyed the meal and paced himself, eating with slow appreciation and saved room for a big hunk of the yellow bread, more like a rich cake. After a meal enhanced with casual conversation he helped Maggie with the dishes, a domestic task which brought back memories of his childhood, of helping his mother or Babka in the same way. Once the kitchen returned to order, they retired to Maggie’s living room.

  “Would you like to watch a movie?” she asked.

  Although Cole longed to make love to her with a slow, easy hand, to stretch out the sensual pleasures far into the night, he’d rather not push it so he said, “Sure, honey.”

  Maggie flipped around several channels before settling on one and then nestled beside him on the couch. Cole put his arm around her shoulders and sighed with contentment. He relaxed, watching Hugh Jackman as ‘The Drover’ met Lady Sarah Ashley for the first time in a movie he’d enjoyed several years back, Australia. He shed his shoes, worn without socks in the heat. Fatigue from his day of work crept over him, pervasive and thick. His brief nap hadn’t been enough and although he struggled to remain alert, Cole drifted in a delightful drowsiness.

  “You’re quiet,” Maggie commented. “Everything all right?”

  She slid a slender, freckled hand across his abdomen which touched off a response down lower and he blinked through a sleepy fog to respond, “Oh, yeah, I’m just sleepy.”

  “That’s okay, then,” she returned. “You worked hard this morning, Cole, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. The place looks better every day.”

  “Good to know,” he said, pleased with her compliment. “I enjoy the work. God knows I haven’t done anything like this in years and it feels great. I’m sorry if I’m falling asleep.”

  Maggie trilled a short giggle. “You don’t need to be, Cole. It’s all right. I’m enjoying this quiet evening with you a lot.”

  “I’m glad,” he said. He treasured such simple moments too and her appreciation warmed him like a blanket. “Just don’t get mad if I snore or something.”

  “I won’t,” Maggie promised.

  And she kept her word Cole realized when he woke hours later alone. Maggie’s scent lingered but she’d left the room, probably gone onto bed. A light cotton waffle weave blanket covered his knees and he smiled. Maggie must believe no one should sleep uncovered, an old wives tale he’d heard all his life and the caring gesture touched him. He stretched his stiff neck and shoulders. Cole tried to remember what time he fell asleep. He recalled portions of the movie but little else although a vague recollection of Maggie talking on the phone stirred. He squinched his eyes to read the clock on the DVD player across the room and when he realized it was two-thirty in the morning, he wasn’t sure if he should slip home or spend the remainder of the night on Maggie’s couch. Must’ve been more worn out than I thought, Cole decided. He needed a drink of water so he paddled into the kitchen as quiet as possible but as he turned back from the sink, he heard a whisper.

  “Cole?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he said as Maggie appeared, her white summer nightgown floating around her like mist over Lake Taneycomo. The short dress came just below her groin and the tank top style bared her shoulders. Although the thin material blossomed with tiny pink roses Cole could see through the fabric and when he noticed she wore nothing beneath it, he grinned.

  “I hated to leave you down here,” she said with a yawn. “But I couldn’t wake you up and I figured you needed the rest.”

  “I guess so,” Cole replied. He couldn’t stop staring at her breasts, defined by the gown or her nipples, perky and almost as pink as the roses on the cloth. “Back home, I couldn’t sleep much and here, I sleep better than I have in years.”

  “That’s nice,” she mumbled, her loose hair swirling around her head in a way he found titillating.

  If he left now he figured he’d be so wide awake by the time he reached his cabin he wouldn’t sleep again. If he remained he wanted to make love to Maggie and wake up beside her in a few hours. But the last thing Cole didn’t want to push his wish onto her or force anything so he tested the waters by saying, “Well, I guess I should head back up to my place.”

  Maggie moved closer. “You don’t have to go, Cole. You’re welcome to spend the rest of the night if you want.”

  “Am I?” he asked, wondering if she meant on the couch or in her bed. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

  Even in the semi-darkness he saw her eyes sparkle as she said, “I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening.”

  With total open honesty Cole said, “I hope not because I want to be around you for a long time, Maggie, maybe forever.”

  “Then start with tonight,” she breathed, an invitation if he’d ever heard one.

  He took three steps and enveloped her in his arms, aware of just how little she wore. Cole leaned down and connected his mouth to hers. Her lips molded to his, warm and sweet and her arms wrapped about his neck to draw him even closer. Desire, as electric as lightning, flared between them and although he ached to hurry, Cole decided to go slow and savor the experience.

  So he kissed her with precision, with lingering anticipation and evoked a response he liked. Cole craved more so he lowered his lips from her mouth to throat where he nibbled with delicate little bites. By the way she moaned and moved, he thought she liked what he did. Cole enjoyed it too. Each little taste propelled shivers through him, each one like a shuddering chill but with a physical pleasure powerful enough to rock him. His dick hardened with anticipation. The flavor of her night sweat tasted salty against his tongue but he savored the she-woman aroma he inhaled even more.

  Cole lowered the straps of her nighty to kiss her shoulder and brush the freckles there with his mouth. Maggie shivered and without knowing quite how, he stripped the gown from her body with one move. The thin cotton fell to the kitchen floor as he cupped her full, lovely breasts in both hands. “Beautiful,” he whispered as he put his mouth over one nipple and suckled just enough to make it bloom, hard and tight. Maggie whimpered as he did and the sound of her pleasure intensified his. His fingers caressed the flat smoothness of her abdomen, th
e slight curve of her lower belly. Against his rough fingertips her skin’s softness seemed as fragile as cobwebs but beneath the veneer her body heat burned. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she had a fever but this heat wasn’t from illness. This fire came from internal combustion.

  He fingered the soft curly hair above her cunt with the same reverence he would show for something precious but it wasn’t until her fingers jerked at the zipper of his jeans Cole remembered he still wore clothing. He wanted them off now and yearned to be skin to skin with Maggie. After she unzipped his pants he kicked them off with one swift motion. When she hooked the edge of his briefs with one hand his heartbeat increased until the beats made a rapid rock and roll rhythm in his chest. Maggie pulled his underwear down and he stepped out of them, sure she’d hear the wild drumming of his heart.

  Cole’s cock stiffened more when Maggie grasped it with one hand and squeezed with just the right amount of pressure. At the rush of sheer physical rapture she caused he thought he’d fall down on the floor with the wave of response. Instead he managed to pull off his khaki shirt, tearing away at least two of the buttons in the process. He heard them ping against the kitchen floor but he didn’t care. He owned other shirts and if necessary, Cole figured he might be able to sew them back on.

  Maggie pressed against him, hand still cupping his cock and he almost ejaculated too soon at the sensation of her skin against his, even more erotic than he’d imagined. She raked her nails down his back at the same time and Cole groaned aloud.

  “Like that?” Maggie said, a grin emerging from the look of rapture on her face.

  “Love it,” he managed to spit out. Need roared within and Cole decided the hell with going slow. He’d savored all he could stand now so now he’d feast. Cole backed Maggie up against the kitchen table, lifted her ass enough to make her cunt accessible and entered her with a sudden, sharp thrust. He plunged in deep and cried aloud wordlessly as her tight box fit around him. The first of the spirals began, circles of carnal delight radiating out from where they joined to consume him with intense pleasure. Maggie clung to him as if he were a life preserver out on a turbulent lake and made small sounds he found gratifying. She gasped then shrieked like a banshee. Her outcry brought him over the edge and into the starburst of passion, the ultimate come experience.

  Afterward if he hadn’t caught her, she would have sagged down onto the floor and Cole would have followed. They hung onto each other to prevent the fall. Cole brushed his hand over her wild and free hair streaming down her back and over her shoulders, his touch both gentle and tender. He wanted to say so much but when his breathing eased back to normal, all he could manage was, “That was wonderful.”

  Maggie cradled her head against his shoulder and he felt her nod. “Yes.”

  “So let’s go to bed.”

  Her eyes radiated enough warmth to thaw ice cubes as she asked, “To sleep?”

  “Oh, God, yes,” Cole said, “I can hardly stand up right now.”

  “Can you manage the stairs?”

  “I should hope to shout,” he told her with a grin.

  “Then let’s go up to my bedroom,” Maggie said, yawning. “I’m tired too but in the morning, who knows?”

  He’d never entered her bedroom during their youth, never had any reason to but once upstairs Cole thought the room they walked into had once been her parents’. By then, fatigue dogged his steps and his eyes ached to close in sleep. He barely had time to glance around the room, note the antique metal frame double bed or the jumbled sheets before he crawled in beside Maggie and slept.

  This time, he woke before she did and gazed at her, asleep. Her prettiness intrigued him, so basic and lovely. Maggie might not boast the classic perfection of a fashion model or movie star but her beauty glowed with life. Cole studied the way her tangled hair laid against her cheek, the auburn curls vivid against her pale complexion. The shade matched her eyebrows and if he recalled right, her public hair too. In repose, her face reminded him of a perfect flower, a rose or maybe an exotic tiger lily. One of her hands still touched him. She’d slept with it on his back, all night, as if she sought the certainty Cole remained beside her. Maybe she just liked the physical connection. He didn’t know or care – he liked it too.

  She awakened with slow awareness, coming to life like Sleeping Beauty and although Cole longed to kiss her, he enjoyed watching her more so he refrained. Maggie twitched her nose, wiggled a little, and opened her lovely grey eyes. She met his gaze without blinking, her stare as deep and mysterious as the waters of Lake Taneycomo outside. Cole looked into her eyes, less afraid of drowning in them as he’d been earlier and felt they touched souls.

  “Good morning,” he said in a voice husky with sleep.

  “Morning, Cole,” Maggie murmured. “Did you sleep all right?”

  “Damn fine,” he replied. He would’ve rolled over to get out of bed, go find his clothing, make coffee or something but she moved, stretched with the languorous appeal of a wild leopard and Cole’s interest in getting up vanished. Instead he took her, without words, swift and silent but no less satisfying than their earlier interlude. She arched her back taut as they coupled, as eager and randy as he to join their bodies again. The quick moment came and went but they rose from bed, laughing, showered together, and went downstairs to drink coffee.

  He made toast and she fried some bacon for a morning meal and then, secure and full in the understanding they were together now, knowing whatever they had wasn’t just a one night stand or momentary diversion, Cole followed her out to the pool where she taught him the basics of cleaning it.

  The remainder of the week swept past like wind through a forest. Cole spent his days doing chores for Maggie, a little touch-up painting here and there, repairing screens, nailing loose gutters back in place, and such. Cole became more adept at the small tasks the more of them he performed and he took pride in the way the resort began to look. Mornings, he worked, afternoons he fished with or without Maggie at his side. No matter what else happened during the day, they ate their evening meal together. The number of guests picked up as the week wound down toward Saturday and on Friday night, Lake Dreams boasted full occupancy. By Sunday evening when Cole headed off to church with Maggie again most of the guests had gone. Even though this time she wasn’t singing a special, he still wanted to attend. Several people greeted him as if they knew him and Cole relaxed a little more about being in a house of worship again.

  Afterward they ate sandwiches and drank a glass of wine on the porch of Cole’s cabin as the sun set with a fiery glory. Cole hadn’t drunk anything stronger alone since the first few days here, another improvement from his terrible period back in The Lou.

  “So,” he began as he let the cold Sauvignon Blanc trickle down his throat with a sigh of delight. “We’re going to Silver Dollar City tomorrow, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Maggie confirmed. “I’m looking forward to it, Cole. I just have one bunch of guests left, the Pattersons in number five. They’ve been coming for years and it’s just the two of them now. They’ll do fine without me here and I’m not expecting anyone else to show up. If they do, they can wait. I seldom take a day off but this time, I will.”

  “Good for you,” Cole said. “I probably set a terrible example with my long leave of absence.”

  “That’s different,” Maggie told him as she put her hand on his knee. “You needed the break without a doubt.”

  “True,” he replied. Honesty fit well these days, even about himself. “But you can use a day off to play too.”

  Her smile lit her face and he felt the glow. “Can we stay all day long?”

  “Of course,” he said. “We’ll be there before the park opens and stay till they run us out. We can even stay for the Echo Hollow show if you’d like.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m looking forward to it myself,” Cole admitted. “I’d love to see how much the place’s changed and what’s familiar.”

  Her eyes flashed
as she said, “We’re riding all the rides just so you know.”

  “I’d hope so.”

  “And I’m holding you to your promise to go back and take my kids later,” Maggie said. “I talked to them yesterday and they know we’re going. Kiefer said to be sure and tell you we’re going as soon as they get home from Joplin.”

  Cole laughed out loud. “I planned on it. When are they coming home anyway?”

  “I’ll drive over to get them Friday or Saturday. You want to go with me?”

  “Sure,” Cole said, flattered she’d asked him.

  He liked Maggie’s two kids, liked them a lot although he couldn’t help be glad they were much older than Brock, Brianna, and Becca so there weren’t many comparisons. Taking them to Silver Dollar City would be fun, he hoped, although he’d have to tone down his interaction with Maggie. As if she read his thoughts, she said,

  “Cole?”

  “Uh-huh?”

  `“It’s going to be a little different when the kids get back, you know.” Her tone carried a different note he thought must be regret so he hastened to assure her he understood, “I know, Maggie.”

  “I’m going to tell them about you,” she said and blushed. “I mean, about us but I don’t think they should see us doing the things we’ve been doing.”

  “Honey, I understand,” Cole said. “And I agree. It’d be easy to send the wrong kind of signal. What did they think of the other guys you’ve dated?”

  Maggie stilled like a stalled storm front and after a moment, said, “There haven’t been any, Cole. That’s why it’s such a big deal for them. It’s new, something they haven’t dealt with.”

  He hadn’t either and he didn’t know what to say next so he sipped wine and slipped an arm around her shoulders. Maggie snuggled back against him, comfortable as a favorite pair of slippers and he savored the moment.

  Cole knew, though, the oasis they’d created together wouldn’t last forever, just until the end of the week when her kids invaded their tiny paradise. What happened then, how the dynamics of their relationship might change, he couldn’t guess and neither could anyone else.