“Insomnia,” she replied. “I feel restless.”
“Do you know Mr. North?” Henry asked, searching out a reason for the heated exchange he witnessed earlier.
“No, we don’t know each other.”
“Really,” he said, raising an eyebrow like Mr. Spock on Star Trek. “You seem to have a…an interesting relationship.”
“I have no relationship with him,” Jenny said.
“Okay,” Henry answered, totally befuddled.
Jenny tried to smile but the thought of Devon made her intensely angry. “He’s quite full of himself, isn’t he?”
Henry looked down and away, not wanting to get drawn into the beginnings of a war. “We all get along well,” he said, “but, to tell you the truth, he seems to resent you for some reason.”
“I never did anything to him,” Jenny assured.
He was at a loss to explain it. “Yes, that’s true. You just met.”
Jenny felt an odd sense of pleasure talking about him. “Where is he staying?”
“He’s renting a house on Bear River. He comes up every morning and works all day, then goes back to the house to sleep. He’s been doing that for weeks.”
“Does he have family here?”
“Not that I’m aware of. He lives by himself.”
“Not married?”
“He lives alone—that’s all I know. But I don’t think he’s married.”
“No girlfriend?”
“I’ve never seen him with one.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Jenny said casually. “I can’t imagine anyone putting up with his superior attitude.”
“Oh, there are a lot of interested women in town. I’ve been asked to arrange introductions, but all the man ever does is work. He hasn’t got time for a social life. The only break he’s had from the hotel was today when he went to get the lamb.” Henry tried to appease her. “Devon is not the kind of man who gabs just for the sake of hearing himself. Sure, he wouldn’t make a great party host, but he is a fair, decent man. Ask anyone.”
“That doesn’t seem possible,” she said honestly.
“Really, it’s true. He saved some money and saw fit to invest it in a worthwhile project. That tells me the man has character and I don’t mind saying that a woman your age could do much worse.”
“I suppose,” Jenny remarked distractedly, “that he’d be a real catch…if you were a female grizzly bear.”
“You’ve misjudged him,” Henry argued. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but he is respected in the community.”
“So was Attila the Hun.”
“Maybe he likes you,” Henry offered.
Jenny laughed and rolled her eyes. “Like me? He can’t stand me.”
“I remember when I was in school,” Henry began. “There was this girl in my class, Becky Rhodes. Now I had this big crush on Becky, but how does a guy tell a girl he likes her? Maybe the guy isn’t sophisticated and he just tries to get her attention. That’s what I did. I dipped her hair in an ink well and it got all over the collar of her new dress. Now she was fit to be tied and her mother went to the principal and said I assaulted her. They moved Becky as far away from me as they could and she never so much as spoke another word to me after that day. I liked her, you see, but I had done it all wrong. And guess what?”
“What?” Jenny said with a chuckle.
“Half the girls in the class had gotten their hair dipped in ink wells.”
Jenny laughed. “What are you trying to say, Henry?”
“Maybe he likes you, Jenny, like I said, and by snapping at you he’s dipping your hair in an ink well. Maybe to him you represent danger.”
“Danger?” she said, making a strange face.
“Men like to be independent and free. It’s their nature. But women have power that is so strong no man can overcome it. Maybe your power is a threat to him.”
Jenny shook her head. “You have a very vivid imagination, Henry.” She lightly touched his forearm. “In this case, though, you’re way off the mark, I can assure you.”
“Maybe I am, but maybe you are. Neither of us knows what’s going on in his mind, do we?”
“That I concede,” Jenny said. “I have no idea what’s going on inside that man’s head.”
“He’s a hard worker, Jenny, and he’s an honorable man. Some men are a little unrefined, that’s all. They have callused fingers and strong backs. They work with their hands and earn their money by the sweat on their brows. Miriam’s husband was like that, you know. He could keep fishing when others dropped from exhaustion.”
“Did he die?” Jenny asked with compassion, glad to speak of someone other than Devon. She sat on a stool across from him. “Or did they break up?”
“He died at thirty and left Miriam behind with a newborn baby boy.”
“I’m sorry,” Jenny said. “That’s very sad.”
Henry looked meaningfully at her. “If it hadn’t been for her son, I don’t think she could have coped. A child gives you a reason to live. But no matter how much a woman loves her baby, every woman needs a man in her life.”
Jenny started to say something, but thought better of it.
Henry noticed and said, “What is it, dear?”
Jenny was reluctant to pry, but curiosity overcame caution. “Were men scared off by the baby?”
“Some were,” Henry answered bluntly.
“Did she like any of them? Did she continue dating?”
“She loved her husband and when he died no one else measured up. In a way, I guess she just couldn’t let go. Now she’s alone. Opportunity can be lost, you know.”
“Sometimes a woman never finds a man she truly loves.”
“Sometimes women don’t give men a chance,” Henry said. “A man won’t be there forever. If you wait too long, another woman will steal him.”
“That’s better than being in a loveless marriage.”
Henry shrugged. “In the end we all have to make our own decisions, but I can tell you that a life alone is a lonely life. I’ve grown accustomed to it, but now that Miriam’s son has his own family, all she’s got is this hotel. I hope for her sake it doesn’t fail.”
“That would never happen, would it?”
“Devon has done some fantastic work, but the building was incredibly rundown and the hotel’s reputation has been tarnished. I’m sure he can’t go on spending forever. Sooner or later he has to start getting a return on his investment. If he doesn’t, the bank will make a move.” He pressed his lips together. “Devon’s been borrowing money from the bank, you know. It’s only a few thousand, but you see how much has to be done here. It’s not good.”
“I’m positive the hotel will succeed, Henry.”
“I don’t know. The hotel didn’t fall apart in a day and it’s not going to recover in a day. It’s going to be a long road back to respectability.” He paused. “I know you just got here, Jenny, but maybe with your experience you have some suggestions.”
“How bad is business?” she asked quietly, almost as if afraid of being overheard, even though there was no one else present.
“Terrible,” Henry said flatly. “The east wing is scheduled to open tomorrow, but it’s not ready and there’s no buzz around town. The room you’re in and three others have been ready for two weeks, but you’re only the third person we’ve had in all that time. I hate to sound skeptical, but I’m afraid this experiment is going to flop.”
“Hmm,” Jenny mumbled with a pensive look.
“What can we do?” Henry asked with grave concern.
“To tell you the truth,” Jenny noted, “I was at a hotel that already had a solid reputation and an established clientele. Here you’re essentially starting from scratch.”
“Worse than that. The Riverview Hotel has a negative reputation that has to be overcome.”
“I’m sure it will work out.”
“Why did you leave you last job, Jenny?”
Jenny had no intention of
mentioning the fact that she left because she was literally running for her life. Nor was she going to mention that she feared Ivan so much that she was even afraid to call the police. Better to run and forget about him. Maybe he would forget her. Maybe he would go on with his life and file her away simply as a past experience.
If only she knew.
“I was burned out,” Jenny lied, lowering her eyes. “I was putting in ten- and twelve-hour days, and for the last year I was taking courses, too. But more than that, I got tired of the atmosphere. The hotel seemed like a fast food restaurant. People were just faces. You moved them in and out as efficiently as possible and you never got to know anyone as an individual.”
“You’d find it a lot different at our hotel. It’s sort of, I don’t know, kind of homey here. At least it was.”
“I’m sure it will be restored to its former grandeur, Henry. You can feel the personality and history in this building. It really does have tremendous potential.”
“Then you’ll stick with us? You’ll try to help get this juggernaut turned around?”
“I don’t know,” Jenny said, forcing a smile.
Henry looked knowingly at her. “I understand. I wouldn’t want to take it on either.”
“It’s not that,” Jenny said shyly, as if conflicted.
“I’m sorry. I’m badgering. You’ve been working hard and you probably need a break. The last thing you want to do is jump right back into the fray, especially with a hotel so down on its luck.”
“It’s not that,” Jenny said again.
“What then?”
Jenny didn’t feel completely comfortable in revealing her thoughts, but there was no denying that Henry was the type of person with whom she felt an instant rapport, as though she knew him all her life. In many ways he reminded her of Arnie back in Florida.
“It’s that man,” Jenny suddenly blurted out. “I don’t like the thought of dealing with him. He obviously doesn’t want me around.”
“Devon? Oh, he’ll be all right. He probably just had a bad day. I’m certain that if you can figure out a way to make his hotel more successful, he’ll love you for it.”
“I don’t want him to love me,” Jenny retorted. “I’d settle for him promising not to bite me.”
Henry laughed. “I’m so glad you’ve come, dear. I can see you’re going to be a ray of sunshine around here.”
Jenny felt a warm glow at the compliment. “Thank you for making me feel welcome.”
“So,” he said, looking hopefully at her, “you plan on staying for awhile?”
“I’m sort of playing it by ear.”
“All right. That’s fair enough.”
Jenny looked down at the newspaper and saw a picture of a beach and a large gothic house on the hill in the background. For some unknown reason, she was sure—positively convinced—that she had seen this house and beach before. How that was possible, she had no idea, but that she had seen it before, there could be no doubt. It was eerie that this feeling of déjà vu had been following her ever since she came to the hotel.
“Where is this?” she asked keenly. “It looks familiar.”
Henry shrugged. “That’s White Sands Beach. It’s no more than half an hour from here.”
“Who owns the house?”
“I have no idea. It’s been deserted for years. You can walk right up to it and look in.”
“Really? I could go and have a look?”
“Sure. White Sands Beach is a public beach and there’s a nature trail not far from the house. People go up and look inside all the time. Like I said, it’s deserted.”
“Sounds fantastic,” Jenny said, still staring at the house. “I’ve seen that house before. A picture, on television—I don’t know where, but I have seen it before. I’m sure.”
“Maybe you have,” Henry conceded. “I’m not going to argue with you.” He laughed. “The beach is about a mile long. The sand is very fine and bleached white. The ocean is the deepest blue you’ve ever seen and at either end of the beach are two steep cliffs. I’m sure you’d like it.”
“I do like it here,” she said, looking around. “I’ve never been to Nova Scotia before, but I think I could live here the rest of my life.”
“Wow,” Henry replied, obviously pleased by her enthusiasm. “I’m sure we’d all love to have you stay, Jenny.”
A look of concern descended over her brows. “If you don’t mind, could you speak to Mr. North and sound him out for me. If he’s violently opposed to me working here, I would rather leave.”
“I’ll ask, but I’m sure everything will be fine. He’s just used to being the boss and sometimes it’s hard for a man to accept that he needs a woman’s help.”
Jenny was exceedingly pleased that Henry and Miriam considered her an important, even integral, part of the business, even though she had been there only a short time. When she was given the Florida job, she had to go through a battery of tests and a round of interviews. The informality at the Riverview Hotel, although not something she was used to, was very pleasing to her. “Could you,” she said, feeling greatly embarrassed, “speak to Mr. North as soon as possible? Like before he comes up here in the morning.”
“Jenny, he’s not going to have you arrested for trespassing.”
“Just the same, I don’t want a confrontation, and if he’s going to make an issue of it—”
“I would phone him,” Henry noted, “but he doesn’t have a phone at the river house.”
“He doesn’t have a phone? That’s odd.”
“Just between you and me,” Henry said, lowering his voice, “I think he is a little odd.”
Jenny leaned forward, her eyes opened wide with curiosity. “How so?”
“He’s a real loner. He’s friendly enough with us, but you get the feeling he doesn’t like to be with people any more than he has to. He could have taken the Captain’s room out back—the one in the Captain’s House—but he chose to rent down the river. I think it was so he could be alone. There’s no other explanation. He spent a lot of money on the hotel and I’m sure he’s on a tight budget, but he clings to that house and his privacy, even though he’s paying some pretty big rent.”
Jenny nodded. “To tell you the truth, I got the impression that he really doesn’t like people very much at all.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Henry said, shrugging, “but he is reserved—maybe it’s something from his past.”
“Maybe, but he better make some character changes if he wants to run a hotel. The last thing a man in his position needs to be is a hermit with an attitude.”
“That’s true,” Henry agreed, laughing. “But God knows there are plenty of women in Newbridge who would like to get to know him.”
“Oh?”
“He is a handsome devil, isn’t he?”
“He’s all right, I guess,” Jenny begrudgingly conceded, “but not the kind of man I find attractive.”
“Oh, he’s a looker, Jenny,” Henry insisted. “Reminds me of myself when I was young.”
Jenny smiled with good-natured amusement.
“The ladies in town are still trying to figure him out. When he first came, a lot of them did everything in their power to meet him. There was a running joke about women spontaneously meeting him at the hardware store and confessing their hidden passion for plumbing supplies.” He laughed. “It was quite a circus.”
“Did he show any interest?” Jenny inquired casually.
“He was friendly, that’s all.”
“Friendly?” Jenny thought, struck by the word.
Devon had not been friendly to her, nor could she imagine him ever being the least bit personable, but for some unknown reason she still felt pleased that Devon was not particularly struck by anyone else. Why this pleased her, she would not, or could not, say. Devon had been openly hostile toward her. That puzzled her. With other men Jenny always had a way. She never led them on or used them, but with a single smile she always won them over. Devon was diffe
rent. He was a moody, insufferable beast. He treated her with complete disdain and total disinterest. So why, she wondered, was she wasting time thinking about him?
No doubt about it, Devon was a challenge. A mystery. Why did he act the way he did? Was Henry right, and did something from his past haunt him? And was unraveling the secret of this man the only thing that interested her? She thought of his handsome face, his powerful, manly presence, his tough, skilled hands…Never before in her life had she felt so conscious of a man. He was her total opposite and a world away from what she envisioned as her “dream man,” yet he forced his way into her consciousness and would not leave. But he would leave! She would make him leave! This man, this Devon North, was a passing fancy who had overstayed his welcome. Jenny banished him from her thoughts and, when he still stubbornly refused to depart, she assured herself that he would be gone and forgotten after a good night’s sleep.
“Thinking of something pleasant?” Jenny heard Henry say.
Jenny snapped out of her daydreams. “Excuse me, Henry, I was drifting.”
“I just said that you must have been thinking about something pleasant because you had such a nice smile on your face.”
“I’m just tired,” Jenny said, excusing herself. “I think I’ll turn in for the night.”
“By all means, go ahead. You’ve had a busy day.”
“Yes,” Jenny said with a sigh. “A very busy day.”
She bid Henry good night and walked back to her room. The door creaked when she opened it, but the abode felt like a cave, a place that she could crawl into as if she was an animal, a place she could vanish. She disrobed and crawled under the sheets. The bed felt like a soft cloud. With everything that happened to her in the last few weeks Jenny was emotionally drained. She wanted to sleep like Rip Van Winkle.
When her head hit the pillow, she drifted off immediately.
Her sleep was not restful, though. She dreamed of a big coyote at the edge of a farm, pacing steadily and relentlessly, refusing to stop until he had brought down the lone lamb. Jenny knew even in her dreams that Ivan would not stop until his prey was dead. He would not stop, would not. Sooner or later, Ivan Wiley would find her and try to wreak his vengeance. She had no idea when that would happen, but she knew the day was coming. Jenny had no idea of what was yet to come, because if she did, she would not have been able to sleep.
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