never
forget them.”
“ Wow...”
“ Did you tell her about
the bonfire?” Annie prompted.
“ Sure did.” Leaning
forward, he set elbows to knees and explained, “Every Sunday the
hotel hosts a bonfire for guests. We play music, tell
stories…”
“ Kinda like a campfire?”
Emily asked.
“ Pretty much. But we gave
it a fancy name and call it Serenity Scape.”
“ Sounds awesome! Can we go
this weekend?”
“ You bet,” he replied,
warmed by her interest. The three settled in for a discussion of
things to do and see while Emily was in Tennessee.
“ It’s getting late,” Cal
announced an hour later. “I bet you’re tired after your long
flight.”
“ Not really. It’s only
seven o’clock my time.”
Cal grinned. Kids would be kids. No
matter the hour, it was never too late in their mind.
“ Why don’t you take a
shower and get ready for bed?” he suggested. “You don’t have to go
to sleep.”
Annie rose from the sofa. “I’ll show
you where your room will be.”
“ Okay.”
Annie took Emily upstairs and returned
a few minutes later.
Sweeping around the base of the
banister, she sighed in a heavy stream. “She’s precious,
Cal.”
“ She’s a sweet one,” he
agreed. Taking Annie in his arms, he wanted to hear about her at
the moment. “What’s up, Annie? You seemed a little off when we
arrived. Is everything okay? You don’t mind having Emily here, do
you?”
“ Oh, Cal, of course not.
I’m thrilled she’s staying with us, and I hope we can keep her the
entire two weeks before she has to go back to school.”
Relieved, the knot in his chest
loosened. He wanted Annie to like Emily. He wanted Emily to like
Annie. It would mean more time together with his daughter, and next
to the woman he held in his arms, there was nothing he wanted more.
“Then what is it? Something was eating at you when I drove up.”
Annie pressed her lips into a line and the tension returned to her
gaze. “What?” Cal pressed. “What’s got you so worked
up?”
“ Jeremiah.”
“ Jeremiah ?”
“ He was here,” she
said.
The revelation ricocheted in his
skull. Images of him ripped through his mind’s eye. Bits and pieces
of Annie’s story about Jeremiah escorting her and Lacy from the
forest at gunpoint exploded in his heart. If Jeremiah Ladd had the
nerve to think he could force two women against their will in a
sick attempt at revenge and then come here and invade his home and
family’s privacy, he had another thought coming. Cal ground his
emotion into a ball of fury, and cinched it tight. Jeremiah would
not set foot in his home again. If he did, he’d be stepping over
Cal’s dead body.
Chapter Ten
Cal strode down the hall from the spa
on his way to the hotel lobby, the scent of eucalyptus persisting
in his senses as he savored the vision of his daughter eagerly
hopping up into a big leather chair for her pedicure. After her
tour through the salon, she’d declared her favorite part were the
spring-fed, open-air showers, particularly the disappearing
ceiling. Cal chuckled, warmed by her thrill. Malcolm’s creative
genius strikes again! Cal would have loved to have shown her more
of the property like the strange labyrinth formations in the
forest, the swimming hole just past the riverside café, but there
would be time enough for that later.
Right now he had to man
the front desk until Malcolm’s noon return. He and Nick had a
meeting with Troy’s legal team this morning which could not be
rescheduled. Thankful for their support of his son-in-law, Cal
agreed to handle administrative duties for the morning, the most
important of which was signing payroll checks. It wasn’t a huge
inconvenience, not with Annie and Emily tucked away in the spa next
door. Cal was only glad he didn’t have to leave the two at home
alone. Jeremiah’s surprise visit yesterday was a bad sign. It meant
the man had no fear. When Annie had threatened to call the police,
he laughed. The
forget them.”
“ Wow...”
“ Did you tell her about
the bonfire?” Annie prompted.
“ Sure did.” Leaning
forward, he set elbows to knees and explained, “Every Sunday the
hotel hosts a bonfire for guests. We play music, tell
stories…”
“ Kinda like a campfire?”
Emily asked.
“ Pretty much. But we gave
it a fancy name and call it Serenity Scape.”
“ Sounds awesome! Can we go
this weekend?”
“ You bet,” he replied,
warmed by her interest. The three settled in for a discussion of
things to do and see while Emily was in Tennessee.
“ It’s getting late,” Cal
announced an hour later. “I bet you’re tired after your long
flight.”
“ Not really. It’s only
seven o’clock my time.”
Cal grinned. Kids would be kids. No
matter the hour, it was never too late in their mind.
“ Why don’t you take a
shower and get ready for bed?” he suggested. “You don’t have to go
to sleep.”
Annie rose from the sofa. “I’ll show
you where your room will be.”
“ Okay.”
Annie took Emily upstairs and returned
a few minutes later.
Sweeping around the base of the
banister, she sighed in a heavy stream. “She’s precious,
Cal.”
“ She’s a sweet one,” he
agreed. Taking Annie in his arms, he wanted to hear about her at
the moment. “What’s up, Annie? You seemed a little off when we
arrived. Is everything okay? You don’t mind having Emily here, do
you?”
“ Oh, Cal, of course not.
I’m thrilled she’s staying with us, and I hope we can keep her the
entire two weeks before she has to go back to school.”
Relieved, the knot in his chest
loosened. He wanted Annie to like Emily. He wanted Emily to like
Annie. It would mean more time together with his daughter, and next
to the woman he held in his arms, there was nothing he wanted more.
“Then what is it? Something was eating at you when I drove up.”
Annie pressed her lips into a line and the tension returned to her
gaze. “What?” Cal pressed. “What’s got you so worked
up?”
“ Jeremiah.”
“ Jeremiah ?”
“ He was here,” she
said.
The revelation ricocheted in his
skull. Images of him ripped through his mind’s eye. Bits and pieces
of Annie’s story about Jeremiah escorting her and Lacy from the
forest at gunpoint exploded in his heart. If Jeremiah Ladd had the
nerve to think he could force two women against their will in a
sick attempt at revenge and then come here and invade his home and
family’s privacy, he had another thought coming. Cal ground his
emotion into a ball of fury, and cinched it tight. Jeremiah would
not set foot in his home again. If he did, he’d be stepping over
Cal’s dead body.
Chapter Ten
Cal strode down the hall from the spa
on his way to the hotel lobby, the scent of eucalyptus persisting
in his senses as he savored the vision of his daughter eagerly
hopping up into a big leather chair for her pedicure. After her
tour through the salon, she’d declared her favorite part were the
spring-fed, open-air showers, particularly the disappearing
ceiling. Cal chuckled, warmed by her thrill. Malcolm’s creative
genius strikes again! Cal would have loved to have shown her more
of the property like the strange labyrinth formations in the
forest, the swimming hole just past the riverside café, but there
would be time enough for that later.
Right now he had to man
the front desk until Malcolm’s noon return. He and Nick had a
meeting with Troy’s legal team this morning which could not be
rescheduled. Thankful for their support of his son-in-law, Cal
agreed to handle administrative duties for the morning, the most
important of which was signing payroll checks. It wasn’t a huge
inconvenience, not with Annie and Emily tucked away in the spa next
door. Cal was only glad he didn’t have to leave the two at home
alone. Jeremiah’s surprise visit yesterday was a bad sign. It meant
the man had no fear. When Annie had threatened to call the police,
he laughed. The
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