The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series (7 page)

“No, you can’t. He’s going to start to be embarrassed in front of his friends.”

That got a chuckle out of Susan. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I don’t want to influence you. What have you been thinking?”

“Well, I’ve tossed around a couple of ideas.” She hesitated then said, “I was thinking Chewie after Chewbacca and because that’s what he seems to love to do, but I’ve kind of already talked myself out of it.”

Riley nodded in agreement. “What else?”

“Barney, but he seems to have too much energy for a Barney.”

“Agreed. Next?”

“I’ve considered Marvin, Finley, Harley, and Gus but nothing sounds quite right.”

Riley watched the dog that had now lost interest in his tail and was racing in circles in the yard for no discernable reason. “He does have a lot of energy.” Riley thought for a moment. “What about instead of Gus, Gusto?”

“Gusto.” Susan tried it out, repeated it a couple of times, then called the dog. “Gusto, come!” He looked up, stumbled a little, his racing in circles apparently having left him slightly dizzy, then bounded toward Susan and ran headlong into her legs.

“He seems to like it,” Riley laughed.

“I think you’re right. We have a winner, Gusto it is.” Susan bent to pick up the dog, already more difficult than it had been a couple of weeks ago, and held him towards Riley. “Give him a kiss and tell him thank you for your name.”

The dog obediently nuzzled Riley and licked his chin. “He sure loves you,” Susan said to Riley who now had the dog in his arms.

Riley could tell by the tone of her voice she was building up to something. He waited her out. She kicked at some dried leaves, picked up a stick and broke it in half, zipped up her jacket, and pulled her phone out of her pocket to snap a picture of Riley holding Gusto before finally speaking again.

“I was wondering, since he likes you so much and since you’re here so much during the day…I know it would be a lot of work and I understand you’re busy, but he’s so comfortable around you and I hate to leave him at a kennel so soon after taking him in…”

He finally took pity on her. “Do you want me to keep him while you go to Chicago?”

The tension seemed to dissolve from Susan’s shoulders. “Oh, Riley, would you? Jake’s going to be staying at Sam’s to watch Rigi and Sam said I could leave him there, but Jake will be gone long hours sometimes. Rigi can handle it but Gusto’s just a baby and still getting used to everything. I hate the thought of leaving him in his crate all day. Not that you can’t put him in the crate when he’s here, you can, he likes it fine, it would just be good if he didn’t have to stay in there for too long at one stretch. He—”

“Red, take a breath, I said I’d do it.” Setting the dog down, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “He’ll be fine, I’ve taken care of dogs before.”

Susan looked up at him, relief in her eyes. “Thank you, Riley. I’ll feel so much better knowing you have him. Maybe you can take him over to Sam’s once or twice and let him run with Rigi, he likes that. Or, maybe Jake would bring Rigi over here. Either way, it would be nice if they could get together. And I’ll write down when he eats and how much so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I’ll make sure he cleans his plate and I’ll schedule play dates for him,” Riley teased. “And I’ll read to him before bed and make sure he listens to classical music.”

“Okay, okay, very funny. I know I’m a little crazy when it comes to him but he had such a rough start, didn’t you boy?” She bent down to rub his ears. Gusto leaned against her legs savoring every moment.

“I’ll take good care of him,” Riley assured her. “I like him too, you know.” He joined her on the ground and the three wrestled until the dog finally tired.

When he woke up he was in the backseat of the car and they were driving again. He couldn’t remember getting in the car, Mommy must have carried him while he was sleeping. The last thing he remembered was his mom giving him some chicken nuggets and orange soda then turning on the TV and making him promise not to go anywhere while she was gone. She hadn’t told him where she was going and he’d been scared. He had almost started to cry, but he knew she’d get mad so he’d squeezed his eyes shut tight. He’d eaten his nuggets and finished most of the soda then curled up on the couch to watch SpongeBob while he waited for her to come back.

Even though he didn’t know where they were going, he was glad they left that man’s house. He was mean. Mommy said he was her friend but he was mean to Mommy, too. And Mommy kept leaving with him and then he’d be alone. He wasn’t going to think about it any more because he hoped they wouldn’t have to go back.

Right now, though, he had to pee. He was afraid to ask his mom to stop, but he didn’t think he could wait much longer. “Mommy, I have to pee,” he said softly.

“What?” It seemed to take a minute for her to remember he was in the back seat. “Oh, hey buddy. Did you have a good nap? We’ll stop soon, I promise. Are you hungry?” She turned and smiled back at the boy.

The boy nodded but didn’t say anything. Sometimes it was scarier when Mommy was happy. She’d be nice and talk to him and play with him but then get mad again and he never knew why. And sometimes she got mad just because he talked. She said it made her head hurt. He couldn’t tell if this was one of those times so he decided not to say anything yet. He fidgeted in the seat and hoped she would stop soon.

8

“So, how was the trip?” It was the first time Susan and Riley had had time to catch up since Susan’s return from Chicago. She had agreed to the extra shifts on her schedule in exchange for her time away, but they were turning out to be draining.

“Exactly what I had hoped for.” Susan smiled as she looked around at the progress Riley had made on the house. “I knew it would do Sam wonders to go back. She was nervous on the drive down, she almost convinced me to turn around once, but, in the end, she agreed it was just what she needed.”

“Good. She’s seemed at ease since getting back.”

“She is. She visited some of her friends, spent some time talking things out with the family, and made a trip to the cemetery. I think she found the final little bit of closure she needed. And it’s full steam ahead with the wedding plans. She bought a dress while we were there and now she’s talking flowers, cake, and all the details.”

“Have you discussed having the reception here yet?”

“No, but soon. The time hasn’t been quite right.”

“Don’t wait too long or she’ll make other arrangements.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it all under control,” Susan grinned. “Did you hear everyone is coming for Thanksgiving?”

“I did. I was told Thanksgiving dinner will be at Sam’s this year and that the McCabe clan will be dining with the Taylors. My mom already sat us down and told us she expects our best behavior. It’s like she thinks we’re still kids and are going to start a food fight or something,” he grumbled.

“Oh, McCabe, I’ve seen you and your brothers in action. I don’t blame your mother in the least.”

“Hah! I bet you and your brothers do the same thing.”

“Well, I can’t deny that. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom has the same talk with my brothers before they come.”

“Should be an interesting day. Do you think everyone will be afraid to talk?”

“I think we’ll manage. Mia and Karen will have plenty of baby stuff to talk about. They’re due just about the same time and from what I’ve seen from the both of them, it’s their favorite topic, hands down. Brad and Joe will have a couple of drinks, realize they’re both secretly terrified of becoming dads, and will end up admitting their deepest, darkest fears to one another. The rest of the guys will watch football and bond over sports, that’s a no-brainer. And our moms? They are so much alike I give it ten minutes until they’re acting like long-lost sisters. Just be prepared for my mom to pull every McCabe family secret out of your mom. She’s got some sort of weird magic she wields and people are helpless. They tell her everything.”

Riley just shook his head. She had hit it on the head, he figured, and could envision the day going exactly as she predicted. “I guess I’d better steer clear of your mom.”

Susan laughed. “I’ll try to get her to go easy on you. Besides, once I put my plan into action, our moms will be busy with wedding business.”

“Your plan?”

“Sure, I told you I have it all under control. My plan is to get Sam and Jake to firm up their date when everyone is together. Then I’ll mention the event center and that the B&B will be almost ready to open and that I would love to have everyone stay there as a trial run kind of thing. No one will be able to say no.” Susan was grinning proudly, obviously pleased with her grand scheme and, like usual, not seeing any potential flaws.

Riley hated to burst her bubble, but felt he needed to be the voice of reason. “Okay, Red, back up for just a minute and let me be sure I’m understanding this. You want to not only have the reception here, but also host everyone at the B&B? Your first guests and your first event all at the same time? Do you think Sam is going to be understanding if everything she has been planning comes crashing down around her?”

“You have that little faith in me?”

She seemed genuinely hurt and Riley regretted his words. Softening his tone, he tried a gentler approach. “I’m just worried that both your first guests and your first event are going to be such major milestones that maybe it would be better to space them out a little. You could have the reception here but let everyone find someplace else to stay. That way you could devote all your attention to the reception and not have to worry about keeping everyone comfortable and fed.”

She still seemed hurt, but now some of the hurt was replaced by the all-familiar fighting spirit. “I look at it this way. Having family here means if I make a mistake or two I won’t have disappointed guests leaving bad reviews on my website. With family, I’d like to think I’d be allowed a misstep without ramifications. What better way to test everything out?”

“Who’s going to do all the work? You’re the maid of honor. I would guess there are some things in that job description that will require your attention.”

“True, but I’ve already thought about that. Obviously I’ll need to hire some help here, someone who knows the hotel business, who knows her way around a kitchen, and who’s good with people. I talked to my friend Cassie when I was back in Chicago. She’s interested. I think.”

Again, her ability to look forward and plan left him impressed. “You’ve already talked to someone about working for you?”

“Sure. Cassie is amazing, I need her here so I’m not going to wait around too long. She has experience working at both small and large hotels. She more or less ran a resort for a couple of years where she did everything from working in the kitchen to tracking and ordering inventory to planning guest activities to cleaning rooms. She’s still at the Billingsley right now and hates it as much, or more, than I did. She’s admitted she wants out, I just have to convince her Misty Lake is the right place for her.”

“That might not be so easy if she’s used to Chicago.”

“Oh, I know, but I’m persuasive,” Susan grinned.

“That, I’ll give you. But back to my original argument. There will be bugs to work out during your first run at hosting an event. Is Sam going to be okay with that? It’s her wedding, after all.”

“Sam’s pretty easy going, but I don’t plan on taking advantage of that. I’ll have everything running smoothly, you’ll see.”

He wanted to argue more, to get her to see she was putting too much pressure on herself, but could tell she wasn’t going to back down. Maybe Sam would have something to say about her plans. Deciding to change the subject to something he knew would catch her interest he said, “Frank didn’t have any luck finding old pictures of this place. He looked through his files from when he did the research for the town’s anniversary celebration and also checked out a few other sources. Sorry, I know you were hoping for some photos.”

“He did all that? That’s so sweet of him. Too bad he couldn’t find anything, though. I read through the journal and am more curious than ever. I haven’t had a chance to tell you everything I learned.” Her eyes were sparkling and thoughts of wedding receptions were forgotten for the moment.

“Did he turn out to be a bank robber or something equally as exciting?”

Susan gave him a condescending look and a tsk before continuing. “No, it would seem our Charlie Walker was a pretty normal teenager. He wrote about life on the farm, about school, and about his girlfriend Rosemary. It sounded like they were so much in love. There were entries about their dates, about sharing ice cream at the church picnic, and about his plans to save up enough money to marry her after she graduated from high school. Then the entries just stop until one last entry scribbled in the back of the book where he talks of leaving Misty Lake and moving to California with his new wife Martha. There’s no date so I don’t know how much time passed, but somehow it seemed it was months rather than years. The entry is short but so sad. I could tell he was heartbroken. He wrote about how he hated leaving everything behind. I know it was more than his home and the town, I know he was thinking of Rosemary, although there’s no mention of her by name. I wonder what happened?”

“I don’t know. I guess people can fall in and out of love. Maybe Rosemary found someone else.”

Susan shook her head. “I didn’t get that feeling.  I don’t suppose I’ll ever know what really happened, but it seems like there’s more to the story. The fact that he left the journal behind is telling, too, I think. Something must have happened that left him changed somehow and not wanting to document his life any longer. Almost like he was starting over but not necessarily in a good way.”

“Or maybe you’re just reading too much into it?”

Susan snorted. “Men. You’re all hopeless.”

Riley laughed. Gusto chose that moment to decide it was time to go outside and began racing from Riley and Susan to the door. Obliging, the two followed the rambunctious dog out into the yard and watched as he chased leaves in the waning daylight.

“I guess I need to be careful what I wish for, it’s freezing out here.” Susan pulled her jacket tighter around her neck. The wind was strong off the lake and was forcing loose many of the leaves still clinging to the trees, sending them twirling through the air.

Riley watched as the wind took hold of Susan’s hair and lifted it, swirling it wildly, like golden flames unable to settle in one spot. As she chased the puppy around the yard, the color rose in her cheeks and her eyes danced. She gathered leaves into a pile and tossed them in the air for Gusto to chase. Riley simply couldn’t resist. Sneaking up behind her, he grabbed her by the waist and dumped her in the leaves.  Susan squealed as she went tumbling, coming to rest on top of Riley in the pile of leaves.

She pulled leaves from her hair and sputtered, “What, may I ask, did I do to deserve that?”

“Nothing in particular. It just seemed like it needed to be done.”

She couldn’t hide her grin. “Just needed to be done. I see. Keep that in mind if you happen to find yourself suddenly going for an unplanned swim or, better yet, face down in a snow bank.” She held up her arm as the first few snowflakes settled on her jacket sleeve.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Oh, you’ll do more than see me try, McCabe,” she warned. Then, curious, she asked, “Does it always snow here before November? Seems like that would make for an awfully long winter.”

“Not always, but often. And yes, winter can be long. Very long. But there are good things about winter in Misty Lake. Ever been ice fishing?”

“Can’t say as though I have. It sounds horrible.”

“Actually, you’d be surprised. A nice fish house, some music, a stocked cooler, and a good stove? Magic. If the fish are biting it’s a bonus.”

“Hmmm. That’s all you’ve got? Ice fishing?”

“No, there’s snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, pond hockey, broomball…the options are endless.”

“I think you’ve lived here too long.”

“You’ll see. Besides, you’re going to have to believe in all the fun Misty Lake has to offer in the winter if you expect to attract guests year round.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Then, getting a devilish look in her eyes, she added, “Well, then this is probably a good time to tell you about that page in my notebook I didn’t show you at The Brick.”

Riley drew back and said, “Now wait a minute, I specifically asked and you promised me you showed me everything.”

Susan fought mightily to keep the smile off her face and said timidly, “Just one page, at the back, that I was afraid to show you.” Riley’s eyes darkened as he sat up straighter. “It was just the page I called ‘Riley teaches Susan how to love winter in Misty Lake.’” With that, she scooped up a pile of leaves, tossed them in his face, and was off like a shot before he could fully grasp that she’d only been yanking his chain.