Nothing Stays In Vegas (30 page)

"You're crazy."

"Am I?" she said still standing with her arms crossed in front of her. "Am I really?"

"Yes," I said swiping at my eyes. "Because you're forgetting one very important thing, Nicole. Fairy tales aren't real. And romance novels? They're fiction too. This..." I waved my arm around the room. "This is reality."

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I was tired of playing by Lexi's rules. If she didn't want to talk about us over the phone then I'd just have to go to her. She was going through a lot, a whole lot, but I'd be damned if I was going to let her push me away. I wouldn't go that easy. Hell, I wouldn't go at all.

That's why I'd taken a leave of absence from the hotel, and was now sitting in a rented SUV, driving towards the mountains. It hadn't been hard to get time off. I hadn't taken a sick day in years. When I told Roberta I'd be gone for awhile, she just smiled and nodded as if she'd been expecting it. Knowing her, she probably had from the moment she saw me watching Lexi. 

Once I'd made the decision to come and find her, everything fell into place. I found a flight, packed a bag and was jetting towards Canada in less than a day. It was once I landed, that things started to get complicated. 

The last time I spoke to Lexi she sounded more upset than ever. I'd phoned to hear her voice and to see how she was holding up with the stress of dealing with her uncle's funeral and of course, things with her husband. I wanted to lend support, even from a distance. It wasn't that easy.

"Nicole and Ryan have been great," she said. "They're helping out with Ben, he's so sad and..." 

"I should be there with you," I said.

"No. It's fine, Leo." I could hear the strain in her voice. "I think it's better if you don't come right now." 

Was she lying? Or did I just not want to hear what she was saying?

"Lexi, I miss you. I..."

I stopped myself. It wasn't fair to make this about me. She had too much going on. I needed to be there for her, not demanding more. 

"I'm going to take Ben and go out the lake for awhile," she said. "I think it'll be good for us to get away and just be together, the two of us."

The two of them?

"I can get on a plane today."

"No, Leo." Her voice was thick with pain andI wanted nothing more than to make it go away for her. "Don't come right now, please."

I'd promised her I wouldn't, but after I got off the phone I couldn't get her voice out of my head. She needed me and I loved her. Of course I would go to her. I can't believe it took me so damn long. 

I didn't have much of a plan. Heck, I didn't have any plan except to get to Canada. Once I landed, I tried Lexi's cell phone but it went straight to voicemail so I called Nicole, thankful that I'd thought to swipe her number out of the customer database before leaving. She'd been more than happy to give me directions to Lake Lillian and Lexi. 

That was three hours earlier. It had taken longer than I thought possible to secure a rental car and get on the highway after getting lost in the city a few times. After a few turn arounds, the open road was finally in front of me, I could see the mountains in the distance and I was on my way.

The clerk at the rental company said Lake Lillian was a four hour drive. So, barring any more navigational issues, I'd be there by dinner. I hadn't decided if I was going to go straight to Lexi's cabin or if I would wait until morning. I had to think of Ben and even though I couldn't wait to see him, I didn't want our first meeting to frighten or confuse him. 

I had four hours to think about it, so I settled into the drive, set the cruise control and found a radio station to keep me company.    

The scenery leaving the city was fascinating. I'd never been north of Arizona. There wasn't the opportunity or need, so I'd never seen anything like what I was driving through. The houses gave way to farmer's fields that were in various stages of harvest. Piles of what might have been wheat lay in rows across the rolling fields. But it wasn't long before the fields became hillier, with trees and large rocky outcroppings replacing the long rows of grain. The mountains that had seemed so small from the city limits now loomed in front of me. The closest I'd ever been to a mountain range had been Mount Charleston, outside of Vegas, when a tour group I was in charge of wanted to go for a hike. Faced now with the towering Rockies in front of me, I realized that the 'mountain' I'd crawled to the top of huffing and puffing was a mere hill.

Pulling the car to the shoulder, I got out and stood on the side of the road. I looked straight up and as soon as I did, had to grab onto the jeep to steady myself from the sudden rush of vertigo. The day was clear, and with the blue sky behind them, the mountains popped, their tips dusted in white gave them a surreal dominating presence. There was no snow where I stood; after all, it was only the end of August, but the air felt cooler than it had in the city. Not enough for a jacket, but I was glad I had a sweater in my bag. 

I got back in the car and continued driving. Slower this time, due to the tight twists and turns of the road. Occasionally I had to pull over and stand in wonder at a waterfall crashing down the side of a cliff or an icy blue river that wound its way through deep valleys below the road. In all my life, I had never seen such wild, unbridled beauty, and despite my hurry to get to Lexi, I allowed myself the opportunity to absorb my surroundings. Turning the radio off, I unrolled the window and let the crisp air fill my senses.

###

Walking up to the door of the Lake Lillian Inn, I wasn't even sure if it was open. My rental car was the only vehicle in the parking lot, and the potted plants on the porch didn't look like they'd seen water in weeks, but the woman at the grocery store, Enid was her name, said this was the only place in town to get a room. She hadn't mentioned anything about them being closed. I tried the door, expecting it to be locked, but it swung inward and revealed a cozy sitting room. The focus of the room was a huge stone fireplace, with a fire laid inside, but not started. A stack of logs sat on the hearth. Two inviting, overstuffed chairs stood in front of the fireplace and just beyond that was a small reception desk. A large tabby cat stretched on one of the chairs and hopped off to greet me. There was no one in sight. 

"Well, hello," I said to the cat and bent down to scratch its ears. "Aren't you friendly?"

"Chester's my door staff," said a scratchy voice and I looked up to see a man appear from a doorway. "What can I do for ya?"

I straightened and went to shake the man's hand. He looked to be in his late sixties or maybe seventies, with white stubble covering his chin. His plaid shirt was untucked and his hand shook as he extended it. "My name's Leo," I said. "I was hoping you had a room."

"The name is Dex," he answered. "And I have lots of rooms. In fact, there ain't nothing but room at the inn."  

"So you're open?"

The man nodded and said, "Yup, I'm open. Although I see how you might not think so."

"It is pretty quiet."

"Quiet," he scoffed. "It's dead. Not a lot of visitors here this time of year. Or any time, it seems." Dex's eyes took on a faraway look for a moment. He moved to the desk and flipped open a register book. 

"So you need a room," he said. "What brings you to Lake Lillian? Fishing? Hunting? Or you running away from something?" Dex looked up from the book and eyed me suspiciously. "You ain't one of those cons I hear about on the TV?"

"No sir," I said and held up my hands. "I promise, I'm not  a con and I assure you, I'm not running away from anything."

He shrugged and returned to flipping through his book. "What you here for then? We don't get a lot of visitors around here anymore."

"I'm looking for someone. She has a place out here."

Dex opened a drawer and took out a key. "Why aren't you staying with her then?"

"Well." I debated for a moment on how much to tell the man and settled for a variation of the truth. "She doesn't know I'm coming so I thought it might be best to get my own room."

He narrowed his eyes at me under his bushy eyebrows. He stared at me for a moment before showing his lopsided grin and saying, "Probably a good idea. Women can be funny."

I returned his smile. "Yes, they can."

Dex showed me to a room at the top of the stairs, which he said was the best one he had. When I opened the door to the small space, furnished modestly in hand crafted pine furniture I couldn't help but compare it to the rooms in Vegas. It certainly wasn't luxurious and posh like the hotels I was used to, but the rustic space was decorated nice and it was clean. When I pushed aside the thick curtains to reveal sliding glass doors that lead to a small patio, I saw why Dex said it was the best room he had. The view was spectacular. The patio overlooked the lake with an unobstructed view of the water and the mountains. With the sun directly overhead, the lake sparkled, mirroring the mountains in perfect detail on its surface disturbed only by the occasional ripple from a distant boat or jumping fish. No, there was no way even the fanciest suite in Las Vegas could rival this room. There was simply no comparison.

I didn't bother to unpack. I wanted to find Lexi soon. But I still wasn't sure today was the right day. If she just got here, like Nicole said, she needed time. The thought of another day going by without seeing her was unthinkable to me, but I couldn't push her. She was broken right now; I wouldn't be the one to shatter her. 

Heading back downstairs I took a minute to look around. The inn wasn't in bad shape. Sure, it could use a coat of paint, and the wood floors would benefit from a polish, but it was really a nice place. The location couldn't be better and with a rustic log home feel, it would be a great destination for couples wanting to get away for a romantic weekend or even families looking for some time in the woods. 

I found Dex in the dining room which was just off the main entry way. He was carrying a tray with a thermos and a few mugs on it.

"I thought you might like a cup of coffee after your trip," he said.

"Only if you'll sit and have one with me." 

I took the tray from him and followed him to a large covered deck out back. There was a huge sloping lawn that led to the lake with a dock sticking out into the water at one end of the sandy beach. 

"I don't think I could ever get sick of looking at this view," I said putting the tray on a small table. I settled into a wooden deck chair and poured two cups of coffee. 

"Just black," Dex said as I handed him the mug. I added two sugars to mine and sat back. 

He took a sip of his coffee despite the steam coming from the mug. "This friend of yours. A woman, you said?"

"That's right."

"Hmmm."

"Is there a problem?"

"I'm gonna be straight with you," he said.

"Please do."

"This here is a small town. We stick together. If you're gonna cause trouble..."

"I promise you," I said turning so he could see my face, "the last thing I want is to make trouble."

He examined me for a moment then nodded. "Yup, I see that. You don't seem like the trouble maker kind." He turned back to the lake. "The woman, she doesn't know you're coming?"

"No. But I think...I hope she'll be happy to see me." 

"If there's any trouble..."

"There won't be," I assured him again. 

"Good." 

He seemed satisfied and his protective duty for the community done, we fell into silence. 

After a few minutes I asked, "Why aren't your rooms full, Dex? With this location, I would think you'd be booked out for months."

The old man sighed and the sound came from deep inside. After a moment he spoke. "It used to be like that. When my Jessie was alive, we were full every weekend and most weeks through the summer too. But when Jessie passed, the heart of the place went with her. It fizzled and died after that." He took a sip of coffee and stared straight ahead.

"I'm sorry to hear about your wife," I said and I meant it. The sadness permeated me. "Can I ask, why didn't you sell the place then?"

Dex continued to stare straight ahead but he said, "At first I didn't have the heart. This here was Jessie's place, her dream. Then some young upstart, John Jackson was his name, said he would, "take it off my hands." He offered me a good deal, said he wanted to turn it into a re-sort. But I couldn't do it.  Everywhere I looked, there was Jessie. She was everywhere, everything. The gardens were bright all summer with plants she'd tended. The cook still mixed up her recipes, and the guests she'd booked,  they kept a comin'. It was like she was still here and if I didn't dwell on it, I could pretend that she'd done and gone to the city to visit her sister and she'd be coming on back soon. But then the flowers died and the garden done got weedy. The guests stopped coming and without any new bookings, I had to let the cook go. Pretty soon, it was just me and the occasional guest."

I drank some coffee and let the heat of it warm me. "Then why didn't you sell?" 

"Couldn't."

"You still couldn't bear to leave?"

"No," Dex said and turned to me. "I couldn't sell it. I tried. That John Jackson, when I turned down his offer he'd gone off to Wasa Lake just about two hours further East and built up a fancy re-sort there. I called him, told him I was ready to sell. He laughed at me, called me a stupid, sentimental old man. He made me an offer though."

"Really?"

"I can't even call it that really," Dex said. "The pissant offered me less than I owed on the place and he knew it too. There was no way I could take it."

"So why not make a go of it again?" I sat up in my chair, excited by my own ideas. "With a little work this place could be booked up in no time. You could offer honeymoon packages, fishing trips, ladies' retreats and even family getaways. I'm telling you, Dex, you could make the Lake Lillian Inn a destination and show that John Jackson just who he's dealing with."

Dex laughed, but it was a tired sound. "You got dreams, Leo. You're a young man."