Cold Heart (2 page)

“Okay.” Lexi said. She was not at all sure how she felt about the fact that she now owned a dog. She had never had a pet of any kind. She walked over to Tucker who lay with his head on the ground and gave him a cursory pat on the head. Then she hurried outside and over to Carter’s truck. She took the bowls Carter passed her and followed him onto the porch.

“Where would you like it?” he said.

“I guess in the kitchen if you wouldn’t mind?” she said.

He carried it into the foyer and then through the great room and into the kitchen and put it on the counter. Lexi followed him and put the bowls down and pushed her hands into her pockets again.

“He eats twice a day, breakfast and dinner. Give him about a cup and a half of this kibble at each meal and make sure he always has water. Best leave the food and the water out on the porch for him.”

“Okay I will,” Lexi said as she followed Carter back outside.

“Well, I’ll be going now,” Carter said. “Unless there is something you need help with.” He nodded to her SUV that was loaded with boxes and suitcases.

“I’ll be fine,” Lexi said, anxious to be on her own and get on with settling in.

“I see, the strong independent type,” Carter said.

“That’s right,” Lexi said. She was not strong and had not really ever been independent but she was determined that she would be now.

“Okay then,” Carter said. “I’m right next door if you need anything.”

“Thank you for bringing Tucker over. I think.” Lexi smiled then, revealing those dimples. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Carter climbed into his truck and started it up. He waved an arm out his window when he was about half way down the driveway.

Lexi walked back onto the porch, feeling totally frazzled now. Carter was even better looking as a man than he had been as a boy. Focus Lexi, she told herself. She really needed to go and get some food. She got her purse from the foyer and saw her reflection in the mirror there. Frustrated as she realized she looked frightful. She told herself it didn’t matter. She locked the front door and started for her vehicle. She would remove the boxes later she thought. Her stomach was rumbling as she had not had lunch and now it was mid afternoon. She climbed into the vehicle to make the short drive to town then remembered Tucker. Should she take him with her? No there really wasn’t room since all her stuff was in here. He’d be fine until she returned. What a nuisance. She hadn’t counted on having someone to look after. It was just dog she reminded herself.

2

Lexi took time to take a closer look at the main street of the little town as she drove through this time. Earlier when she had stopped at the lawyer’s office to pick up the keys, she had been in such a hurry to get out to Uncle Max’s; she really hadn’t taken any of it in. It was lovely. Old store fronts gave it such a sense of history. She loved it and loved the old houses that had been beautifully maintained.

According to the Chamber of Commerce’s website Lexi had learned that this small town tucked into the northern end of Napa Valley had been incorporated as a town in the late eighteen hundreds. The area boasted many natural hot springs and lots of wineries, fine restaurants and resorts and with some hard work and a little luck Lexi hoped that Wildwood was going to become one of the places people wanted stay when they visited the area. First, she needed to find a grocery store before she starved she laughed to herself.

She found a grocery store fairly close to the main street and parked. One day she would have to take a few hours and really explore the town but for now some food would be sufficient. She entered the market and got a buggy, then she started up each one of the aisles trying to think of all the staple items she might need. She knew she would forget some things as she hadn’t taken the time to prepare a list but that was okay she would remember the most important things she was sure.

Once she had made a quick scan of the aisles she did the perimeter where all the really important things were. After a stop in produce for some salad fixings, the bakery department and dairy, she hit the meat department for a steak and some meat for a couple of other meals. Perfect she would be good for a few days and could get to work. On the way to the checkout she passed a display of local wines and picked out a couple of bottles and added them to her cart. She may as well celebrate her new life she thought. Lexi passed a display of dog biscuits and after looking at all the boxes decided on a brand that had a picture of a dog that looked just like Tucker. She put the box in her cart.

The cart was very full and the bill was large but Lexi was pleased. Later she was not as pleased when she had to carry it all in and put it away. It was nearly six o’clock when she finally went out to her vehicle and dragged her suitcase from the back. The rest would have to wait until tomorrow. She pulled the bag up onto the porch and through the door, then pulled it up the stairs all the while wishing that maybe she had let Carter help her. It wasn’t that she was a weakling, far from it. Her five foot ten frame, while slim, was well muscled. She was tired though.

Lexi had been going through stuff for days, packing up what to take from the apartment and what to leave for Michael. A great deal of it had been hers when she moved in but after two and a half years, it was common property now and she tried to be fair about the division of assets. Not that he deserved that. She had kept nothing from the deli but the knife collection her parents had bought for her on her graduation. Everything else had gone to the new owners. She walked out of there yesterday, after turning over the keys and had wished the new owners all the luck in the world and meant it. The husband and wife who purchased the deli had plans to expand it, just as Lexi had once wanted to.

She would always have fond memories of her the time spent there. She had a regular clientele and a wonderful staff and it had helped a great deal to stave off the loneliness that had threatened to engulf her when her parents were killed so suddenly. It was where she had met Michael. Fresh out of culinary school, she’d begun working in an upscale restaurant and planned to work her way up the ranks from grunt to head chef but the inheritance had meant she could buy the deli. Still she would rather have had her family. She missed them terribly.

Her father, a successful lawyer in San Francisco had taken up flying about a year before the accident and had finally convinced her mom to fly down to LA with him for a weekend away. The plane, a Cessna 150, had crashed and they had both been killed. Her mom had been so reluctant to go on the trip. She hated flying and was particularly afraid of small planes. Her dad had bullied her mom as he did with everything and she had finally relented but it had cost her her life.

Her father hadn’t always been like that though. He had once been the perfect father and she didn’t think it was just the naivety of her youth that remembered that. He had been a loving Daddy, the kind that bounced you on their knee and cuddled you when you were sad. She remembered when he had changed. It was the last visit here when he had fought with Uncle Max. His attitude toward Lexi and her mother had completely changed after that and Lexi had no idea why.

Lexi put those thoughts aside. She had things to do. She got her pajamas and her toiletries out of her suitcase for later and then headed downstairs and into the kitchen. The sight of the dog food reminded her of Tucker. She put the requisite amount of dog kibble in his bowl as she had been instructed to do by Carter and filled the water bowl also. Then she opened the box of dog biscuits and tucked one in the pocket in her jeans and headed out to the porch with the bowls. She put them down and went over to the barn to see if Tucker was still there. |

When she opened the barn door there he was lying in the same spot. His tail smacked the floor rapidly at the sight of her which made her smile.

“Hi Tucker,” she said. “Would you like a biscuit?”

She pulled the dog biscuit from her pocket and held it out. The dog rose and walked over to her.

“Come and get it,” she said and walked out the door of the barn and Tucker followed. She led him to the porch, showed him his bowl of kibble and plopped the biscuit on the top. Tucker dove in. Feeling immensely pleased with this accomplishment, Lexi went back to the kitchen. She opened one of the bottles of wine and poured herself a glass then returned to the porch where she sat on one of the benches there. Tucker finished up his food and came over to where she sat and lay down with a thud placing his head on Lexi’s foot. The sweetness of that gesture took her by surprise. She gave him a real pat this time and sat for longer than she had intended, not wanting to disturb him and enjoying the physical closeness of another being.

When she finally decided she had best go in and cook some food she tried to coax him to come with her but he chose instead to return to the barn. It was so sad thought Lexi but admirable that he was so loyal. As she passed through the entry hall she saw her phone on the table. There was no one that she expected to be hearing from, well except for Michael, maybe. She couldn’t help herself and checked it for messages. There was one from Michael. She didn’t play it. Instead she headed for the kitchen.

Lexi rummaged around in the meagre kitchen supplies and found a cast iron fry pan she could cook her steak in that. She would need to purchase a BBQ eventually. She made herself a little salad and put a potato in the microwave to cook, not the ideal but good in a pinch. As she was running the water she realized there was no hot water. Of course, everything had been turned off. She did think she had seen a hot water tank in the utility room but she had no idea how on earth to turn one on. She went into the utility room and in fact there were three hot water tanks. She supposed because there were so many bathrooms in the place.

Fortunately there were some instructions on the tank. She was very relieved. She didn’t think she needed all of them on so she looked for an indication of which tank supplied water to which rooms. Uncle Max had been a very organized man and thankfully each tank had a list of the areas it supplied. She turned on two of the tanks and hoped that she had done everything correctly. Lexi went back to the kitchen and poured herself a second glass of wine.

When the meat and the potato were cooked, she plopped a dollop of butter on the potato, put some salad on the plate along with her steak and then took her simple dinner into the dining room to eat. She had put a pen and paper next to her utensils earlier and now began to make a list as she ate.

The summer was nearly over and there were many things she would need to do before the cooler weather set in. She would need to be careful with her money because there was so much to be done and despite a sizeable nest egg and the wonderful surprise of how far along the renovations to Wildwood were she would have no money coming in for some time. There was a tremendous amount of cleaning that would need to be done, so she made that the first thing on the list then broke that down into several categories.

First she would clean the main floor, the second floor and then the cabins. As she cleaned she would assess all the furnishings for condition and all the linens and draperies and so that she could order any replacements that were necessary. She would need to outfit the kitchen and order some smaller tables and chairs for the dining room and of course dishes as well as table linens. She would need to do the same on a smaller scale for the cabins as they appeared to have kitchenettes and she had no idea what supplies they would need. Then there might be repairs that would be necessary in the main lodge or the cabins.

There were flower beds to be planted and maybe window boxes to be put up and well she would need a kitchen garden in which to grow herbs and fresh vegetables. It was all very exciting and again she must be careful not to get too far ahead of herself and become overwhelmed. She knew nothing about growing things so she would need to do some research. The first thing she would need to do tomorrow was to organize some internet for the place and maybe some cable or maybe satellite for television because she supposed that visitors to Wildwood would want that. Lexi hoped their focus would be to unplug and enjoy the great outdoors and exploring the area but she would want to supply all the amenities.

Lexi needed to consult someone to get a feasibility study and a proper business plan and she decided she would call about that tomorrow. Then she would see about getting internet and do a bunch of cleaning. That was all she would focus on for the first couple of weeks. There was no way to know exactly how much time all that would take and rather than overwhelm herself she would wait until she was farther along with this list before creating another one.

Her goal was to be open for business by spring. She would need cleaning staff, cooking staff, wait staff and a menu and an advertising campaign. It was going to be hard not to think ahead she decided. Perhaps she should just make a big list so it wasn’t all tumbling around in her head keeping her awake at night though she doubted staying awake tonight would be an issue as she was so tired.

She may as well put it all down on paper as it came to her as she couldn’t stop imagining what it was going to be like when it was all done. She could already picture guests arriving excited children in tow, the wonderful cozy rooms she would create and the fabulous meals her kitchen would provide. Yes, there would be a very long list of things to do but she was ready to immerse herself in the project.

Lexi supposed that she might eventually live in one of the little cottages. She certainly didn’t need a lot of space. All that she possessed was in the back of her SUV and that was just fine by her. A wave of loneliness struck her. The hurt Michael had inflicted was still fresh but she would get over that she reminded herself. Clearly if her father and Michael were an example, males were not to be trusted to be loyal, except maybe male dogs. She thought of Tucker and smiled.

Almost at that instant she heard him bark. It was a really loud bark and he kept it up. Lexi hurried to the main door and opened it as a dark haired man in kakis and a golf shirt stepped up onto the porch. Tucker rushed to Lexi and stood right in front of her. He continued to bark.

“Shh Tucker, sit,” Lexi said. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah, it’s okay boy,” the man said. He reached his hand out to Lexi saying, “I’m Mitch, from the Montgomery winery up the hill.” Tucker stopped barking and instead let out a long low growl.

Lexi accepted the hand and shook it very briefly. Tucker continued to growl.

“Protective isn’t he?” Mitch said.

“Apparently,” Lexi said, more than a little pleased.

“Just wanted to bring over a little welcome gift from Mr. Montgomery, the owner,” Mitch said. “I’ll just get it from the truck.”

He turned and walked down the stairs and out to the pick-up truck that was parked in the driveway and retrieved a large box from the passenger’s seat. Tucker, who had quieted, started to growl again when Mitch came back up the steps. The gift was a case of wine.

“I’ll carry it in for you.” he said and walked right past her.

“No, that’s not necessary,” her voice trailed off.

Mitch was already on his way in and put the case on the dining room table. He stood there and leaned against the table resting his hands on the edge.

“You could have just given it to me. That’s very nice of you to bring it over,” she said as she followed him in. “Please give Mr. Montgomery my thanks.”

“I will do that,” he said.

Tucker, who had followed them both in, continued to growl. Mitch walked across the great room and out the door with Lexi on his heels. He headed out to his truck, got in and drove off. Only when his truck was out of sight did Tucker relax. Lexi turned to go inside and to her surprise Tucker followed again

“Thanks for the protection Tucker,” she said patting him again and rubbing his back. “Good boy.”

Tucker wagged his tail then and as she walked into the dining room he followed her. She had a small piece of meat left on her plate and she picked it up and gave it to him. He wagged his tail and made no effort to leave so Lexi took the glass of wine that was still half full and walked out to the porch and sat down on the bench where she had been earlier. Tucker followed and sat down as he had before only this time put his head on her knee and she stroked the soft brown fur. It was very soothing for both of them.