Cold Heart (5 page)

“I keep hoping one night he’ll stay,” she said.

“Well it looks like he is becoming attached to you,” Carter said. “So give it some time.”

“I will,” she said showing just a hint of her dimples. “Goodnight Carter and thanks.”

“Night,” he said and closed the door. He got in his truck and drove out to the road then unbeknownst to Lexi, he sat in his truck at the end of her driveway for a couple of hours just to be sure that Michael didn’t come back.

5

Lexi was surprised at how well she slept. Perhaps it was all the clean fresh air she was getting or maybe it was the end of her relationship with Michael because she really did feel that it was finally finished now. She had enjoyed sending him packing and was surprised at how freeing it felt. She hadn’t even minded Carter stepping in to help. He was really being very protective. That was okay, she liked it. Don’t be reading too much into that though. After all, it didn’t matter what his motivation was, she was done with men. She had to laugh at herself.

She got dressed in some sweats because today was another day of cleaning. She would work on the upstairs and try to get it under control. It would also give her a chance to see what was under those sheets in the way of upholstered pieces. It was going to be a big job for someone. She could also make a list of what might be needed for the bedrooms. The cable guy was coming as well to set up her internet and she hoped that the satellite company would send someone also, although they told her they were really booked up so they had not promised. That was okay because she hadn’t actually noticed a TV in the place yet so there was no big rush on that. The internet would be great though as she had lots of research to do.

She took the stairs at a run and after a quick breakfast for herself and for Tucker she went back upstairs and got straight to work. While she worked she thought about Michael, about Max’s death and about Montgomery. She also found herself thinking about Carter. About twelve thirty she decided that it was time to stop and have some lunch for a change. She went down to the kitchen and made herself a chicken sandwich, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took both outside to the porch. She was there, eating her lunch with Tucker looking on, when Carter drove in.

He was becoming a regular visitor, but she didn’t really mind. He was keeping her from becoming a total recluse. She stood and walked down from the porch as he got out of the truck. He was wearing blue jeans and a jean jacket as usual, but he left the cowboy hat in the truck. He had that same unshaven look and his hair was especially curly today. Lexi found her heart beating a little faster. He really was a handsome man.

“Hi Carter,” she said.

“Hi yourself,” he replied. “How are you today?”

“I’m good,” she said. “Thanks again for coming to my rescue last night.”

“No problem,” he said. “Just wanted to see how you were feeling today as you seemed pretty shook up last night.”

“I’m great, really I am,” she said. “I admit I am not a fan of confrontation, but I think that Michael really had to hear it from me that things were over. I did kind of creep out of town without really talking to him, just left a note.”

“Gotcha,” he said.

“But I was afraid of a scene, which I got anyway, didn’t I?” she laughed.

“No second thoughts?” he asked.

“No. Not one. You know the guy was really a bit of a loser, hanging on because I was the one paying the bills, then cheating on me with my best friend and heaven knows how many others. He even had the gall to ask about his half of this, as if he should have any share of this.”

“Sounds like you are lucky to be rid of him,” Carter said.

“Most definitely,” Lexi said. “What I didn’t tell you was I had another visitor before that. You might be interested in who it was.”

“Really, who was that?” Carter asked.

“None other than Mr. Geoff Montgomery himself,” Lexi said.

“Wow, he’s not wasting anytime, is he?” Carter said.

“Nope. He mentioned buying the property, within the first two or three sentences, said that he and Uncle Max had come up with a number that he was happy with. He told me that things weren’t always that easy when I said I was planning to open up Wildwood.”

“Guy is such a jerk,” Carter said.

“Yes, he is and the jerk even invited me to his party on Saturday night,” Lexi said, “As if I would go.”

“Oh, I think you should go,” Carter said quickly.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Haven’t you heard the expression keep your friends close and your enemies closer?” Carter said. “I think it would be a good opportunity to check him out on his own turf.”

“Gosh, I didn’t really think of that,” Lexi said. “Do you really think he is a threat?”

“I don’t want to scare you but I just think he is very pushy and for some reason he was on Max constantly about selling,” Carter said.

“You’re not suggesting anything are you?” she asked.

“Like he had something to do with Max’s untimely death, you mean?” Carter asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” she said.

“That’s a reach, I guess. I just don’t trust the guy at all. I do think you should go to his party though, size him up,” Carter said.

“Gee, I’m not really comfortable in situations requiring a lot of small talk. Would you consider coming with me?”

“Sure, why not,” Carter said. “I wouldn’t mind checking out Mr. Hoity-toity in his own territory. I’ve never set foot on his property but this would be a good chance.”

At that moment the sound of a truck coming up the driveway interrupted them. It was the cable guy.

“I see you have company, so I will let you get on with things,” Carter said.

“Okay then, so you are coming on Saturday?”

“Sure sounds good,” Carter said. “What time should I pick you up?”

“Pick me up at seven” Lexi said. “It starts at seven but I’d rather slip in once most people are already there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Carter said. “See you Saturday.”

“See you Saturday,” she said.

Carter went over to his truck and got in. He waved and drove off down the driveway. Lexi was pleased. As much as she disliked Montgomery, she had somewhere nice to go on Saturday and she was going with a man, a good looking man whom she had once been head over heels for. She would wear a dress. She realized that once again Carter had seen her dressed in sweats with her hair stuck up in a bun with no make-up on. Well never mind she would definitely make an effort on Saturday because she was going to let him see that she could look better than this if she tried. Not that there was anything but friendship between them. They were becoming friends though and she liked that. Just remember you are done with men for a very long time, maybe forever.

The cable guy was approaching the porch with a tool belt on and carrying a length of coax cable over his shoulder. Lexi couldn’t help noticing that he was really good looking.

“Afternoon Ma’am,” he said.

“Hi,” said Lexi, not pleased with the ma’am but realizing he was all of about twenty-two.

“Understand you want some internet for this place,” he said.

“That’s right. Come on in and I’ll show you what I have in mind.” Lexi said.

Lexi took him in and explained that she wanted wireless internet throughout the whole building and to the cabins as well. He suggested she would need several wireless routers. He told her what kind to buy and explained how and where they would be set up and who she would need to contact once she purchased them if she did need assistance. Lexi made a point of writing that information down. She was sure she would need help. She knew her way around computers but was no whiz when it came to the ins and outs of making them work.

It took the man several hours to complete all the wiring and Lexi was sure this would mean a big bill but was excited because this was an important first step towards creating what she wanted to be a first class resort. In these times people just didn’t completely unplug. She had to admit that she was a little anxious to have the internet herself. She continued to work on her cleaning and then once the man had left she changed and drove into town to purchase at least one router so she would have internet herself. The rest could wait until she was closer to opening Wildwood to the public which was several months away.

While she was in town searching for a big box electronics store she drove past an upholstery shop and decided to go back there after her router purchase. By the time she got back to the store, it was closed but she made a note of its location and hours and the telephone number. She may as well employ a local to look after the work. It was good business practice if she wanted to be liked in the community.

It was past Tucker’s dinner time once she returned to Wildwood and she felt bad. He came running from the barn when he heard her SUV and greeted her warmly.

“Hey Tucker,” she said giving him a big cuddle. “Sorry boy, you must be hungry.”

He followed her as she picked up his dishes and went into the kitchen. She decided to just put his bowls down there and he was happily munching immediately. Lexi reached for one of the bottles from the case of wine that she had been gifted, may as well give it a try. It was becoming a habit she thought, but wasn’t a glass or two of wine supposed to be good for you. She wondered what she should have for dinner and finally after staring into the open fridge for a few minutes she decided she would cook the lone pork chop she had purchased.

Before she cooked however, she decided that she would try to install the router that she had just purchased while she still remembered what the man at the store and the cable guy had told her. She would put it in the office and that would allow her Wifi in there and in the dining room area. That should suffice for now. Lexi was pleased with herself when she was able to attach all the appropriate wires to the appropriate places but then when she tried to set a password, she wasn’t able to. She found her purse and fished out the help line phone number she had been given. The service was prompt, a pleasant surprise and the fellow on the end of the line had things up and running for her in no time. He stayed on the line until she had booted up her laptop and managed to connect to the internet.

Lexi was so pleased with herself that she poured a second glass of wine. She supposed it was time to do something with that pork chop. Here she was a trained chef but cooking for one was decidedly boring she thought. Maybe one night she should ask Carter to come for dinner reminding herself it would be strictly as a friend. Still she was smiling and she got busy preparing a meal for herself while sipping her wine. The wine was very good she had to admit.

She wondered what Montgomery’s winery looked like. She had presumed the party was in his home but now realized she wasn’t sure. That would probably become obvious when they arrived. Once her dinner was ready she took it out to the dining room and Tucker followed. He seemed content to spend the evenings with her now and she was very pleased about that. She was convinced that before long he would be sleeping in the house instead of the barn. For now she felt a little less lonely with this big brown dog at her feet.

Since her laptop was still on the table and connected to the internet she decided to see if the Montgomery Estates Winery had a web page. While she ate her meal she found the website and looked under each heading to see what was there. There was lots of information about the wines they made, their process, wine tasting and tours and also pictures of the outside and the inside of the winery and a couple of the outside of the house and the grounds. It was very impressive. She found herself looking forward to the outing on Saturday.

Lexi went on to look at restaurants and hotels in the Valley and even checked out the menus on some of the websites. She knew that she wanted to make this a family friendly place so her cuisine would be much simpler than it was in most of these places. It was important to her because she felt that family life had changed so much with both people in the family working that she wanted to provide a place where they could gather as a family and relax. She definitely wanted the pond to be stocked with fish so kids could fish and she was thinking about trail rides of some kind.

She was getting ahead of herself again but it was hard not to. When it came to dreams they couldn’t be too big. So just whose dream had this been? How was she going to figure out who the mystery woman was that Uncle Max had done all of this for. He must have loved this woman a lot. He had clearly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this place. It was nice for her because she was going to benefit from it but sad to think that his life had been so empty really. All those years spent alone here hoping and waiting for someone who never came. How had he financed all of this?

Lexi cleared her dishes to the kitchen and then decided she would take Tucker for a little walk before it got dark. She grabbed a light jacket from upstairs and called to him when she got to the entry hall. He came running. The two walked down to the pond but she didn’t throw sticks since it was a little late in the day to get him all wet. She did throw the stick a bit though and he retrieved it.

She walked past the cabins and thought about which one might be a good one for her to live in. It would give her the opportunity for privacy once there started to be guests at Wildwood. Tomorrow she would take a closer look at the cabins and see how functional they were and what the furnishings were like. Once she had done that she would know exactly how many pieces she had to reupholster and could contact the upholsterer she had seen in town.

When she got back to Wildwood she saw dust in the air on the driveway. Someone had been here and very recently. That was unnerving. She hadn’t locked up. Had they gone inside? She hoped it hadn’t been Michael coming back but surely he had understood her last night. There was no way she was taking him back. If not Michael, then who, Carter? No, not likely as they had said they would see each other Saturday. Could it have been Montgomery again or Mitch she didn’t really know anyone else in town?