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* * *
Later, after savory Philly cheesesteak sandwiches loaded with creamy pepper jack cheese and tender strips of marinated steak, Alex volunteered to load the dishwasher while Sam put the leftovers away. She looked up just in time to see Sara jump into the couch and settle in.
“Your Sara dashed off to the den pretty quickly. What’s she doing?”
“Yeah.” Sam recorked the wine and made a space in the fridge for it, glancing over at Sara settling into the leather couch with the remote in her hand. “Just wait for it.”
The familiar strains of the Days of Our Lives theme song filled the room, and Sara opened her computer on the end table beside her.
“I guess the baby was fussy today when it aired, and Mary missed the episode, so all three of them waited until the baby was asleep to watch it together.”
“God. That’s adorable.” Alex smiled over her shoulder at Sara laughing with Mary and Jennifer on a split screen. “I never thought about settling down until this summer, but seeing you two together and being out of the city has had a weird effect on me.”
“Ah, another confirmed bachelor hits the dust.” Sam laughed and snapped Alex with the dish towel. “You’re really into Lily, aren’t you?”
“I am.” Alex paused as she shut the door to the dishwasher and turned around, leaning against the counter. “She’s amazing. I just don’t want to fuck it up.”
“What makes you worried you’re going to fuck it up?”
Alex shook her head, lowering her voice with a glance in Sara’s direction. “It’s just the Charlotte thing.”
Sam rolled her eyes as she whispered back. “Tell me you didn’t…”
“Oh God, no.” Alex shook her head, watching Sara on the sofa giggling with Mary and Jennifer, watching Days of Our Lives and eating a dish of peppermint ice cream all at the same time. “But I had a decent conversation with Charlotte this afternoon. I think I get now why she pursued me so hard.”
“But you can’t tell me, right?” Sam pulled the ice cream out of the freezer and held it up. “On a side note, do you feel like some ice cream or a glass of whiskey?”
“God. Whiskey.” Alex smiled, sinking back into one of the kitchen chairs. “And, no, I can’t tell anyone.”
“Thought so. Don’t worry, I get it.” Sam pulled out the decanter of Gentleman Jack and two rocks glasses, dropping a cube of ice into each. “I have a feeling we’re going to need a lot more than whiskey to get us through tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifteen
Alex tossed her keys on the record player table as she stepped into the cabin. The whiskey had done nothing to get rid of the dread lying heavy in the pit of her stomach, which she hoped was more nerves than premonition. A glance around the cabin told her that Lily hadn’t been back since that morning, when they’d woken up together in Alex’s bunk. Lily had seen Alex talking to Charlotte that afternoon, and although there was no reason to assume she was upset, Alex wished she’d had a chance to explain.
She was just pulling her shirt off on the way to the shower when she remembered a book she’d promised to lend Charlotte during their conversation on the dock. As she reached for it, she also caught sight of the canvas bag Sam had given her the day before.
No time like the present. Alex emptied the contents of the bag onto her bed. She’d never packed before, but the thought didn’t bother her; she had more than enough masculine energy to pull it off, and it made sense that it gave her visual credibility if Travis doubted her gender. She placed the soft pack in the front of her boxer briefs and zipped her khaki pants back up, untucking her button-up to help hide it. It felt surprisingly heavy and strange, and the slight motion of it when she walked was difficult and unexpectedly distracting. Damn, Alex thought as she picked up the book and tucked it under her arm. I’m glad I took Sam’s advice and practiced with this thing.
It was a short walk past the main lodge to Charlotte’s staff cabin, and as Alex approached, she saw Charlotte sitting at her desk, taking notes as she listened to someone on speakerphone. There were no chairs outside her cabin, so Alex opened the door quietly, holding up the book for Charlotte to see before she placed it quietly on the table beside the door. Charlotte mouthed a thank-you as Alex pulled the door shut, stepping back out on the trail just as a trio of chipmunks chased each other across the path in front of her.
The water beside her was eerily silent, shimmering in the darkness under a thumbnail moon as blown ash
clouds drifted across the sky. Alex felt the air shift as an owl took off from a pine tree just back from the trail, but there was no sound, and for the first time, she felt every eye in the forest as she walked slowly back to the cabin. The air was still and heavy, as if a thunderstorm was hovering in the distance, but the surface of the lake was motionless—a serene slab of endless black glass.
Everything was just a little too calm.
* * *
An hour later, Lily peeked into the windows of her cabin to see if Alex was home, and sure enough, she was on her bunk, focused on a sheet of paper lying across her lap. Lily paused, her hand on the doorknob. Truthfully, she’d gone into town for dinner just to avoid running into Alex after she’d watched her walk up the docks that afternoon and give Charlotte that long hug. She trusted Alex. Well, as much as she trusted anyone. Charlotte was the one she didn’t trust, although now, that it was obvious to everyone that she and Alex were a couple, she’d half expected Charlotte to make one last desperate play for her.
It was more than that, though. Their weekend on the yacht had been amazing, but Alex had seemed preoccupied with her phone or maybe just preoccupied in general. There was just something in the air, almost as if there were someone else in the room with them, someone Alex saw, but she didn’t.
Lily forced herself to turn the knob and go in, smiling as Alex stood to hug her. Lily melted into her arms, drawing in the warm scent of her and letting herself melt against the familiar angles of Alex’s body.
“I was waiting for you to get home,” Alex said, her lips moving gently from Lily’s mouth to her forehead. “I missed you at dinner.”
“I just went into the diner for one of Sara’s Reuben sandwiches.” Lily relaxed as she studied Alex’s warm eyes, and the thought crossed her mind she’d spent all that time worrying for nothing. “There should be an addiction warning label on those things.”
