Chapter 8

 

Either he was losing his mind or else an entire town was involved in the conspiracy to convince him that Lori didn’t exist. Dan stomped back down the long row of steps that led up to Warren McLean’s front door.

The young woman at the door had refused him entry. Mr. McLean was resting and nothing in this world would induce her to disturb him. At the mention of Lori she’d become positively glacial, no less frosty than Trudy had been with him. No one, especially no one in search of the elusive Lori, would be permitted entrance.

Dan climbed back behind the wheel of his car and sat there in the warmth of the sunlight, fuming. He slapped the steering wheel with the flat of his open palm. What the hell was going on? He recalled the look in the young woman’s eyes. It was the same look he’d received from the hotel’s receptionist, hostess, and waitress this morning – active distrust mixed with an intense dislike.

What had he ever done to deserve such a strong reaction from people he didn’t even know?

As he sat there, the door to the house opened and Lori emerged. He watched her make her slow, painstaking way down the long row of stairs. He grabbed the handle of the car door, about to fling it open and charge out to confront her, when her laboured bearing penetrated his simmering rage. Even at this distance he could see the tight grip by which she held onto the railing and her cane. He witnessed her total preoccupation in navigating her way deliberately down the steep incline, one single step at a time.

In a rush the air whooshed out of his lungs, snuffing out his ire.

He had to quell the urge to hop out and lend her a hand. Suddenly he felt protective, and he didn’t like the feeling one bit. A hint of annoyance towards her crept back into his thoughts, and he felt his balance return.

Dan climbed out of his car, leaned against the hood, and waited across the street for her to reach the pavement. He noticed she was dressed casually today in a pair of faded jeans and a bright blue sleeveless shirt, her wild hair only partially restrained by a ponytail. She obviously wasn’t on her way to work. Once she finished her descent she paused and wiped a hand across her brow. Before she could make a move to leave, he called her name.

“Lori!” he shouted more forcefully than he’d intended.

Lori stopped and turned. Upon recognizing him her face softened into a wreath of smiles. The impact struck him between the eyes.

“Danny,” she said. “How wonderful.” She waited for him to cross the street and join her. She lifted a hand to push back several stray tendrils that had escaped from her wild, thick ponytail. Her innocent smile tied his gut up in knots. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Oh.” A slight frown marred her lovely face. She glanced up at the house then back at him. “How did you know to come here?”

“It was pure luck.” He shrugged. “No one seems very inclined to talk about you. I was just coming to ask the hotel’s manager where to find you when I spotted you. I was beginning to think I’d committed some horrible faux pas by having dinner with you last night. Either that, or you were a fantasy I’d dreamed up.”

“Not at all.” She grinned, relief evident in the sparkle of her warm hazel eyes. “Some people are just a little over protective of me since my illness.”

“You can say that again.” Dan felt the tension ease out of his shoulders. “Like that dragon lady, Trudy Grant, who was running the desk this morning.” He had to forcibly ignore the urge to reach out and touch her. He jammed his hands into his pockets.

“Trudy? A dragon lady?” Lori laughed. “The woman’s an angel.”

“Yeah, right,” Dan snorted. “Of the fallen variety.”

Lori laughed again. Her mirth unbalanced her and she reached out to him in an effort to steady herself. At the feel of her fingers on his forearm, a tingle of awareness danced through his veins. She stopped laughing and looked up at him. In fascination Dan watched her lick her lips.

All his previous annoyance vanished as if it had never been, along with his previous suspicions. He firmly believed that the woman of last night was the real one. He refused to entertain any other notion. There had to be some rational explanation for everything.

“I hoped we could spend some time together.” Dan supported her arm under her elbow. “Maybe you’d be willing to show me some of the sights we talked about last night?” And maybe then he could pump her gently for the answers to all the vague mysteries surrounding her and, especially, the hotel’s operation.

“I’d love to,” Lori said, “but I can’t.” She released his arm. “I’m in the process of sorting out and cleaning up my parents’ home. I’ve been renting it out since they died a couple of years ago, and now I’m getting ready to move back in.”

“You’re doing all this on your own?” Dan’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, no.” Lori released his arm and leaned on her cane. “An entire gang of friends is over there right now, under the masterful supervision of my best friend, Veronica. She claimed I was underfoot so sent me off to apprise Warren of hotel business until such time as I was needed. Actually,” she glanced up and down the street, “my chauffeur should be here any minute.”

“What hotel business?” Dan stiffened. Her comment reminded him of his original purpose.

“Well….” She appeared reluctant to answer, but before he could press her she continued. “Ever since Warren became ill about three months ago, I’ve been filling in for him at the hotel as manager. I did it at first because someone needed to take charge upon such short notice. But then I discovered that I really like doing it.” She smiled. Her eyes sparkled. “I just love working there and dealing with the people. Warren’s due for retirement and I was kind of hoping that I might be able to persuade the new owner to let me continue with running the place.”

“Do you have some kind of degree in business management or some other qualifications?” Dan asked.

“No.” She shook her head and sighed. “That’s the problem. All I have is a lot of enthusiasm. I guess it’s not much good in the business world these days.” She straightened her back, not relying so much on the cane now that she’d recovered from her climb down. “But I won’t let that deter me. I know how to work hard for what I want.”

Dan admired her spunk. He didn’t doubt her for one minute. Except he knew what she was up against. Before he could tell her, a motorcycle broke their quiet interlude.

“Hey, Lori,” Perry called from his perch on the Harley Davidson’s back. He yanked off his helmet and idled the engine. “Sorry I’m late. We forgot your recliner and had to go back for it.”

“That’s okay. Danny and I were having a nice chat.”

She walked over to join the scruffy biker, who looked nothing like last night’s sophisticated maitre d’. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses, and his ripped jeans looked old and well-worn while his running shoes had seen better days. Muscles that had been hidden by last night’s tuxedo rippled underneath his sweat-stained, sleeveless muscle-shirt.

“Hey, Dan,” Perry said. “Good to see you again.”

“Perry.”

Dan didn’t want to let her go. He followed her to the motorcycle’s side. “How about we plan something for tomorrow or the next day?”

“I’m afraid not,” Lori said. He swore he saw indecision warring in her lovely hazel eyes. “I’m taking the whole week off work so that I can set my place to rights. I’m afraid I’ll be too busy to spend any time with you. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to ruin your holiday waiting around for me.” She climbed up behind Perry with practiced ease and donned the spare helmet. The young man took her cane and secured it along his side.

Dan didn’t want to see her go, especially not with someone else. He longed to say the words that would make her want to stay, but he could think of nothing to say. At last he took her hand in his and said, “Good-bye then. It was nice meeting you.”

Lori squeezed his hand back. She seemed to search his eyes with her clear gaze. “Farewell, Danny. It was wonderful meeting you.” She smiled. “I hope you have a terrific life.” She pulled her hand out of his.

Perry gunned the engine and they were gone. Mingled with the smell of exhaust, Dan detected the hint of jasmine. He’d be forever haunted by that scent.

He stood alone on the sidewalk, watching until they were out of sight. Part of him wished for a different ending, the other part gave a huge sigh of relief. He’d come awfully close that time to wanting more.

So. He stared down the now empty and totally quiet street. Lori wanted his job.

He recalled how her eyes had sparkled at the mention of managing the hotel. She’d do a damn better job of it than he would. He thought of putting in a good word for her but then realized that she had no need of his patronage, with her knowledge and enthusiasm she could get the position without his help.

He sauntered back to his car. He eyed the camera. He changed his mind about taking any pictures. In fact, Dan changed his mind about staying in Lunenburg at all. He decided to fall back on Plan B – spending his life playing every golf course in the country and living up to his devil-may-care reputation. Time to hit the road.

But Plan B, he realized with dismay, held absolutely no appeal.