The Perfect Burn_A Thrilling Romantic Suspense

by Madyson Grey

  “Yeah, no doubt. Let’s be real open and flexible and not stick rigidly to a schedule. Okay?” Rafael stated.

  “For sure,” Victoria said. “I like spur of the moment adventures and discovering new things. I’d like to take some side roads, some old highways, and try to stay off of the freeways as much as is possible. You don’t see much from the freeway, it doesn’t seem to me like. The cool stuff is on the old highways or on side roads. Off the beaten path.”

  “I’m all for that,” Rafael agreed.

  The family of three met in the family room a little before six that evening. They wanted to be all ready to watch the interview. Rafael brought his list to show Victoria while they waited. His went like this:

  Crazy Horse Memorial

  Deadwood, SD

  Cody, Wyoming

  Yellowstone

  Custer’s Battlefield

  Niagara Falls

  Statue of Liberty

  Washington, DC

  Gettysburg and as many Civil War battlefields as we can

  Concord/Lexington, Mass.

  Old Fort Niagara

  Kitty Hawk, NC

  USS North Carolina

  Florida Keys

  Dollywood

  Gatlinburg, Tenn.

  Jesse James’ last home in St. Louis, MO

  “Wow! You thought of a bunch of places that I hadn’t,” Victoria exclaimed as she read over his life. Good job! I want to go to Dollywood, too, and the Statue of Liberty. They all sound like great places to go.”

  “So do yours. Well, except for the Mall of America,” Rafael teased. “A mall is a mall, isn’t it?”

  “Not even!” Victoria and Lena both exclaimed at once.

  “This is the second largest mall in the States,” Victoria told him. “And there’s even stuff there that you’ll like.”

  “In a mall? I doubt that,” Rafael said with a roll of his eyes.

  “Did you play with Legos as a kid?” Victoria asked.

  “I loved my Legos,” he answered.

  “There’s a giant Lego store there.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Rafael’s interest level went up a notch.

  “Ever wanted to fly a WW Two fighter plane?”

  “That would be cool. How’m I gonna do that in a mall?”

  “They have a flight simulator where you can fly war planes or F-18 jets, and even land it on an aircraft carrier.”

  “Now that sounds cool!” Rafael exclaimed. “And all that’s supposed to be in this whoop-de-do mall of yours?”

  “Sure is,” Victoria grinned triumphantly.

  “Well, okay, we’ll put it on the list, then,” he said, returning her grin.

  “Ye-es!”

  “Hey, we’re on,” Rafael said.

  Instantly the three were silent as Carmen Blakely began her human-interest segment titled Life in Los Angeles. For the next fifteen minutes, they all watched attentively to themselves being interviewed. When it was over, they all agreed that it had gone quite well.

  “I just hope that someone benefits from it,” Victoria said.

  “I wonder when she’ll do the Angel’s Retreat one,” Rafael wanted to know.

  “Yeah, I’d like to see that one, too, for sure,” Victoria said.

  Just then Rafael’s cell phone rang. He looked at Caller ID and saw that it was their real estate agent.

  “Wonder what he wants?” Victoria said quietly as Rafael answered.

  “Hello?”

  Pause.

  “Really? That’s wonderful news!”

  Pause.

  “Sure, tomorrow morning is great. Where do you want to meet?”

  Pause.

  “Your office. Sure. Eight-thirty. We’ll be there. Thanks a lot.”

  Pause.

  See you then. Bye.

  “What did he want?” Victoria asked.

  “The house finally sold today,” Rafael told her.

  “Oh, yippee!” Victoria yelled. “Cash?”

  “Yep. We pick the check up in the morning at Doug Bush’s office.”

  “Cool.”

  “That’s a load off,” Rafael said. “I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to sell. At least not for our price.”

  “Tell you the truth, some days I forget all about that place,” Victoria said. “We have been so busy with everything that I almost forgot about it.”

  Lena had been quiet throughout their exchange. But now Victoria noticed, and touched her shoulder.

  “You miss the old place, don’t you, Mama?” she asked gently.

  Lena looked at her daughter.

  “Well, sometimes, I guess I do,” she admitted. “But nostalgia aside, I really like this place better. I love my little suite, and I love being so free. And I love being able to openly love my daughter.”

  “I love you, too, Mama,” Victoria said, and gave Lena a hug.

  “We’ll make lots of good memories in this house, I promise.”

  “We already have,” Lena said with a smile.

  The next morning, Rafael and Victoria were at the real estate office before eight-thirty. They were so anxious to finalize this sale. As far as they knew, everything was done except for picking up their check and signing off on some sale contract and the property deed. All the other paperwork had been done long ago.

  They took the check to the bank that had their personal accounts in it, and deposited it into a savings account. Rafael wanted it available while they were on the trip, just in case a good deal presented itself. He had been toying with the idea of buying up a couple of RV parks ever since they had taken their honeymoon the previous September. But he hadn’t done anything about looking into it.

  He thought that while they were on this upcoming trip, that he would be observant of the parks that they stayed in and see what types of parks were the busiest, which were the nicest, or had the best amenities. It would be something to think about.

  The next day, a Wednesday, Rafael went down to the park early to talk with Mickey about their upcoming absence, and to ascertain that Mickey felt comfortable being left in charge. Of course, he wasn’t alone there, but he would be the top dog while Rafael and Victoria were gone.

  “I appreciate your trust in me,” Mickey told Rafael. “I believe that I will be able to handle things around here.”

  “I’m only a phone call away if you have problems,” Rafael told him. “You are doing a fantastic job so far, and I’m so pleased to have you here.”

  “Thanks, Rafael. I appreciate that,” Mickey said humbly.

  “The only thing I’ll have to add to your duties is doing the bank deposits every night. I’ll have Ted do them on your days off.”

  “No problem. You’ll just need to show me where your bank is and how you do it.”

  “Yeah, I’ll give you the deposit slip book and the night drop bag. I just count out the cash, itemize it on the deposit slip, make sure it matches the printout from RAVA, and take it to the bank and put it in the night drop. Nothing to it.”

  Rafael grinned at Mickey. RAVA was the specialized point-of-sale program that they used at Thornton Park.

  “Sure, no problem,” Mickey said, who returned the grin

  “This evening after closing, I’ll get together with you and Ted and go over it with you both and you can both ride with me to the bank,” Rafael told him.

  “Works for me,” Mickey said.

  Victoria went through the motorhome that morning to see what was needed for their trip. There was plenty of shampoo, conditioner, soaps of all kinds, toothpaste, mouthwash, a complete array of makeup and skincare products, clean towels and washcloths, plenty of clean underwear and socks for both of them. There were a few cans of soup, tuna, and beans, but more was needed. Victoria began making a list.

  There were plenty of paper plates, cups, napkins, and plasticware. There was plastic wrap, baggies, foil, and dish soap. There were a dozen DVDs to watch, in case they were somewhere with no TV reception. The sheets were clean on the bed, and so
were the pillowcases. Everything was good to go, except for a good dusting. But that could wait until the day before they left, or else it would just have to be done again then.

  Victoria sat in the motorhome to make her list of food items that she would buy for them to start out with. She would only buy enough to last them for four or five days, due to storage space, or the lack thereof. Sitting in the motorhome to make the list inspired her to think of foods that would be easily prepared and eaten in the small space in which she had to work.

  Boxed mac and cheese, pasta salads, instant potatoes, cold cereal, and sandwiches. Lots of sandwiches. Easy stuff that didn’t take a lot of room or time to prepare. It was a vacation, after all. She didn’t want to spend too much time cooking. When she had the list completed, she went in the house and put it in her purse. She wouldn’t go shopping until the day before they were to leave, so the perishables would be fresh.

  Going up to the master suite, Victoria assessed her clothes and considered what to take on the trip. It was summer, so she would take light clothing, for the most part, but would also include a sweater and jacket for cool evenings at high altitudes. A couple of pairs of jeans were a must. Shorts and capris for warm days. A pair of dress slacks and a nice blouse for the random dressy occasion. Three or four tank tops, and tees. And leave room for new purchases along the way.

  Victoria made a list of the clothes she planned to take. Even though she might change her mind as she was packing, at least it was something to work from. And she could add to it between now and their departure so that she didn’t forget anything.

  As planned, Rafael met with both Mickey and Ted after closing and walked them through the procedure for printing out the day’s report, counting down the till, and making sure the cash matched the report. As they were both intelligent men, they caught on quickly. Then they went to the bank and Rafael showed them where the night drop was and how it worked. Rafael used heavy plastic deposit bags that were one-use only, which eliminated the need for returning to the bank to retrieve the deposit bags. Rafael made certain that they had plenty of them.

  Friday morning Gene Hillman from Angel’s Retreat called Rafael to tell him that he was planning to bring a group of ten girls to the park that morning, if the offer was still good.

  “Of course it is,” Rafael said warmly. “What time do you plan to arrive?”

  “I think we’ll be there at ten when you open.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be there to meet you.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see soon.”

  Rafael told Victoria what Mr. Hillman had said, and she wanted to go down and meet them, too. So about a quarter of ten, they rode the quad down to the main entrance where people were already forming a queue.

  When Rafael opened the gate, they stood back while the people streamed in, watching for the group from Angel’s Retreat. Pretty soon they spotted them driving in, in the company van. Rafael had already told Jessie, the ticket booth worker that morning, that this was a special group that had free admission any time they came.

  As Mr. Hillman led the group in, Rafael and Victoria both welcomed him and the group to Thornton Park. There were several adults, both men and women, along acting as security for the girls. The girls were shy, but radiant with anticipation of this unexpected outing. For their own safety, the girls didn’t go out much until they had completed the program at Angel’s Retreat, and were placed in jobs and had learned how to protect themselves.

  Rafael and Victoria played escort to the group and showed them first to the pioneer farmhouse. The girls were fascinated with the old home, and often remarked how much nicer it was than their old homes in Thailand, even though the lack of utilities was similar. The outhouse and well didn’t impress them any, because that was their way of life in the remote mountain villages of Thailand.

  They were impressed, however, with the nice washboard and washtubs that the laundry was done in. It was much nicer than taking the clothes to the river to wash them. They loved petting the animals in the barnyard. Several of the girls expressed the idea that they missed the animals that had roamed their own villages.

  Next, they led the group over to the botanical garden. The girls seemed to really enjoy the beautiful flowers, bushes, and trees there. They stopped often to smell the flowers, or to admire this or that plant. The path through the garden led to the train depot where they waited for a few minutes for the train to return from its first run of the morning. The group piled on the train amidst much giggling and chattering. Then they were off for the fifteen-minute ride through the park.

  Back at the depot, the girls went into the gift shop where they examined all the merchandise with fascination. The girls didn’t have spending money due to the situation they were in. So when Victoria realized that, she nudged Rafael, and asked him if they couldn’t just give the girls each a gift. He was in full agreement.

  So she went around to each of the girls and told them that they could choose one item each from the gift shop to take for their very own. The girls looked at her in amazement. Then they looked at Mr. Hillman for confirmation. He nodded and smiled at them that it was okay. Then the giggling and chattering started all over again, as the girls went from one item to another, studying, pondering, examining, and trying to decide which one item to choose.

  As each one made her choice, Rafael then led them over to the soda fountain and asked each one what kind of treat she wanted. This really brought out the smiles as they each chose their preferred sweet. When everyone had been served, they took their milkshakes or floats or whatever they had outside to sit at the picnic tables provided.

  When everyone was finished, Mr. Hillman announced that it was time to return to their home. The girls put their empty cups in the trash receptacles provided. Then they surrounded Rafael and Victoria to thank them profusely for their generosity. Several of the girls were ones that had been rescued through Rafael and Victoria’s efforts, and they were especially grateful. Hugs were exchanged all around, and eventually the supervisors were able round the girls up and herd them back to the van.

  “Now that was what I call fun,” Victoria said, as she waved to the girls.

  “No kidding,” Rafael agreed. “That’s the best thing that’s happened here since we opened. I hope he’ll eventually bring .all of the girls.”

  “He said he would,” Victoria told him. “He seemed to enjoy himself, too.”

  “Yeah, I think they all did.”

  Saturday, Rafael spent the morning checking over the motorhome and taking it in for an oil change. He washed it and vacuumed out the cab, even though it really didn’t need it. They had only used it once, and had cleaned it good after they returned home.

  When he returned home with it, Victoria started carrying out the clothes that she wanted to take. Rafael followed suit, and before long that chore was done. They were both getting so excited about the trip that they could hardly wait to leave.

  They spent the rest of the afternoon plotting the route that they would take, knowing that it could change at any point. But they needed a general idea of where to go first. They chose to go north first while the weather was at its summer best. That meant Crater Lake in southern Oregon would be first. Then they would angle off to the northeast and head for Yellowstone and Cody in Wyoming, and then Montana, where they would visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, the location of Custer’s Last Stand. After that, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota would be next.

  State by state they planned their route on a US map at the front of the atlas that they would take along. Of course, they would also utilize their GPS and online mapping programs, but there was just nothing like a real paper map laid out in front of you on the table where you can see the whole country at once.

  Victoria used a fine-tipped yellow highlighter to trace the route. Once they were actually on the road, she planned to trace the route they actually ended up taking with a pink highlighter. That way, no matter how many years pas
sed, and no matter how many more vacations they took, they would always remember this first vacation of theirs and know just where they went.

  Tuesday Victoria spent the better part of the day inventorying the gift shop and placing orders for what she hoped would be enough merchandise to carry the shop all summer while they were gone. She had Lena and Sarah both there with her, showing her how much back stock she liked to have on hand.

  “If you start to run low on anything, just call or email me and I’ll get it ordered. I can do it no matter where we’re at, unless of course, we’re somewhere out of cell phone range. But even if we are, it should only be temporary. So don’t wait until you’re out of something. Give me a day or so to get your message and place the order,” she told them.

  The two women agreed that they would stay on top of things while Victoria and Rafael were gone. Victoria felt confident leaving the store in such capable hands. She knew she could trust her mama, and she felt certain that Sarah was just as trustworthy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wednesday, June 28th was Victoria’s birthday. She was twenty-seven years old that day and Lena and Rafael planned a surprise for her. Lena knew that Victoria had always wanted to go to Griffith Observatory at night to look through the telescopes there ever since she was young and had read about it in a coffee table book of Lena’s that Victoria liked to look at. So they checked to make sure they could go that day, and planned dinner out on the way to the observatory.

  “Happy Birthday, my love,” Rafael said softly as Victoria awakened early that morning.

  “Mmmm, thank you,” she murmured, looking up into his face as he leaned on one elbow beside her.

  He lowered his head and claimed her lips in a tantalizing birthday kiss. She responded eagerly, and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him down closer to her. Before she had time to think or to freeze up, they were making love, and she was on fire just as she had always been before her rape.

  “Oh, honey, I love you so much,” Rafael whispered in her ear as they coasted down from their mountaintop. “I love you more than I can say.”