Divining Elise_Granite Lake Romance

by Jody A. Kessler

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” He backed into the dividing curtain and shifted toward the exit. The surprised look on his face was good enough for Elise, but he didn’t actually leave.

  “Just go,” she said as if condemning a puppy to leave the room. She almost shoed him away, but refrained from making the hand gestures. Her “curse” had been silly enough. Why did I threaten to make war with him via my huge library? She wasn’t thinking clearly. And what if he spoke Spanish and knew what I’d said? It was too late for take backs. She did the only thing she could think of next, which was ignore him. Pretend he didn’t exist. Elise swung her legs around so they rested on the bed and she watched Colton.

  “Sorry to disturb you. I was trying to do what’s right, but I see that doesn’t matter in this case. Have a nice life, Elise Martinez.” He left the emergency room and didn’t look back.

  For the briefest of moments, she felt a crushing sense of loss. Her eyes closed as she processed the pain and held back a choking sob. She wouldn’t let her premonitions control her. Elise would choose who she wanted to spend her life with and the only boy who mattered was Colton.

  * * *

  If that wasn’t one of the oddest moments he’d ever had with a woman, he didn’t know his ass from his nose. But one thing Elise pointed out to him was dead on target. Rob was in no condition to drive. He dialed Bodie.

  “Can you come pick me up?” Rob asked.

  “What the hell did you do now?”

  “I caused an accident on Highway 11. I’m fine. The other driver sustained minor injuries. I’m at Memorial Hospital and I need a ride. I haven’t slept in days.”

  “Your daughter isn’t sleeping, either,” Bodie said. “I’ve been listening to her cry for half an hour.”

  “Shit. Is Mom doing okay?” he asked.

  “Mom’s fine. It’s me. I can’t listen to that noise. It makes me feel so helpless. I’ll be right there.”

  Rob hung up and dialed his mother’s phone even though Bodie was in the same house. His brother had recently returned from Wilderness School and was staying with their parents until he decided where he wanted to work and live. Chances of Bodie moving in with him in the new house in Granite Lake were looking pretty good, but Rob hadn’t even spent one night there yet, so his brother would have to wait to get a copy of the house key. Shane had already arranged to stay with him when he was in town rather than commuting to the city. Shane, too, was adjusting his lifestyle and figuring out how much private investigating he would continue to do while remodeling and opening their brew pub.

  After unpacking the trailer earlier, Rob had given Shane the keys. His brother was alone in his four bedroom, three bath house, enjoying his gourmet kitchen, stone fireplace, and lake view while he had a baby to take care of at his mother’s. It could be the lack of sleep, the mountains of stress, or being chewed out by the most alluring female he’d ever come across, but picturing Shane sleeping in his new home grated on his nerves.

  Carolyn didn’t answer. On the drive to the hospital, he filled her in on the car accident. Although she wasn’t pleased about him being away for even longer, she told him to do what was needed. Baby Allison would be just fine. He left a voice mail, then sent a text message to keep her updated.

  Rob found a bench outside and waited for Bodie’s arrival. After a few minutes passed, he very nearly shut the door on all caution and climbed back inside his truck. The cool mountain air and the rise of his gall had awakened him. The drive to his parents’ was short. He could make it without killing anyone—he was fairly certain.

  He pushed to his feet and stepped toward the parking lot. The emergency room doors slid open and Elise hobbled outside on her crutches. The little boy kept one hand on her at all times. A minivan was parked at the curb in the drop off and pick up zone. A squat man with thinning hair and a spare tire round the middle waited by the open van door.

  Bodie chose that moment to pull into the lot. Rob watched Elise balance on one foot and slide the crutches inside the van. She signed something to Colton and he climbed into the back. Elise followed her son and the driver closed the door.

  The mystery woman who cursed him with a library was gone. Rob scratched his head and pulled open the door to Bodie’s truck.

  “You look like death warmed over,” his brother said.

  “Thank you. You’re so kind,” Rob said as he settled onto the passenger seat.

  “Looks like fatherhood has taken its toll on you and it’s only been a few hours.”

  “This conversation isn’t helping,” Rob said.

  “Sure it is,” Bodie said with a grin. “I have some good news. Your daughter finally fell asleep.”

  “That is good,” Rob agreed. “The bad news is, her naps only last a couple hours, then she’s awake again. I’m not sure how I’m going to do this.”

  “Hire a nanny. You’ve got money to spare. Mom’s already talking about how she’s not going to do it, so don’t even ask.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Rob said.

  “She started complaining after you called and told her you were delayed by the car accident.”

  “She didn’t say anything to me,” Rob said.

  “Of course, she didn’t. You’ve always been the favorite.”

  “Don’t start with that now.” Rob’s brain began to throb.

  Bodie shrugged. “She treats you different. Always has.”

  Rob sighed. “You feel like making a detour?”

  That perked Bodie’s attention. “Maybe. What’s up?”

  “I need you to take me to Granite Lake before we head home.”

  “What about your baby?” Bodie asked.

  “Mom’s going to have to deal with my delay a little longer.”

  An hour later, Bodie slowed the truck as they entered the sleepy mountain town of Granite Lake. The small downtown consisted of little more than a main street lined with western and Victorian style buildings left over from California’s gold rush days and a handful of other slightly more modern businesses. Cottages, cabins, and lake houses clustered around the center of town and along the shores of the lake for which the town was named. Over the years, the population grew and subdivisions vied for lake frontage or the unbelievable views, but the town remained quaint and rustic. Rob anticipated many fulfilling years to come living in the mountains.

  “So, who is she?” Bodie asked.

  “Her name’s Elise. She didn’t want my help, but I don’t feel okay with leaving her stranded. The little boy is deaf for Christ’s sake, and she’s on crutches because of me.”

  “What if she calls the cops when she notices you stalking her?”

  “Ha. Ha. Her car is in our parking lot, dude. It’s not stalking when she’s on our property.”

  “I don’t think it’s wise to scare her,” Bodie said and pulled into the parking lot of what would soon be Black Bear Brewing.

  “I’m not going to scare her. She left the hospital with nothing. Not even a purse. I just want to make sure she’s not sleeping on the street tonight.”

  “And then what? Are you going to pay for a hotel room or something?”

  “I will if she needs one,” Rob said.

  He couldn’t seem to help himself. The rich chocolate color irises flecked with amber and gold had him mesmerized, but it was the empathy in her gaze that cast a spell over him. Never in his life had he thought he’d met a witch before, but the sculpted eyebrows, perfect full lips, and the beauty mark above the corner of her mouth were enough to convince him. Not that he believed in real witches, yet he couldn’t shake the thought, which was completely absurd. And he wasn’t frightened of her, but intrigued. With so much confusion running amok, he should have gone home to his infant, but he couldn’t be responsible for her or her kid’s homelessness. Even if she were planning to sleep in her car, he wanted her to know she had another option.

  Bodie backed his truck into a parking space and killed the engine. Elise’s parked sedan sat next to th
em, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  “Do you think we beat the cab driver?” Rob asked.

  “Possibly,” Bodie said.

  “Let’s give them a few minutes.” Rob watched the street for the minivan. The town had settled in for the night. The Mountain Spoon diner and The Bistro were already closed. The pizza and sub shop across the street was open for another hour. The flash of brake lights glowed red a block up but it wasn’t a van.

  “You know how I’ve been tearing out the old sheet rock in the basement in preparation for the brewery equipment?” Bodie asked.

  Rob glanced across the seat to his brother. “Yeah. How’s it going? I wish I could have helped you over the last couple of days, but my current circumstances have me preoccupied.”

  “I know. That’s not why I brought it up. This is going to sound weird, but I swear I wasn’t alone while I was working.”

  “What do you mean by not alone? Do you think we have a squatter? The building isn’t hard to get into right now. I haven’t been worried about security since we’re tearing everything out of the place. Are you worried?”

  “No, Rob. I’m not talking about a squatter. It’s more like a spirit. And today, I lost my tape measure and guess where it was?”

  “Exactly where you left it,” Rob said, not amused with the topic of Bodie’s choice.

  “On the roof. The roofing company showed up today to give me an estimate. He found my tape measure on the damned roof.”

  “Sounds like a squirrel not a ghost.”

  “Yeah, I could believe that, or maybe a raven, but then how do you explain the writing that was up there?”

  “Writing?” Rob stopped watching for minivans and looked at his brother again. “What writing?”

  “The roofer said he saw it scratched into the wood on the backside of the false front. My tape measure was lying up there right below the marks,” Bodie said.

  Rob couldn’t tell in the near dark if Bodie was trying to pull a fast one—something Bodie would do all day long, but he sounded serious for once.

  “Let me guess what it said. Red rum?”

  “No. Not even close. There were sets of initials and two of them were S.E. and R.E. The third one was T.E.”

  “Bodie, get to the point.”

  “You and Shane’s initials are on our building. I know none of us have been up there since we bought the place. I asked the roofer to show me. He wanted me to see some areas on the roof that need extra work, so I went and looked. I kid you not, Rob, your initials are on the woodwork along with Shane’s. The marks look old, really old. And you know what else is weird. There were no footprints up there other than the roofer’s and mine.”

  “It’s time to shut up, okay. I’m not in the mood for ghost stories. Can it wait until October?”

  “Fine. I’m showing Shane next time we’re here together. I’m not going to lie, it’s eerie as hell.”

  “I have other problems to deal with. You and Shane play Ghostbusters all you like, but...” Rob trailed off and peered hard at the row of businesses across the street. “You ever notice the bookstore over there?” Rob pointed at the building that shared a parking lot with the pizza shop.

  “Yeah. I’m not sure if they’re ever open, though,” Bodie said. His phone beeped and Bodie checked the incoming message.

  Five

  “SOMEONE’S INSIDE THERE NOW.” Rob popped his door open and strode across the street. Call it a hunch, but something told him that Elise’s Spanish swearing in the hospital included the word library—and libraries were full of books. He didn’t speak Spanish, but he’d taken one class in high school and he grew up in California. Hispanics were everywhere in this state. Over the years, he’d picked up on more than a few words and phrases.

  Rob peered inside the front window and saw Elise leaning against the counter, standing on her good leg. Her son was nowhere to be seen. She ended a call and set her phone down. Rob was about to knock on the front door when he noticed Elise wipe the corners of her eyes. She turned away, hiding her face. Elise’s hair fell down her back, stopping just above her narrow waist and perfectly round ass. He stared at the shine and softness of her hair in the warm glow of the partially lit bookstore. Rob blinked, forcing himself to put aside her incredibly distracting good looks. Elise raised her hands to cover her face. Her shoulders began to shake. Watching a woman fall apart was uncomfortable, but watching this woman suffer was beyond his capability.

  He pushed the front door open. “Elise?” She dropped her hands and jumped. Her eyes were soaked with tears and her makeup smudged. She fixed her gaze on the floor, hiding beneath long lashes.

  “You. Again?” Her voice was low and barely audible.

  It was as if she weren’t surprised to see him. She didn’t start cursing him in Spanish, but she wouldn’t look up. Rob crossed the bookshop to the counter and stopped in front of her.

  Elise’s sniffle shook her entire body. Rob took her into his arms, being mindful of the knee brace.

  “What is it? Are you hurt? What can I do to help?”

  Elise let her weight fall into Rob’s embrace. She clung to him and cried against his chest. Rob quit asking what was wrong and simply held her.

  When the shaking eased, Elise pulled out of his arms and reached for the crutches.

  “I’m still unhappy with you,” she said without making eye contact.

  “That’s fair, but tell me how I can help.”

  “By not existing in the first place.” She hopped to the end of the counter, spun, and leveled him with her intense stare. After lifting her chin, Elise swiped fingers at the corner of one eye to dry the last of the wetness.

  “That’s harsh, but... but nothing. I don’t understand that statement.”

  “Great. That makes two of us.”

  The floor creaked behind Rob as someone entered the shop.

  “Hello?” Bodie called out. “Hey,” he nodded at his brother. “Is this her?”

  “Yeah,” Rob said.

  “Hi, I’m Bodie, Rob’s brother. He was concerned about you and thought we better check on your car and belongings before we hit the hay. Nice place.” Bodie glanced around the cozy bookshop. “You need anything?”

  Elise’s gaze shifted sideways and set her jaw. She looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t manage to find the words.

  “What is it?” Rob asked. “Is your son all right?”

  “He’s sleeping.” She dropped her incredibly full and long lashes against her cheeks again, still holding something back.

  “You’re staying here? Is this your store? I don’t mean to pry into your business. I actually wanted to offer you a hotel room.”

  A flash of alarm crossed her face and Elise gripped the crutches tighter. Bodie cleared his throat.

  “That came out wrong. I meant, I’ll pay for your room if you don’t have other accommodations,” Rob said, and heat gathered in his face. For God’s sake, he didn’t want to frighten her... more than he probably already had.

  “I’m not one to ask for help, but since you are the one who put me in this ridiculous situation, can you please get my things from the car? I was just about to head over there when you barged in. It would take me ten trips with these stupid crutches.”

  “Sure. No problem,” Bodie said. “You have the keys?”

  Elise reached in her pocket and withdrew a set of car keys. Bodie headed outside and Elise’s lip trembled. New tears collected at the corner of her eyes.

  “Are you in pain? Bodie’s a paramedic? He can take a look at your knee if it’s bothering you, or is it something else?”

  A sound came from behind a low bookcase. Rob tilted his head to peer into the dimness and listen closely. The small whimper came from the direction of the children’s section.

  “Is that Colton?”

  “Yes.” Elise wedged the crutches under her arms and moved toward the kids’ books.

  Rob peered around Elise. The boy slept curled up on the floor in the r
eading area of the children’s section. He lay on a padded mat without a blanket or pillow. Rob’s heart sank.

  As if reading his mind, Elise asked, “Can you make sure to grab the pillow and the blanket from my trunk? Anything you can bring inside would be helpful. Then lock my car and we’ll be fine for the night.”

  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  Rob found the blanket and two pillows and tucked them under his arm. He and Bodie returned minutes later, arms loaded with suitcases, duffle bags, and anything else they could carry.

  “Where do you want all this?” Bodie asked.

  She bit her lip and her gaze shifted to anything but their faces. Rob began to recognize that look when Elise had more to say but held back.

  “Is there an upstairs?” Bodie asked.

  “Can we bring your things up for you?” Rob asked.

  “Yes, please. The stairs are at the back of the shop.”

  Rob and Bodie took the bags up and found a large and empty two-bedroom apartment. The only furnishings were a floor lamp and a plastic patio chair.

  “How is she going to manage the stairs?” Bodie whispered. “This doesn’t look great. You should offer to pay for the hotel room again.”

  “I will,” Rob said.

  They trotted back down the stairs to the bookstore.

  “We didn’t know where you wanted your bags, so we set them on the floor,” Bodie said. “I think I can grab the rest of your things in one more trip.”

  “Thank you,” Elise said.

  “Bodie and I can drop you off at any hotel of your choice. There’s also quite a few rental cabins around town. I will pay whatever it costs so you don’t have to worry about that.”