Well, except for several lakes in the earthquake’s path. As images of the storm flashed across the screen, the newsman had gone on to say that four lakes appeared to have turned salty. He’d then brought on a panel of experts who speculated that the earthquake seemed to have split open the bottom of each of the lakes in succession. And like a plug being pulled on a bathtub all the fresh water had drained out, only to be replaced by an underground river surging in from the Gulf of Maine. Then just before the power had flickered off for the last time, they’d reported that the earthquake had just claimed a fifth lake not thirty miles south of Bottomless.
Peg and her children, Ezra, Sam, the Oceanuses, and Olivia and Sophie had sat motionless in the storm-darkened room for several minutes, the silence broken only by the gale-force winds battering the windows with rain.
And that was when the lodge had first shivered on its foundation.
Within twenty minutes those shivers had turned to deep rumbling tremors that rattled the dishes in the cupboards and made the pine-log walls creak and groan with increasing frequency.
Olivia wondered if the Oceanuses were enjoying their visit. “Well,” she said into the silence, standing up. “I think we should build a fire in the hearth so Henry can teach his Gram and Grampy how to make s’mores.” She looked at Sam. “There’s firewood on the back porch.”
Sam also stood up. “If the tremors crack the mortar on that old stone chimney and it crumbles, we could end up burning this place down.”
Olivia sighed. “Good point. Okay then,” she said, rubbing her hands together excitedly as she smiled at the unusually quiet, wide-eyed children sitting in every available adult lap. “I guess we’ll have to make the s’mores on the kitchen range.”
“We can take turns,” Peg said, setting Peter—or Jacob—on his feet and standing up. “And while we’re each waiting our turn, we can sit at the kitchen table and color. Didn’t I see paper and crayons in the closet?” she asked Olivia.
Olivia nodded and held her hand out to Henry, who was cuddled up on his grandmother’s lap on the couch. “Come on, young Mr. Oceanus. Let’s show your Gram how to make your new favorite treat.”
He clung to Rana, his eyes filling with terror when the lodge gave another violent shudder. “I want my dad,” he whispered. “He promised to protect me from the demons.”
Olivia dropped to her knees in front of him. “Oh, baby, nothing’s going to get you. You’re perfectly safe here with us. And don’t forget your Grampy’s here. Didn’t you tell me he’s just as big and strong and powerful as your dad?”
Henry darted a worried glance at Titus and then threw himself at Olivia. “But I want Dad!” he wailed, hugging her tightly. “He promised.”
“Easy, honey,” she crooned, cupping his head buried in her neck. “Your daddy’s on his way here right now.” She leaned back but had to pry him away so he’d see her smile. “Didn’t I tell you he would move heaven and earth and any mountains that got in his way to get to you?” she asked. “That’s what all this shaking is about, Henry. It’s just your dad coming for you.”
He blinked at her. “You think it’s him?”
She nodded. “And you know why he’s putting on this ridiculous show?”
“Why?” he asked, his eyes now wide with awe instead of terror.
“Because he feels so bad about making you stay in your room for three days, he’s out there rearranging a few of the mountains just to prove how much he loves you.”
Henry went back to clutching her neck when the house shook again. “But he just has to tell me he loves me! He’s never said it once.” He reared back when the shaking stopped, and darted another quick glance at his grandfather before looking at her again. “He doesn’t have to waste his powers on moving mountains, Miss Olivia; he just has to say it. Mama used to tell me she loved me all the time.”
Olivia gave him a lopsided grin. “That’s a mama thing, Henry. Dads are better at showing their love.” She stood up and took his hand and headed for the kitchen. “So every time the house shakes, you’ll know he’s one step closer to you.”
“Gram, come on,” Henry said over his shoulder. “We’re going to make s’mores. You come too, Grampy. I just know you’re going to love them.”
“Henry,” Carolina hissed as she caught up with them. “You need to address him as Grandfather.”
“No, I don’t. Dad said I should call him Grampy.”
Olivia stopped inside the pantry and started handing him supplies. “You want to know a secret, Henry?” she whispered even as she winked at Carolina standing in the doorway. “He just pretends he doesn’t like for you to call him Grampy because he doesn’t want people to know he’s got a big old sappy heart.”
“But what’s wrong with having a big heart?”
“Well, I think theurgists have to act scary so people won’t keep pestering them to use their magic for all sorts of meaningless things.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Henry gave Carolina an uncertain look. “Do you think that’s why Grampy scowls so much?”
“You know, little man, I believe it is,” Carolina said, lifting her gaze to Olivia. “And it seems to have worked quite well for him for a very long time.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone he’s really nice,” Henry whispered. “And I’ll call him Grandfather when other people are around and Grampy when it’s just us.”
Peg popped her head around the corner. “I just realized why everyone’s falling all over themselves to come to Inglenook,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you just turned a scary situation into something exciting for the kids. Now Pete and Repeat and Isabel have their noses glued to the windows, hoping to be the first one to see the mountains moving.”
“Yup, that’s why they pay us the big bucks,” Olivia said with a laugh, shooing everyone out of the pantry ahead of her.
Other than the escalating storm and the tremors that grew more frequent as the morning dragged into afternoon, it could have been an ordinary day at Inglenook as everyone settled down at the large kitchen table to color and eat popcorn while taking turns making s’mores. Well, everyone except Sam, who kept going out to check the horses and make sure none of the cabins had blown away. At least that was what he told Olivia he was doing. But she suspected Sam felt better equipped to handle the weather outside than the boisterous storm of children inside, especially after Isabel asked him to help her fold a newspaper into a hat.
Apparently they didn’t teach arts and crafts in Sam’s branch of the military.
And seeing that everyone was fully occupied, Olivia finally escaped into one of the back meeting rooms to have herself a good little cry. Because really, she didn’t know which disconcerted her more: that it might truly be Mac raising havoc on Maine, or that she missed him so much her heart hurt.
How in hell could she have fallen in love with him so quickly?
Unless… ohmigod, what if he’d used his magic on her!
No, that was just plain foolish. If Mac had that kind of dastardly power he’d have used it a long time ago and on a more beautiful, more confident, sexier, and hell of a lot braver woman than she was.
“Olivia.”
And why in hell was he messing with Mother Nature, anyway? Lakes were supposed to be full of fresh water, not little oceans. He was going to completely ruin the area’s already precarious tourist industry. People went to the coast to see whales, and to the mountains to hike and camp and hunt.
“Olivia.”
Really, someone had to go out there and stop the crazy man.
Olivia turned to head back to the main room, only to run straight into a big broad chest. She turned away with a gasp, afraid Mac’s father would see she’d been crying. “Um… if you’re looking for the restroom it’s two more doors down,” she said, trying to surreptitiously wipe her face with her sleeve.
“I was looking for you. I would ask if you happen to know what Maximilian is doing, and why.”
Fairly certain she’d wiped away all her tears, Olivia turned back to him. “Here’s the thing: I don’t know who or what he is much less what he’s doing.”
“My son may have his flaws, but lack of honor is not one of them. He would never marry a woman without explaining to her not only who he is but what he is.”
“Yeah, well, that’s another thing. You see, despite his calling me marita, I’m not actually his wife.”
Up went that imperial brow. “Then what are you to him, actually?”
Olivia hugged herself. “I thought I was his girlfriend,” she said, wondering how a person went about having such an intimate discussion with her lover’s father. “I thought my deal with Mac was to have a no-strings affair that would end in September when he went back to Midnight Bay. He’s supposed to buy a house there and get serious about searching for a wife he only has to like well enough to win your approval.”
“And you?” Titus quietly asked. “Were you simply going to thank my son for his time and attention, and wish him well as he walked away?”
Feeling tears threatening again, Olivia turned to stare out the rain-spattered window. “That was our deal.”
“Only you fell in love with him instead.”
She pulled in a shuddering breath. “I promised him I wouldn’t.”
He turned her around, his warm, solid hands on her shoulders. “Would you care for some advice from a supposedly wise old man, Olivia?” he asked. “As I would like to suggest that you close off your mind long enough to hear what your heart has to say about all this.” He lifted her chin. “I assure you that Maximilian is letting his own heart guide him right now. No man moves heaven and earth because he only likes a woman well enough to marry her.”
Olivia gasped. “He’s not doing this for me.” She pulled away and turned to face the window again. “This has something to do with three lost albatrosses and the fishing gear on the beaches, and—” She spun to face him. “This has nothing to do with me.” She gestured at the windows. “Who in their right mind destroys an entire state for somebody? My God, he’s turned freshwater lakes into oceans.” She shook her head. “He’s trying to make a point about something, so everyone will sit up and take notice.”
“He’s definitely trying to make someone take notice,” he murmured, heading for the door. “Come, Olivia. I believe there are more people arriving.”
Olivia stared at the door he disappeared through, wondering if Titus wasn’t as crazy as his son. Because instead of just sitting here while the world was collapsing around them, why wasn’t he out there stopping Mac?
“Gram! Grampy! You made it home,” she heard Sophie holler.
Olivia headed down the hall at a run, equally surprised that they’d made it back to Inglenook. Only she came to a screeching halt when she saw the woman standing beside John and Eileen—as well as the little boy in John’s arms.
Eileen straightened from hugging Sophie and turned the girl toward John. “Sophie, I want you to meet—”
“No!” Olivia shouted, rushing over and pulling her daughter away while giving Eileen a warning glare. “Not one word,” she growled to her shocked mother-in-law.
Olivia turned to look for Ezra, only to flinch when Sam stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her shoulders—his dark steely eyes locked on hers. “I guess you do know,” he said tightly. “Ezra, take Sophie into one of the back rooms and stay with her,” he instructed. “Sophie, you go with him, okay?” he said more gently. “Your mom will be along in a couple of minutes.”
“But I don’t under—”
“Go with Ezra, baby,” Olivia said, giving her a nudge. “I’ll explain later.”
“Really, Livy,” Eileen hissed, grabbing Olivia’s shoulder to turn her around.
Only Sam stepped between them. “You’ve got some balls bringing her here without warning,” he said, nodding at the woman all but hiding behind John now.
Eileen flushed with anger. “Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?”
So shocked by what Sam was doing, it took Olivia a few seconds to gather her wits before she stepped around him and got right in Eileen’s face. “I’m the one who should be asking that question. What in hell were you thinking? You don’t introduce an eight-year-old child to a half brother she didn’t even know existed without preparing her first. And you sure as hell don’t do it without consulting her mother,” she said, slapping her own chest. “I’m the one who decides when and how to tell Sophie that her precious daddy wasn’t quite the hero she thought he was. And you, John,” she said, rounding on him. “You should be ashamed of yourself for letting Eileen do this to Sophie and me.”
Olivia then looked at the boy in John’s arms—who had Keith Baldwin’s bright blue eyes and sandy-brown hair—and started shaking again. She slid her gaze to Jessica Pilsner. “I suggest you take your son upstairs before he becomes anymore confused.” And then she rounded on Sam. “Who are you? And how in hell do you know anything about this?”
But before he could answer, the cell phone in Olivia’s pocket rang, making her nearly jump out of her skin. She pulled it out and flipped it open. “Hello,” she snapped.
There were several heartbeats of silence. “I want you to come to me, Olivia.”
“Yeah well, I’m sort of busy right now, Mac. So I guess you’re going to have to come to me.”
There was a longer, more ominous pause. “Now, marita,” he quietly growled.
“You know what, you sound just like your father. And by the way, did you happen to notice there’s a hurricane and an earthquake going on right now,” she growled right back at him.
Another pause, this one so loaded with tension she’d swear she could hear Mac’s heart beating. “How would you know what my father sounds like?”
Olivia darted a glance at Titus, only to see him… good Lord, the man was smiling. She turned away from her gaping audience. “The next time you leave me your cell phone, you might want to erase any contacts you don’t want me calling. Who is Sam, Mac? Because telling me to go to him if I need help implies you know more about him than I do.”
“I’m sort of busy right now,” he drawled—though she could hear the edge in his voice. “We will discuss this when you get here.”
Olivia took a calming breath. “Where are you?”
“On top of the cliff that rises up from Whisper Lake to overlook Bottomless.”
“Are you insane?” she cried into the phone, only to dart a glance over her shoulder before shielding her mouth with her hand. “Mac, there’s a hurricane going on outside. And it’ll be dark by the time I get there—assuming a tree doesn’t fall on me.”
“Are you still wearing the bracelet?”
She merely snorted.
“Then you will get here safely. But I need for you to come to me, marita.”
Olivia closed her eyes on a sigh. Really, men were so damned needy.
“Be brave, Olivia, and come watch me truly rock your world.”
“Ohmigod, you translated my inscription. Hello? Mac? Dammit, don’t you dare hang up on me!”
Olivia slowly turned around as she closed the phone and slipped it into her pocket. “Um… Peg, do you think you could hold down the fort for a little while?”
Her eyes filled with confusion, Peg silently nodded.
“John, I think you better take Miss Pilsner and her son and Eileen upstairs to wait out the rest of the storm. We’ll talk when I get back.”
She started for the hallway leading to the meeting rooms, but had to grab the back of a chair when a deep rumbling tremor shook the house, causing the timber trusses supporting the roof to groan. Something crashed to the floor in the kitchen, sending the children scrambling into the main room with cries for their mother.
“No, you don’t have to be afraid,” Henry said, running into the room after them. “It’s just my dad coming for me.”
“Come on, you little heathens,” Peg said, herding them back into the kitchen with Carolina and Rana’s
help. “Let’s go make some more popcorn.”
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on here?” Eileen demanded, though it was Olivia she was glaring at. “Whoever heard of a storm and an earthquake hitting at the same time?” She angrily gestured toward the ceiling. “The last thing we need is for this place to fall apart before the new owners take possession.”
Olivia had to grab the chair again, but suspected she was the only one who’d just felt the earth move. “You… you sold Inglenook?”
“Well, we didn’t think we’d find a buyer so soon,” Eileen said, her face flushing with chagrin. “And we planned to tell you as soon as we got back from our trip, so you could start sending out résumés to facilities like this one in California. I’ve found several camps that aren’t too far from where we’ll be living.”
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