She loved Mahalaton Lake and having her parents a few miles away. It was great to know people on the street and be a part of their lives. She felt connected here. As a teenager she’d thought about leaving, but not any longer. Yet apparently Jake Hollister was always thinking about the next place he was going.
Hannah loaded the towels into the washer. It was a good thing she was getting so much for renting the lodge. When Lillian had told her what Jake had offered, it had seemed absurdly high, but it made more sense now. With his appalling manners, greasing the wheels with money was probably the only way he could survive.
At least she wouldn’t have to send Danny to her parents the next time she cleaned. It had hurt seeing the crushed expression on his face when he’d learned he wouldn’t be “helping” in the big house. In the way children could instantly form a liking for someone, he had decided Jake Hollister was a kindred spirit. Even Jake’s rudeness hadn’t changed how he felt.
Hannah put detergent in the washing machine and started it. Her parents would soon be back with Danny and she wanted to fix them a meal.
Determinedly putting obnoxious photographers out of her mind, she began chopping vegetables.
Two hours later the scent of garlic and other spices filled the air and she was in better sprits. The front door opened and she heard Danny call, “Hi, Mommy!”
“Hi. Did you have a good time?”
“The best! We went to the zoo and saw the polar bears, just like the ones Mr. Hollister takes pictures of.”
Her dad kissed her forehead. “Smells wonderful, sweetheart.”
“It’s Thai chicken. You and I will have to spice it up with chili garlic sauce since I made it mild for the wimps.”
“I heard that,” her mom called from the other room.
Hannah grinned.
“How was Mr. Hollister?” her father asked.
Her grin faded. “Fine, as far as I could tell. But he’s a slob. No wonder he wanted someone to clean house. What a mess—jam dripping onto the kitchen floor, things thrown about, Great-Aunt Elkie’s books all over the living room.”
Hannah’s mother hurried in, frowning. “Has he done any damage to the lodge or furnishings?”
“Not as far as I could tell. Honestly, though, I think the only things he’s eaten since getting here are Luigi’s pizza and peanut butter. Cold pizza, most of the time.”
“Pizza is yummy,” Danny said.
“I know, darling. But once a week is enough. That way it stays a treat. And we like it nice and hot, not cold and stale.”
“Uh-huh. Poor Mr. Hollister.”
Hannah nearly choked.
She did not feel sorry for Jake Hollister. He seemed to delight in annoying her and she’d be lucky to get through a month without him finding out how loudly she could shriek.
* * *
JAKE WAS FIXING a peanut-butter sandwich when an ambrosial smell invaded Huckleberry Lodge. He went into the sunroom and looked out the windows he’d left open. A blue SUV was parked in the driveway and he wondered if another boring suitor had arrived to court Hannah.
But it was the fragrance coming from the guesthouse that commanded most of his attention. He sniffed—lemongrass, coconut, garlic...it was as if he’d died and gone to heaven. Whatever Hannah was preparing reminded him of dishes he’d eaten in Southeast Asia and beat the hell out of another peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.
PB&J, he reminded himself.
And he could well imagine what his stubborn landlady would say if he tried to wrangle an invitation to dinner. Something sharp and pithy, no doubt. Perhaps he shouldn’t have teased her so much—if her cooking tasted as good as it smelled, it would have been worth holding his tongue for a taste.
Paying for additional services—cooking and laundry and grocery shopping—was another possibility. If he’d thought of it earlier, he might be eating something more interesting than a sandwich for dinner.
Danny, the little boy, came out on the large deck of the guesthouse. He saw Jake and began waving.
Jake waved back halfheartedly, expecting the child to take it as an invitation and come barreling over to chatter his head off. Instead Danny settled down on a chair, head bent, looking at something, with his dog next to him.
Making a face, Jake closed the windows and returned to his sandwich. The bread was getting stale and he’d used the same knife to spread the peanut butter as he’d used on the pizza earlier, so everything tasted vaguely of pepperoni. As he’d told Hannah, he’d eaten much worse in the far-flung corners of the world, but then it had been spiced with exotic scenery and anticipation of the next great photo.
A year, he thought dismally.
That was how long the doctors had said it would take for him to recover and be able to work and travel the way he’d always worked and traveled. If he pushed himself too soon, he risked permanent disability.
Not that he had to stay in Mahalaton Lake the whole time, but it was the best way to photographically capture all four seasons for the book he’d agreed to do. So that meant a year of peanut butter and pizza and a feisty landlady with a small child. Hannah might be fun to tease and a treat to look at, but he’d rarely slept two months in the same bed, much less a year.
And since lovely Hannah was off-limits—obviously not being interested in brief liaisons—he had little to look forward to in that area, either...other than frustration and cold showers.
CHAPTER FOUR
“THAT SOUNDS GOOD,” Hannah said to Gwen Westfield as she scribbled notes on a pad.
They were planning the upcoming ice cream social fund-raiser for the Mahalaton Rescue Squad, one of several fund-raisers held annually for the squad. The local community enjoyed the events, but they were also geared to bring in tourist dollars. It seemed only appropriate, since a good number of the squad’s rescue calls were for visitors. Though not always.
Hannah shivered at the reminder of her high school boyfriend who’d pushed a climb too far—Collin had loved testing the limit in everything, and that time was his last. For months she’d woken up, unable to escape the horror of that day, hearing her own voice begging him not to go up that rock face alone, followed by her screams as he fell. Sometimes her heart still ached when she thought about how things might have turned out if Collin had lived.
He’d survived the fall, but only for a few hours, and all she could do was listen to him moaning and talking half-deliriously. Someone in the group had been carrying a satellite phone so they could call for help, but it had still taken too long for anyone to come. Back then they didn’t have a local team trained in mountain rescues, which was why supporting the rescue squad was so important to her. After all...Collin might still be alive if help had arrived sooner.
Hannah sighed. It was painfully obvious that she had a weakness for restless risk takers. Steven had been a lot like Collin, with the same devil-may-care attitude and hidden demons. And she found Jake Hollister dangerously attractive as well, a response she was determined to squelch. Not that it mattered; he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in the things that mattered to her. Insultingly clear. And she was reasonably sure she hadn’t revealed any sign of her attraction to him to justify a warning.
“I think we should try avocado ice cream,” Gwen said eagerly. “I saw a recipe in a women’s magazine while I was at the dentist’s office.”
Hannah resisted making a face. She liked trying new foods, but the people who lived in Mahalaton Lake were conservative in their tastes, and their summer visitors seemed to feel the same way. “I don’t know if anyone is ready for something that different. Remember the garlic ice cream last year?”
“Oh. Right.” Gwen looked crestfallen. She’d gone to California on vacation with her family and tasted garlic ice cream at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Inspired, she’d made a gallon for the social, only to throw mo
st of it out. It was one thing to sample garlic ice cream at a garlic festival, another to see it miles from the nearest garlic field. “Maybe I’ll bring something else. Are you making your usual?”
“Yup. Two gallons of wild huckleberry.” Every summer Hannah picked huckleberries in August and September, making jam with some and stowing the rest in the freezer to use throughout the next year, including for the June ice cream social.
“Everybody loves huckleberry.”
“Make strawberry ice cream. Everybody loves that, too,” Hannah suggested.
“But it’s so ordinary.” Gwen had moved to Mahalaton Lake five years ago when her husband, Randy, had been hired as their head of emergency services. Though a born New Yorker, she loved the town; she just got frustrated with the limited culinary tastes of most of the residents.
“Strawberry isn’t ordinary, it’s traditional,” Hannah said firmly, writing strawberry next to Gwen’s name on the ice cream sign-up sheet.
“I don’t know. What if I try anise and—”
“How about pineapple sorbet?” Hannah suggested hastily.
“That sounds good,” Gwen said, brightening.
“Besides, I just remembered that Luigi is donating a gallon of his homemade strawberry gelato.”
“Okay. I can’t compete with his gelato anyway.”
Hannah crossed out strawberry under Gwen’s name and wrote in pineapple sorbet.
She got up and refilled their coffee cups. They were meeting at her place, partly because there wasn’t a single unoccupied surface in Gwen’s home. Her husband always said that his wife had many fine qualities, but housekeeping wasn’t one of them. The planning committee would meet again the next morning, so Hannah and Gwen were putting the final proposal together to save time.
“Thanks.” Gwen poured cream in her coffee.
Hannah glanced out the window and saw Danny talking to Jake Hollister. Her mouth tightened. Before Jake had even arrived in Mahalaton Lake, Danny had heard a lot about the adventuring photographer—not from her, but from his friends and even her own parents. She didn’t want her son developing hero worship for someone with his itchy feet.
“Is that the guy?” Gwen asked, leaning forward and peering out, as well.
They were sitting in the living room of the guesthouse, and the picture windows on both outside walls gave a sweeping view of Huckleberry Lodge and the lake beyond. Danny was chattering away with his usual exuberance, arms flying as he gestured wildly, while Jake leaned on the stair railing, holding a paper bag in his hand and occasionally nodding. Unless you were close enough to see the lines of pain carved around his eyes, you’d never guess he’d recently been in the hospital.
“Yup, Jake Hollister in the flesh.”
“Mmm. Nice flesh, too. I wouldn’t throw him out of bed for getting crumbs on the sheets.”
“Does Randy do that?”
Gwen laughed. “Not since I nagged him out of the habit. Honestly, why do men feel the need to eat popcorn in bed?”
“Got me.” Hannah hadn’t been married long enough to have come to many conclusions about men, other than she didn’t want to be married to the wrong one again. Her son was the only positive thing to come out of her marriage.
“Well, you’re lucky to have such a cute guy living next door.” All at once Gwen got a speculative expression on her face. “I wonder if he’d be interested in working on one of the fund-raisers for the rescue squad. He’s so famous, it might attract more people than usual.”
Hannah cringed, thinking how Jake might react to the idea. “He’s got a reputation for being a loner, so I doubt he’s a small-town, community-service-project sort of guy.”
“Have you gotten to know him yet?”
She hesitated. “Not exactly. We’ve only spoken a few times. I’ll be cleaning house over there twice a week.”
“I hope he pays well. Not to be a hypocrite considering my own limitations as a housekeeper, but my sister claims some artists can be slobs.”
Hannah mentally agreed, recalling the scattered pizza boxes and red jam dripping from Great-Aunt Elkie’s sandstone countertop. Her second cleaning session was that afternoon, and she dreaded thinking about what else he’d done to the place.
“Uh, the pay is okay.”
But the company isn’t, she added mutely. Luckily, she and Danny were probably the only ones in Mahalaton Lake who’d had to face his questionable manners. Barbi had obviously delivered pizza several times, but Jake’s shiny new SUV hadn’t moved since the day he’d arrived, so he hadn’t gone into town and offended anyone there.
“I’ve been thinking,” Gwen said. “If Mr. Hollister did agree to be involved, we could have a photo booth at the Christmas in August festival, or at one of the other fund-raisers. I bet people would pay a lot to have their portrait done by a famous photographer. It would be easy to do with computers and printers being so portable.”
Hannah nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee. “He’s not that kind of photographer, Gwen. His time in the Middle East was an anomaly. From everything I’ve read, he does extreme nature and wild-animal stuff, not people.”
Gwen grinned. “What do you call my twins? Spending time with them is definitely taking a walk on the wild side.”
“They’re not so bad.”
“Ha. Mrs. Gardiner refuses to have them both in her preschool class this fall. She claims they get into eight times as much trouble when they’re together. It’s true, of course, but apparently it’s the first time she’s ever refused a student.”
“She isn’t as young as she used to be. As for the portraits, you’re welcome to ask Jake to participate if you want to, but I prefer being left out of it. I...uh, don’t want things to be awkward if he says no. You know, since he’s living in the lodge.”
Dealing with Jake would be tough enough without offending his artistic pride, and Hannah already had reason to think he was a snob when it came to his work. He’d called taking photos of the Cascades “fluff.” Not to mention describing them as commonplace and boring—it was like saying anyone who lived here was commonplace and boring.
She couldn’t imagine he’d explored the Cascade Mountains enough to know much about them. He’d just assumed that because they’d been well photographed, they weren’t worth his precious time. Yet in her opinion, nobody had ever captured their unique spirit. However much she disliked Jake, he was a great photographer—if he wanted, he could do something amazing.
“I might approach him with the idea,” Gwen said thoughtfully. “If only to make Randy jealous.”
“I didn’t think he got jealous.”
“He doesn’t. And it’s kind of annoying.”
Hannah shook her head. Gwen and Randy Westfield were the most mismatched couple she could imagine—and absolutely devoted to each other. Gwen was a willowy brunette beauty, while her husband was four inches shorter, stocky, sandy-haired and pleasant looking, rather than handsome. They had a wonderful marriage, with Randy gently amused at his wife’s flights of fancy and Gwen gamely accepting the uncertainties of life with a husband in a high-risk job.
Hannah didn’t think she could do it herself, but Gwen was proud of Randy and did everything possible to support his work. Of course, there was a big difference between someone who risked his life helping others, and someone who was just looking for an adrenaline rush like Collin and Jake Hollister.
“You wouldn’t change a hair on Randy’s balding head, and you know it,” she said, pushing the thought away. She didn’t actually know Jake was an adrenaline junkie, though the articles she’d read about him had suggested he had a near-death wish.
Gwen gave her a happy smile. “Nope, but it’s fun to tease.”
They went on making plans for the social, but Hannah’s mind was only partly on the discussion. Jake had gone back into Huckleberry Lod
ge and Danny was throwing a stick for Badger to retrieve. He looked up and she motioned for him to come inside.
A minute later the door opened and Badger came bounding in ahead of Danny.
“Danny, what did I tell you about leaving Mr. Hollister alone?” Hannah asked him.
“It’s okay, Mommy, he talked to me first. I brought him a loaf of bread and he gave me five dollars to thank us.” He handed her a bill. “Um, Badger and me are real hungry. Can we have a cheese sandwich? Please?”
Hannah put the money in her pocket. “It’ll have to be cheese and apples since you gave Mr. Hollister our bread. Please talk to me before selling any more food to him. I’ll fix lunch later.” She gave Danny a plate of apple quarters and sliced cheese and returned to the dining room. “Can I get you anything, Gwen?”
“I’m fine. Randy asked if your mother is bringing her peach cobbler to the social. It’s his favorite.”
“Yes, and she’s making vanilla ice cream.”
“He’ll be thrilled. He says it’s even better than his mom makes.” She looked at her watch. “Oops, better go. The babysitter can only take the boys in limited doses.”
When Gwen had gone, Hannah sat down and looked at her list. She needed to go shopping, but it would have to wait. Being out of bread wasn’t a big deal, and at least she now knew what had happened to the loaf in the garage freezer.
She was pretty sure the leftover Thai chicken she’d cooked on Tuesday had also traveled over to Huckleberry Lodge, thanks to Danny’s generous heart. The plastic container was nowhere to be found, and her son was still at the age where he asked for food instead of trolling through the refrigerator like a hungry vacuum cleaner. However, he was capable of deciding to bring leftovers to their neighbor.
She’d considered speaking to Danny about it, but she liked that he was concerned for other people’s well-being—even obnoxious photographers.
* * *
JAKE DROPPED TWO slices of the bread Danny Nolan had brought him into the toaster. Maybe he should have talked to Hannah before accepting it, but Danny had said it was okay. Besides, he’d given the youngster money, making him promise to get the cash to his mother.
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