CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Calder
"It says here there's a small museum in town that tells the history of the hotel," Eden said, taking a bite of buttered toast with jelly with one hand and holding the brochure with the other.
I leaned back in my chair, sipping my coffee and letting my eyes roam over her. "Whatever you want to do," I said, "I'm game." I cocked one brow. "We could just stay in bed for a couple days."
She grinned, but didn't look up at me. "Haven't you gotten enough of me yet?" she asked, still reading the brochure.
"Never."
She raised one brow and finally brought her eyes to mine. "We did that once before, remember? It was . . . sticky."
"It was wonderful."
Her eyes grew tender. "It was. And necessary. But this week I want to get out and walk around with you, feel the sunshine on my face."
I smiled. "Then get your perfect little butt in the shower."
She stood up and walked toward the bathroom, shooting me a look over her shoulder. "Aren't you going to join me?"
I didn't need to be asked twice. I was up and out of my chair before she could take another step. Her laughter rang out as I came up behind her and scooped her up so we could get in the shower as quickly as possible. We left the bathroom door open and didn't try to be quiet. Not sneaking around felt so damn good.
An hour later, we were dressed and hand in hand as we looked through the shops in the lobby. Eden had her bangs brushed back, held by a wide, pale pink scarf tied in a knot at the back of her neck and sunglasses on. People still glanced her way, but I realized it was only because she was so pretty, not because anyone recognized her.
I had the same baseball cap on, but not much else in the way of a disguise. It seemed like enough. No one looked twice at me.
The weather was cool and crisp and we'd both brought jackets, but on that particular day, the sun was shining and it was warm enough to stroll to the casino a little ways away and eat lunch on the porch of a local restaurant.
My body relaxed, and so did my soul, finding peace and serenity in just being with Eden, enjoying our freedom. It'd taken all this time, and we finally had a small measure of it. Despite everything we'd lost, despite all the ways in which we'd both been stripped bare, we had each other and we could finally celebrate that. I could finally start letting myself believe that life held promise—for me, for her, for us.
That entire week we relaxed. We walked around enjoying the small town sites, we picked through tourist shops surprising each other with small trinkets we thought the other would like, we went horseback riding once, we made love whenever we wanted to, and we woke up every morning tangled in each other. It was heaven. Eden went to the spa once, and we swam in the large, picturesque indoor pool. As we lounged at the side, Eden pulled out a book and I squinted over at her, looking at the cover.
"His Rockin' Heart?" I asked, raising one brow.
Eden giggled, putting the book down on her stomach for a minute and looking over at me, her cheeks taking on a pink tinge. "It might sound like a silly title, but it's so good. And I haven't been able to read romance books all this time." Her expression took on a brief hint of sadness. "I just couldn't." She shook her head. "It hurt too much. That one I read at Kristi's, it was the last time I remember having hope." She paused for so long I wondered if she'd go on. "But now," she laid her head back on the lounger and bit her lip, "I can, and I enjoyed that first one. A lot." She smiled a flirty smile at me.
I thought back to that day at Kristi's apartment, to the sweet look of hope on Eden's face . . . our last truly happy moment before we were dragged back to hell. Looking at the same gentle, hopeful expression on her face now, caused gratitude to slam into my heart with such sudden force, I almost jolted. Somehow . . . somehow, we had found our way back. And I never, ever wanted that look to disappear from her beautiful face. I smiled back at her. "Oh I remember that book," I said. "It was a masterpiece."
Eden laughed. "Actually, after reading quite a bit these last few years, I've come to realize that was actually a really bad book." She brought her voice to a dramatic whisper on the last three words.
I cocked one eyebrow. "Who says? Not me, that's for sure. Whatever the highest rating is, that's what I give that work of art."
"Five stars." She grinned.
"Five life-changing, extremely satisfied stars," I said, smirking and raising both brows.
Eden laughed. "We'll have to hope this one measures up, then." She smiled flirtatiously at me again and went back to reading.
Later, we strolled the grounds and talked about where we saw our life going. I would call a couple galleries when we got back and Eden would pick up her piano lessons. We'd buy a new Bed of Healing and we'd hire someone to clean up and repair my trashed apartment so I could hand it back over to the guy who'd rented it to me. Then we'd find a new one in a better part of town, one we both picked out together. I'd buy the most high-tech alarm system on the market. And I'd marry my girl. I didn't mention that part to her again, but in my mind, it was my first priority when we got back. I wouldn't be able to afford a very fancy ring right away, but I didn't think Eden would mind.
We texted Xander, Carolyn, and Molly frequently updating them on what we were doing and sent them lots of pictures.
On the fifth day we were there, Molly sent Eden a text that sounded important and so Eden called her back. I was lying back on the bed flipping through the movies. It was the day we'd gone horseback riding and so we were both tired and sore and looking forward to relaxing for the evening.
"Hey, Molly," I heard Eden say.
She listened for a minute and when I saw her face drain of color, I sat up, watching her.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Thank you for letting us know . . . No, I know . . . Yes, I'm fine. We're fine." Eden glanced over at me and then away. "Okay. I love you, too. ‘Bye, Molly." She hung up and stood staring straight ahead for a minute.
"Eden?" I asked, fear creeping into my voice. "You're scaring me. What's wrong?"
"Clive Richter was murdered in jail this morning. The police just came over to tell us. Molly told them we were staying with a friend for a couple days. She told them she'd call us." Her voice sounded flat and alarm speared through me.
"How?"
Eden's eyes met mine. "Stabbed."
I blinked at her for a minute, absorbing the news, trying to figure out if I was upset about it. I tilted my head. "Do they know why?"
Eden bit her lip and came to sit down on the bed next to me. She shook her head. "She said they didn't even have a suspect. He was in jail with people he arrested though. Knowing Clive's personality, he made enemies all over the place."
I furrowed my brow. I couldn't disagree with that. Clive was the type of man who got off on making people's lives miserable, especially when he held the upper hand. I thought about the time I'd physically overpowered him at the main lodge before I'd known he was a police officer. I knew now he was the type of cop who needed a gun to show any strength. And he hadn't had either the upper hand or a gun in jail. Still, was I disappointed he'd never serve time for his crimes? Was I disappointed he'd never be officially charged with the crimes against Eden and me? Flashes of him pulling up in his police car, throwing Eden and me in the back . . . watching as Hector started the fire at my feet . . . beating Xander . . . "Good," I finally said.
Eden's eyes snapped to mine. She searched my face for several beats and then she leaned in and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. She knew exactly what I was thinking, just like she always did. And she forgave me. I released a breath and pulled her against me.
When we let go she said, "There won't be a trial now. We know that for sure."
"Good," I repeated, realizing that although I'd have gone to trial and faced him without fear, it was another way we'd been set free. "I don't know if he deserved to die, Eden. I guess it's not my job to determine that, although if I had had the chance to kill him that day, I would have. But he was guilty, and he was an evil man, there's no doubt in my mind there. So I don't have a problem with what happened to him. And maybe we don't get justice in the court system, but the justice we get by being free of him? That's enough."
She nodded. "For me, too."
We took a long, hot shower together and when we got out, we saw that a light, but steady rain was falling outside. We got under the covers and watched movies for the rest of the evening. Inside, I felt okay, but I still held on to Eden tightly that night. And in the morning, we stayed in bed well past eleven.
"Let's go to that museum today," Eden suggested as we were getting dressed. "It's really the only thing we haven't done."
"Okay," I agreed. "Should we think about going back to Cincinnati?"
She looked sad. "Maybe just a couple more days? I'm not ready to leave just yet."
I smiled. "Me neither."
Outside, the air smelled fresh and I inhaled deeply. The rain had washed everything clean and somehow the world seemed brighter.
We strolled downtown to the small building that held the French Lick West Baden Museum and waited as the guide finished with another tour. We were the only two in the next group and I held Eden's hand as we walked through the building, the tour guide expounding on all the artifacts.
As we stood and looked at a poster of an advertisement from a company that sold the spring water as an elixir back in the eighteen hundreds, our tour guide explained, "Pluto water is what made the French Lick resort famous. It was sold as a health remedy for chronic ailments of the stomach, liver, kidneys, you name it. It was declared that these waters had miraculous powers to cure everything from asthma to alcoholism to venereal disease." He chuckled. "Guesthouses were built around the springs so people could drink and soak in the Pluto Water."
Eden tilted her head. "Why was it called Pluto Water?" she asked.
"Oh, it was named for the god of the underworld because the waters came from underground and were dark like the mythical River Styx."
I glanced at Eden who had a small frown on her face and then back at the poster. Rest for the weary, Cure for the ill, I read. "Did the stuff really work?" I asked.
The tour guide chuckled again. "Well they tested the water at some point and found it was full of two things," he looked back at us as he continued through the museum, "salt and traces of lithium."
"Lithium?" I asked as he stopped at another display.
"Yeah, they use it now as a mood stabilizer for mental health issues. ’Course you'd have to drink quite a bit of the water to get those affects, but a little bit of it could sure put you in a good mood, and the salt would clear you out real fast so that some of your ailments probably would feel better. Temporarily at least." He continued on, my heart rate picked up in speed. I looked over at Eden and I could see that she was thinking the same thing I was.
"Sir," I interrupted, "these springs, are there other ones? I mean, in other parts of the country? Is it possible?"
"Oh I s’pose it's possible. I don't personally know of any others, but could be."
I nodded and we continued through, my mind spinning in a million directions. When we finally thanked the guide and stepped back out onto the large front porch of the museum, Eden whispered, "Hector, he was here, wasn't he?"
"I think so," I said, looking around as if I would suddenly see him walking toward us on the sidewalk. I shivered despite the fall sunshine and pulled Eden into my side.
"Did he find a spring that had the same elements?" she asked, frowning.
I shook my head. "That or he added them, if that's even possible. I don't know. All I do know is, Pluto Water," I looked over at her, "it was the same as our holy water."