Authors: Mia Sheridan
After a minute, Eden mused, "There are stories everywhere, aren't there?" She leaned back, looking happy about that.
We arrived in French Lick, Indiana, at about eight o'clock that evening and followed the directions we'd written down to the resort where we had reservations under Molly's name, along with her identification.
"Oh wow," Eden whispered when we pulled through the gates and drove up a long, winding road toward West Baden Springs Hotel, just up the road from the French Lick Hotel and Casino.
Even though it was dark, I could see the grounds were landscaped perfection, featuring shaped shrubbery and flowering bushes, and an abundance of huge, ancient trees.
We were silent as the hotel came into view, a massive, historical resort painted a soft yellow, with a circular building in the center featuring a colossal, glass dome. All the tourist sites we'd looked at said the building was fashioned after the most luxurious spas in Europe. I'd never been to Europe, but I could agree with the luxurious part.
I pulled into a parking lot just down the hill and parked in the corner, next to some large shrubs. We got out and I retrieved our bags from the trunk and took out a baseball cap and stuck it on my head. Eden got some kind of hair band out of her purse and put her long, blonde hair up in a tight bun at the back of her head. We walked hand in hand the short distance to the hotel.
"Oh," we both said when we'd stepped through the main doors. I looked over at Eden and we both laughed softly. From the inside, the dome was even more breathtaking. We walked through the large atrium with our heads swiveling in every direction. There were hotel room balconies surrounding the perimeter of the dome with wrought iron gates to make them look old fashioned. The huge open room had large sitting areas sprinkled everywhere, a bar, and a couple shops on opposite sides. I'd never seen anything like it. I felt like we were in another world altogether, or at least another country. This was exactly what we needed.
I sat on a small couch in the lobby area and pretended to look through a brochure as Eden went to the front desk to check in. A few minutes later, she was coming my way, grinning with a key card in her hand. We held hands as we went up the elevator to our room and I couldn't help the smile that took over my face and the emotion that welled up in my chest. I felt like we'd come full circle.
We followed the signs to our room and when I spotted a Coca-Cola machine down a hallway, I pulled Eden with me, dropping our bags, taking out a couple dollars and purchasing two cans. I handed one to her and then popped open the other one, and leaned against the wall as I downed the whole entire thing in long swallows, the sweet fizziness filling my mouth, the taste that I still associated with forbidden happiness. When I looked back up, Eden was watching me with a huge smile on her face. She laughed out loud and winked at me, leaning forward and kissing me quickly on the mouth.
"Good?" she asked.
I took a deep breath. "So good."
Five minutes later we were safely locked inside our hotel room.
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."