Passions in the North Country (Siren Publishing Classic) (26 page)

“It’s so hard to imagine,” Jenny said.

“I raised the gun. The bear dropped the boy and made another bite to get a better grip. Just as he was about to start pulling again, I decided to shoot. Lawrence told me to shoot the bear in the head, right in the brain. He said that bear had a great courage of spirit and feared nothing, so his death must be honorable. Quick, clean, and humane, he insisted.”

“Did you make the shot?”

He nodded. “The bear dropped dead right on top of the boy. He never moved a muscle.”

“Wow, Devon,” Jenny said, shaking her head. “That was such an experience!”

“I sat there all night looking at the dead bear and the boy. At first light, before the sun even rose, I heard a motorboat and saw two rangers coming across the lake. Lawrence was in the bow. I could tell he was agitated.” Devon smiled. “He talked a good game about laughing at death, but I’ll never forget the look of relief on his face when he saw me walking toward the shore with his gun. I told him with a look that what had to be done was done. He looked at me with great pride, as if I was his son and he was proud of me.”

Jenny suddenly kissed Devon and her eyes sparkled. “You are exactly the kind of man I’ve always wanted.”

“It just keeps getting better,” he said, “between us, I mean.”

“I know.” She kissed him again. “What happened after that?”

“Lawrence and I spent the weekend together at that very campsite. We prayed for the spirits of the dead, including the bear. Because I took the bear’s life, I am forever that animal’s spirit keeper. I must never shame the bear with a lack of strength or courage, and I must die with honor, without fear.”

“I must not fear either,” Jenny said with a look of self-examination.

Devon grew pensive. “I will never forget Lawrence. I am who I am because of him.”

Jenny was drawn into Devon’s story and life. She had never seen, or imagined, him this way. But she admired him. He had faced his ultimate fear and survived it. Could she do the same with Ivan? Could she face him? More importantly, could she survive it?

“Why are you so driven in your work?” Jenny asked, curious to see the inner machinery of Devon’s mind.

He became very relaxed. “I guess it stems back to my childhood. I didn’t have much of anything and being shunted from house to house, I never felt grounded. I didn’t want to live like that and I didn’t want my children living like that.” He suddenly stopped as if embarrassed to have opened up so much. “Anyway, I decided to save up and buy a business that would hopefully be good to me for the rest of my life. I would stay in the background, but it would be my property, my little piece of the world. Then, like I said, when I heard about the Riverview being for sale, it all just seemed to fall into place.”

“Do you think you’ll last?”

“Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and walking away, then there are other times when I feel the same as I did when I was here as a child. I want it to last forever.” He shrugged. “In the end, I guess it all boils down to whether we can make it work or not.”

“Well, we’ve made a step in the right direction,” Jenny said confidently, her pretty face lighting up the space. By nature she generated warmth and enthusiasm, and, by nature, Devon was as drawn to it. “The inn will be almost full for the convention. And soon the bus tours will roll in. The energy is there. I feel the momentum.”

“Oh, by the way,” Devon said, suddenly remembering something. “You got a call from Arnie. He asked that you phone him back.”

“Good!” she exclaimed, hurrying to the phone.

“Hello, Arnie,” she said after getting through. “What’s the word?”

“I’ve got some news I’m sure will interest you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Here’s the lowdown,” Arnie began. “I contacted Richard over at Getaway Travels and I spoke to him about the North Country Inn. He was very impressed. It seems they were looking for an eco thing.”

“Keep talking,” Jenny said happily, glancing at Devon with excitement.

“He said the whale-watching idea is sensational, but he realizes they are wild animals and you can’t count on them to be there all the time. What he’s wondering is if they do move out of the area, would you still have a man with a boat to take people out on the water? You know, fishing, looking at the shoreline, that sort of thing.”

“No problem,” Jenny assured him.

“Good. That was his biggest concern. Now tell me about this nature trail along the cliffs. The people could get back and forth on the bus, but could you provide a tour guide for them?”

“Yes,” Jenny said.

“Well, Jenny, it sounds like a done deal if you can provide the accommodations at a reasonable rate. What exactly do you charge, all expenses included?”

She laid out all the costs.

“Oh, that’s very good!” Arnie exclaimed. “I’m sure Richard would have been willing to go higher, but we don’t mind giving him a pleasant surprise. Besides, with a deal like that, you’ll have him coming back.”

“Do you think so?”

“You’re really onto something up there. It’s exactly what Richard was looking for and, if it’s all right with you, I think I’ll recommend the inn to others.”

“Please do!”

“Richard will need a block commitment from you,” Arnie stated, explaining exactly what was expected. “Can you handle that?”

“My boss is right here,” Jenny said. “Can you hold for a minute while I ask him?”

“Certainly.”

“Here’s the proposition,” Jenny began, putting her hand over the phone and speaking to Devon as he hung on to every word. “Are we good to go?”

“Yes!” Devon responded enthusiastically. “For the kind of business you’re finding me, I’m ready to roll out the red carpet.”

Jenny laughed and told Arnie that her boss was eager to begin. Her old friend assured her he would confirm with Richard and get back to her. A short time later, she got the call and everything was set in motion.

“I’ll have to finish touching up the rest of the inn this week,” Devon said with excitement, “and we’ll have to hire additional staff. But everything is almost ready, isn’t it, Jenny?”

“Almost,” she confirmed, sharing his joy. “You concentrate on the loose ends and I’ll take care of the hiring. I’ll set up the boat tours with Terry and make sure everything is ready.”

He looked guilty. “You’ve been patient, Jenny, but you’ll be glad to hear that I am going to start paying you for your work.”

“Whatever you think,” she said. “I still have some money left.”

There was a brief, awkward pause.

Jenny’s eyes twinkled. “I read some more of the diaries.”

Devon’s eyes twinkled. “What do you think?”

“Sexy,” she said, nodding slightly. Her eyes flashed. “I like sexy.”

He nodded in agreement. “Me, too.”

“I read a part where they did something, but I wasn’t sure if she fantasized it or if they actually did it.”

“What?” Devon asked softly.

Jenny’s heart fluttered. “They, they, you know, they masturbated in front of each other.”

“Oh, yes, they really did do that,” Devon assured her. “At first she began opening the door just a crack, just enough for him to see, and she would bathe with her basin. It was unspoken, but he was allowed to watch her, though at first she would never turn and face him. He could only look at her from the back, but by his accounts she was the most beautiful creature who ever lived. That level of engagement went on for close to a year. Finally she would turn around and let him look at her breasts, then, months later, at her naked body front-on. She was self-conscious about her body because her skin was so white and yet her bush was huge and jet black.”

“That’s very sexy, Devon.”

He kissed her lightly. “Yes, very sexy.”

“Then it escalated?” Jenny said.

“A handsome man, a beautiful woman, alone in these rooms—it was only a matter of time, dear.”

“Yes, dear,” she said, feeling warm all over. “But it must have been difficult for her to go further, if you know what I mean? If it took her more than a year just to turn around, it must have been a quantum leap to touch herself in front of him.”

“It took a long time. She had to be comfortable and very trusting. But she developed a great pleasure in doing it and in watching him do it. They developed it into an art form, a time when they could let themselves go.”

“She liked watching him?”

“She loved it. But because they never joined, their spirits are left to hopelessly roam time and space. They can never find peace and rest.”

Jenny grew solemn. “Don’t play with me.”

“I’m not,” he said, looking offended.

“You honestly think their spirits still roam?”

“I know they do. I’ve seen the Captain’s spirit on three different occasions.”

“No lie?”

“The truth,” he said, holding up his hands.

“Three times you’ve seen the Captain?”

“Yes.”

“I saw Maria the day I came here,” Jenny said with a meaningful nod. “In this room. She was naked.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Devon said. “She’s a woman who needs to be completed, fulfilled, and she is ready. They need to have real sex, Jenny. They cannot rest until then. But they need a conduit, a medium through which they can enter back into the physical world.”

“A man and a woman,” Jenny said meaningfully.

“A living man and woman,” Devon said.

“Us?” Jenny inquired.

Devon nodded. “Us, Jenny.”

She laughed. “That’s either the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard, or the most elaborate pick-up line ever devised by man.”

He laughed.

“You are saying, I think, that you and I would need to have sex here in order to help them along. Particularly right here, in the Captain’s House, in these rooms where their spirits are the strongest.”

Devon thought for a moment. “They were a couple who loved each other wholly and completely, but they were a couple defined by inhibitions. They could look, but not touch, smell, but not taste, fantasize, but not realize. In many ways their relationship was tragedy. What they need is two people, for one moment in time, to be uninhibited. This may open the portal for them to reemerge, join, and achieve final release. But it goes deeper. It’s not just a matter of a man and woman having sex here—both of them talk about it in their diaries—the two people must love each other as much as they loved each other. And yet it goes even further. The two people must accept their spirits into themselves. I must allow the Captain to enter my spirit, and you must allow Maria to become you.”

“I’m willing,” Jenny blurted out with innocence and conviction.

“It must be totally uninhibited,” Devon said, “because the destruction of absolute trust can only be achieved through a total lack of inhibition, and this is the medium they require.”

She nodded. “I’m willing. Totally willing…When the time is right.”

* * * *

They found it was getting a little hot where they were, so they returned to their duties. For the next few days they worked tirelessly, making sure everything was perfect with the North Country Inn. The historical societies came as expected and the inn was completely full for the first time in years. Everywhere there was movement and life, energy and hope. Devon was ecstatic to see the business starting to prosper and Jenny felt a tremendous amount of self-satisfaction in putting her stamp on it. Everyone knew she was its driving force, and everyone loved her.

Devon moved into the Captain’s room and, like the Captain and Maria, at first they did not acknowledge each other. But Jenny felt a tremendous sense of safety and she loved having him there, his presence like a warm, soft blanket.

In time Miriam returned but could work only at a reduced level. Jenny did everything in her power to make Miriam happy. That meant making sure the inn was doing well. To her it became an obsession. She would volunteer to take people for walks along the nature trail, work at the desk, even clean if someone phoned in sick. Her life became the inn and her hard work started to pay major dividends. The tour buses started rolling in on a regular basis, just as Arnie said, and Miriam’s son, Terry, began a full-time schedule running his tours. He loved it. It paid better than any other job he had had and it was all day shifts, meaning he could be home with his family every evening.

One evening, after a particularly hectic day, Jenny went to her room feeling exhilarated but exhausted. She had been working nonstop for days. In that time she had not thought once of Ivan. He was finally fading from her consciousness, like mold from sunlight.

“Enough of Ivan!” she told herself. “He’s gone forever!”

If only she knew…

Now that business was taken care of and there was nothing pressing on her agenda, she just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep. As she slipped into her nightgown and rolled back her bedspread, the phone rang. She reluctantly answered it.

“Jenny, this is Terry. I thought I better tell you that Mom has fallen.”

“Fallen?” Jenny cried. “She’s all right, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know. I’m at her house and Dr. Allen is here looking her over.”

“I’ll be right down.”

“No, that’s all right. I know you must be exhausted after the weekend. Besides, the doctor wants her to rest. Come over tomorrow if you can. Dr. Allen said she’ll be fine.” He paused. “I probably shouldn’t have phoned and worried you.”

“No, no, I’m glad you called.”

“I’ll let you know when I get news.”

“Okay, Terry,” she said. “You know what’s best.”

“Jenny?”

“Yes, Terry?”

“Thank you again for all the work you do with these tours. This is the most fun I’ve had in years. The clients are kids on Christmas morning. It sort of makes me see everything fresh again. The money’s great and everyone’s happy, especially Mom.”

“Thank you, Terry. That makes my day!”

After she hung up, Jenny felt anxious and couldn’t sleep. Suddenly steps sounded on the other landing and Devon opened the lock to the Captain’s room. He entered and she could hear him move about, though she said nothing to acknowledge his presence. Instead she turned on her stereo and played a selection of classical music.