Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [41]
She whirled around. “Where do you think you’re going, young man? In case you’ve forgotten, you’ve got a business to run.”
Alex offered his open palms in a plea. “We’re going rockhounding. Care to join us?”
The look of pale contempt she shot him as she walked away was far greater than Alex ever imagined he actually deserved. Or maybe Reg’s murder had made him a little more sensitive than normal.
Elise smiled lightly after the woman was gone. “Oh, you’re bad. You couldn’t get her out of here now with a crowbar. Look at that. It’s like a wave of clouds coming right at us.”
Alex had been watching Elise as she drank in the surrounding hills from high atop the lighthouse’s upper balcony. He pulled his gaze away from her and saw a massive flank of clouds rolling down the mountain toward them like spilled liquid marshmallow.
Alex said, “It’s really something, isn’t it? ‘The fog rolls in like silent thunder, dressing the trees in liquid smoke.’”
Elise turned towards Alex. “Who wrote that?”
Alex admitted, “That’s from one of the poems I wrote in high school. There used to be a lot more of it, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the rest.”
Elise’s eyes went back to the hills. “It’s exactly what a real lighthouse should see. Instead of the ocean, we’ve got the clouds.”
In a few minutes, the ground was covered with the low-lying fog. Only at the observation level could Alex see clearly. It was like flying in an airplane, only better. This particular trip didn’t cost a thing, and there was no risk of crashing.
Alex touched the railing with his hands. “I used to come up here to get away from everything. Dad finally gave me a key to keep me from taking his all the time. I’m not sure Mom ever knew where I disappeared to, but I suspect Dad told her. I always figured this was Dad’s secret place as a boy, too but we never talked about it. It was one of the few close bonds we had. He loved Hatteras West as much as I do. Before the town built up so much, my favorite reason to come here was because of the stars. Elise, they were breathtaking. Looking up into the night, it was like the sky was on fire. I swear you could almost read by their light. Then slowly, Elkton Falls began to grow. As it did, the town lights stole more and more of the sky from us.” Alex gestured to the sky. “It’s still magnificent, but it’s more like a faded flower, just a reflection of the beauty that I remember.”
Alex realized he had talked for an awfully long time. When he glanced at Elise, he saw her eyes were on him instead of the magnificence around them.
Alex shrugged. “I’m sorry. I always get carried away up here. Especially at night.”
Elise smiled softly. “I bet your girlfriends loved it, here.”
Alex grinned. “Do you want to know the truth? You’re the first person I’ve ever brought up here at night.”
“Not even Sandra?” Elisa asked.
“She wants me to sell out to Finster’s client. Sandra never has understood the pull Hatteras West has on me.”
Elise said softly, “How can she not feel it?”
In the next moments of silence, Alex had to fight the urge to kiss her. He wanted to, there was no doubt about that. Elise’s presence had made Alex realize that he and Sandra weren’t going to be together much longer. Though they’d been a couple off and on for a long time, there wasn’t the bond there that he’d already formed with Elise.
It was a shame she was engaged to someone else.
With a false air of casualness, he said, “Would you like to see the Fresnel lens work?”
Elise suddenly turned into a little girl. “Can we? I thought you said the town banned it.”
Alex grinned. “In this fog, they won’t care. Besides, it’s still early.”
“Let’s do it. Can I light the wick?”
Alex smiled. “You could if we had one. Dad converted the lamp to electricity thirty years ago.”
“Show me what to do.”
Alex led Elise down to the watch room just below the lantern itself. On one wall there was a lonely two-button switch, much