Page 12 of Visions of You

I shook my head, wonder filling me as I swept my gaze over the ocean again. To my right, the canal with the dive buildings was visible in the distance. “I’m going to love it here.”

“I sure hope so.” We hugged again, then Maia patted my shoulders. “I’ll let you get settled in. Feel free to eat any meals you want at Dorado, but of course there’s a full kitchen here if you’d rather make your own. See you tomorrow at seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

Instead of reentering the apartment, Maia walked off the patio to the north, rejoining the sand path as it wound up the hill. I opened the door and went back inside, leaving my sandals near the door. The room was silent, and as I looked around, I understood what Maia meant about it needing a feminine touch.

Though no personal touches graced the room, it had a masculine aura to it. “Well, that’s nothing some colorful throw pillows and a painting or two won’t solve.”

A door I hadn’t noticed lay across the room next to the staircase. I padded over, unlocked it, and peeked into the large adjoining shop area. I wrinkled my nose at the scent of machinery and fresh lumber.

I had been expecting dirt floors and rusty equipment, but the huge room was spotless. The brown-speckled epoxy floor stretched throughout, and nearest to me lay a plethora of mysterious equipment—saws, lathes, and vices. Pallets of lumber were stacked up nearby and a long workbench area stretched for fifteen feet along the back wall. Corkboard was attached to the wall over it, and an assortment of chisels and knives hung from pegs.

Woodworking?

The area looked sterile and pristine, so I had no way of knowing if it got regular use by a fastidious craftsman or was just cleaned by housekeeping. Lawnmowers, edgers, and several large tractors took up most of the rest of the structure, silent behind the slightly open doors.

I didn’t feel any need to investigate the shop, so I closed the door and relocked it. With the upstairs beckoning, I climbed the wooden staircase. Expecting a multitude of creaks, I was surprised to find the risers warm and smooth under my bare feet, as well as silent except for one squeaky stair near the top of the flight. The wooden floors continued on the second story, where a short hall lay with open doors on either end. I headed left at random and pushed open the door to enter a decent-sized room with a queen-sized bed. A bathroom was visible on one end. Wondering if this was the master, I turned around and headed to the other end of the hall.

A shiver tickled down my spine at what I discovered. This room was much larger. The stone fireplace from downstairs continued through this room, anchoring one entire corner of it. Two armchairs and a fluffy gray rug lay in front.

I slowly turned my head in the other direction and my jaw hit the floor. The beautiful king-sized bed was covered in a white-striped comforter. The bedding was tucked into a solid mahogany frame, beautiful in its craftsmanship.

But the headboard was exquisite.

I crossed the floor in a daze to run my hand across the warm teak surface. The artisan had taken advantage of the natural contours and shade variations of the wood to create a headboard that was irregular, and yet completely harmonious and pleasing to the eye. The top was a live wood edge, with coves and crevices that reminded me of a coral reef wall. Several different colored pieces of teak had been joined to create striations of color, and all of it was sanded to soft, velvety smooth perfection. I could hardly stop stroking it.

Finally, I rose and crossed the floor to glance at a fully modern bathroom, with two sinks and a large walk-in shower. A window was open, white curtains fluttering in the soft breeze.

I turned around and slumped against the doorjamb, my legs wobbly. The apartment was more beautiful than any place I’d ever lived. My eye was drawn back to that incredible headboard and bed, and I felt a deep connection with everything around me.

I stepped forward and stood in the middle of the silent, yet welcoming room, and tears sprang to my eyes.

My life had truly started over.

Chapter Six

Gabe

I staredat the columns of numbers on the spreadsheet, making sure to keep my breathing even and my face expressionless. Dad watched me closely. We sat behind a massive wooden desk inside his office. As a kid, I’d loved this room, with its fishing books and mounted trophy fish Dad had caught over the years. But sitting side by side, with me in his usual chair and him in a simple metal folding one, was new. And uncomfortable. I paid the decorations no mind, my eyes fixated on the red figure in the bottom right corner of the spreadsheet. Month after month.

Calypso Key Resort was bleeding money.

I inhaled a long breath and tried to relax my stiff shoulders.

Dad sighed. “We used to have a healthy savings account, but I’ve been dipping into it for a while now to balance that negative bottom-line number. I’m sorry, Gabe. I know the news isn’t good. I’ve been in charge of this resort for over thirty years, and it’s time for me to take a step back.”

That made me smile. I relaxed in the big leather chair as I turnedmy eye to the stunning thirteen-foot blue marlin mounted on the wall. I squeezed his knee. “You’re hardly ready to go out to pasture yet. But we need to get you out on the fishing boat more. That’s why I’m here.”

Why didn’t you tell me about this two years ago when you started running in the red?

But I didn’t need to ask the question out loud. I already knew the answer—because he thought it was temporary. Then he desperately hoped it was temporary. Until he couldn’t deny it anymore.

And here I was.

I was partners with a friend I’d met while getting my MBA at the University of Miami. One of our projects was a successful thirty-story commercial tower in downtown Miami, and divesting myself of the day-to-day operations was what had delayed my moving back home. I was still an equal partner in the business but no longer took a regular salary.

I didn’t have any doubts I could get Calypso Key back on its feet again, but some of the changes might be painful. “Do Evan and Maia know about this?”

---