We were halfway up the path when I stopped and turned around. I looked at theshore. From now on, it would be the place where Bishop and I decided to marry. It was the only memory I’d have of it.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked when we were almost to Ohkwari.
I shivered. “Somewhere warm.”
We took a few more steps before he answered. “My parents have a house on the water in the Bahamas. It sits on a cove with a private beach.”
“Your parents?”
“They won’t be there. This time of year, they’re at their place in California.”
“So it would be just us?”
He nodded and wriggled his eyebrows. “Us alone with a private beach.”
“When can we leave?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning?”
“Maybe we should wait until after the briefing.”
Bishop stuck out his lower lip like he was pouting. “Okay, but the minute it ends, we’re on our way.”
“I have never taken a regular vacation. Not as an adult. I can’t remember the last time I went somewhere for the purpose of doing nothing.”
“We’ll make this your first.”
“I have a lot of those with you. First cry that I remember, first time being in love.”
“We have a lifetime ahead of us to fill with firsts.”
I fellasleep moments after we climbed into bed and didn’t wake until the sun was up. The bed was empty beside me, but I could hear Bishop in the other room.
He was sitting at the table when I came out, wearing his flannel shirt, with big sheets of paper spread out in front of him. I kissed his cheek on my way to pour myself coffee.
“Good morning, kitten.”
“Are those the plans for Orenda?” I asked.
He motioned me over, and I sat on his lap.
“The great room goes up the full height of both floors with open trusses and a stone hearth that runs floor to ceiling. The entire lake wall is glass from the sill to the peak, and the kitchen opens off the east end with its own view of the water. There are two bedrooms on this floor. One is on the south side, and another opens to the back garden. A porch runs across the entire front.”
He slid the first sheet aside. “This is for the second level. The primary suite fills the north wing upstairs, with the same orientation as Ohkwari and the same morning light off the lake. There’s a study on one side and a smaller bedroom on the other. Then, in the back are more rooms that can be used for whatever we’d want them to be.”
“What’s that?” I asked, tapping the sheet near the north side of the suite.
“A sleeping porch. It’s one of my favorite things in the plans.”
“It’s big.”
Bishop chuckled. “I don’t know the square footage of the main camp, but this appears to be equal to it or more.”
“Anna told me once that my grandfather and Horatio were very competitive. It wouldn’t surprise me if he instructed the architect to make sure it was larger.” The thought made me smile. “She said that, even though they argued endlessly, they were closer than any two brothers.”
“Sounds like Kingston and me.” Bishop shifted me off his lap, and we both stood. “Breakfast here or in the main camp?”
“Here today? Just the two of us? I can help.”
