She unlocked the door and strode inside, dragging Emily along.After she found the Wi-Fi code, she got on the phone with Jackson.“Did you tell Dad about the cabin mix-up?”
“I might have mentioned it.”
“Why?”
“Because he asked how you were doing.”
“He called the owner to complain on my behalf.”
“Okay.”
“Paul just gave me the key and left.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Vanessa released a slow breath of frustration.“I don’t like Dad meddling in my life.I’ve told him that.”
“If I remember correctly, you wanted me to do something about Paul.”
“That was before…”
“Before you saved him from drowning and made out with him?”
“Shut up, Jackson,” she snapped.“I did save him.You think you’re the only one capable of rescuing a swimmer?”
“I rescued a few fakers in my day.”
Vanessa didn’t doubt it.He’d been a lifeguard at Lost Lake for several summers, and teenage girls had flocked to him.“Are you implying that Paul’s a faker?”
“I’m not implying anything,” Jackson said.“Are you going to stay in the cabin or what?”
“We’re staying,” she said.
Emily celebrated by tossing her doll in the air.“Penelope wants candy.”
“Penelope’s on thin ice,” Vanessa replied.
The little girl stuck out her tongue at Vanessa.Then she raced down the hallway and disappeared.Vanessa ended the call with Jackson and did a cursory inspection of the cabin.The kitchen looked neat and tidy.She spotted a washing machine at the end of the hall.She found Emily inside the bedroom, jumping on the mattress.Penelope’s blond braids were flying.Vanessa snapped her fingers and pointed to the ground in a fluid motion.Emily ignored the unspoken directive and kept jumping.
Instead of getting upset with her daughter, who was clearly in a mood, Vanessa entered the room.She collapsed on her back on the bed like a starfish.It was a game they played often.Vanessa would freeze in a funny position while Emily tried to copy the pose.The little girl flopped down beside her, giggling.
“It’s time for a nap,” Vanessa said.
Emily hopped down from the bed and raced away.Vanessa stared up at the ceiling blankly.She couldn’t muster the energy to move.She finally had a private space to rest, and she was grateful for it.This was what she’d come for, after all.She’d spent the past few months in a state of constant exhaustion, working frantic hours in the ER and finishing her degree in physical therapy.Dealing with the emotional fallout from her divorce hadn’t been a priority.She’d set her grief and anger aside for later.
It was later.
She rolled onto her side and hugged her arms around her middle.She hadn’t done the usual post-divorce things.She hadn’t gone on a shopping spree, or burned a pile of Bennett’s clothes, or picked up a stranger at a bar for a one-night stand.
She’d indulged in a few crying jags, but she hadn’t processed her feelings in a meaningful way.Now they were stuck inside her, like an infection.She needed to excise the wound.She needed to exorcise Bennett’s ghost, too.Some women said the only way to get over a man was to get under a new one.That was bullshit, but Vanessa longed for physical release.She’d always enjoyed sex, and Bennett had been good in bed—when he’d made the effort.Walking in on him with another woman had hijacked her sexual confidence, however.She’d become a woman scorned, instead of a woman desired.
While she ruminated on these sad facts, she became aware of a familiar scent on the sheets.Emily had jumped all over the bed, mussing the blankets, but it appeared to have been left unmade.The mattress was firm and low to the ground, comfortable without being fussy.She turned her face toward the pillow and inhaled.
Paul had slept here last night.She detected a hint of aftershave and clean male skin, along with a faint undertone of eucalyptus from the pain-relief patches he used.She wondered if he wore pajamas to bed, or just his underwear, or maybe nothing at all.The mental image of his big, naked body tangled in these sheets made her breath catch in her throat.She closed her eyes and clutched the pillow in a tight grip.Arousal pulsed between her legs, like the buzz of a reminder notification on her phone.
Warning.Combustible woman in need of orgasm.Send help.
She let out a shaky sound that was half-groan, half-laugh.She was in a bad way, if sniffing rumpled sheets could send her over the edge.
