Page 109 of The Sugar Maple Inn

Reese stepped back. Let him in. Grabbed another glass from the kitchen and poured the liquid that had been sustaining him the past few days.

They sat in the living room. Leather chairs facing the lake. The tower visible through the windows.

Abe took a sip. Made an appreciative sound. “Good stuff.”

“Macallan 25.”

“Figures.” Abe settled back in the chair, looking at the glimpses of tower on Maple Island. “You know the history of that tower?”

“Some. Built in 1857.”

Abe swirled his whiskey. “Well, I did some digging in the local archives this morning. Before the tower was built, there was nothing on that island but trees and eagles. Then came the settlers after gold was discovered in the state. Your people, all the way from Norway.” Reese paused, raising an eyebrow at the old man. “But I think you know that already, don’t you?” Abe continued. “The Spencers built the first structure: a cabin, mostly. Lived there for a generation. They got wealthy with their trade and their gold. Built the tower.”

Reese nodded. “I know.”

Abe nodded too, took another sip. “Your great-great-great-great…damn, I don’t know how many greats, but some kinda great-grandfather to you, Harald Berg?” Reese nodded, leaning forward, intrigued. “Smart traders. Resourceful. But it wasn’t the money that stuck in the records. It was the feud.”

Reese raised an eyebrow. “Feud?”

Abe nodded. “Found a letter one of the workers sent to his ma. I’ll have it sent to you but to sum up: mid eighteen hundred, two families staked claims to that island. Spencers and the Lavoies. Your ancestors came from Norway with big ideas. The Lavoies were already here in Solace Springs. French-Canadian settlers. Worked the land hard, didn’t have much.” A pause. “But what they did have was a daughter. And your ancestor—Harald Berg—he fell for her.”

Reese leaned forward, interested. “Her name was Odette,” Abe continued. “They were kids when they met, not much older than Grace’s boy. Used to meet by the lake, sneak off to the island your family claimed when no one was watching. And Harald, fool that he was, promised he’d make something for her. Something lasting. Said he’d build a home they’d never have to leave.” Abe’s mouth twisted into a half-smile. “He built a tower.”

Reese took a slug of his whiskey.

“They got married in that tower,” Abe continued. “Small ceremony. Just family. Problem was, Harald hid something under that tower. Nobody knows what. Some said it was treasure. Others said it was smuggled goods. Many more thought it was harvest stock. Something they couldn’t legally sell, or didn’t want the Lavoies to claim. But whatever it was, it caused a rupture.” He glanced at Reese. “And when Harald found Odette’s brother and pa digging for treasure on the island one night, Harald blamed her.”

“Odette?”

“Yup. Said she’d told her family something—some location, some secret. Harald, being a damn fool, drove her away. So she took off for Canada with the children, your ancestors. Married someone else with the surname Spencer, gave her children that name too, started the Spencer branch of your family tree. Started a whole new life.” Abe stared at the bottom of his glass. “Harald stayed. Lived and died in Solace Springs. Never married again. They say he used to walk past the lake in winter and just stare at the island. Like he was still waiting for someone to come back.

“And here you are,” Abe said, gesturing to Reese. “A billionaire. Alone in a house he doesn’t own, thinking about a girl he let slip through his fingers.”

Reese shook his head, smiled. The old sea dog saw more than he let on.

Abe set down his empty glass. Stood.

“The contract’s yours if you want it. Take your time. Decide what matters more: the treasure you might find or the treasure you might lose.”

He headed for the door. Paused with his hand on the handle.

“You know what I’ve learned in fifty years of marriage?” Abe said. “Sometimes the person who hurts you the most is the person who’s most scared of getting hurt. Maybe Grace needs to know that about you, that you’re as scared as she is.”

He walked out before Reese could respond.

Reese sat there, whiskey warming in his hand, staring at the leather folder on the coffee table.

The contract. The inn. Everything he’d come to Solace Springs to acquire.

All he had to do was sign. He knew it was over with Grace. So he couldn’t lose what he’d already lost.

He could own the property by next month. Have crews start excavating the cellar. Find out what his father had been looking for. Finally have answers to questions that had haunted him for years.

Reese picked up the contract. Opened it. Standard terms, like Abe had said. Fair price. Lower than he’d expected, actually. Possession in thirty days.

His hand reached for a pen.

Stopped as an image of Grace came to him, lying in bed with him. I forgot it could feel like that.