displays of fountain grass erupted from the ground. Lee watched as the
automatic sprinklers came on, along with the exterior landscape
lighting. Behind the house he could hear the pounding surf. The house
was situated at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, although there were
similar monster homes painted yellow, blue, green and gray lined up on
the beach side in both directions as far as the eye could see. Although
the air was warm and slightly humid, they were approaching November,
and virtually all the other homes were dark.
Faith said, “I’ve never really bothered to add up the square footage. I
rent it out April through September. It covers the mortgage and nets
me about thirty thousand a year-just in case you’re interested.” Taking
off her helmet and running her hands through her sweaty hair, she said,
“I need a shower and some food. The kitchen should be stocked. You
can put the bike in the carport.”
Faith unlocked the front door and went inside while Lee parked the
Honda in one of two bays of the carport and then carried in the bags.
The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. Lee
was also grateful to see that the place had a security system. As he
looked around, he took in the soaring ceilings, pickled wood beams and
paneling, an enormous kitchen, Italian tile floors in some places,
high-dollar Berber carpeting elsewhere. He counted six bedrooms, seven
bathrooms and discovered an outdoor Jacuzzi on the back porch big
enough for at least six drunken adults to flop around in. There were
also three fireplaces, including a gas one in the master suite. The
furniture was overstuffed rattan and wicker, all seemingly designed to
beckon one to catnap.
Lee opened a set of French doors off the kitchen, stepped onto the deck
and looked down into the enclosed courtyard. A kidney-shaped pool was
situated down there. The chlorinated water sparkled under the glow of
the pool lights. A Creepy Crawly made its way through the water,
sucking up bugs and debris.
Faith joined him on the deck. “I had the people come out this morning
and get everything going. They maintain the pool all year ’round
anyway. I’ve skinny-dipped down here in December. It’s gloriously
peaceful.”
“There doesn’t seem to be anybody else in the other houses.”
“Certain parts of the Outer Banks are pretty full about nine or even
ten months out of the year now, what with the nice weather. But you
always have the chance of hurricanes this time of year, and this area
is pretty expensive. The houses rent out for a small fortune, even in
the off season. Unless you can get a big group together to rent them,
your average family isn’t going to be staying here. Mostly, you see
the owners come down this time of year. But with kids in school, it’s
tough to do that during the week. So empty we have.”
“Empty I like.”
“The pool’s heated, if you want to take a dip.”
“I didn’t bring my trunks.”
“Not into skinny-dipping, huh?” She smiled and was very relieved that
it was too dark for her to really see his eyes. If his baby blues had
hit her just right, she might have pushed him in the pool, dived after
him and everything else be damned.
“There are plenty of places in town to get some swimming stuff. I keep
clothes down here, so I’m okay. We’ll buy you some things tomorrow.”
“I think I’m fine with what I brought.”
“You don’t want to stick out here, do you?”
“I’m not sure we’ll be here long enough for that.”
Faith looked out toward the wooden walkways leading past the sand dunes
to where the Atlantic Ocean pitched and bellowed. “You never know. I
don’t think there’s a better place to sleep than at the beach. There’s
nothing like the sound of waves crashing in your ears to drive you into
unconsciousness. Back in D.C. I never sleep well. Too many things to
worry about.”
“Funny, I sleep just fine there.”
She glared at him. “To each his own.”
“What’s for dinner?”
“First, a shower. You can have the master suite.”