And they would definitely need a bigger bed.
* * * *
The next morning, Michael felt magnificent as he walked toward the east elevator back in the employees’ wing. The sun was shining, and the world felt different than it had the day before. Today it was filled with possibilities.
And bacon. The three of them had chosen to go to the restaurant for breakfast this morning and taken in the glorious views of the mountains while they’d eaten bacon and eggs and pancakes and talked about what to do this winter.
The night before had been one of the best of his life. Everything he’d been through had led him to last night. To the man who would become his best friend and partner, and the woman who would be the center of their world. He’d let go of the past. Oh, he was certain it was still lurking around, but that was what therapy was for.
It was odd because he was even looking forward to that. He was looking forward to doing the work because Alexei’s words from the day before had sunk in. Lucy and Ty were worth him doing the work, but he was worth it, too. He was valuable. It had taken these two to prove it to him.
“Do you think this will take long?” Lucy sounded less nervous than he’d expected. “Because I have a meeting with the service heads this afternoon, and then I’m supposed to sit in on a call with a couple of vendors for Winter Festival.”
He loved how confident and competent she sounded.
Between bouts of making love, the three of them had talked—really talked—about what they wanted for their future.
If she wasn’t arrested by the CBI.
“Hey, you need to let Gemma lead you through this.” Ty was on Lucy’s right.
“Yes, you need to do everything Gemma tells you.” Michael had completely changed his stance on lawyers. “I don’t like the fact that the CBI is here so quickly. Nate’s about to lose control of this case, and that’s going to make things much harder for all of us. I’m also worried about your friend.”
They’d gotten a call from Nate this morning that the CBI had managed to make it to the lodge. The storm had broken yesterday afternoon and the snowplows had gone to work. A helicopter had brought in the two agents from Lakewood along with a ton of forensic equipment the Bliss County Sheriff’s Office simply didn’t have.
Michael wanted to believe these investigators would do their job and find the real killer, but he was glad to have Gemma sitting in.
“Gemma talked to Van last night,” Lucy assured him. “She’s going to sit in on any interviews either of us might have.”
“Is Chet still in jail?” Ty asked. “He wasn’t able to buy his way out, was he?”
“Hell, no. He’s finding out that small-town jails don’t work the way he thinks they should,” Michael replied. “The judge won’t be back until Monday. He’s sitting his butt at the station house. I hope he enjoys Stella’s burgers because that’s all he’ll be having for a while.”
“Stella’s burgers are awesome. He doesn’t deserve them,” Ty complained.
“I don’t understand why he went off like that. I know he was obnoxious, but he didn’t seem like the kind of man who would turn violent,” Lucy mused. “If anything, I didn’t think he cared for his brother much.”
“I suspect he was on something,” Michael explained.
Ty nodded. “That was my thought, too. I would say he was on some kind of upper. He was shaking and his eyes were red. Since his brother had all that coke in his suite, that would be my suspicion. Paranoia is a real side effect, especially if the person using is already under duress.”
“So he took drugs to make himself feel better and it made him worse?” Lucy asked.
“That happens a lot,” Michael replied. “I should know. Not the drugs, exactly. Self-loathing and anger were my drug of choice. Isolation. In a lot of ways, it’s just as destructive. But I think it was more. He said something about his sister, didn’t he? I don’t remember exactly because I was mostly trying to be as quiet as I could be.”
“Yes.” Lucy’s lips pursed. “He said his sister told him he had to do something about it. Why would she say that?”
“And when did she say it?” Ty asked. “Because Sonya was sedated the night of the murder.”
Lucy seemed to consider the problem. “I have a hard time seeing Kendall being so emotional.”
“You don’t know any of them well enough to let your guard down around them.” The last thing he wanted was one of the Foster siblings getting Lucy’s sympathy.
“Oh, I don’t intend to be in a room with anyone named Foster ever again,” Lucy vowed.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Ty pressed the button for the elevator. “I got a text from one of the managers I’m friends with about the fact that he’s been in touch with the big boss and he’s not happy. It’s exactly how we thought Mr. Roberts would react. He’s taking his employees’ side. The Fosters aren’t happy either. They’re having all their stuff moved out of the villa and are preparing to sue.”