20. The Lake Answers

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Joe's birthdayrolled around every October and there's usually a big party at the house in Steele Valley that Molly threw for him.

Eve met me there. We'd been managing this long-distance relationship where one of us flew in to see the other for an extended weekend twice a month. It's fine, considering we were both workaholics during the week, and lived for the weekends to relax and be together.

She'd had a busy year with taking over the company, dealing with her father's trial and lawsuits. They got him for imprisoning her and other charges.

For a while there, the media hounded her. The "hidden heiress" stories were big. Her exclusive interview I had set up with Vera Hall in New York City was a top-rated show that week in the ratings.

Eve and I made a point to talk every night, occasionally sexting just for fun, helping each other relieve some stress, but it always amazed me, from a purely scientific standpoint, if the sparks would still fly between us every weekend. Every time I saw her face in person, yes they did. The moment she was in my arms and her lips on mine, definitely yes. Sparks aplenty.

Miles apart, across the country, and our connection remained strong as ever. But if I had my way, we'd be together in the same place once and for all very soon. I padded the velvet box in my pocket for luck.

Joe's party was the typical good family time with the kids and plenty of food. Eventually, Eve and I were able to get away in the late afternoon, just the two of us, and drove to her campground, where she had crews working to knock down the old cabins and build one nice custom luxury log home, cozy for a family to live in, plus a top deck with views of the lake.

This time, when we arrived at the campground, Eve asked me to park at a nearby lookout, where a small cliff looked down over the edge of the lake. From the trunk, she started taking out some boxes. I helped, and we carried them over to the edge, overlooking the water.

"What's all this stuff?" I asked. She removed the lids, revealing flash drives and reams of paperwork.

"It's all the copies of the military weapons trials, all the data and more. The FBI confiscated everything from the office. But with Dad in prison, I went through his house and found these copies of it all. Anything that was using my technology that Heath had his hand on. Can you help me dump it into the lake?"

"Eve, shouldn't you just have this stuff shredded? I don't know how good that'd be for the lake, and we'd better hope none of the environmentalists are watching," I protested.

"Okay, listen. I saw this in a dream." She was serious, but it had to be a joke, so I laughed. "I'm serious, Wyoming. For the past month, every night I have the same dream. I come to this spot and dump it all into the water. I think I'm supposed to do it."

"No, baby, the dream is probably telling you to dispose of it, but be sensible about it, not literal."

"It's paper, honey. Please. I really feel I have to do this."

Much to my dismay, I relented and agreed, because I'd do anything for her. One by one, we took each box, and dumped it over the cliff, down into one of the deepest areas of the lake by the campground.

I hoped that'd be the end of all this tragedy in her life. Time for her to start thinking about forever with me.

Afterwards, we drove back down to the dock, and walked hand in hand to the end of it. I laid out a blanket and we removed our shoes and dipped our toes in the water. The October chill in the air was now too cold to submerge our bodies in and make love.

Although I had a theory about that, wondering if once we entered, the water would activate and heat up around us. Getting Eve to agree to plunge into cold water would be an issue, no matter how much she loved helping me with experiments in the lake.

With just toes in, the water glowed under our feet, though, as did the crystal necklace with the lake water that I made for Eve. Almost every day without fail, she wore that and the little bird necklace around her neck.

She shivered next to me in the autumn breeze, despite her turtle neck sweater and leather jacket. I wrapped an arm around her back, rubbing to warm her. "I've missed you, Eve. But I can't go on like this. I think it's time we have the talk."

"What are you saying? You're not breaking up with me are you?" She shifted to face me, her eyes filling with fear. "I know I missed last weekend coming out to see you but I had that deadline and?—"

"No, sweetheart, it's not that. Lately, I've had my own dream plaguing me at night. Want to hear how it goes?"

"Of course." The concern spread through her eyes, as I took her left hand in mine.

"I see you and me and getting married, having kids. Living here on the lake."

A smile grows across her face, splitting it. "That sounds more like a proposal than a dream."

I kissed her. "Maybe it's both."

"But what about our businesses? We work on opposite sides of the map."

"Easy fix. We agree to move somewhere together. Oh, I have a thought. Why not here in Steele Valley?" Joe had been wanting to move Sizzle Brands to Steele Valley for a long time. "We construct one building, one half for my RD offices, the other half for Arnault Tech. We can make this work, Eve. I know we can."

"It's a good idea. And, I agree, the time has come to seriously think about it. I miss you, too."

We kissed, and I drifted back to the first time we kissed here in my old cabin. Lots of great memories of us here on this property that Eve held dear in her heart.

"I'm going crazy without you, Eve. I love you. When I come home at night from work, I want it to be your arms I feel around me. Not some empty couch cushions and a nightly phone call. I'm ready for this. Tell me you are, too?"

"Yes, Wyoming, I am ready. And I love you, too."

"You've just made me the happiest man ever, you know that?" I leaned her back on the dock, pulling another heavy blanket out of my backpack. "We may not have a lake warm enough to make love in, but I promise I'll heat you up good under this."

All of a sudden, we heard a rumble and the dock shook. Without a clue what it was, I acted fast. I picked her up and ran with her to safety, down the dock to the shore. But even there, the ground beneath our feet shook like an earthquake.

In my arms, I held her close, wondering if the world was finally coming to an end, but at least we'd be together when it did.

A roar came from the lookout, the cliff we'd just been on earlier, and we startled. A landslide sent tons of rock and mud falling into the lake, burying the things we had tossed there. It caused a small tsunami of water that came up the beach and inched up our feet.

We gaped at the cliff now reduced to just a mound. I couldn"t understand the science behind it. "Why the landslide? It hadn't been a particularly rainy season."

Eve peered out over the lake, misty-eyed. "Maybe my mom's spirit is out there, and she heard my prayers. With the help of the magical powers of the lake, she buried those things so they'd never be found or get into the wrong hands. Some things are just unexplainable, Wyoming."

"A year ago, I came to Steele Valley, and found you. Remember how I was seeking answers to all the lake's mysteries?" I asked.

"Answers to what?"

"Exactly. To what. I don't think I was asking the right questions. I wanted to know why it glowed and bubbled when the woman I loved was in my arms."

"And you never figured out the answers, did you?"

"Not to those questions. It turned out, the lake provided all I needed to know, though. Like how I'm so fucking attracted to you, how my heart goes zing every time I see you or hear your voice, or hell, even smell that new wildflower perfume you're wearing lately. So now, I guess there's only one question remaining. Eve, will you marry me?"

When I pulled out the velvet box, she laughed, excited for what came next. "I knew it. This is a proposal."

She gasped at the size of the ring, an oval stone of five carats in a platinum setting. It fit her perfectly when I slipped it on her finger. "So, how about it. Marry me?"

"Oh, Wyoming. Science hasn't given you the answers about the lake of Mysterious Waters, but I do know the answer to your question. Yes, I'll marry you."