Chapter 6: Tahoe Time

As I walked from the arrivals area at Oakland International into the baggage reclaim, I saw Georgette waving excitedly. I waved back and smiled. It was nice to be greeted like that. She ran to me and we hugged tightly before my mouth was covered with a deep, passionate kiss.

"I guess you haven't changed your mind about me while I was gone," I kidded.

"Never! I have been waiting for this for two weeks. I'm going to love you to death," she threatened.

"It was only ten days and don't say that. I plan to live for a long, long time. Especially if I'm going to be with you."

"You make me feel so alive, John. I've never felt like this before."

"I can say the same thing. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I'm still trying to understand how I could be so lucky."

"I'm the lucky one," she said, kissing me again. I'm sure we must have been a bit of a spectacle in the baggage claim, but I really didn't care and I was sure Georgette didn't either.

I found a cart and picked up my bags and my skis and we walked out to her car. After the cramped aircraft seat and the recirculated air, it was good to breathe the fresh air from the bay and relax in the luxury of Georgette's BMW as we headed north on I-880 to the junction of I-80.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" she asked.

"Yes, it was great. Everyone was in good health and good spirits. My sister is starting to get big with her third child. She's due in May, but Mom doesn't think she'll make it that long. They have one of each, so they don't care if it's a boy or a girl and didn't want to know for a change."

"I can't wait to start making babies with you," she said.

"Well, please don't start until we get married. I don't think your family would approve."

"Are you really going to marry me?" she asked, almost as if the idea surprised her.

"I thought that was the idea when two people who love each other decide they want to spend the rest of their lives together."

"You said 'love' like it's already a fact." She seemed surprised by my comment.

"I said it ... and I meant it. It was something I discovered while I was home at Christmas. I knew I couldn't see you and be with you until I came back and there were times when I might have just left to come back to you. I knew then that I was in love with you. Crazy as it sounds, I'm in love with you, Georgette."

I wasn't prepared for what happened next. With as little as a quick look in her rear view mirror, she pulled across three lanes of traffic on 880 and onto an off-ramp. In an equally swift move, she pulled the car into the first opening and parked it perfectly in one continuous motion. She undid her seatbelt and leaned over to me and unbuckled mine as well.

"Come over here, lover. Any man who tells me he's in love with me has to be tested."

I was about to laugh at her antics when she covered my mouth with one of her wonderful soul-scorching kisses. If I didn't love her before, I certainly did now.

"You love me? Really?" she said, hoping for my confirmation I guessed.

"Without a doubt. I may not have known it before, but I do now. But it doesn't change anything, Georgette. You know my conditions. I finish school first, and then we can talk about our future."

"I know. I don't like it, but I understand it and I respect it. But between now and then, I'm going to make sure you're well looked after and don't have any need to stray."

"How am I supposed to concentrate on my classes when you make promises like that," I laughed.

"Don't worry. I'll help you study. It's in my best interests to make sure you graduate on time, isn't it?"

"That's true, and just you remember that too."

We separated and she buckled up again, making a quick, skillful U-turn back the way we came and within seconds we were back rocketing toward the junction with I-80 and the road to Tahoe.

I'm not sure whether it was fatigue or just the tension of what was to come, but I fell asleep somewhere before Fairfield and didn't awaken until I felt my ears pop as we climbed Donner Pass. The BMW was so quiet and smooth that I barely knew we were moving, much less at something over seventy-five. I sat up and stretched, looking over at Georgette. She was wearing that enigmatic smile I was learning to recognize. It was like she was saying "life is good and I'm enjoying it."

"How long was I out?" I asked, stretching and yawning.

"About ninety minutes. You looked very peaceful ... very comfortable. A couple of times I had to stop myself from pulling over and taking advantage of you."

"I'd prefer to be wide awake for something I'm anticipating as much as that," I grinned.

When I looked around I could see snow on the ground and a pile of it along the side of the road where it had been plowed.

"Are we going to be all right in the snow?" I asked.

"I've got the latest in winter tires and this is the all-wheel-drive version. We'll be fine unless we get snowed in," she said confidently.

"What happens if we get snowed in?" I guess my snort after the question told her what I was thinking.

There was laughter in her voice as she spoke.

"We'll just have to make the best of it. No point in calling for help. We'll just snuggle up and wait for a rescue."

"Okay ... I feel better then."

We turned off I-80 at Truckee, moving south on Highway 89 on the short drive to Tahoe City. As we approached the town, we turned up a narrow snow-covered road and drove slowly up the hill until we came to a driveway with a mailbox at the end. Georgette stopped, lowered the window and reached in to get the mail before continuing up the driveway. A few seconds later, their lodge came into view. It was big. Very big! Log construction with a steep metal roof and a stone foundation. It was beautiful from the outside and I was impressed, wondering what it would be like inside.

Georgette pulled the car into an open shed structure that was used as a carport. It looked like there would be room for three cars under the shed. It was built back into the hillside and well sheltered. Again, the roof was steeply pitched metal and looked like it had been constructed to withstand a heavy snow load. I'd seen my share of this kind of construction around my home and at Silver Mountain.

I climbed out of the car and stretched again, as did Georgette. The air was cold and my first instinct was to get my ski parka out of the back seat. We both had the same idea at the same time. She had popped the trunk lid and I grabbed a couple of bags while she unlocked the back door to the lodge. It opened into a mud room. One more trip and I had cleared the trunk and was stamping my feet on the step to get the snow off after Georgette turned off the alarm system.

I dug around in my bag and pulled out a pair of moccasins that I had worn for years. They were soft Caribou leather and wonderfully comfortable. Georgette had disappeared for a few moments and then returned. She was sock-footed for the time being.

"I've turned up the furnace," she announced. "It won't take long to heat up the place."

As I walked through the mud room I found myself in the laundry area and then the kitchen. It was huge and modern. This was one of those vacation places you saw in magazines and wondered if they were real. I knew they were because there were several of this quality around Coeur d'Alene. Some very wealthy people had chosen Northern Idaho as their vacation getaway. The lake and the surrounding country were just as beautiful as here in Lake Tahoe.

"Wait until you see the view, John," she said, taking me by the hand and leading me into the Great Room.

The entire east wall was windows with a panoramic view of the lake and the far shore. It was overcast and the cloud was low, but you could imagine what the view would be like on a clear, sunny day.

"This is beautiful, Georgette. What an incredible place to spend a vacation. The lake right in front and Squaw Valley just ten minutes away. What more could you want?" I hadn't taken my eyes off the view at that point.

"Someone to share it with," she answered, moving to me.

I'd been kissed by a number of girls and women, but I'd never really been kissed like Georgette kissed. It was so much more passionate and deep. I don't know how to describe it better than that. We had our arms around each other and I could feel her breasts pressing into my chest. My hands slipped down to her ass and without thinking, I squeezed. Her cheeks were luscious and I continued to caress them.

"You like," she asked when we broke briefly.

"Very much. I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you walking away from me."

I was facing into the Great Room now and as I looked over her shoulder I could see a huge stone fireplace dominating the center of the wall. Two staircases went up each side of the room to a balcony that showed several doors spaced along it. They would be loft bedrooms and baths I assumed.

"This place is huge. How many bedrooms?"

"Isn't one enough?" she giggled.

"You know what I mean," I said with a mock stern look.

"Four, if you must know. Two master suites with en suites and two bedrooms sharing a connecting main bathroom."

"Wow. That's really something. You could have the whole family up here and have plenty of room."

"We will at New Years. Aunt Mary and Uncle Devon will be here along with Nan and my parents. You'll have to share a bed with me," she said with a sly grin."

"And your parents will be okay with that?" I asked, surprised once more.

"Well, the alternative is that I share a bed with Nan and then sneak into your room in the middle of the night. I'll check with Mother and see which she prefers. Of course, there is a hide-a-bed in Father's office as a last resort."

I knew I was being played with, but I also knew we weren't openly going to be sleeping together yet. I guessed the hide-a-bed would be the most likely spot for me.

"Come on," she ordered, "let's get you settled for now until the whole gang arrives tomorrow afternoon."

We carried our bags up the far staircase to the balcony and Georgette opened the second door from the end.

"This is my room. I keep some clothes here so that I don't have to pack so much when I come here," she explained.

I was a large bedroom with a queen sized bed and nicely decorated but interestingly, not too feminine.

As she followed me in, she stopped suddenly and said, "Oh shit!" as she saw something unexpected.

"What?"

"The bed. It's unmade. Someone has been here, sleeping in that bed."

"When was the last time you were here?" I asked.

"I can't remember. Sometime in October. We never leave the place with unmade beds or unwashed clothes and dishes. We just don't do that," she said, looking about the room suspiciously.

She marched to the phone on the bedside table and picked it up. She scrolled what I assumed was the number memory and pushed a button.

"Hello, this is Georgette Fulton. I'd like to report a break-in. It's at the Fulton lodge on Mountain Edge Road, number six.

(pause)

Yes, I'm there now with a guest.

(pause)

"Yes, the alarm was set when I arrived, but someone must have bypassed it."

(pause)

"When?"

(pause)

"Yes, we'll be here. Thank you," she said, terminating the call and replacing the handset.

She looked around. "I can't see anything out of place. I better check the closet and drawers."

She was talking to herself and there was nothing I could do to help, so I stood still and watched. After going through the closet and then her dresser, she seemed satisfied that nothing else was out of order.

"Should we check the other rooms?" I asked.

Her head snapped up. "Yes ... of course. Let's go."

She marched out of her bedroom and turned right to the first door on the balcony. She opened it and walked in quickly, looking around as she did so. The bed was made and there was no sign of anything being disturbed. In fact, she ran her finger across the top of the dresser and I could see a line in a fine layer of dust.

Without saying anything she went back to her bedroom and checked the dresser. When we looked more carefully, we could see that the end tables and the top of the dresser had be disturbed, with signs that someone had touched both tables and the dresser, and it appeared to be recent.

"Someone's been here all right," I said.

There was a door right beside the dresser and when she opened it I could see it led into a large bathroom. I could see her looking around and checking in the medicine cabinet.

"Someone's been in here too. They haven't cleaned up after themselves."

"How did they get past the alarm?" I asked.

"Good question. I don't know. It was supposed to be the latest and greatest when father had it installed. A lot of these out of the way homes get broken into and the sheriff's department have been really working to cut down on it. The alarms are silent and go directly to the sheriff's office. I'm sure they're going to want an answer to that same question."

She opened another door opposite the one we entered and I could see it led into another bedroom on the other side. I followed her after noticing how big the bathroom was and particularly the shower cabinet. It seemed like most of the surfaces in the room were marble as well.

"No sign of anyone in here," she said, exiting to the balcony once more and heading for the end door.

I waited for her to return and when she did she confirmed that there was no sign anyone had been in the other master suite.

"I don't get it. Just the one bedroom and bathroom. It's like someone was living here except I know for a fact that no one that has a key or the code to the alarm has been up here in months."

"No sign of clothes or other personal items, either," I noted. "Maybe we should check the kitchen and see what's going on there," I suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that," she immediately agreed and I followed her as she hurried down the other staircase and into the kitchen.