I walked over to her and put my arm around her. She smelled like coffee and deodorant. “We love it. Thank you.”

Delilah seemed surprised, then gave me an awkward pat on the back. “Oh, you're welcome, sweetie. We're happy to have you.”

I released her and Delilah cleared her throat. She pointed to a small binder on the kitchen counter. “That there has all the rules for Windy Vista. Tells you everything you need to know about the home and about the community. Plus, you'll see all of the activities listed for each day. And if there's something that you can't find in there, just give me a ring. My phone number is in there.”

“Thank you,” I said. “We'll be fine.”

Delilah nodded. “We're barbecuing down by the pool tonight if you're interested. You folks enjoy.”

She excused herself, stepped out through the slider and closed the door behind her. A few seconds later, we heard a beeping noise. I peered out the window and saw her backing the golf cart out of the gravel lot.

“My phone has service,” Jake said as soon as I looked away from the window. “I know you didn't want to be rude to her, but I can call the hotels, wherever they are...”

I stepped toward him and put a finger on his lips. “No. I like this place.”

“You do?” he asked incredulously. “What about the resort? The spa? The restaurants?”

I shrugged. “We'll find food. I don't need a massage. I don't need anything fancy. This place is...cute.” I put my arms around him, threading my fingers together behind his neck. “I just need time with my husband.”

“Really?” His expression was dubious.

“Yes. I know how insane that sounds,” I said, winking at him. “But yes. After a couple months with a house that eats all of our money and kids who eat all of our time, I just need a vacation with you.”

“Are you sure, Daisy?” Jake asked. He settled his hands on my waist and held me away from him so he could look at me. “This isn't what we were expecting. At all.”

It wasn't. But I was used to unexpected things in my life. I hadn't expected to reconnect with Jake after being absent from each others' lives for twenty years. I hadn't expected for my eldest daughter to ditch homeschooling and head to public high school. And I hadn't expected to find new friends after discovering a dead body in my coal chute. But I had. Olga Stunderson was a little zany but she was sweet and we'd formed a solid friendship after solving her brother's murder.

So sometimes, the unexpected could bring good things. And that was how I was choosing to look at the hiccup in our accommodations for our vacation. I wouldn't focus on the fact that we'd basically been lied to, tricked into coming to a resort that didn't exist. Instead, I would concentrate on the fact that I was on vacation with my husband. A vacation we both desperately needed.

“Come on,” I said. I took him by the hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. “You need to claim your prize. You got one, too, you know.”

“I did?” he asked.

I nodded and nudged him forward, on to the bed. “Yes. You get to sleep with the grand prize winner in our unexpected, deluxe accommodations.”

FOUR

Jake was on his back in the bed, eyes closed, snoring softly beneath the ceiling fan.

I plopped down next to him and opened the binder Delilah had pointed out. “Sleepyhead. Wake up.”

He forced his eyes open. “Hey,” he said, his voice low and thick with sleep. It still gave me butterflies.

“Hey, yourself.”

“I passed out.”

“Of course you did.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I wore you out with my sexual prowess.”

He smiled. “Not the first time that's happened.”

“Nor the last, if you play your cards right,” I said. I scooted closer and tapped the binder. “I thought we could look at the activities.”

“I thought we could stay naked and nap.”

“We're on vacation,” I reminded him. “Which means we can do activities.”

“We're going to participate in the activities?”

“Of course we are,” I said. “They sound fun.”

He sighed. “Can't we just lounge around and relax?”

“Relax is code for have sex,” I said, flipping through the pages in the binder. “And there will be some of that. If we participate in the activities.”

“You're totally using sex as a weapon.”

I gave him a pointed look and he laughed. “Anyway, I'm going to call the kids and then we can go do activities,” I said.

“Why are you calling the kids? We just left.”

“I know,” I said. “I just thought I'd call and say hi. See how their morning went.”

“Daisy.” Jake's voice was firm. “We've been gone less than six hours. Their morning has been fine. Their afternoon will be fine.”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing,” he said. “If the kids need us, they'll call. This is our vacation. Our honeymoon. We're not supposed to think about them while we...do activities.”

“I think about them all the time,” I told him.

“Fine,” he said. “You can think about them. Just don't call them.” I glared at him and he sighed. “Fine,” he said again. “Just don't call them today.”

“Tonight,” I said. “I'll call them tonight.” He opened his mouth to object but I cut him off, pointing at one of the pages in the binder. “This medallion hunt sounds way fun.”

He glanced at the description, probably relieved that I'd changed the subject. “What's that?”

It was like a scavenger hunt. The resort provided clues every couple of days and guests attempted  to locate the hidden medallion. Whoever found it won a gift certificate to a local hunting store. I didn't hunt anything except Easter eggs with the kids so the gift certificate would definitely go to waste if we won, but I didn't care.

“The contest lasts all summer,” Jake said when he finished reading. “Sounds like it's something people work on the whole summer.”

“Well, it might take most people that long to figure out the clues but I bet we can find it while we're here.” I smiled at him. “Plus, I want to drive the golf cart.”

“The truth comes out.” He chuckled. “Guess what? I'll let you drive the golf cart, no reason required.”

“But you know I like having a purpose. A mission,” I told him, hopping out of bed. “So get dressed. Let's go explore and be all activity-ish.”

He mumbled something about not liking the truth very much, but he hauled himself out of bed. I waited while he pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, then followed him out on to the deck.

It was a little after noon and the summer sun was directly above us. A soft breeze rustled the tree leaves and the scent of pine and woodsmoke filled the air. I leaned against the deck railing and inhaled deeply, my senses alive. Everything seemed cleaner, crisper. Birds chirped in the boughs of the birch and maple trees that surrounded the camper and it was like I could hear every single one of them, hear their individual trills and whistles. I glanced around, a deep sense of contentment settling inside of me. It may not have been the resort we were expecting, but this version of Windy Vista was a very pretty place.

“Are we going out for that drive?” Jake asked, holding up a keychain. A lone silver key dangled from a keychain shaped like a fish.

“I thought you'd never ask.”

The golf cart had a red roof, red hood and red leather seats. It looked brand new, like someone had just driven it off of the golf car lot. If there were golf cart lots. Jake shoved the key in the slot and unplugged the battery cord from the outlet. I turned the key, released the brake and managed to back it off the gravel and onto the road without running over anything.

I did my best to obey the speed limit as we tooled around the resort. Each campsite was a bit different than the next. Some looked like they were occupied and cared for, with manicured lawns and  landscaped fire pits, with wood-carved lawn ornaments and melodic wind chimes. Others looked almost abandoned, with shuttered windows and overgrown, dandelion and clover-filled lawns. I wondered if they were truly deserted or if the owners hadn't made it up to Windy Vista yet. After all, it was still early in the summer. But true Minnesotans knew summer didn't last long and it was foolish to not take advantage of every snowless day we had.