After two nights in Detroit, the
next stop was supposed to be the Northwoods
Lodge near Petoskey on their way to the Upper Peninsula. What should have taken
under four hours turned out to be a two-day trip with an overnight stay in
Houghton Lake just because they couldn’t help stopping by the place where they
met. They didn’t bother going over to see Aunt Pat & Uncle Denny, but did
decide to book a room at the Beachfront Hotel even though the lodge where they
had reservations was only an hour away.
“We should just stay here for a few
weeks,” Ian whispered in the dark.
“I thought the idea was to keep
moving so that no one would recognize us,” Megan answered him. She snuggled up
closer to her new husband and understood exactly why he wanted to stay, and it
wasn’t the beautiful view from the balcony. They’d be traveling through the
U.P. never staying in one location for more than a day
or two and always checking in under Megan’s name, then moving on to the next
destination. There were no sightseeing or tourist stops, just one resort after
another. They weren’t all that interested in leaving the warmth and comfort of
their hotel rooms anyway.
“Maybe next summer we could come
back,” Ian suggested, propping himself up on one arm to look down into her
eyes.
“Sounds like a plan…for next
summer,” she chuckled, then pulled him back down for another long kiss.
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“I have never been, nor do I ever
plan to go, river rafting in the middle of the winter,” Megan laughed, reading
the promotional materials on the desk at the Northwoods Lodge.
“Snow shoeing it is then,” Ian
looked over her shoulder.
“I don’t think so,” she looked up
at him. “My parents didn’t go out of their way to find us the nicest honeymoon
suite around so that we could freeze our toes off.”
“Just think of it,” he whispered,
wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him. “The Jacuzzi
tub will come in handy to warm up those frozen toes.”
“Let’s just skip the snow sports
and go straight for the Jacuzzi,” she looked up at him.
“That sounds much warmer…”
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“I want to see Mackinaw Island!”
Ian exclaimed as they crossed the bridge into the U.P. “I’ve always wanted to
go there.”
“Not this time of year,” Megan
tried to keep her eyes on the road and knuckles from becoming white as she
braved the wind. A few knots stronger and they would have closed the bridge
from traffic so as not to risk small cars being thrown into the frigid waters
of Lake Huron. “They stop the ferries for the winter, and only a few people
actually live on the island year round.”
“Can we make this trip again next
summer, Love?” he turned to her with hope and expectation.
“If you come back to America,” she
laughed over at him. “Do you know your tour dates for summer yet?”
“I have no idea,” he settled back
down into the passenger seat. “That’s Jeremy’s job. My job is to stay in your
arms as long as possible until they drag me back to Europe.”
“Well they’re going to have to drag
you from my arms to get you back to Europe,” Megan
threatened, grinning over at him. Taking her eyes off the road was a mistake
because she swerved just slightly. “But not while I’m driving…”
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“Happy new year,” Megan whispered.
The Cedarville Lodge was the perfect place for them to stay for the holiday
because it wasn’t a party destination. Just a quiet, comfortable king-sized bed
and each other.
“Best New Year’s Eve of my entire
life,” Ian snuggled into his bride’s arms and fell asleep before the ball
dropped in Time’s Square and the thousands of people waved to the cameras. Megan
took the remote control from his hand and switched off the television with a
contented smile.
“Best…ever…” her voice trailed off
as she drifted away.
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“Paradise sure lives up to its
name,” Megan called to Ian. “Take a look at the view off this balcony. The lake
is incredible!” He stood there with his arms around her for about a minute,
then pulled her back inside.
“It’s freezing out there!” Ian pulled
the sliding glass doors to close out the wind coming off the bay.
“Sorry the Magnuson didn’t have a
king-sized bed available,” Megan apologized, tucking herself into his arms to
warm up.
“Or a Jacuzzi tub,” he noted with a
grin.
“What is it with you and Jacuzzi
tubs?” she laughed at him. “I could care less whether or not we have a fancy
tub.”
“Well, I could care less whether we
have a king-sized bed,” he teased her. “I’m not planning on sleeping more than
an inch or two away from you anyway!”
“Two whole inches?” she questioned.
“You’re right,” he apologized.
“That is way too far away.”
“Way too far…” Megan whispered.
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“Copper Harbor is one of the most
unusual towns I’ve ever seen,” Ian looked around as they were passing through
on the way to the Mariner Resort.
“What do you mean?” Megan
questioned.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I
just like it here.”
“Well, that’s good because we’re
staying two nights.”
“Cool,” he affirmed.
“And,” she grinned. “The room has a
Jacuzzi tub…”
“Now you’re speaking my language,”
Ian leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Your mum sure planned us a nice
honeymoon.”
“Not bad for pulling things
together at the last minute like that,” Megan agreed.
“Not bad at all, my beautiful wife.
This has been the best honeymoon I’ve ever had,” he teased.
“I’m pretty sure it’s the only honeymoon you’ve ever had!” she
laughed at him.
* *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
*
“What happened to my hair?” Ian
laughed after having removed his baseball cap and running his hand through the
mop that had grown out in the past three weeks since his tour had ended. “Our
stylist normally trims it up every couple of days. I look awful.”
“You look amazing to me,” Megan
complimented him, then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him away from the
large window in the truck stop where he’d been looking at his reflection.
“You’re biased,” he whispered down
to her, then pulled her into his arms for a rare public show of affection.
Normally he rushed into the gas station or rest area, hat down, quickly used
the restroom and rushed back out to the sleek, black sedan with the tinted
windows, got into the passenger seat and hoped no one had noticed him. So far,
no one had.
But this time, someone did. A young
girl had been stocking a shelf nearby and heard the entire conversation. The
British accent would have caught the attention of anyone in the U.P. but the
strange topic of discussion caused her to look over at the couple kissing near
the restroom doors. When they pulled away from each other, the young girl
gasped just slightly, staring into the face of the boy who was on the poster in
her bedroom. Panic trapped Ian in place for just a moment before he shoved his
hat on his head and grabbed the keys out of Megan’s hand. “I’ll go start the
car. You pay for the gas.”
Megan and the girl stared each
other down, both with their eyes narrowed at one another, daring the other to
move first. Megan looked away and casually walked over to the counter with the
Diet Coke she had in her hand and placed it where the girl could scan it along
with the gasoline that had just filled up the black car at pump three. Megan
wished she had $45 worth of cash in her purse, but instead pulled out her debit
card and looked up at the cashier. The young girl smiled just slightly and
reached for the card. Megan swiped it quickly on the pin pad and punched in her
four-digit pin number. She panicked again when she realized that the receipt
that printed would say her full name on it. Sure enough, the clerk grabbed the
receipt and looked down at it, confirming what she already knew.
“Thank you for coming in
today…Megan,” the girl stated in her most professional sounding voice. Megan
grabbed the receipt from the girl and quickly turned to walk away. As she did,
she heard the cashier mumble. “Luckiest girl in the world.”
Megan didn’t turn around as she
pushed the door open and listened as the hanging bells chimed to announce a
customer coming or going. She almost ran out to the car and climbed in.
“Crap!” Megan exclaimed to her new
husband as they pulled out of the parking lot.
“We need to get out of northern
Michigan immediately,” Ian said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and
dialing his agent’s number. “Jeremy, I need you to find me the nearest airport
and charter us a jet, now!”
The young girl pulled her cell
phone out of her pocket as well, but used it to pull up the internet where she
found the website of none other than Stacy Smith. She scrolled to the bottom to
find contact information for the blogger and typed in a quick message.
I
have information you’d be interested in, she typed. Please call me, typed her phone number and hit send.
Excited to read more? What's your opinion? -Julie L. Spencer
Want to read part of Ian's proposal? Click here: Buxton Peak by Julie L. Spencer - Wanna Marry Me?
Want to read a draft of the back cover to Buxton Peak? Click here: Buxton Peak by Julie L. Spencer - Back Cover
Read excerpts from my other novels here!
All of my novels fall into the New Adult Contemporary Christian genre. What is that? Click here!
Want to purchase my first novel, The Cove?The Cove?
Excited to read more? What's your opinion? -Julie L. Spencer
Want to read part of Ian's proposal? Click here: Buxton Peak by Julie L. Spencer - Wanna Marry Me?
Want to read a draft of the back cover to Buxton Peak? Click here: Buxton Peak by Julie L. Spencer - Back Cover
Read excerpts from my other novels here!
All of my novels fall into the New Adult Contemporary Christian genre. What is that? Click here!
Want to purchase my first novel, The Cove?The Cove?
Click here!