Eye of the Beholder

shambles. And then there's young Nathan to worry about."
    "Do you think that Trask will be able to handle things?" Vivien asked uneasily. "He's only twenty-three years old."
    "He'll be okay." Lloyd raised his bushy gray brows. "But I'll contact the lawyer who's handling Harry's estate in the morning and see what I can do about arranging some financial assistance."
    Alexa hugged herself and listened to the pickup roar off into the night. "Trask won't take your money, Lloyd."
    "After he calms down and realizes what he's up against, he'll see that it's the only reasonable thing to do," Lloyd said.
    "No." Alexa thought about the savage determination that had blazed in Trask's eyes. "He won't accept any help from you or anyone else."
    "Thank heavens he's gone," Vivien whispered. "I don't mind telling you that he scared me."
    "Once young Trask is back in Seattle he'll settle down and get on with his life," Lloyd said.
    Alexa stared at him. In the short time she had known him, she had learned that he was usually quite accurate when it came to judging people. She was amazed by his failure to comprehend the obvious.
    "You're wrong," she said. "He's gone for now. But he'll come back someday."

1

    Seattle , Washington The present. . .

    "Damn it, this isn't about opening another hotel, JL, it's about your obsession with revenge." Nathan planted his hands on the polished glass surface of the desk and scowled at Trask through the lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses. "This is about what happened to Dad all those years ago. Admit it."
    "For the last time, I'm going to Avalon on company business." Trask leaned back in the gray leather chair and steepled his fingers. "I thought I'd made that clear."
    Only Nathan still called him by the initials, JL. To the rest of the company and the world he was simply Trask, president and CEO of Avalon Resorts, Inc. It had been that way for five years, ever since he had left his position with Carrington-Towne Hotels to go out on his own.
    "I don't like it" Nathan shoved himself away from the desk and thrust his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He stalked to the window and stared moodily out at the soft rain that drizzled over Seattle . "You've been obsessed with that property down in Arizona ever since you managed to buy it from Carrington-Towne two years ago."
    "I'm focused on it, not obsessed with it. There's a difference."
    "There sure as hell is, and take it from me, your attitude toward this project definitely comes under the heading of obsession. There was no good reason for us to acquire the old Avalon Mansion in the first place."
    "Yes, there was," Trask said. "It was a steal." Nathan snorted. "Only because it's been a financial disaster for every hotel and resort development company that has ever tried to do anything with it. Dad wasn't the only one who went broke trying to make it work. Even Carrington-Towne decided it wasn't worth the cost of gutting the old mansion and turning it into a hotel."
    "It won't be a disaster for us," Trask said with absolute certainty. He was not the dreamer Harry had been, but he knew that he was very good at the hotel business. "Dad always said that Avalon would eventually become the next Sedona. He was right. He was twelve years ahead of his time, but he was right."
    Nathan raised his eyes to the ceiling, apparently seeking patience from on high. "I'm not arguing the point. And I'm not saying that the new resort won't fly. Unlike Dad, you can make it work."
    "Damn right, I can make it work." Trask felt no particular obligation to be modest about what was a simple, incontrovertible fact, "I may not be the creative type, but I know a good fantasy when I see one. And that's what we're in the business of selling. Fantasy."
    Avalon, Arizona, with its surreal landscape of sculpted red rocks, mysterious sandstone canyons, and shatteringly spectacular sunsets, had caught the attention of artists, writers, retirees, and the New Age crowd several years ago.
    A handful of small inns and bed-and-breakfasts as well as a trendy metaphysical retreat called the Dimensions Institute had operated successfully for several years in Avalon. The new Avalon Resort & Spa, however, would be the first large, world-class hotel designed to attract the increasing number of tourists who had begun to discover the region.
    "Avalon is going to be very hot in the next few years." Trask watched the cold rain come down outside the window and thought of the heat of that Arizona night