With a soft sigh, Emily let her eyes wander past Billy for a moment, looking out past the tree line. She'd managed to keep it from Alucard for quite some time, but if things didn't start improving, she wasn't going to be able to hide it from friends much longer. And the very last thing in the world she wanted was for Gavin to come back and find her in any kind of trouble. Might as well rip the band-aid off now.

"It's not that I haven't been eating so much as I can't keep anything down. I can barely keep water down. I could eat all I want, but within an hour...well...it's not very nice table conversation."

She glanced at her untouched lunch plate.

"Suzanne thinks I've just stopped eating, but I'm frankly tired of trying. She's sweet to be concerned; but the truth of it is that I just don't know what's going on. I'm a nurse and I'm baffled."

Looking up to Billy, she saw the concern immediately start to fill his eyes. Emily shook her head.

"Now don't you go getting all worried. I'll figure it out, and if I can't, I'll talk to a doctor around here...if I can find one I trust. It'll be fine. Probably just something about the change in altitude or something silly like that."

Billy nodded. After all, Emily knew way more about this sort of thing than he did.

"Well, then let's avoid poor table conversation and head up to the construction site. I'm not going to be rude and eat in front of you."

He stood up then and threw his jacket back on.

"I would offer to drive, but I have no idea where I'm going, so I think I'll have to leave that one up to you."

He smiled and started to make his way back inside.

It was a short drive over the from Teverton Ridge to the site where the spa was being built. Emily's driver waited patiently in the car as the two got out. 

Smiling like a proud Mama, Emily walked Billy around the site. The building was mostly foundation and frame at this point, but the builders moved with a marked skill and speed. They walked the floors, with Emily pointing out which room was what. The closer they walked toward the center of the building, the more the cool air began to warm, and the smell of mineral waters became stronger. Finally, they came to the large, open area where the hot springs were sunk into the rocky mountainside 

"Here's the draw of the whole thing. From what I have been able to research, these hot springs have been here for centuries. They were used by local native tribes for healing, and some accounts of the springs were mentioned by famous explorers in the 1700s. The history of this place is so rich and interesting. It's truly delightful."

Carefully, Emily slipped out of her shoes and stepped to a place where one of the rocks gently sloped down into the water. A wooden hand rail had been constructed, and she held onto it while stepping ankle-deep into the water.

Billy nodded and stood by the dies of the pool Em had gotten into.

"Is this all going to be indoors? It would look real nice with an open skylight here, only trouble with that is, it rains all the time here right? Maybe have a glass ceiling that tapers down slightly and then doesn't quite connect with the rest of the roof. Give it the space to vent the hot air from the springs out. You might get a little bit of rain, and you'll definitely get some condensation coming down. That might give it a good feeling though if you can manage to taper it in one direction and have it a relatively steady thing, like a rainfall sort of thing."

He looked up to the sky and then remembered where they were before sitting on the ground next the the pool and reaching a hand into the warm water.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have to worry about the snow on the open spot either, the steam will melt it if there's a way for the steam to get out, so no worries there. It's a great spot Em, and a damned good idea."

He pulled his hand out and shook off the water.

"So, how long until this is all finished up you think? I'm not going to lie, I'm sort of anxious to see it now."

"They keep telling me it'll be done by the end of next month, right down to the interior decoration and furniture. So far, they've given me no reason to doubt them." 

Emily turned, hearing footsteps nearing them. It was Bill Sellars, the general contractor. With a bright smile, Emily stepped back out of the water as the man approached. He was nearly as tall as Billy, and large, but not so much in the way of muscle. Still, he has a kind face and the hands of a man who knows what an honest day's work is.

"Miss Renfroe! Happy to see you stop by this afternoon. We're just about ready to start running the copper wire and plumbing."

He glanced at the man with Emily and quickly stuck out a hand to shake his, a friendly smile accompanying. 

"Bill Sellars, Miss Renfroe's contractor and foreman."

Emily touched Billy's arm. 

"Would you please explain to Bill what you just told me? The idea about the tapered roof? I think I like that better than what we had in the plans." 

Billy nodded and smiled to the man.

"Hey Bill. I'm Billy. Nice to meet you. I was just thinking about the hot spring here. If it's going to be in-doors why not take advantage you know? Maybe put in a glass roof right above it, but taper it down the side so that the condensation rolls off to one part of the hot spring. Judging by the output of steam, you should be able to get a decent fall of water, you might want to pump an extra hot water line up there too and just turn it on ever so slightly and give it a sort of rainfall effect. Won't have to worry about the snow or anything on the glass cause that will stay nice and warm from the steam, and you can make sure the glass doesn't quite meet with the roof if you want so you can vent the place a bit."

He shrugged.

"That was just a thought I had though. I'm sure you've got ideas in your head about what to do here. I don't want to get in your business. I'm a developer myself, so I understand what kind of crap making a change like this so deep into a project might cause. Of course, I can pay your guys for the overtime, and I'm sure some of them would like the extra bit in their paycheck."

He patted the man on the back.

"Not to mention the bonus for the foreman and the General Contractor."

He smiled and winked to Emily then and mouthed the words 'I'll take care of it.' 

Suddenly and visibly flustered, Bill went wide-eyed. 

"You're Billy Mastrosimone! I got a cousin in Detroit that did some work for you out in Detroit back about six years ago. Said you're a real stand up guy. It's a pleasure to meet you. A real pleasure. And don't you worry, we'll look into that right away. I think that could be real neat."

After the three chatted a bit more, Emily and Billy headed back to the car. Once they were settled into the back and the car was rolling away, Emily asked a she looked out the window. 

"So things in Detroit are going well, then?"

She had purposefully avoided much talk about Detroit, but her curiosity over ran her anxiety for the moment. 

Billy shrugged as he looked toward his friend.

"Could be worse. It's more of a pain in the ass than anything. Just trying to get everything back in order and running right. Now, on top of my stuff, I've got my wife's stuff to think about. She's got a load of businesses, but she barely pays attention to em. It's fine, it's not like they are losing money or anything, but I'm thinking there's at least one, 'if the cat's away the mice will play' sort of thing going on. So I'm looking into them too."

He sighed.

"I might need to take a trip out to the spa myself when it's finished."

He chuckled and tapped at the window.

"So how's Seattle treating you? You seem, more secluded, alone almost, than you would be other places. I'm sorry we took you out of Vegas now."

He frowned.

"Oh, Billy, you can't blame yourself for that. Even if the takedown hadn't happened, I don't think I could have stayed after the attack. Vegas was great, but I think I've lived the glitz and glamor life enough. I like the quiet. And I wouldn't say I'm alone. I see the girls several times a week, and I'm always working on something. When Gavin returns from Europe, I think he'll visit fairly frequently. At least I hope he does."

She cracked a crooked little smile. 

​​​​​​"Though I wouldn't dream of keeping him away from you all, he and I have some quality time to make up."