Chapter One

Tell me again why we’re dining here today?” Kate Hanlon asked as her husband, Paul, parked their Honda Accord in the lot of the Hamilton Springs Hotel, a graceful brick structure in Copper Mill, Tennessee.

Sunday services had concluded at Faith Briar Church, Paul’s small charge in the little town. The couple now was headed to the Bristol, a restaurant nestled inside the hotel, where Paul had suggested they have lunch.

“No particular occasion,” Paul said as he turned off the car’s engine. He came around to open Kate’s door, and she stepped out, then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “Just a special meal with the most special woman I know.”

Kate offered her husband a warm smile as she briefly rested her head against his shoulder. “If you’re trying to soften me up for something, it’s working.”

Paul chuckled. “No ulterior motive, I promise.”

Warmth and contentment filled Kate as they walked toward the restaurant on the lovely autumn day. Her husband looked as handsome to her as he had nearly thirty years before when they’d married, though the crow’s-feet around his eyes proclaimed the passing of those years.

They entered the stately hotel and made their way to the four-star restaurant off to the left of the foyer.

Kate enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the Bristol, even though she was occasionally unsettled by the large mounted heads of elk and white-tailed deer that adorned the walls. The stone fireplace in the center of the room complemented the room’s woodwork and the high, exposed beams of the ceiling. Thick woven rugs lay on the gleaming floors. Large windows overlooked a nearby pond.

Almost immediately, Kate and Paul were directed to a table. As they crossed the room, they saw and greeted Steve Smith, owner of Smith Street Gifts. At the far end of the room, a flash of yellow caught Kate’s eye. She returned a wave from Emma Blount, proprietor of Emma’s Ice Cream Shop. Emma looked like a perky canary in her yellow outfit with its matching accessories. The beautiful fall weather must have been reason enough for some of the townsfolk to treat themselves to a fine lunch, Kate thought.

Approaching their table, Kate noticed a lone woman occupying the closest table. She wore a pretty teal skirt and jacket, and her short hair was artfully highlighted, with blonde streaks that allowed some gray to show through. Her thin face was pensive. Kate smiled as she passed. The woman’s face brightened, and she returned the smile.

Paul held out Kate’s chair and tucked it beneath Kate as she sat. Each of them accepted a menu from the hostess.

“Thank you,” Kate said.

“Hello, Hanlons,” chirped a perky, high-pitched voice.

Kate glanced up to see Violet Fleur, one of their older parishioners, passing the table. When the woman paused, Kate reached for her hand and said, “Hello, Violet. How are you doing?” Violet had been diagnosed with walking pneumonia not long ago, and Kate had visited her at home several times.

“I’m doing much, much better.” Violet nodded, beaming. “I wanted to thank you for the coffee cake you brought by last week. It was delicious.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Kate said. “It’s one of my favorite recipes.”

“It’s one of mine now too,” Violet said, and they all chuckled. “You enjoy your meal now.”

“We will,” Kate responded. “Have a pleasant day,” she added as Violet moved on.

Sensing attention on her, Kate turned her head. The woman next to her quickly glanced away when their gazes met. Then the waitress approached with glasses of water, and Kate turned her attention to the brunch selections.

Their table was covered with a spotless white tablecloth. In the center, a slender amber vase held a trio of bright wildflowers. Kate could see several turtles basking on a log that extended from the bank into the pond at one side.

“Look,” she said to Paul, smiling.

“Happy turtles.” Paul grinned.

“They had better enjoy it while they can,” Kate said. “I imagine they’ll soon be hibernating in the mud on the bottom of that pond. It’ll be months before they see the sun again.”

“Indeed,” Paul said. He was quiet for a moment. “Have you thought about when we can take a quick trip up to Philly to visit Andrew and the family?” Their eldest child, his wife, and two children lived in Pennsylvania.

Kate studied her husband’s wistful face. “We need to look at our schedules and see if there’s some time during the next few weeks when we could get away for a few days. Advent will be here before we know it, and we won’t be able to get away then.”

Paul nodded. “Sometimes I wish we lived in a simpler era when families lived their whole lives in the same communities. It would be nice to have our children closer.”

“I know.” Kate sometimes wished the same thing, particularly when one of her grandchildren participated in something special in Philadelphia or Atlanta that she was unable to attend.

“By the way,” Paul said, “last night I peeked into your workroom while you were in the kitchen making dinner. That lampshade you’ve been working on is beautiful.”

Since they had moved to Copper Mill, Kate had fostered her hobby of creating stained-glass works of art. The lampshade was for the nursery of a couple who had recently learned they were expecting their first child. Almost as soon as Kate had learned that the nursery was decorated in a theme of pastel-colored alphabet blocks, an idea for a coordinating lampshade had blossomed in her mind’s eye. She thought the vision had translated into reality extremely well, and she was glad to have Paul’s opinion reinforce hers.

“I am pleased with the way the building-block motif turned out,” she said.

“They’re going to love it,” Paul predicted. He set his menu aside as the server approached. “What sounds good to you today, Katie?”

“I might—Oh!” Kate’s reply was cut short as the woman at the next table lurched to her feet. She clutched her chest, her eyes wide and frightened as they fastened on Kate.

Kate half rose from her chair as the woman staggered two steps to the side. Reflex had Kate moving to catch her, but as the woman fell into Kate’s arms, her dead weight was too much for Kate to manage. The most Kate could do was go heavily down on her knees as the woman in her arms fell to the floor.

They jostled against the table as they went down, and Kate felt her hip bang painfully into the sharp edge at the corner. The ice water in Kate’s and Paul’s glasses spilled across the table, splashing onto the floor and covering Kate in tiny spatters.

She heard her husband shout, “Help!”

The quiet murmur of the other diners’ voices fell silent.

The waitress rushed to Kate’s side at the same time Paul rushed around the table. The crumpled form of the stranger lay awkwardly across Kate’s lap for a moment before Paul and the waitress gently shifted the woman to the floor.

Kate automatically tried to get to her feet, but Paul put his hands on her shoulders. “Just wait,” he said. “You may have been hurt when she fell on you. How do you feel?”

“Shaky,” Kate responded. “But I think I’m all right.”

They both looked at the woman on the floor. She was conscious, although she appeared dazed and disoriented, her hands fluttering feebly up to her chest. She fastened her gaze on Kate. Close-up, the woman looked to be approximately Kate’s own age, perhaps in her mid- to late fifties. Her hair was short and stylish, and it appeared she was letting the light brown gradually transform to silver with the help of the highlights Kate had noticed earlier.

She looked so frightened that it tore at Kate’s heart.

“Hurts,” she gasped.

“I know,” Kate soothed. The woman’s teal paisley skirt was rumpled around her, and Kate smoothed it modestly down over her knees. “Try to stay calm. We’re going to get help for you.” She took one of the woman’s hands in hers, unobtrusively placing her fingers over the pulse point in the fragile wrist. It was reassuring to feel a strong, steady beat. Kate thought it seemed a bit fast, but she certainly preferred that to the alternative.

The waitress had grabbed several white cloth napkins and spread them over the puddles of water that threatened to soak both women. She knelt on the other side of the woman. “I’ve called 911,” she told Kate in a high, shaky voice.

“Thank you,” Kate said, giving the waitress a small smile before the young woman got up and moved away.

A second person, a middle-aged man, knelt beside Kate. “I’m a doctor. What’s the trouble?”

With a deep sense of relief and a quick mental Thank you, Lord, Kate moved aside to let the physician examine the fallen woman.

“I don’t know,” Kate told the man. “She just sort of staggered sideways, and when I tried to catch her, we both fell. She was clutching her chest.”

“Are you this woman’s family?” the doctor asked Kate.

Kate shook her head. “No. I was at the next table when she collapsed. She literally fell into my arms.”

Kate looked up at Paul as the doctor began examining the woman. Paul’s blue eyes were grave, but he gave her a reassuring smile. She returned her attention to the ill woman on the floor and the doctor beside her. A moment later, when she glanced up again, she saw her husband’s lips moving silently. She knew he was offering a prayer for the fallen woman.

The waitress came back with a warm blue blanket, which Kate helped the doctor spread over the woman. Then Kate began to slide away, knowing the doctor was more than capable, but the woman clutched frantically at her hand. “No! Don’t leave me. Please,” she added, “please stay with me.”

Kate patted the trembling hand that gripped hers. “Of course, I’ll stay. Now you just lie back and relax and let the doctor look at you.”

Wincing, Kate tried to shift her weight from her knees as the doctor bent over his patient.

“What’s your name?” he asked the woman gently.

“Emmaline Ash...Ashford,” she replied. She was still gripping her chest, but she seemed a little calmer than she had a few moments earlier. “Am I having a heart attack?”

“I’m not sure yet. Do you know if anyone in your family has a history of heart disease or heart problems?”

Emmaline shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“All right.” The doctor patted her hand. “The paramedics are on their way. They’ll bring you to the hospital and have you checked out,” he said. “Other than chest pain, you don’t have the symptoms of cardiac arrest. Your color is good, your pulse is a bit fast but steady, and you aren’t sweating.”

The woman gave a feeble nod and took a strained deep breath.

Kate heard the sound of sirens rapidly approaching. One good thing about this community, she reflected, was that the nearby hospital in Pine Ridge was first-rate.

The doctor looked at the way Kate was still kneeling uncomfortably on the floor. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Just a little bruised here and there.” Kate didn’t mention the slight pain she felt in her arthritic knee, knowing it would feel fine soon enough and that the doctor’s attention should remain on Emmaline.

The doctor looked back down at Emmaline. “Is there someone we can call for you?”

Emmaline bit her lip. Tears filled her eyes, and she whispered, “No. No one.”

Minutes later, two men and a woman in blue jumpsuits emblazoned with the medical logo of the Pine Ridge emergency-services division entered the room briskly. They carried a stretcher and a medical kit.

Kate realized she had not even gotten the doctor’s name as the man moved back and stood up.

She began to shift back as well, intending to get to her feet and introduce herself, but Emmaline kept a surprisingly strong grip on Kate’s hand.

“You said you wouldn’t leave me.” It was a pitiful statement, delivered as though the woman didn’t really believe Kate.

Kate immediately sank back down. “I won’t be able to ride in the ambulance with you,” she told the woman. “But I promise I’ll follow you to the hospital. My name is Kate. Kate Hanlon.”

“You’ll have to move away, ma’am.” One of the EMTs shifted the stretcher to Emmaline’s side. “We’ll be taking her to the ER in Pine Ridge.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Kate promised.

Emmaline nodded, her wide gray eyes apprehensive as she was carefully lifted onto the stretcher and wheeled away.