Chapter Four

Kate jumped out of the truck and raced to the back. She stopped short and stared open-mouthed at the elderly woman sitting on her back bumper, dressed entirely in purple and looking as if she’d stepped out of the pages of Alice in Wonderland.

Kate closed her eyes for a moment, trying to decide whether the apparition was real or a figment of her imagination. The woman, who had to be in her eighties, wore a mink cape, which had seen better days, over a lavender pencil dress with a square neckline, accented with a string of pearls. On her head she wore a large red felt hat with a wild purple plume. She held a cane made of some kind of exotic wood. Satin high-heeled pumps that matched her dress completed the ensemble. Her small arthritic hand rested atop the cane sporting three expensive-looking rings.

She looked up and smiled at Kate. “Hello, dear,” she said with a distinct British accent that brought royalty to mind.

“Are you okay?” Kate’s common sense finally returned with the decline of her heart rate. Recognition dawned. She must be one of those Red Hat ladies. Kate had often seen the ladies congregate at restaurants in San Antonio, but to her knowledge, there were no active groups in Copper Mill.

The woman waved her hand. “I’m fine. I hope you don’t mind my resting here for a moment. I’ve been out walking, and I’m rather tired.”

“I was afraid I’d hit you.” Kate glanced around. They lived near Copper Mill Creek, not far from downtown, and it wasn’t unusual for people to walk out this way. But an elderly woman in heels using a cane? “What are you doing way out here?”

She smiled. “I’m on my way to tea.”

“Tea?” Kate still felt as if she was experiencing some kind of crazy dream sequence. “Where are you heading?”

The woman waved in the direction of the house. Kate frowned and then realized that she probably meant the Hamilton Springs Hotel, which was beyond the woods behind their house. The hotel housed a popular four-star restaurant. “You mean the Bristol?”

“Bristol.” The woman’s clear blue eyes brightened. “Yes.”

Kate frowned. “That’s quite a ways. Would you like a ride?”

As soon as the words escaped, Kate had to retract them. She could just see herself trying to hoist the older woman up into the cab of Paul’s truck. She barely managed to step that high herself. “I could get my car and—”

“That won’t be necessary, dear. Lovely day for a walk, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but—”

The lady straightened her hat, stood, gave Kate a royal wave, and began walking away.

Kate climbed back into the cab and thought about going to the church to switch cars, but by the time she got the stubborn truck started, the woman had reached the intersection of Smoky Mountain and Mountain Laurel. Though Kate felt compelled to help, Red Hat Lady seemed to be doing just fine on her own.

Kate didn’t know what to make of the woman. Where had she come from? Kate had never seen her before but thought she could be new in town. She didn’t appear confused exactly, but she did seem a few ants short of a picnic. Of course, some of the Red Hat ladies she’d met loved playing up their eccentric roles.

Though Kate didn’t want to involve herself where she wasn’t wanted, she couldn’t help being concerned. Maybe she could follow the woman to make certain she got to the hotel all right. It was a good plan, but by the time Kate reached the intersection, the woman was gone. She couldn’t have made it to the Bristol that quickly.

Kate looked up and down the streets, finally satisfying her curiosity by imagining that a friend had picked her up and transported her the rest of the way.

“Lord, please take care of her,” Kate whispered as she drove through the intersection and continued on Smoky Mountain Road toward the church.