FIVE

 

 

August 3rd, 2018

Boise, Idaho

 

THE FIRST HOUR with Sophie was like a dream.

A wonderful dream.

She had to be the most beautiful and alluring woman he had ever met. And when she had taken off that large, floppy-brimmed sunhat when she sat down in the meeting, he had almost melted. He had been attracted to his share of women over the years, and had been in lust with a lot more.

But never had he felt such sudden attraction and lust at the same time with another person, let alone another historian and professor. Before today he would have bet that wasn’t even possible.

As Director Parks had gone up the stairs, she had asked him if he minded a half-mile walk along the river in the warm afternoon sun.

“Might clear my head some,” he said, laughing.

She had indicated that he grab his shoulder bag and follow her.

She led him out the back of the old Victorian Mansion and down past three other buildings. The entire complex was shaded by massive old oak and cottonwood trees, giving it all a sense of privacy and protection.

“Those used to be the stables,” she said as they went by the first two, “but now they house cars we can use if we want. I’ve never really checked one out, since I like walking everywhere. But I’ll show you how later.”

He nodded. After living in LA for so long, he found it hard to imagine living without a car. And in Boulder you pretty much needed one all the time as well.

In LA he had parked at the airport his BMW convertible. He was going to need to head back down there and either park it somewhere or bring it up here. He would decide that later.

The warmth of the sunny afternoon felt good, slightly cooler than what he was used to. Sophie had put her hat back on the moment they stepped outside, laughing at how her fair skin didn’t do well without lotion in the sun.

He didn’t say anything, but he found her skin frighteningly alluring, so much so that it was everything he could do to just not touch her hand at times as they walked.

The path beside the river wound along in the shade through tall poplar and oak and cottonwood trees.

About two blocks down from the institute, the river path ran into a street and they crossed over the bridge and took the tunnel on the other side under the road to continue to follow along the river.

“What is all that?” he asked, trying to make sense out of the hordes of people floating past, many of them sitting in inner tubes. He didn’t even know inner tubes were still made.

“That,” Sophie said, “is one of the many wonderful charms about this city. Seems like a summer pastime for vast numbers of people here is to float the Boise River from about six miles upstream to a park just down from us.”

The more he stared at the people going past, the more he liked the idea, especially if the river was as clean and cool as it looked.

“You ever done it?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Only been here since May and haven’t had a chance to yet. But it sure looks like fun, doesn’t it? I like to sit here on the grass and just watch them float by. Gives me time to think.”

“It does look like fun,” he said.

At that moment, he came out of his shock from the meeting and realized how little he knew about this person walking beside him. In fact, he knew nothing about her at all besides her name.

Nothing.

They walked for a moment in silence before he asked, “Were you on the committee that approved my application?”

She laughed, the sound high and soft, like it belonged in the grass and trees around them.

“I was the last person accepted here before you,” she said. “They surprised me in the same way and it was Director Parks’ secretary that showed me around. I’m guessing the director thought that since I was new at this as well, it would help you figure out stuff quicker.”

“So you know as little about me as I do about you?”

“Yup,” she said. Then she shrugged. “And not much more about the institute, actually. Got a hunch both of us are going to be asking questions when I realize how much I really don’t know yet about this place.”

He laughed. “So how about we start with the important stuff in the getting to know each other area. What are you researching?”

She laughed as well. “Family, mostly women’s lives in the Old West, specifically the women living in the old mining towns. How about you?”

He was shocked at that. The director had been right. Their areas of research were very close.

“I’m trying to research and dig up what medical records that exist about the health of the people living and working in the old mining towns.”

She looked up at him from under her floppy hat. He could tell she was surprised as well.

And he decided right there he hoped to spend hours staring into those dark eyes to find out what was behind them.

“I ran across some old medical diaries from a mining town called Stibnite last week,” she said. “Glad to show you how to get to them.”

“Fantastic,” he said. “Thanks. Director Parks was right about our areas of research. They really are close.”

She laughed. “Some day I just hope to meet Dawn Edwards, since both of us are clearly jumping off the fantastic work she has done.”

Just the sound of that name made Wade jerk a little. Dawn Edwards had done some of the most definitive books on the people and lives of the people in old mining towns that had ever been written.

“Is she around here?” Wade asked.

“I think she is at times,” Sophie said. “But again, haven’t had enough time to dig into that. Just hoping is all. I wouldn’t actually recognize her if she walked past us right now.”

“With that I agree,” Wade said. “But it would be an honor to shake her hand and tell her how much I loved her books at some point.”

“It would at that,” Sophie said.