Chapter 18

The gold and scarlet dawn awakened Hailey just after six o’clock as it danced through white eyelet curtains and onto the matching down coverlet on her bed. She stretched, sat up, then laid back against the pillow, smiling to herself. Her dreams had been laced with images of Cody, but one stood out more vividly than the rest. Closing her eyes, shecould still picture him, bare chested, sitting astride a wild mustang with fiery eyes, flying toward her, black hair feathered in the wind. The horse stopped in front of her, snorting and pawing the ground impatiently as Cody bent down and offered her his hand—and then she had woken up.

She stepped into khaki shorts, then slipped on a loose-fitting olive green sweater over a sleeveless white top. Cody had advised her to dress in layers; though the morning air was crisp and cool, by afternoon the temperature would be in the upper eighties. She taped cotton balls to her heels and eased into socks and boots.

She had just finished putting on a touch of green eye shadow and coral lipstick when room service brought the black coffee she had ordered. She moved the twig rocker and end table over to the wide east window. Settling back into the chair, she thumbed through her Bible, searching for the scripture Cody had shared with her a few days after the wedding. She found Psalms and skimmed until she came to the thirtieth. The last part of verse five read: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

She thought of her sister’s tears when she had told her about Randy and the abortion. Karlee had grieved with her, holding her in her arms as Hailey had cried again. Hailey’s eyes smarted as she thought of the judgment she had expected but never found.

She had talked on the phone for over an hour to Cody’s friend who worked at the crisis pregnancy center, and she’d discovered that they shared similar stories. The talk had been healing, and she felt ready to join the post-abortion support group.

She remembered standing in her father’s hospital room less than nine months earlier, feeling skeptical as Karlee had prayed for him. How much things have changed, Lord. You were there through it all, through all the pain and fear. I didn’t see You then, but now I see Your hand in everything. She stared out the window. The colors were leaving the sky, being replaced by a clear, cloudless span of cobalt blue. “Joy cometh in the morning.” Thank You, Jesus.

Looking at her watch, Hailey took a last sip of her coffee. She pulled her hair back in a wide gold barrette, then put on the new earrings Cody had given her. She turned her head back and forth as the sunlight picked up the glow of copper. The blue stones didn’t go with her green sweater, but as Cody had pointed out, they did match her eyes.

A knock on the door called her attention away from the mirror.

“Who is it?”

“Room service.” It was Cody’s voice.

“What did I order?”

“One order of charm and good looks.”

Hailey slowly opened the door and peered around it, whispering, “I already have one, thank you.”

Cody stood with his hands on the door frame as he had in David’s pantry, but this time she savored the feeling of being trapped by him. He seemed to move in slow motion as he bent down and kissed her softly. “Now, Little Foot,” he said hoarsely, “let’s get downstairs. I’m starving.” The expression in his eyes gave his words a double meaning.

Hailey took inventory of the large dining room as she picked up a tray and stood in front of Cody in the buffet line. The tables were pine, polished till they gleamed like glass. They were grouped in concentric half circles around a massive stone fireplace. One side wall was lined with French doors that lead to a patio with umbrella-shaded tables and a flower garden that, though carefully tended, still had a wild, random look about it. The other two walls were covered with mounted trophies: moose, elk, and deer heads and antlers of various sizes. A bear rug hung above the fireplace, and another lay in front of the hearth.

“I feel like I’m being watched,” Hailey said.

“Just be thankful you’re not a hunter. At least their thoughts of you are only pleasant ones!” He nodded toward the patio. “Think it’s warm enough to sit outside?”

“Anything to get away from these eyes!” She laughed.

The patio was terraced into the hillside, overlooking the main street of the little town. They found a table secluded by trees but with a view of the store-fronts below. As they sat down, Hailey picked up a yellow flyer that was tucked between the salt and pepper shakers. “This looks like fun,” she said.

Cody glanced at it. “Yeah, but it’s not on the agenda.”

“Rrrr! Ever heard of spontaneity?”

“Never.” He winked, then raised his eyebrows at her plate, barely visible beneath a mushroom and cheese omelet, two pieces of French toast, and Canadian bacon. He thought of how she had only nibbled at a plate of fruit the first day he had met her. “Looks like mountain air agrees with you!”

“I have to keep up my strength to keep up with you!”

Cody prayed and then gave his full concentration to buttering a stack of blueberry pancakes. Hailey picked up her fork, then stopped to look down at the street. “You can see your shop from here! Has the town changed much since you were little?”

Cody nodded, then swallowed and answered her. “It’s not much bigger, but it’s certainly changed. This lodge is only about ten years old.”

Hailey took a bite of her omelet and looked up at him. There was a tenseness in his face that hadn’t been there the night before. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yes—and no. I slept like a log until about four. I was having some pretty wild dreams. I guess that’s what woke me up. I didn’t sleep too much after that—I’d forgotten just how loud Dad snores.”

Hailey thought about telling him her dream, but she quickly changed her mind. “Where is Robert? I thought he’d be down here waiting for us.”

Cody rolled his eyes as he chewed another bite, then swallowed with a loud gulp. “Are we playing twenty questions again? I thought we’d just sit here and enjoy the morning together, listening to the nuthatches and smelling the honeysuckle.”

Hailey laughed, waving her finger in front of him. “No, no. We’ve been over this already: I talk. Case closed. So where’s Robert?”

Cody smiled, grabbed her finger in midair, and kissed it. “He’s jogging. We’ll meet him for lunch. Now can I finish eating?”

“No one’s stopping you. If a few little questions are going to interfere with your meal, then I think you’d better start eating alone. You know studies have proven that pleasant conversation actually improves diges—”

She stared down at the street with her mouth open. “Hailey?”

“Cody!” she whispered. “Look, coming out of the bookstore. It’s him, one of the guys Halona saw in the shop.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, the salt-and-pepper beard, wire-rimmed glasses, and the cane—look at the cane!”

“What about it?”

“The silver handle! Weren’t you listening?”

Cody shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure. . .we should call the sheriff.”

But she was already at the top of the steps that led down to the street, motioning for him to follow. “I lost him!” she cried, flying down the steps. She was already across the street in the bookstore, speaking to the teenage clerk, by the time Cody caught up with her.

“Yes, the one in the beard, with the cane. I thought I recognized him. Did he mention his name?”

“No.”

“Did he buy anything? Maybe his name was on his check or credit card.”

“He bought two books, but he paid in cash.” The girl twirled her long black hair around her finger.

“Oh.” Hailey pouted, and Cody looked at her with raised eyebrows. “I’ve been hoping to run into him. To be so close and miss him! Did he happen to mention where he was staying?”

The girl, perplexed, shook her head and looked from Hailey up to Cody. Hesitantly, she said, “He did ask where he could get a propane tank filled.”

Hailey’s eyes lit up. “What did you tell him?”

“The gas station on the next corner has—”

Hailey was already at the door. Reflecting the confused look on the clerk’s face, Cody thanked her and followed Hailey.

Out in front, she was scanning the street, staring down toward the corner. Cody thrust his hands deep into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Well, Miss Austin, I think you missed your calling. The FBI needs you.”

She grabbed his hand with an exasperated sigh. “Cody! Don’t you know what this means? We have to get the car! He could lead us to the paintings!”

“What we have to do is call the—” He stopped.

“What is it?”

He motioned for her to turn around. They could hear the slam of the trunk from where they stood. Less than a block away, the man stood behind a late-model, two-door maroon Chevy. He held a white propane tank in one hand and a cane in the other.

Hailey handed her purse to Cody. “Get the Jeep, but hide behind the gas station,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” Cody pulled a pen from his pocket. “Write down the license number—and don’t get too close!” He was running across the street as he finished the sentence.

Hailey tried to consciously slow her steps as she walked down the sidewalk, pretending to window-shop. When she got close enough to read the number on the license plate, she wrote it down on the palm of her hand, then continued walking slowly past the car and toward the gas station. Before she reached the corner, the man came out of the station, empty-handed except for the cane in his right hand. Hailey took two wide steps to the curb.

The man walked slowly, limping and leaning heavily on his cane, his eyes darting back and forth as he came closer. Hailey’s heart was pounding in her throat. She had to stall him.

Pointing to the red clapboard depot a block away, she said, “Excuse me, do you know what time the next train comes through?” It was an inane question, but it would do.

“Sorry, I’m not a local.” He smiled, and Hailey thought of Halona’s first impression. It was a sad smile, strangely haunting, but she didn’t know why. She was about to ask him another question when she heard a car horn from behind the gas station. The Jeep was across the side street in front of the gas station.

“Thank you anyway; it looks like I’ve got a ride,” she said. He nodded and walked toward his car.

“What were you thinking?” Cody greeted her when she jumped into the car. “You don’t stand on the corner and chitchat with a criminal!”

She shot him an angry look. “Follow him!”

“Okay. But from a distance. And only if you promise to behave yourself.”

She smiled coyly and crossed the fingers of both hands so that he could see them. “I promise. Now step on it!”