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“OH, YOU’VE GOT IT BAD,” Gramps said with a knowing grin, shoving some scrambled eggs in his mouth.
“What?” she asked, letting her fingers fall from the small pottery vase.
He grinned at her and gestured to the vase with his fork. “You keep staring at those flowers as if it was Chase himself at our table.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tried, even as she smiled. “Okay, yeah,” she relented. “I have it bad.”
“He’s a good kid. A fine young man. You could do worse.” He shoved a bite of eggs in his mouth.
“There’s a ringing endorsement, Gramps. ‘You could do worse’?”
“You know I love those boys almost as much as I love you,” he said. He set down his fork and covered her hand with his. “But I’ve always thought that no one could ever be quite enough for my Adi girl.”
She smiled back at him. “That’s sweet, Gramps.”
He took another bite. “So, did he declare himself last night on your walk?”
“How’d you know we took a walk?”
“Well, I can’t be asleep all the time, right? I have cancer, but I’m not dead yet.”
She shook her head, half-amused, half-irritated by his cavalier words. But she figured this was just going to be his way....dealing with a death sentence with a little bit of humor. “Yeah. He declared himself. We both did.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Gramps said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and sitting back in his chair, arms folded. “Took you two long enough.”
“Yeah. That’s what we both think now, too.”
He waved in the air. “Ach. Sometimes we don’t take the simplest route. But eventually we find where we’re supposed to get to in time.”
She nodded. Then, studying the flowers again, she pulled out her phone. Good morning, she texted to Chase. I forgot to say thanks last night.
Good morning, came the return. For my fabulous kiss?
For the flowers you left me yesterday morning, she typed, grinning as she did so. That was really sweet of you. So much better than roses...
He didn’t reply for a while. All she saw was the scrolling ellipsis, indicating he’d started to respond but then stopped. Then it came through at last. Adi, I didn’t leave you flowers, it said. Who do you think did?
She felt the blood drain from her face. No. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. Or it was a coincidence. It had to be.
“What?” Gramps asked. “Adi girl, what’s happened?”
“Gr-Gramps,” she said, rising and pacing. She wrapped her arms around herself. Went to the door and locked it. She knew it was silly. She was overreacting.
“Adi,” he said, rising on weak legs but then gripping her shoulders with surprisingly firm hands, stilling her. Forcing her to look at him. “What is it?”
“Those flowers...” she said, glancing at them. “Do you know who left them for me?”
He frowned. “It wasn’t Chase?”
“No.” She lifted her phone. “He just told me.”
The phone was ringing then. Chase.
“Hi,” she said, not sure of what else to say.
“Adi,” he said, the line cutting out periodically as he continued. “Did you...hear me?”
“No, Chase,” she said. “You’re cutting out.”
“...probably Bea or someone. But...precautions,” came his partial words.
“Yes, you’re right,” she said. “I will. Can you...can you come back soon?”
“...or two days,” he said, regret evident in his voice. “It’s bad, really bad here. This guy, he...”
She sighed in frustration. But she understood. He was dealing with his own crisis. “Listen, Chase. Do what you need to do. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“...his .44?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get it. I’ll keep it nearby.”
“I’ll be home...as I can.”
“Thanks, Chase.” She forced a laugh. “I’m probably just being paranoid.”
“In this case, Adi girl,” he said, the line suddenly clear, “I’d rather you take precautions. Just in case. Have you noticed anyone around? Anyone odd?”
She thought back. No one was around, really, other than the Rollinses. Gramps. The rangers and locals in Apgar. People were coming and going at their cabin complex, new people every day.
Except for Kenneth.
But Chase and Gramps didn’t need to worry about that. Gramps’s heart...She looked at him worriedly, watching her talk, face wan. “No, no one,” she said. “Listen, I’m going to go over to your brother’s and see if maybe Bea left them for me and Gramps. It’d be like her, right?”
“That’s true,” Chase said, his tight tone easing a bit. “You’re right. Go see her. We’ll both breathe a little easier if we find out that’s true. Then text me, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Chase. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Take care, Adi.”
She clicked the red button, ending their call, and then moved over to the drawer she knew contained the .44.
Ken was just a weirdling. A lonely nerd, she thought, returning to her previous thoughts. Only trying to connect in his own, awkward way.
But then, wasn’t that exactly the kind of guy who ended up being a stalker?
She stared at the drawer, wanting to resist the fear that threatened to overtake her. Not since she had stood in her apartment, knowing the stalker had been there, had she felt so weak in the knees.
“Go on,” Gramps said, “take it out. You should have it with you.”
“No,” she said, taking a deep breath and moving to the kitchen door and unlocking it. “I’m just going over to Bea’s. Chase and I think she might’ve left the flowers for me.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said.
For the first time, she fully looked at him. And he really did look as ghastly as she felt. “Gramps,” she said, moving to grab his elbow even as he faltered. “Here, sit,” she said, and he fairly fell into the chair. She went to grab a glass and filled it with water for him. “Breathe, Gramps. Breathe. It’s okay.”
“If anything happened to you, Adi girl,” he began, his lips trembling. His eyes filled with tears.
She sank into the neighboring seat and held his hand. “I’m okay. It’ll be okay. Now all this excitement isn’t good for your heart. Come. Let’s get you into bed for a rest.”
“You’ll take the .44 with you?” he asked anxiously, as she helped him stand.
“Yes,” she said. “You rest. I’ll go see Bea and come straight back.”
“All right,” he said. “It will be good if we find out it was just that girl all along.”
“Yes,” she said, helping him to the edge of his bed, then when he seemed to struggle, lifting his legs atop it. “I’m sorry to stress you out so much.”
“It can’t be half what your beau across the mountains is feeling,” he said, giving her a conspiratorial little smile.
“Yeah, right,” she said. She pulled a blanket across him, then bent to kiss him. “You rest. I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
He smiled and then pulled off his glasses, closed his weary eyes and rubbed them.
She eased out of the room, went to the kitchen, paused at the drawer and then thought, No. I’m not going to give in to fear. Wasn’t that like letting the stalker win, in a way?
She grabbed the ring of cabin keys, found the main cabin’s and locked it behind her. Then, glancing around, she breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see another person in sight. Still, as she walked, she placed a key between each of her knuckles. She’d read, once, that it was an excellent defense weapon.
In minutes, she was knocking on the boathouse cabin door, glancing over her shoulder, left, then right. Bea answered it.
“Hey, girl!” she enthused, giving her a quick hug. She pulled her inside. “I hear you have big things to tell me about last night. Big. Now prepare to dish.”
Adi smiled, finding a reprieve in thinking about Chase’s kisses and sweet words rather than a potential stalker. “I will. Soon, I promise. But I need to get back to Gramps. Bea, did you leave me a sweet little pottery vase yesterday, with wildflowers in it?”
Bea smiled in confusion at her. “Me? No.” She nudged her. “Sure it wasn’t Chase?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“No, it wasn’t,” Adi said. “Listen, I need to go check on something. If I’m not back in an hour, come check on me, okay?”
“Adi,” she said, following her to the door. “What’s up? You don’t think...”
“No, no,” Adalyn lied, backing away. “It’s probably nothing. Thanks. I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll come with you!” she called.
But then Logan was calling to her from the beach, gesturing for her to come down. It looked like he was trying to juggle three different sets of guests.
“You go! Your hubby needs you,” Adalyn said. “I’ll be fine.” She turned on her heel and strode back to their cabin. But as she reached the door, a van pulled up and out spilled a family of six—parents and four teens. The teenagers looked like they wanted to be anywhere but Glacier. Adalyn forced herself to wait, turning to greet them. After all, Gramps was in no shape to play the kind innkeeper at this point.
The dad smiled and reached out a hand. “Hi, we’re the Palmers. We saw your sign. Any chance you have room for us tonight? Maybe a couple of cabins?”
“I’m afraid all we have are our older cabins. They haven’t been renovated, but they have new bedding, at least. And we have a new shower complex. If you’re willing to rough it...”
“We’ll take them,” Mr. Palmer said. “For two nights. We were thinking we’d have to drive all the way to Kalispell every day. This will save us.”
“O.M.G.,” said one of the teen girls, stepping forward to stand beside her parents. “You are Adalyn! It’s Adalyn-freaking-Stalling,” she said to her sister.
“Uh...” Adi began.
“No way!” said the other girl. “She totally is! You are, right?”
The first was taking Adi’s picture with her phone. “It’s her!”
Adalyn frowned. “I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“Uhh, I don’t think so,” said the first, looking confused. “I’m a part of One Nation. Do you know that everybody in the whole world has been looking for you?”
Her parents frowned in confusion. “Girls,” Mrs. Palmer said. “You two are being kind of rude to this kind woman. How about—”
But the girls would not be dissuaded.
“This was the lake!” cried the second. “The lake where she took that picture she posted on Instagram!” For the first time, the teens seemed to think that this particular part of nature wasn’t bad at all.
“What are you doing here?” asked the first.
“Has Connor called you?” asked the second. “He totally has, right? I thought he was completely lame when he cut things off. He has to regret it.”
“Listen,” Adalyn said. It was clear she couldn’t lie her way out of this. She had been identified. She reached out a hand toward the first girl, who seemed poised to post a picture. “I really need your help, girls. If you keep the secret that you saw me here until September, I will tell you three things that nobody else knows about The One. An insider scoop. Your friends will think you’re amazing, finding it out. But,” she said, holding up a finger. “I really, really need you to not tell anyone where you saw me until this fall, when you get back to school. Because this,” she said, waving around, “is my refuge. From the paparazzi. And a place to heal my heart. If it gets out that I’m here, well, it would be awful. Can you help me keep my secret?”
The girls stared at her, considering her words. Her offer of insider secrets was clearly tantalizing, but was it enough to dissuade them from posting a photo-sure-to-go-viral?
“I will take a picture with both of you,” she said. “If you keep it under wraps until mid-September. What do you say?”
“They will do as you asked, Ms. Stalling,” the dad said, crossing his arms.
“Yes, they will,” the mother said, shooting both a menacing glance.
“But, Mom,” said the first girl. She lifted a hand toward Adi. “You don’t get it! This...this is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life.”
“Mine too!” cried the second.
“Still,” Mr. Palmer said. “She has asked you to keep a confidence. And you know what the right thing to do is, don’t you?”
Both heaved a sigh and nodded. The first then looked Adi in the eye. “But you promise? You’ll give us the scoop tonight?”
“I promise,” she said. “Want me to show you to your cabins? You can dump your stuff. They’re empty now.”
“That’d be great,” Mr. Palmer said.
Adalyn led the way to the third pod of cabins and opened Cabins 14 and 15 for them, as the girls whispered excitedly between themselves. Even the boys leaned in to listen. As promised, she posed for a picture with both girls before departing. Could she really trust them to keep her secret?
As she turned away, she decided she had no choice. It had only been a matter of time before this happened. At least she’d get to try out this strategy, so she’d be more prepared when it happened again.
She was walking back to the main cabin, crossing through the first pod, when she slowed. Cabin 1. Kenneth’s. Hadn’t she been heading his way when she left Bea? She’d just stop, talk to him, see if she got any sort of creepy vibe again. If she did, she’d get Logan to see him out tonight. Make some excuse about a water main or something.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she knocked on the door. “Ken?” she called. She knocked again. “Ken?”
He was probably gone for the day. He’d been gone all day yesterday. Just out taking more pictures, she thought. Biting her lip, she wondered about going in, checking out his stuff. Making sure there weren’t any clues that he was her stalker. There’s no way, she told herself. His license plate clearly said Georgia, not Illinois. You’re being an idiot, Adi. The guy’s lonely, not a menace!
Still, she found herself keying in the code to unlock the door—another improvement she’d made on the new pod of cabins. How many keys had been lost or taken with guests in years past? All keys Gramps had to replace? The door beeped and the light turned green. She heard the lock snap. Tentatively, she opened the door. “Ken?” she called. Seizing on an excuse, she added, “Housekeeping!”
Adalyn peeked in. Everything was in meticulous order. The bed made. No food out on the counters. The toilet seat down. A jacket hung on the hook by the door. On the table sat a laptop computer beside a couple books on photography, birding. Glancing over her shoulder and then through the window to make sure no one was coming, she eased over to the table. She hesitated, knowing she was about to totally invade his privacy on a whole other level. But I gotta know. She opened the computer and watched it light up. Fifteen or more Word docs were on the screen. She began to scan each one. They were reports from the park service. Ranger reports. Animal reports. Chase’s reports. On the dead animals, found over the last three days. Of potential plans to apprehend the perpetrator.
Her heart hammered in her chest.
What on earth was Ken doing with these?
With a trembling hand, she opened the next tab. There were hundreds of pictures. The very first one made her heart stop. The second turned her stomach.
Because inside this file was picture after picture after picture of her.