A Moment in the Moonlight

by Kay Correll

  Of course Annie was Nora’s best friend. He had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Nora haunted him everywhere he went.

  Instead he gave Annie what he now felt was becoming his signature weak smile.

  “I’m sure you’ll love staying there. It’s beautiful right there on Sweet River and Lone Elk Lake.”

  “It’s very nice.” He conveniently left out that he’d grown up spending his summers on the edge of Lone Elk Lake.

  “Well, here is the Colorado section. Let me know if you need anything else.” Annie left to help another customer.

  He started skimming through the books and pulled out a few that caught his attention. He sat down at a nearby chair and started carefully leafing through them, trying to decide which ones would be the most helpful. He looked up when he heard someone approach.

  “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to bother you.” The same woman he’d seen leaving the lodge this morning stood before him. “I’ve been over at the historical society, and Eleanor from there sent me over here with some recommendations of books on the history of the town that they didn’t have at the historical society.” She nodded at the books in his hands. “I see you’re interested in the history, too?”

  “I am.”

  She smiled at him. “Well, don’t let me disturb you. I’m just going to browse the shelves a bit.”

  He frowned as she turned to look at the shelf. It was almost like he knew her or should know her. But he rarely forgot faces, and this one didn’t mesh exactly with any memory of anyone he knew. But there was something about her… Her smile reminded him of someone, and her eyes. Still, he couldn’t figure it out. It bothered him, but he pushed the puzzle away, letting his subconscious work on it. Maybe it would come to him.

  He chose two of the books and went to the counter to check out. The woman who had been browsing came up behind him with her own stack of books.

  “Well, it looks like I’m going to have to replenish the books in our Colorado section.” Annie smiled at them both.

  “You had a great selection. It was hard to decide.” The woman set her books on the counter next to his, and he saw she’d gotten one of the same ones he’d decided on.

  “Glad I could help you both.” Annie reached for his books but turned to the woman. “Are you just passing through? Staying here?”

  “I’m in town for… well, I don’t know how long. I’m staying at Sweet River Falls Lodge.”

  “Well, so is Harrison, here. You’ll probably keep running into each other.” Annie rung up his books, and he handed her his credit card.

  He turned to the woman standing beside him. “I’m Harrison Stanworth.” He instantly regretted giving his last name. The fewer people in town who knew his full name, the better for now.

  Her eyes widened slightly for the briefest moment. If he hadn’t been looking so closely at her, he would have missed it. He swore he saw… something… in her expression. She recovered quickly and said, “I’m Linda Seabridge.”

  The name didn’t ring a bell for him. “Annie’s probably right. I guess we’ll run into each other. At least if you’re eating at the dining room, too.”

  “I had breakfast there. It was wonderful.”

  “I did too, and it was,” he agreed. He turned and took the offered books. “Thanks for your help, Annie.”

  “Any time. And come back for coffee.”

  “I will.” He turned to Linda. “I guess I’ll see you at the lodge.”

  “Probably.”

  He swore he could feel Linda staring at him as he left the shop.

  Chapter 6

  The dining room was crowded this evening. Nora gave Harrison the last open table, a small two-top near the windows. “Here you go.” She handed him the menu, and he smiled at her. A warm smile. One that she couldn’t reconcile to his rude behavior the first day she’d met him. A smile that made her feel a bit uneasy because it… well, because she didn’t like the way it made her feel.

  Or did she?

  And maybe her first impression of him wasn’t really how he was. He’d been pleasant ever since and had apologized repeatedly. She just hoped he didn’t apologize again…

  “What do you suggest tonight?” He opened the menu.

  “Can’t go wrong with Judy’s fried chicken, but she also made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Great comfort food.” She glanced around, looking for his waitress, but she must be in the kitchen. Just then Linda-from-Baltimore came into the dining room, looking a bit overwhelmed that they were so full.

  “Say, do you mind sharing your table with another guest? We’re full tonight, and she just walked in.”

  Harrison looked toward the doorway and paused.

  “You don’t have to say yes if you’d prefer to dine alone.”

  He nodded. “No, that’s fine. Ask her if she’d like to join me. I actually met her at Annie’s bookstore. We were both interested in similar books.”

  Nora walked over to Linda. “We’re kind of full tonight, but Harrison, one of our guests, said you could join him at his table. He just sat down. Do you want to join him?”

  Linda paused and glanced over to where Harrison sat by the window. “You sure he doesn’t mind?”

  “Not at all. He said to come ask you.”

  She smiled. “Okay, then. I’d enjoy having some company for the meal.”

  Nora led her over to the table, and Linda slipped into the seat across from Harrison. “May I get you two some drinks? Then I’ll go find your waitress. We’re pretty busy for a Thursday night.”

  “I’d like the house red wine.” Harrison looked at her with his bright blue eyes and slight smile, and a tiny flutter went through her. Which was annoying because she was way too busy and too old for flutters.

  She turned to Linda, ignoring Harrison and ignoring his eyes and just ignoring everything about him. “How about you, Linda?”

  “I think I’ll have tea.”

  “Okay, I’ll get those drinks and find your waitress.”

  She turned and hurried to the kitchen, annoyed at her reaction to Harrison.

  Really annoyed.

  “So, have you read any of the books you purchased this afternoon?” Harrison set down his menu, fully decided on the meatloaf. Or maybe the fried chicken…

  “I just skimmed the first few chapters of one of them.” Linda looked down at her menu.

  “Nora said the meatloaf and the fried chicken were good choices.”

  “I think I’ll just have a salad.” She closed the menu.

  Great, go ahead and make healthy eating choices when he was consuming just about anything and everything that was suggested to him. He was going to have to double his time at the gym after this trip. Or maybe he’d put his new purchases to good use and actually go hiking out by the lake.

  The waitress—not Nora—brought their drinks, and he was strangely disappointed. They ordered, then sat and sipped their drinks.

  “So, why are you so interested in the town’s history?” He took a sip of the house wine—it was surprisingly good—and set the glass on the table.

  “I—I don’t know. I just like to learn about areas I visit, I guess.” Linda shrugged. “Like this lake. I was reading about it and some of the original families that settled in the area.”

  He shot her a look. So she was interested in the lake area history, too? “So, what did you find out?”

  “Not a lot yet. Just some names of early settlers. There was a family with the last name Littleton who settled here. The matriarch of the family was Grace. The book said Grace’s Peak was named after her. There was another family that settled here.” She paused. “I think their name was Dobbs.”

  She said it like she was just reciting facts she’d learned, but there was a hint of something in her eyes when she said it.

  “So, did you find out anything about either of those families?” She looked at him questioningly.

  He did not like the way this conversation was headed. The last thing he wanted to do was dis
cuss his family. “Didn’t really get time to read them much.” Which was an outright lie. He’d devoured every single word he could find about Jeremiah Dobbs, the original buyer of the land, but he sure wasn’t going to discuss it with anyone.

  “Oh.” Disappointment spread across her face, but she quickly hid it with a smile.

  Their dinner came, and he changed the topic to safer subjects. Lousy airline food. The Denver Airport with its remarkable white tent-ish roof. The gorgeous fall weather here. Annie’s bookstore. Anything but the lake. And the Dobbs family.

  Linda stood after she finished the meal. “Well, thanks for letting me share your table.”

  “No problem.” He watched her walk away and chewed on his bottom lip, still trying to figure out who she reminded him of.

  He contemplated ordering a second glass of wine. It really had been exceptionally good—someone knew their wines. He was in no hurry to leave. But why? His finally-decided-on meatloaf dinner was all finished.

  He knew why. He was hoping that Nora would drop by his table again. He signaled the waitress and ordered the wine.

  Chapter 7

  “Here, I’ll take that to Mr. Stanworth.” Nora reached for the glass of wine the waitress was holding. “You go see if that table over there needs anything else. They look like they might be ready for their check.” If she’d learned anything in this business, it was to not make people sit and wait for their checks at the end of the meal. A fine dance of not rushing them and not making them wait.

  The dining room was clearing out, and the dinner rush was winding down. If they were going to be this busy midweek, she would have to hire more wait staff. She headed over to Harrison’s table, knowing full well she could have just as easily checked on the table she’d sent the waitress to.

  She approached Harrison’s table where he sat staring out the window, lost in thought. “Here you go.”

  He turned from the window and smiled at her. “Thank you.” He reached for the glass. “It’s very good wine.”

  “My daughter-in-law, Bree, really knows her wine. She’s a caterer. Anyway, with her help, we’ve revamped our wine selection recently.”

  “Looks like most of your customers are leaving…” He paused and looked at her. “Do you think… do you want to join me in a glass of wine?”

  She looked around the room, knowing full well that the rest of the staff could wrap things up here but still uncertain if she should join him.

  But then, why not?

  “You know, that sounds wonderful. I’ll go grab myself a glass of that delicious red wine. Wouldn’t mind getting off my feet for a bit.” She hurried over to the bar area and poured herself a half glass of wine, wondering what she was doing…

  She returned to his table and took a seat across from him. She took a sip of the wine. “It’s an excellent wine, isn’t it? I don’t know how Bree finds such great, reasonably priced wine for us.”

  “Well, she did a good job with this one.”

  She wondered how long they could continue talking about the wine…

  Harrison set his wine on the table, and she avoided staring at his long fingers wrapped around the glass. He looked directly at her and she took a hurried sip.

  He sent her an easy smile. “It was a gorgeous day out today. You’re right, the aspen trees are truly beautiful with their leaves changing now. I like how when I walked through the grove of aspens near my cabin, I could hear the whisper of their leaves.”

  She looked at him in surprise. Not everyone noticed that. The whisper. She loved the enchanting rustle of their leaves too. It was truly magical. “Then I put you in the right cabin because you have to walk through that grove to get to the lake or the dining lodge.”

  “The cabin is nice. I really like it. Very… cabin-ish, if that’s even a term. But nicely decorated, and I noticed the kitchen is well equipped, not that I’ll use it. I don’t cook.”

  “Not at all?”

  “Well, I heat left-overs from meals I get when I eat out, if that counts. I usually just pick up takeout, a salad or something, on my way home from work.”

  “Well then, I hope you at least eat most of your meals here and we can show you what real cooking is like.”

  He leaned back and patted his stomach. “The food here is delicious. I also had a great lunch at Mac’s Place today.”

  “Oh, my son-in-law owns that.”

  “Yes, I met him. Nice guy.”

  “He’s a fabulous man. He’s a great role model for Beth’s sons, too. Their own father is rather… nonexistent… most of the time.”

  Their conversation lagged, and she took another sip of wine, glancing around the dining room out of habit, making sure everything was being taken care of.

  “So you and your son own the lodge?” Harrison was leaning back in his chair, the picture of relaxation.

  So why did she feel so tense? She consciously drew in a slow, deep breath and relaxed. “We do. After college he came back here to help me run it.”

  “Have you owned it long?”

  The familiar squeeze to her lungs caused her to pause. It was still, after all these years, so difficult to talk about. “I have. My husband and I bought it over thirty years ago.”

  She saw him glance at her left hand where she still wore her simple silver wedding band. “He died just a few years after we bought the place.” She twisted the ring with a brush of her thumb. The pain had lessened over the years, of course, but it was still there. Every day. Just hovering below the surface. She’d loved Ronnie with all her heart and had married him believing they’d share their lives and grow old together. But sometimes life had other plans for you.

  “I’m sorry.” Harrison’s eyes brimmed with sympathy. “And you’ve run it by yourself until Jason joined you?”

  “I have.”

  “That’s impressive. It must be a huge job. And the lodge is great.” His eyes now shone with admiration.

  She shifted in her seat and took another tiny sip of wine, trying to ignore that admiring gaze. “Thank you.” She took a cleansing breath and changed the subject. “So, what brings you to Sweet River Falls?”

  “I… uh… just taking a little break.”

  Now his eyes said he was hedging. Maybe he was running away from something. Or taking time to recover from something. Or… Her mind raced with possibilities. She almost laughed at herself. Or maybe he was just taking a vacation like he said. He didn’t look like the type of man who took too much time off.

  “So what do you do back in Chicago?” Chicago. C-h-i-c-a-g-o. See, she could spell when he wasn’t rattling her.

  “I work for an investment firm.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t really know much about investment firms to carry on a knowledgeable conversation about them. They just… what? Did investments? Bought things?

  “I’m in the acquisitions division.”

  Ah, they did buy things.

  “What made you choose Sweet River Falls for your vacation?”

  He looked down at his glass, then back up at her. “I like the mountains. Haven’t been to them in years. Thought it would be a good place to come and… unwind.”

  That didn’t really answer her question about why he’d chosen Sweet River Falls, but she guessed it was close enough. Maybe he’d run across the town’s website. Jason had volunteered to work on it, and now they were getting more and more hits on the site. He had a bit of social media going for it, too. The town really needed to hire someone to do that part-time, but ever since Jason had offered to help, they just let him do it for free. She was fairly certain that Dobbs would never suggest putting something in the town’s budget to pay Jason for his time…

  She brought her thoughts back to Harrison. And his eyes. No, not his eyes. She focused on the rich burgundy color of the wine in her glass.

  He felt badly he’d just told Nora a weak half-truth about his visit here to Sweet River Falls. But, really, he didn’t want people to know who he was. He still needed to go to coun
ty records and see if he could pull the original deed for the property. And last, before Walt found out he was here, he wanted to talk to the law firm that had handled his grandfather’s estate. His grandfather’s lawyer was long gone, but he had a son working there now.

  He took another sip of his wine, wondering how slowly he could sip it and if he could keep Nora sitting here for as long as it took him to finish it.

  “So I read in the brochure in my cabin that you just recently opened a chalet here on the property for weddings and meetings.” If he kept her talking about the lodge, she’d sit with him a bit longer, right?

  “We did. It turned out wonderful. We’re booked almost every weekend now for weddings, and we’ve had a few small companies book it during the week for meetings.”

  “Seems like a smart business decision.”

  “It was. Jason thought of it and dealt with the plans and worked with the builder.” Her eyes sparkled when she talked about her son.

  “Must be nice to have someone share the workload.”

  “It is. I don’t know what I’d do without him. And his wife, Bree, caters events here. And Bree’s sister, Cece, is our wedding planner.”

  He tried to sort through all the names to keep them straight. “Kind of like one big family.” He couldn’t imagine having all that family around. For years it had only been his mother and him. Well, Walt had still existed all that time, but Harrison had been determined to pretend he didn’t.

  She smiled back at him, her warm amber eyes lighting up as she talked about her family and business. “It is like one big family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Well, you sure have a beautiful place for the lodge, here on the lake.”

  “It is. And I hope it stays that way.”

  He frowned and leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

  “Walter Dobbs—he owns a huge chunk of land across the lake—he got zoning approval for selling his land and the right to build a big condo complex. It’s going to ruin the whole charm of the lake. And he’s trying to get the lake rezoned for motorboats, jet skis, that kind of thing.”