Beauty and the beard

by Crowne, K. C.

  Mystery solved. Case closed. And I could get back to my happily uncomplicated life.

  After a few more minutes of thought on the subject, I called up Brad down at the resort. His office line just rang so I dialed his cell phone.

  “Hey, Cole,” he answered right away.

  “Morning, Brad. I just wanted to know if anything was going on this morning? Do you need me for anything?”

  “Not that I know of. Why what’s up?”

  “I was thinking of taking the girl I found in the woods down to Sheriff Andrews to have her fingerprinted. Maybe he can help her find her family.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I was going to suggest it when I saw you. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind her being here. I just know that if I were her, I’d want to know who I was.”

  “I agree. I’d be going crazy if I couldn’t remember anything. Okay, cool. I’m going to call her room then come and pick her up if it’s good with her. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, let me know what happens,” Brad replied.

  “Sure thing. Later.” I hung up and dialed the front desk.

  Katie answered and I asked her to patch me through to room 410.

  “Hello?” the girl answered. She sounded tired.

  “Hi, it’s Cole.”

  “Hey, stranger,” she replied.

  “Sorry I didn’t stop in last night. I got caught up with something.”

  I thought that I wasn’t going to apologize? Stupid!

  “It’s okay.” There was disappointment in her voice which made me feel bad.

  I sighed. Fuck. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I had told myself it would be.

  “I was wondering if you were up to going down to the Sheriff’s office? Sheriff Andrews can take and run your fingerprints. Maybe tell you who you are,” I suggested.

  “Okay. That’s a good idea. Just give me a few minutes to get ready, will you?” she asked.

  “No problem. Did you get breakfast yet?” I asked her.

  “No,” she answered.

  “Okay, get dressed and meet me in the common room in about twenty minutes? We’ll get breakfast in town if that works for you?”

  I was hungry myself. No harm in getting a quick bite.

  “Sounds like a plan. See you then.”

  “Okay,” I agreed and hung up.

  ***

  We reached the diner at nine a.m. and ordered breakfast. I ordered a double portion of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and eight pieces of toast. Along with a tall glass of OJ to wash it all down with. The diner had delightfully tasteful greasy food.

  The girl looked at the menu for a long time.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  “Yes. I just wish that I could remember what I liked to eat. What if I’m a vegetarian or something?” she asked me, looking honestly concerned.

  “A vegetarian?” I asked her, surprised she would say that. I couldn’t imagine being a vegetarian.

  “Yeah. Just saying. What if?”

  “I don’t know...,” I paused to think. “Um, well, you liked the eggs I made yesterday. You ate them anyway.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I liked them. As if you couldn’t tell.” She giggled.

  I remembered how fast she had eaten them and chuckled.

  “Okay, I suggest ordering some bacon and see if you like it. I’d think that a vegetarian would know right away even if they can’t remember. From what I hear about vegetarians, they get sick if they eat meat.”

  “You’re right,” she smiled and ordered a “breakfast grin.” Two eggs sunnyside up, with bacon forming the smile.

  “That’s all you want?” I asked her shocked. “Bring her an order of toast and hash browns, as well,” I told the waitress. “And a large glass of OJ.”

  “You got it, Cole,” the waitress said. I had noticed her frowning at the new girl.

  Before the girl could say anything, I put up my hand to stop her. “Eat as much as you want. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Okay, thanks,” she said. “My stomach feels queasy. Guess I’m nervous about the fingerprints.”

  “No reason to be nervous. Unless you’re some kind of felon or something. Though something tells me that you’re not. You don’t seem like a dangerous criminal.”

  She smiled. “Hey, didn’t you ever learn you should never judge a book by it’s cover?” she joked. But her smile was short lived.

  I hadn’t thought about that. What if she was in some kind of trouble? What if she was running from the law and that’s why she was in Colorado? Or what if she was playing a game and I was her mark? Everyone in town knew that the Hunter family did pretty well for ourselves. No, there was no way. Not when I’d found her half dead in the snow. No one would risk that to get at my money.

  “Anyway, no point worrying about it. I know easier said than done. But you have to try and find out who you are. I’d be going nuts if I were you,” I told her.

  “I am going nuts,” she agreed. Then her face fell again.

  I felt a tug at my chest. “What’s wrong?” I asked her.

  She shook her head and let out a sigh. “I tried looking up missing persons in the area last night. I found a report about a man missing from nearby but nothing about a woman. What if no one is looking for me? What if no one cares that I’m gone?”

  I hadn’t even considered that. “Or what if you’re just really not from around here? I bet wherever your from originally, they are going out of their minds trying to find you,” I said, trying to reassure her. From the slight smile at the corners of her lips, I could tell that I had made her feel a little better. I felt good about that. More than I wanted to.

  Our food came and we dug in. I noticed that this morning, the girl ate a lot slower than yesterday. I couldn’t keep thinking of her as ’the girl’. Enough of that. She needed a name.

  “I keep calling you ‘the girl.’ For lack of anything else to call you,” I confessed.

  She just raised her eyebrow at me then smiled. It was a sight to see. I was struck again by just how gorgeous she was.

  “We need a temporary name for you.What would you like to be called?”

  “Mmm, I don’t know,” she said, thinking. “What do you suggest?”

  “How aboutStormy? I found you in a snowstorm so I think that it fits. As a nickname, of course.”

  “Okay, Stormy it is,” she said smiling. “I like that name.”

  “Good.” I chuckled, glad that I didn’t have to call her “the girl” anymore.

  We finished our breakfasts and I asked the waitress to box up Stormy’s leftover toast and eggs for Bella. I was glad to see that she finished off all of the potatoes and bacon. Guess she was not a vegetarian after all.

  The waitress did so and left our check. A usually talkative lady, I sensed a bit of irritation emitting from her this morning. It may have had something to do with the fact that I had slept with her once and had had to let her down when she had thought it meant something more. I hadn’t been a dick about it so I guess she figured she still had a shot. Jealousy was just another reason I didn’t want anything to do with a relationship.

  You ready?” I asked Stormy.

  “I guess. Let’s go see if someone can tell me who the heck I am,” she answered nervously.

  “You’ll be fine. You’ll see,” I reassured her.

  “I’m sure that you’re right.”

  I paid the bill and we left the diner. I drove Stormy and me to the Sheriff’s office down the road on Main Street. Inside the office, the receptionist told us that she’d have to page Sheriff Andrews. He was out on a call.

  Per the request of the Sheriff’s receptionist, we had a seat in the waiting area. After a few moments, she told us that he would be on his way shortly and that we could either wait for him or go home and he would get in touch with us.

  I told her that we’d wait and that the matter was important. She agree
d and offered us some coffee.

  “I’d love some coffee,” I thanked her.

  The receptionist made a fresh pot in the coffee machine in the waiting area and told us to help ourselves when it was finished brewing.

  It was nice to have some caffeine to sip on while we waited. I could tell that Stormy was stressed out but didn’t know what to say to make things easier. I couldn’t even begin to imagine being in her shoes.

  So, we sipped on our coffee and waited. There was a small TV mounted on the wall in the room, and the local news was on. Once again, they were talking about the missing man from Silverthorne. It was a shame that they hadn’t yet found him. The longer he was missing, the less likely they were to get a good outcome.

  “That’s the guy I was reading about last night,” Stormy said, looking intently at the TV.

  “Yeah, it’s been on the news for the last couple of days. This guy was abducted from his house it looks like. He was robbed, I guess. Now, no one can find him. Crazy, really. You don’t hear about stuff like that happening around here too much,” I told her.

  Her forehead was scrunched up like she was trying to remember something. She put her hands to her head.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  “No. Yes. I don’t know.I feel like there’s something just below the surface that I should remember. I had like a flashback or something,” she said, shaking her head.

  “A flashback? Of what?” I probed.

  “I don’t know,” she shook her head again, frustrated. I gave her a moment.

  “I really don’t know. Two men popped into my head for a second. Maybe people who I know? But they looked rough. Like hillbillies maybe.”

  “Hillbillies?” I scowled. I didn’t like that term. People from the city were often judgemental about folks that lived up in the mountains or in smaller rural towns. Working with the public like we did, I’d had to deal with my fair share of uninformed idiots.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense. I just don’t know how else to describe them. Rough looking, like one had missing teeth! I clearly remember him having no front teeth.”

  “Okay,” I replied. Who would these two men be that she remembered? She most assurely did not look like someone who hung around with men that were missing teeth.

  She was watching my facial expression as I was deep in thought.

  “I don’t think that I know these people. I don’t feel any connection with the images of them. I just see them in my head. I don’t know why.”

  “So, who do you think that they are?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. When I try to move past their faces, my mind goes blank. I see white behind their faces though. Not a room or anything. Just white.”

  “White, huh? Like maybe you were outdoors? In the snow?” I prompted.

  “I don’t know. Maybe?” she sighed.

  I could see that she was clearly upset by this vision. I couldn’t blame her. I put my hand on her arm as an act of comfort, but when I touched her, I felt a pulse of excitement course through my body. I move my hand away from her as quickly as if I’d put it on a hot burner.

  I had seen the look in her eyes when I’d made contact withher arm, and I knew that she had felt the same jolt that I had. It had been unmistakeable. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes. I sat up tall and breathed a sigh of relief when Sheriff Andrews came strolling through the front door.

  “Cole Hunter!” Sheriff Andrews greeted me with an outstretched hand. “It’s good to see you. How are you doing? How’s the family? I’ve been meaning to ride up there one afternoon to check in. Been so busy lately with this missing person case. Clues have led the Silverthorne police up here to Blue Haven, though it seems to be a dead end.”

  “We’re good, Sheriff. Yeah, I was watching about that on the news the last couple of days. It’s a real shame. I feel for the man’s family.”

  “Yeah, I do too,” agreed the Sheriff, shaking his head. “Anyway, what brings you in today?” he asked me.

  Stormy and I told Sheriff Andrews about her story. He looked wide-eyed from her to me while we filled him in.

  “Wow, you’re extremely lucky that Cole found you, young lady,” he told Stormy. “Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, as well, to get close enough to the resort for him to find you.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “If she hadn’t walked toward the smoke and the sounds that she heard, I would never have found her until the spring thaw.”

  “So, you don’t remember anything at all? Have you been checked out for any injuries?” Sheriff Andrews asked Stormy.

  “No, we went to the hospital yesterday. The doctor took an MRI and full body X-ray and said that I’m good. I have a checkup scheduled for next week. He told me that my memory should return naturally as I heal,” she answered.

  “Okay, that’s good. Come on back with me and I will fingerprint you. We’ll see if we can’t figure out who you are and where you’re from.”

  We followed Sheriff Andrews to the back of the building, passing several empty jail cells along the way. I noticed Stormy flinch as she walked by them. She had to be terrified.

  The Sheriff fingerprinted her and told us to have a seat while he ran the prints. It could take some time, he warned us.

  We waited for about a half of an hour before the computer beeped. The scan had completed. Sheriff Andrews looked over the results and frowned. Oh, no, I thought.

  “I’m sorry to report that the results are inconclusive,” he informed us, still frowning.

  “Inconclusive?” Stormy asked. He face was pale.

  “Yes. Your prints were not matched in the system so we can’tdetermine your identity,” he answered. “I’m sorry. Good news is that you are not a convicted felon. Bad news is we still don’t know who you are.”

  “See,” I told her. “You’re not a felon or wanted for a crime.”

  I wasn’t too sure how reassuring that sounded as she just blankly looked at me. I could see the disappointment on her face.

  “Yeah,” Stormy agreed. “That’s good. I was kind of hoping that I could find out who I was though.”

  “I know,” I told her. “Maybe there’s another way?” I suggested.

  “What about DNA testing?” Sheriff Andrews suggested. “I can request a court order for testing. Judge Collins would have to approve it. I can push for an emergency hearing to be scheduled for this upcoming weekif you agree to it. With that, we’d have to hope that someone in your family has DNA in the system for some reason. It’s maybe a little bit of a long shot, but it’s better than nothing.”

  “Yes, thank you,” answered Stormy. “That’s a great idea.”

  “Okay, I’ll prepare the paperwork and take it over to the Magistrate's office Monday morning. I’ll call you, Cole, with the court date. You’ll have to show up and tell the Judge your story briefly. Once he approves the court-ordered testing you can go to the hospital to have it done. It will take about another week to get the results back, but that’s better than doing it on one of those ancestry websites where it can take up to six weeks to get any results, if you get any at all.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Stormy told the Sheriff. “I really appreciate your help.”

  “No problem, Ma’am. I hope that you are feeling better soon. Get rested up. Maybe your memory will come back sooner than the test results do. We is hope. In the meantime, do you need a place to stay? I can call over to the women’s shelter and see if they’ve got a spot,” asked the Sheriff.

  I bristled at the thought. “That won’t be necessary,” I said, a little to quickly. I took a breath before continuing. “We’re happy to have her stay at the resort with us until everything shakes out,” I told the Sheriff.

  He nodded and I could tell that he was biting back a smile. It seemed as if I had tipped my hand when I had been so quick to shoot down his suggestion of getting Stormy a room in town. Andrews could tell that I felt something for
the girl.

  “Thank you, Sheriff Andrews,” I told him, and shook his hand, eager to get out from under his amused gaze.

  ***

  Stormy and I drove back to the resort in silence. I knew that she was upset about the fingerprinting results, but at least she had something to look forward to with the DNA testing.

  I didn’t know what to say to her to make her feel any better. I wasn’t the emotional kind of guy who knew the right things to say to people when they were down. When we reached the resort, I parked in the main lot. I looked over at her and smiled. Stormy smiled back.

  “I guess you have work to do today?” she asked.

  “Yes, I need to check on the chimney flues here in the main building and up at the lodge,” I answered. “I check them every month to make sure that there is no build up.”

  “I see,” She answered.

  I sighed to myself. “I think that Angela and my mom have activities scheduled for this afternoon. Why don’t you join in?”

  “Okay. Yeah, Angela invited me to join in last night,” she answered, giving me a small smile.

  It looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn’t. Her green eyes were watching me closely. I tried to look away but found that I couldn’t.

  “Do you want to have dinner later?” I asked her.

  I don’t know why but I felt compelled to ask. She was lonely, I could tell. Spending some time with her wouldn’t hurt. At least I hoped not..

  Stormy’s face lit up. “That would be great,” she answered.

  “Okay, I’ll come and get you at seven. Is that good for you?”

  “That’s perfect,” she responded, getting out of the truck.

  I sighed as I watched her walk into the resort. Once she was inside, I drove to the maintenance garage to pick up my extended ladder and attached it to my truck. Then I stopped at my cabin to let Bella outside for a bit before going to the lodge to climb on the roof.

  The whole time that I worked, I kept thinking of Stormy. Those eyes. Her sexy smile. The curves of her body. I imagined putting my hands on her small waist and pulling her to me. Feeling her full lips on mine.

  My cock got hard as I was imagining touching her. Running my hands up her body, massaging her round breasts. I wondered what she looked like naked?