by Aimée Thurlo
Gabriel came back into the shop. “I second that suggestion, and if either of you see any kids hanging around, call me.”
“No problem, Sheriff,” Alma replied, walking to the back of the store slowly.
Gabriel took Lanie aside. “I’m going to be asking some questions at the high school. If the kids there have a problem with Alma or anyone else, I want to know about it. In the meantime, if Alma has any problems, medical or otherwise, call me.”
After Gabriel had left the shop, Alma sat down in the chair by the window and watched as Lanie dusted the collection of antique storage boxes.
“Alma, there’s something I can’t figure out. It’s about that antique book I saw you put on the table. Why on earth do you think the kid picked up that particular volume to steal?”
“I don’t think he was aiming for it, if that’s what you mean. He grabbed it because he thought I was using it, or simply because it was handy. It’s the kind of thing a kid would do just to be annoying.”
“Maybe,” she answered, unconvinced. “Well, it could have been worse. At least your photo equipment is safe, so you won’t miss out on producing your catalog.”
Lanie worked hard all day, mostly trying to make sure that Alma didn’t overdo it as she worked on the catalog. Though she was dog tired by quitting time, she hung around, reluctant to leave Alma alone.
Lanie dusted all the crosses in the window display and then shook out the Navajo rugs. She was searching for something else to do when she turned to see Alma working on the account books. “Would you like me to stay and fix dinner for you? It would be no trouble at all.”
Alma smiled at her. “You’re afraid of leaving me alone, aren’t you?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued. “I’m safe enough, and I know how to take care of myself. I have some antique firearms in the store, and they all work. My father showed Emily and me how to shoot. Besides, I’m never alone here.”
Lanie glanced around. The shop was empty except for them. “I don’t understand.”
“Emily and I worked in this store for many years. This was her great love, and I think a part of her will always be here. Sometimes I swear I can see her standing there, telling me how she wants the window display done. She was such a fussbudget! Everything had to be done exactly right.”
“Memories can be a wonderful comfort, but you still need to eat,” Lanie insisted in a soft voice.
“I will. I’ll order something from Sally’s, and her son, Peter, will bring it over. Nobody goes hungry in this town, dear, not unless they’re dieting.”
“I have noticed that Four Winds doesn’t have any rundown neighborhoods.”
“Some folks are better off than others in terms of how much money they have in the bank, but nobody’s poor. Simmons was struggling, then after he lived here a short time, his luck turned around.”
Lanie finished picking up, then glanced around one more time. “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you tonight?”
“Positive, dear.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll be on my way.”
“Don’t forget to bring the pottery bowl tomorrow. I’d like to put people’s fantasies about it to rest as soon as possible—for your sake.”
Lanie walked back to the boardinghouse, nodding to shopkeepers and residents who were in their yards or on their way home. It felt good to be part of their community, if only for a while. It had been a long time since she’d felt connected to anything.
Lanie arrived at the boardinghouse within ten minutes. She was tired, but there were chores to do for Marlee. As she stepped in the door, she saw Marlee carrying a big laundry basket, favoring her leg as if in great pain.
“What on earth are you doing?” Lanie took the basket from her, then smiled and added, “Trying to give Lucas a reason to come back?”
Marlee smiled back. “I like Lucas, that’s true enough, but what woman around here doesn’t? The Blackhorse brothers could coax a pulse from a stone.”
She wasn’t sure about the other Blackhorse brothers, but something about Gabriel definitely set her blood on fire. “Gabriel is…special.”
“See that? You’re not immune. You just chose a different brother.”
“Not that it matters. I certainly wouldn’t try to start something with Gabriel.” Seeing the incredulous look on Marlee’s face, she continued down the hall. “I better get busy.”
Lanie carried the basket of sheets and pillowcases to the laundry room, Marlee’s words still ringing in her ears. She hadn’t chosen Gabriel. Events had brought them together. But she could choose what would happen now, and she intended to do her best to avoid him.
She measured soap powder and added it to the washer, pondering her own feelings. Her biggest problem, she told herself firmly, was she’d been on the road too long. That’s why she felt so torn between her attraction to Gabriel and this town, and the need to take off as soon as possible.
Then abruptly she felt a change in the room. Though it was as quiet as it had been, her skin prickled and a disturbing warmth ribboned through her. She could feel Gabriel nearby, though she couldn’t hear or see him. The air itself had become charged and held a tense edge that continued to build with each breath she took.
“Hello, Gabriel,” she said without turning around.
“You see how attuned we are to each other?” he whispered. “Your heart sensed me.”
She turned to face him. He was wearing only sweatpants, which hung low on his waist. His bronzed chest was powerfully muscular, and the sheen that accentuated those muscles suggested he’d been working out. She tried to think of something to say, but her mind was exploding with sensations too raw for rational thought. Sparks of fire and life coursed through her.
“You look beautiful. Your cheeks are flushed, and your eyes are sparkling.”
“I look dusty and tired,” she managed to say, her voice hoarse.
“Not to me.”
Desire filled her. She yielded to it as Gabriel reached for her hand and pulled her to him. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm.
Gabriel tilted her head upward. As he covered her mouth with his own, erotic currents ribboned through her body. The tenderness of his kiss was practically her undoing. He held her as if she were precious to him, and that mattered to her because it meant that what was happening was far more than a physical response.
His arms tightened, as if he’d read her unspoken thoughts. Nothing in her life had ever prepared her for the yearnings that welled up inside her. He wanted her as much as she did him, and here in his arms, nothing else seemed to matter.
“Lanie?” Marlee called from the other end of hall. “I need your help.”
Reality came rushing back. Lanie stepped out of his embrace slowly, torn between the magic she’d found in Gabriel’s arms and the need to escape the emotions she’d found there.
“Lanie, could you give me a hand?” Marlee called out again.
Marlee’s second call gave her the impetus she needed. “I’ve got to go.”
As she hurried away, she felt more alone than she’d ever been. Hating herself for allowing her defenses to be stripped that way, she swallowed back the lump in her throat and promised herself it would not happen again.
Lanie found Marlee in the hall, struggling to stand by pulling herself up against the hall table. Lanie rushed toward her. “What happened?”
“Oh, it’s just plain dumb. Alma stopped by for a moment to see if there was anything I wanted to include in her catalog. She’s had her eye on the antiques here for a long time. I turned her down again, and she left. When I
started down the hall to go to bed, I caught my foot on the rug and tripped. I couldn’t get back up because this dumb cast is keeping me so off balance.”
Lanie helped Marlee stand up. “I’m really sorry I didn’t get here right away.”
Marlee stood and immediately let go of Lanie’s arm. “Hey, are you okay? Your face looks really flushed. Did I scare you?”
> “Yes. When I saw you on the floor…”
Marlee narrowed her eyes. “It’s more than that.” She smiled slowly. “Gabriel.” She laughed, seeing the expression on Lanie’s face. “You need more help than I do.”
As Marlee ambled unsteadily down the hall, Lanie sighed. Maybe Marlee was right; she did need help. Exasperated with herself, she selected the most physically taxing job Marlee had on her list of chores, and headed for the garage.
A table that had seen better days two or three decades ago needed sanding and refinishing. It was a job Marlee had wanted to do herself, but she wasn’t up to the long stretches of standing the sanding required.
Lanie rolled up her sleeves and started the work, determined not to let Gabriel slip into her thoughts. Yet the more she tried, the more he crept into her mind. Beneath everything else was an image of him.
As the sheet of sandpaper in her hand became worn smooth, Lanie discarded it and glanced around for another. The two paper bags closest to her were filled with cans of stain, but no sandpaper. Seeing a third sack on a shelf by the wall, Lanie went over and pulled it down to look inside.
As she brought down the bag, a neatly folded piece of paper stuck beneath the sack fluttered out and fell to the floor. Lanie crouched down to pick it up.
In muted shock, she stared at the page from Alma’s stolen book, the one describing the skinwalker bowl.
Chapter Eight
Lanie stared at the folded book page in her hand. Had Marlee been behind the theft at Alma’s shop? Surely the page was from the same book. The chances of a coincidence were pretty remote. Since it was Marlee’s garage, she would have been in the best position to stick it there, but Lanie couldn’t figure out why anyone would tear a page from a valuable book, then hide it inside a garage. Alma would have cringed at the thought, to be sure.
Lanie searched the contents of the sack. There were small cans of paint and varnish and several unused sheets of sandpaper, but no other pages, much less the book itself. After looking around the garage, Lanie also came up empty-handed.
Either Marlee had foolishly left the page where Lanie might find it, or somebody else had put it there to implicate Marlee. She shook her head, amazed at her find. The question now was what to do about it. She thought of asking Marlee about the page, but that seemed ill-advised at best. There was no way anyone could prove that the page had come from the stolen book, unless the book itself was recovered. And she was employed by Marlee in exchange for lodging. If Marlee wasn’t guilty of anything, questioning her on something so sensitive would only create another problem.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around.
Gabriel walked into the garage. “I need to talk to you,” he said, then stopped, studying her expression. “What’s wrong?”
She hesitated.
“Did you find something that interested you?” He moved around her and glanced at the single page that she had unfolded and left next to the sack on the table.
“Where did you find this?”
She pointed. “Stuck under a sack, up there.”
“Is this what you’d mentioned reading in Alma’s stolen book?” Seeing her nod, he continued. “When we recover the book, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a page missing.” He took the sheet, picking it up by the edges. “I’ll take this and ask Marlee about it in my own way later. Don’t mention finding this page here to anyone, all right?”
“Sure. But why would Marlee hide something so damning here? She knew I’d have to get more sandpaper to finish the job she gave me.”
“She may not have had anything to do with this. Marlee’s house has been around a long time.” He pointed to a spinning wheel at the far end of the room and a hand plow set up on one of the shelves. “All those things were part of the stuff already here, and Marlee seldom moves them around. They’ve been in the same place as long as I can remember. Someone may have figured this was an ideal hiding place. They probably got rid of the book—it was damning evidence—but this page wasn’t something the thief was ready to discard.”
“Why doesn’t Marlee sell some of these antiques? I know Alma would love to market them. They aren’t doing anyone any good just sitting here.”
“Marlee has her own way of looking at things. She doesn’t consider this house hers, for one. She has no deed, so she considers herself a caretaker for life. Have her tell you sometime how she came to stay here.” He leaned against the doorframe and regarded her thoughtfully for several long moments. “There’s something else you and I have to talk about,” he added, his voice low and deep.
Sensual awareness made her pulse race and her blood sizzle. She took a step back, trying to hold on to her willpower. The lack of control she showed whenever she was around Gabriel was so unlike her.
He watched her widen the gap between them, but made no move to stop her. “Neither of us wants to start a relationship, but it’s happening anyway. What we feel for each other has gone way past what a one-night stand might satisfy.”
“The time is wrong for me,” she answered. “I’m not ready to settle down anywhere. I…just can’t.”
“I know. That’s why we’re going to have to back off. I know you plan to leave once your car is fixed and you’ve met your obligations here,” he said sadly, then reached out and caressed her face with his palm.
She felt the tenderness in his touch, and for that one moment she glimpsed what it would be like to be treasured by a man like Gabriel. When he stepped away and returned to the house, she felt desolate.
Lanie stared at the unfinished table. She had no heart for restoration now. She turned off the light and walked back over to the house.
Inside the silent confines of her room, Lanie opened the dresser drawer and traced the surface of the bowl with her index finger. Its cool smoothness comforted her, and she felt the tension wash out of her body. It was time to go to bed.
Unable to work up any energy for neatness, she allowed her clothes to fall onto the floor and crawled between the sheets. Sleep seemed to overtake her almost immediately, but instead of oblivion, she found herself back at her dream home. Once again, she saw Gabriel there, waiting. He stood shirtless by the door of their home.
“You’ve come to me again,” he murmured, “my beautiful woman.”
“It’s just a dream,” she told herself.
“No, it’s more than that. You and I are both called here. If it’s a dream, then it’s one we both share.” He took her gently into his arms.
She knew reality from fantasy, but within her there was still that little girl who yearned for the fantasy to be made real. Surely, in this magical place, there was no need for caution.
“Let your heart guide you,” he coaxed gently. “Let me show you what is meant to be.”
His whisper, moist and warm, danced along the column of her neck. He held her in his arms, letting her know him, arousing her as he was aroused.
She ran her hands over him, pulling his clothing away, amazed that this wonderful dream could convey such intricacies of texture to the touch. Desire guided and ruled her, and she made no move to stop him as he led her out into the sunshine and undressed her there, kneeling as he did. Inch by inch, he tasted her flesh, his mouth loving her in ways that left her trembling. He was a persuasive lover who knew how to make her open her body and her soul to him.
“Our lives were in preparation for this,” he said, his voice jagged now and thick with passion.
Lanie clung to Gabriel, overwhelmed by feelings too intoxicating to resist. When at last he rose to his feet, and they stood face-to-face, he kissed her deeply, then entered her, reaching to the very center of her being. Each movement that rocked her body, each thrust, became a testimony to their mutual surrender.
He pulled away long enough to hold her gaze, and Lanie saw pure fire in his eyes. “I am the man meant for you,” he said fiercely.
As their bodies flowed into each other, she felt elevated by the surrender. It was surrender, yes, but it was also
a mutual victory, a triumph for their hearts. This mystical experience had bonded them in a way reality would never be able to destroy.
“Remember,” he whispered as dark clouds took the scene from her mind.
LANIE WOKE UP SLOWLY, tangled in the sheets. The dream lingered vividly in her mind, like the memory of a real event. She shifted, muscles straining with a telltale ache she hadn’t felt in years. It was the physical weariness that came from a night of vigorous lovemaking.
Lanie shook her head gently. Her dreams were becoming impossibly real. Maybe it was the effects of Four Winds and all the strangeness here. The intrigues and mysteries the town kept hidden probably distorted people’s sense of reality after a while.
She dressed quickly, wanting to get out of her room. Remembering her promise to Alma, she wrapped up the bowl using a scarf and some paper for protective padding, then placed it in her tote bag.
As she stepped out into the hall, she saw Gabriel. His eyes shimmered with the smoke of an inner fire. She felt her skin warm and her heart begin to pound against her sides.
“Good morning.” His gaze captured hers and held it. “Some say dreams have magic. Do you remember yours?”
“Yes.” She felt a shiver run up her spine. He couldn’t know; it was impossible. Yet that intense look, the hunger in his eyes, all told a different story.
As thunder shook the walls of the house, rattling the windowpanes, she averted her gaze. The last request he’d made before she’d awakened from the dream suddenly came back to her. “Remember,” he’d said.
But it had only been a dream. She clung to that as she walked with him down the hall. “Do you remember your dreams?” she asked.
“Always.”
With vivid images rushing into her mind, she practically ran to the kitchen. Marlee looked up as Lanie charged into the room, giving her a startled look. Lanie forced a smile and took an oatmeal-honey breakfast bar from a dish Marlee had placed on the table. “Can I help you with anything before I leave?” Lanie asked.
