“It was on your shirt.” She sniffed.
Keith flicked the hair onto the floor, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “Have you lost it, Nat? I work in a bank, for crying out loud. There are women who work there, you know. Not to mention the customers.”
She wavered. Was she being overly suspicious? She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Her eyes glazed over, and she felt a sob rise in her chest. She was on the edge of losing it. She covered her mouth.
He cursed, then reached into his wallet and withdrew some bills, flinging them onto the table. Then he threw his napkin down and rose to his feet. “If this is your idea of a good time out, I’d just as soon be at work.”
Every eye in the room except hers seemed to follow him out the door.
“Hey, Hanna,” Devon called from the office door in his typical greeting. “Boats are all locked up for the night. Do you have my shuttle schedule ready?” His gaze dragged down her body, then back up.
She shifted uneasily, then slid the advertising proof back on the desk. “Not yet; just a sec.” She pulled up the page with tomorrow’s reservations. “How did today go?”
“Great except for the tipping incident.”
He’d told Hanna at lunchtime about the three teenage girls who’d tipped over their canoe in the middle of the lake. “They probably did it on purpose, just to get you to rescue them.”
“Nah, they were just fooling around.”
Hanna stared at the reservations calendar. “That’s odd.”
“What’s wrong?”
She got up and leaned her head around the corner to the dining room where Gram was doing a crossword puzzle. “Gram, do you know why there’s fewer rooms booked than there were last night? I’m sure we were full.”
“Yes, honey, we had some cancellations today.”
“Were they part of the same group?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Hanna went back to her desk. Three rooms empty. That meant they’d received three cancellations in one day. Odd. “Well, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen too often.”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing to worry about, just a few cancellations. You still have three parties to pick up at the airport.” She wrote down the times and handed him the paper.
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” He winked.
Hanna looked away from him and studied the calendar. She’d taken two cancellations herself in the last week but had thought nothing of it. The schedule was still pretty full, though. It’s just a fluke. Nothing to worry about.
Later that day, as she talked with Natalie on the phone, she realized there were plenty of other things to worry about.
“Give me the number. I’ll call it,” Hanna said.
Through the phone she heard Nat sigh. “I don’t know. Part of me is afraid to know for sure.”
After a long pause, Nat agreed. “All right, do it.” She rattled off the number, and Hanna jotted it down.
“I’ll call you right back,” Hanna said, then hung up.
She punched in the number, wondering what she’d say. The number was probably only a friend of Keith’s or something. There was every—
“Hello?”
The voice was female, but she sounded too young to worry about.
“I’m sorry, I probably have the wrong number, but do you know a Keith Coombs?”
She waited for a reply. The pause stretched too long.
“Who is this?” the woman asked.
The question caught Hanna off guard. And made her stomach tighten in a knot. “Do you know Keith?”
There was a noise in the background, a TV maybe. “Don’t call here again.”
The phone clicked in her ear.
Hanna dropped into her chair. That didn’t sound good. Though the woman hardly admitted knowing Keith, she hadn’t denied it either.
She picked up the phone again, this time dreading what she’d have to tell Natalie.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hanna was running through the woods, the branches around her blur ring in her rush. Hurry, you ’re going to be late. Late for what? She didn’t know, but it was something important. The path ahead forked. Which way, which way? She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing but shadows.
She turned, taking the fork to the right. Where am I? The woods seemed an endless maze of trees and bushes. Then she saw light ahead and knew where she was. It was the woods behind the lodge. She was almost there.
She entered the light and stopped. Suddenly the sun was shining, casting a beautiful glow across the lake. White wooden chairs, filled with guests, formed a large block in the sun-dappled yard. Her grandfather approached, wearing a suit and tie, and extended his hand. She put one glove-encased hand in his and smoothed her wedding gown with the other.
“It’s time,” he said.
She smiled, barely able to contain the joy bubbling in her soul. He tucked her hand through his arm and walked her down the center aisle. She felt as if she were floating, flying almost. It was her day, and everything was perfect. She looked sideways at Grandpop and smiled. He winked, and they continued walking.
Halfway down the aisle, she turned her attention to her groom. He faced the preacher, his back to her. Turn around, she urged. He filled out his suit, from the broad shoulders, to the tapered waist and long legs. Turn around so I can see your face.
As if reading her mind, he turned.
Her feet stopped. She sucked in her breath. Micah. There must be some mistake.
“It can’t be—”
Grandpop squeezed her arm. “It’s true.”
But he wasn’t her groom, was he? She couldn’t remember who it was supposed to be, but it wasn’t Micah. Was it?
“This isn’t right.”
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Yes, darling girl.”
Reassured by his words, she started forward. She met Micah’s gaze, and he smiled as if for her eyes only. Peace flowed through her veins like a refreshing mountain spring. Yes. It was all right. She heard the buzz of a bee nearby. It grew louder, and she wished it would stop. Micah was holding his hand out to her, and she wanted desperately to reach him. But the buzzing continued.
Her eyes popped open, and she looked around, lost for a moment. Then she realized her alarm was buzzing. She reached over and fumbled with the button, finally shutting it off.
She flung herself down on her pillows and tried to recapture her dream. Micah. Good grief, where did that come from?
But why a wedding? Her gaze fell on her Bible on her nightstand. She’d been reading about the bridegroom coming for his church, and that must’ve planted thoughts of a wedding. She smiled as she remembered Grandpop in her dream. He’d looked exactly like himself, except he had been missing his walnut cane.
Silly, silly dream.
But later, as she and Gram arranged breakfast on the credenza, the dream replayed in her mind.
“Hanna.” Gram touched her sleeve, and Hanna got the impression it wasn’t the first time her name had been called.
“Sorry, Gram, what is it?”
“Mercy, child, where are you this morning?”
Hanna covered the crescent rolls with a towel. “I had the strangest dream last night and can’t get it out of my head.”
“What was it about?”
Hanna laughed. “It’s so silly. I was running through the woods and when I came out, I was somehow at my wedding.”
“Really …”
“Grandpop was there. He escorted me down the aisle. Don’t ask me where Dad was.”
Gram retrieved a clean tablecloth, and they worked together to spread it across the long table. “And who, may I ask, was the groom at this wedding?”
Hanna grew warm just thinking about it. “It’s too silly to even mention.”
“If it’s so silly, why are you afraid to tell me?” Gram’s eyes twinkled mischievously.
“All right, it was Micah. See, I told you it was silly.” She glanced Gram’s
way, but the older woman continued smoothing the linen as if she’d said nothing strange at all.
“I don’t see why that’s so silly,” Gram said.
“Really, Gram. You weren’t there—well, I guess I wasn’t either.” She giggled. “But it was all so odd, you know how dreams are. When I saw that Micah was the groom, I balked, but Grandpop was just so sure. Then Micah reached out his hand, and everything in me wanted to reach him, but I woke up.”
Gram glanced over her shoulder. “Morning, Micah.”
Hanna squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t look. Was Gram putting her on? Please, please, please.
“’Morning, Mrs. Landin.” His bass voice strummed across the chords of her nerves. “Hanna, I need to talk to you when you get a minute.”
“All right,” she said, without turning.
She heard him exit through the front door, and only then did she open her eyes. “Oh, Gram, that was so embarrassing,” she whispered.
Gram giggled like a teenage girl. “I thought it was mighty amusing, myself”
Hanna picked up the towel covering the bread and swatted her grandmother, which only provoked more giggles.
The chance to talk to Micah didn’t come until late that afternoon when he returned from a day trip. Which suited Hanna just fine, since she was still feeling awkward about this morning’s incident.
He stopped in at the office where she’d been signing paychecks.
“Got a minute?”
“Sure.” She turned over the checks and invited him in. An action she regretted when he seemed to fill the room.
“I was looking over next week’s schedule and saw there are seven people signed up for the Grand Teton trip. Normally, I could handle seven fine, but three of them are kids, so I wondered if you wanted me to make some cuts.”
“Will the parents be going?”
“Yeah, it’s a family of five, plus another couple, newlyweds, I think. But the point is that I can’t take kids on that climb, much less in a group that size.”
“Hmm. What about doing the Mount Moran trip instead? That would be easier with the kids.”
He shrugged. “Sure, but it still doesn’t help the fact that the trip is overbooked.”
She scowled. She hated to cancel a trip. The customers would be disappointed, and she would lose money. She supposed she could go along to help. With seven customers gone, she was sure Gram and Mrs. Eddlestein could handle the lodge. Do I really want to be that close to Micah for three days? Of course, she could. He was just another man. She had to put that crazy dream out of her head. “I guess I could go. It’s been years since I’ve done the trip, but my grandpa and I used to go every summer.”
Micah’s brows rose. “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
He seemed less than thrilled. Well, that was too bad. She wasn’t going to lose income just because he liked his independence. “Go ahead and plan on my going with you.” She blocked out the dates on her personal calendar and made a note to notify the guests of the change while Micah left the office. See, I’m not afraid of being near him. But somewhere in the recesses of her brain, the dream replayed hauntingly.
The next day Hanna browsed through the schedule for the remainder of June. She just didn’t get it. They had been booked almost full for the last three weeks in June, and now they had openings every night. Some days were only half-full. Their budget has been fine so far, but with the cancellations she feared they wouldn’t make June’s payment.
The phone rang, and she snapped it up. “Higher Grounds Mountain Lodge, how may I help you?”
“Hi, this is Delia Hampton.”
“Mrs. Hampton, hello. I was just looking over the schedule and see that we have you booked for the last week in June as usual.”
A moment of silence passed. “That’s what I was calling about, dear. It seems we won’t need a room after all.”
Hanna winced. “I hope everything’s okay.”
“Oh yes, just fine.”
Maybe she was just going to have to ask and find out what was going on. Maybe Mrs. Hampton knew something she didn’t. “Mrs. Hampton, may I ask you something.?”
“Certainly, what is it?”
“Have you been unhappy with Higher Grounds’s service? Is your cancellation a reflection of your dissatisfaction?”
“Oh, not at all, dear! Why, we’ve always had a wonderful time there. It’s just, you see … we’ve always admired that big, beautiful hotel down the way from you, but it’s way out of our budget. But with the special they’re having, well, we could hardly pass it up. I hope our cancellation doesn’t put you in a bind.”
“You mean the Majestic? They’re having some kind of special discount?”
“Oh yes. We couldn’t afford to stay there otherwise. Fifty-nine dollars a night. And that includes all their activities and even the meals.”
“Yes, yes, I understand perfectly,” Hanna mumbled, then got off the phone.
How could the Majestic afford those rates? Their normal rates were over two hundred dollars a night, and that was just for a standard room. This was peak season, so why would they be giving their rooms away at such a discount?
Hanna walked to the kitchen where Gram and Mrs. Eddlestein were making strawberry pies.
“Gram, have you heard anything about the Majestic having a rate special this summer?”
“No, dear, why do you ask?”
“I just got off the phone with Delia Hampton. She cancelled her reservation, said the Majestic was offering a rate of fifty-nine dollars and that it included meals and activities.”
“That can’t be right.”
“That’s what she said. Do you think that’s why we’ve been having these cancellations?”
Gram stopped crimping the edges of the pie dough. “Wait a minute, did you say Delia Hampton? Isn’t she that eccentric woman who brings all her photos and knickknacks from home and sets them up all over her room?”
“Yes, but that hardly—”
“Delia Hampton, you say?” Mrs. Eddlestein cocked an ear.
Gram raised her voice. “Yes, yes, that woman from New Jersey that comes in June.”
Mrs. Eddlestein rolled her eyes. “She told me last year all three of her grown kids were in the U.S. Senate. I mean, really, who would believe that?”
Hanna didn’t know what to believe now. Had Delia told her the truth about the Majestic rates? Why would she lie?
That night Hanna drove home from the grocery store and turned into the lodge’s parking lot. Only the street lamp lit the parking lot as she gathered the two sacks and trudged up the sidewalk and steps to the lodge. The oscillating buzz of cicadas filled the warm night air, joined by the chirping crickets. She’d always found the nighttime music relaxing—peaceful—but the darkness that accompanied it terrified her.
No light shone from the porch, casting the walk from the sidewalk to the lodge in darkness. Hanna hurried as quickly as she could toward the lodge’s door. The bags grew heavy, and she shifted them while diging in her pocket for the key.
Micah slowed to a walk as he neared the lodge, letting his heart rate fall. Tonight’s class had been rough, and when he’d returned, he’d felt the need to release some pent-up energy. The counselor of his group knew what he was doing; he was a pro at digging out the putrid junk Micah didn’t even know was there. When his foster father, Jim, had first told Micah about the Children of Alcoholics group meeting at his church, Micah had thought the whole thing was a bunch of psychobabble. But Jim had convinced him to give it a try. It was encouraging to know others had gone through the same stuff he had, but when they started getting into issues that hurt, Micah dropped out. Jim, a marriage counselor, stepped in once again and convinced him to go back. No Pain, No Gain was Jim’s motto, and it had become Micah’s too. Now he was determined not to let his past determine his future. Whatever it took, he would get over the pain of his past.
He stepped onto the porch, breathing steadily now, and fished in his pocket for the key. Ju
st then Hanna rounded the corner, and they collided.
A shrill scream left: her mouth. He jumped, then reached out to steady her. Two bags of groceries dropped on his toes as Anna batted his hands away from her.
“Hey, it’s—” A fist connected with his chest, then another.
He reached out and took hold of her hands.
She squealed and tried to jerk away, her eyes wide under the unlit porch.
“Hanna, it’s me.”
She stopped struggling, her chest heaving in the darkness.
“It’s all right.”
She put a hand to her heart. “Micah.” The word carried a load of relief.
“Sorry I spooked you.”
She closed her eyes and seemed to be recovering from the adrenaline surge. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
She stooped down and began gathering the groceries. Micah did the same and noticed her hands trembling.
The porch light flickered on, then her grandma opened the door. “Hanna? You all right?”
“Fine, Gram. Micah startled me, that’s all.”
After the groceries were packed up again, Micah said good night and headed toward his room. He flipped on the shower and undressed. No doubt anyone would’ve been startled to come upon someone else so suddenly, but Hanna had been terrified. The way she fought him, it was as if she’d expected him to attack her.
He stepped under the hot water and remembered the incident a couple of weeks ago when he’d frightened her in the office. She sure did scare easily. Embarrassed easily too. He could tell she’d been embarrassed when he’d walked in on her talking about her dream. He smiled. She hadn’t even turned around to face him. He was glad. The smile slipped from his lips. He didn’t want to encourage her. Tempting though she was, he was determined to stay clear of women.
Then why is it you keep thinking about her? He frowned and rinsed the suds from his hair, imagining the water was washing away all thoughts of Hanna. What was it about her anyway? She was attractive enough in a very natural way, but he’d been around plenty of attractive women and been able to maintain his hands-off policy. It wasn’t as if she were coming on to him the way Fran had.
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