Hanna laughed and squeezed Gram’s hand. It was true; they had years together, even if she did have Alzheimer’s, and God would give them what they needed in the meantime.
Hanna stacked the clean towels in Micah’s bathroom and picked up the dirty sheets from the floor. It was a lesson in temptation, cleaning his room. Not only did the spicy scent of his cologne linger in the air, but there were personal effects lying all over the room. Folded papers, mail, a leather-bound book that looked like a journal. Curiosity ate at her each week, but thankfully, she’d inherited her father’s determination and had so far resisted the urge to peek into Micah’s private life.
She stuffed the bedding into the hallway cart and pushed it into the storage closet. She needed to do laundry, but first, she wanted to check on reservations for the rest of July. She’d been keeping track of cancellations since she’d installed the lock on the office door, but if her hunch was right, they were still in trouble.
She was almost certain the cancellation she’d received that morning was for a reservation made after the lock was installed. Was someone breaking in and getting into their files?
The lodge was quiet this morning, several guests having checked out and several of the others gone for the all-day climb. She rounded the front desk and pushed open the office door.
Devon turned from his place at the computer, a startled look blanketing his face. “Hanna.” The screen flickered to the home page.
She frowned, suspicion flowing like poison through her veins. “What are you doing?” She couldn’t prevent accusation from tainting her words.
“Oh.” He rolled the chair out and stood. “I was just checking on the shuttle schedule. You were busy cleaning, so I just …” He shrugged. “Hope you don’t mind.”
Hanna studied his face, wishing she could read people the way Micah did. He didn’t look guilty. If anything, he looked embarrassed. “I left next week’s schedule at the front desk as usual.”
“Oh, I didn’t even look. I thought you wouldn’t have had time to—well, anyway, I’ll go get it. Thanks.” At the doorway he turned. “Hey, I was going to go to the Central Wyoming game next Friday; what about coming with me?”
Unfortunately she was free, and she didn’t want to lie. Maybe it was time to set the record straight. “Thanks for asking, Devon, but I think it’s best if we keep things on a professional level. Have fun at the game, though.”
He tossed her a boyish grin. “No problem. See ya.”
Hanna turned and watched him leave, closing the door behind him. He seemed to take that well. There was no attraction on Hanna’s side, not to mention she was suspicious of him after finding him at the computer. Could Devon be sabotaging them? She’d never considered it could be one of her own employees.
She opened the file cabinet and pulled out the office lock receipt and compared it with the reservation that had just been canceled this morning.
Her stomach lurched. The reservation had been made after the lock was installed. Whoever was getting the information was not being deterred by a lock. She resolved to lock up during the day from this point on. Only she and Gram had a key, and hers was on her all the time. She would tell Gram to keep the key someplace safe.
Micah scurried up the last scree slope before coming to a good resting spot. The group with him, an overweight woman and her husband, a thirty-something man, and his foster father, Jim, sank to the ground for a moment’s rest. Jim had always made a point of climbing with Micah several times a year.
“So, your job’s going well?” Jim asked.
“Sure.” Micah took a swig from his canteen. In all honesty he didn’t know how much longer he could live under the same roof with Hanna. Regardless of his detachment, she wasn’t giving up on the notion of a relationship. And a man could only take so much.
“What’s wrong?”
Jim’s profession as a counselor carried over into every other area of his life. He was known for his probing questions, and Micah wasn’t sure he wanted to go there.
“It’s a problem between my boss and me.” Maybe he’d leave it alone.
“What kind of problem?”
Maybe not. Micah would ignore anyone else who pried into his life, but Jim was the only one who really cared what the answers were. That didn’t mean Micah had to tell him everything, though. “We just have major differences of opinion.”
Jim’s lips twitched. “That’s not the feeling I got this morning.”
Hanna had invited Jim to have breakfast with the others before they’d left the lodge. And she’d made no secret of her feelings toward Micah. He watched the other three members of their group taking pictures from their panoramic spot.
“You’re running scared, aren’t you?” The sober look shadowing Jim’s eyes checked the automatic defensiveness in Micah. “It’s a normal reaction, Micah. The only woman in your childhood, your mother no less, mistreated you. You bounced from one foster home to another during your childhood, and in that time connected with no other female. The only female you were bonded with, your sister, was taken from your life too. That’s bound to affect the way you feel about women.”
It was nothing Micah hadn’t thought about many times. Most of his group therapy centered around the effects of having an alcoholic parent. He thought of Jenna. At first his little sister had been placed in the same foster home with him. But somewhere along the line they’d been separated. Many times he’d wondered what had become of her. One day maybe he’d try to find her.
“Have you been using the journal I gave you?” Jim asked.
He nodded.
“The whole purpose of working through your past is to bring healing to your present. Man was not made to be alone. That’s why God created Eve.” He winked. “And I must admit, it was a great plan.” The smile fell from his face. “At some point you’re going to have to take the risk.”
A part of him certainly wanted to. The part that shuddered with desire whenever Hanna looked at him with open longing in her eyes. The part that weakened with yearning whenever she listened to him like he was the only man in the world. The part that saw her playing with children and wondered what she’d look like carrying his child.
Micah shook his head, trying to clear the tempting image from his head. He took another drink from his canteen and urged the group into motion again. Jim filed silently into line, leaving Micah to think in peace.
As he climbed he came to a conclusion. He could either continue working at Higher Grounds and allow himself to enter a relationship with Hanna, or he could quit and move on. One thing was certain: He couldn’t continue to be around Hanna and remain detached. His feelings for her were growing; avoiding her had not stopped it from happening. And if he stayed, he would only grow to love her.
Should he stay or should he go? That was the question of the hour, and the one he reflected on for the remainder of the day.
Once the group had settled around the campfire, their bellies full from dinner, Jim brought up the subject again. “So, what’s this Hanna like?”
Micah sighed. She was very different from him. “Outgoing, caring.” He huffed a laugh. “Stubborn.”
Jim smiled. “You seem less than pleased about that.”
“It puts us at odds when she’s determined to have me, and I’m determined not to be had.”
He laughed. “Ah, so that’s how it is.” Jim poked at the fire with a stick. “How much does she know about you?”
“I’ve dropped a hint or two about my past.”
“To scare her off?”
Micah looked directly at Jim.
“Don’t be so surprised. It’s my job to be perceptive. So, did it work, scaring her off?”
He humphed. “Not hardly.”
“Sounds like quite a woman.”
She was. And he didn’t deserve her.
“Just the kind of woman to keep you in line,” Jim said, poking him in the elbow.
“All that stuff you did when you were younger doesn’t matter
anymore, you know,” Jim whispered. “When Christ came in, He wiped the slate clean.”
“I know.”
“You know it in your head, but do you know it in your heart?”
How like Jim to get right to the point of the matter. How did he convince his heart? It was true he didn’t feel completely forgiven, hadn’t forgiven himself.
“I think you should do it.”
Micah jerked his head sideways to look at Jim. “Do what?”
“I think you should go for it. With Hanna. She seems like a caring, Christian girl. And from everything you’ve said, she had a healthy childhood and an intact family. A relationship with her could be very healing for you, in more ways than one.”
“How romantic,” Micah said sarcastically.
Jim chuckled. “Sometimes we psychologists are way too clinical, aren’t we?”
As Micah sat in the shadowed night watching the flames leap and shoot sparks, he had a sudden craving for toasted marshmallows and the woman he loved to share them with.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Natalie watched Hanna chase Taylor across the playground and smiled when she caught him up in her arms. His shrieks of joy caused Natalie another moment of guilt. It had been weeks since she’d really played with her boys. Every smile she gave them seemed pinned on her face. Could they tell how unhappy she was? Were her grief and anxiety rubbing off on them?
“Watch me, Mom!” Alex slid down the spiral slide on his belly. After seeing his mom’s thumbs-up, he climbed back up the ladder.
It had been three days since Keith had left, and she hadn’t heard from him. Was he going to file for divorce? What would she do? How would she support the boys? And worse, what if Keith filed for custody?
More questions. Would there never be an end to this mess? She’d decided to continue going to counseling. Even if Keith wasn’t willing to stay, she needed to find a way to deal with all the emotions.
Hanna set Taylor in a baby swing and pushed him from the front, making faces and tickling his legs each time he neared. As if Natalie’s marriage problems weren’t enough, now she had Gram to worry about. Hanna had told her about Gram getting lost and about the next appointment being with a specialist. She’d only been around one person who’d had Alzheimer’s, and that was Keith’s great-aunt Sophie. They’d visited the woman in a nursing home last year, and she hadn’t recognized Keith. She used to be a soft-spoken, gentle woman, but when they’d visited, she’d thrown a temper tantrum over the food on her dinner plate.
Natalie couldn’t imagine that happening to Gram. Didn’t even want to think about the possibility.
Hanna set Taylor on the ground, and he sat in the wood chips using a stick to dig. Hanna plopped on the bench with a loud sigh.
Natalie smiled as she watched Taylor throwing the chips up in the air by the handful. He’d definitely need his hair washed tonight.
“How are you doing?” Hanna asked. “You sounded so depressed on the phone the other night.”
She sighed. “I go through bouts of depression and bouts of rage. And in between those two, I have bouts of self-pity. It’s really weird. Not just the emotional mood swings, but the way my mind works. Every time I think of some event in the past, whether it’s Taylor’s last birthday or when I had my hair highlighted, I keep trying to organize everything by whether it was before or during the affair. I do it constantly. Isn’t that weird?”
Hanna smiled sadly. “It’s probably normal. I mean, you really had the rug pulled out from under you. I’m sure you must feel like you were duped.”
“Exactly. It’s like, since I didn’t know what was going on then, I have to take all the information I have now and apply it to the past year.”
“It probably has a lot to do with your personality. I mean, you’re a very organized person, so it makes sense that you want to organize all this information.”
Natalie felt a rush of understanding. “Right. Like I had all these events filed away under ‘normal life,’ and now I have to go through each event and decide where I need to refile it.”
Hanna shook her head. “You are sick, woman.”
Natalie laughed, and it felt good. They silently watched the boys play. Alex disappeared into a tunnel, and Taylor continued to dig in the wood chips.
“Have you heard from Keith?” Hanna asked.
She shook her head. “I feel so lost. I don’t know if he’s going to file for divorce. And if he does, what will happen with our finances? Do they freeze the assets or what? How are the bills going to get paid until all this is settled?”
“Maybe you should call an attorney and ask.” Hanna was starting to wish she’d been able to get the lodge’s mortgage through another bank. If Keith divorced Nat, it would be awkward dealing with him.
“The boys keep asking when Daddy’s coming home.”
Hanna put her arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.
“Can we talk about something else? I’m tired of crying.”
“Sure. Hey, have I told you about the cancellations at the lodge?”
“Yeah, have you figured out why you’re getting them?”
Hanna sighed. “Nope. Someone told me the Majestic is offering this really low rate. Have you heard any negative talk about the lodge?”
“No.”
“I thought maybe someone had started a rumor or something. Remember that phone call I told you about—the Realtor whose client wanted to buy our property?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m wondering if that’s connected somehow. Oh. I forgot this part. Yesterday I found Devon at the computer. He said—”
“Devon?”
“The watercraft guy. Anyway, he said he was just getting the airport shuttle list, but I’d already printed it out for him.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to give this some thought.”
“I’m no good at this detective stuff, and nothing illegal has been done that I can prove. But if I don’t put an end to this, we’re not going to be able to make July’s payment.”
“I wish I could help.” Natalie didn’t know how her own bills were going to get paid, much less those of Higher Grounds.
“You’ve got enough to worry about. But it wouldn’t hurt to mention it in your prayers if you think of it.”
“You got it.”
Taylor went running for the ladder and began climbing. Natalie jumped up and went to spot him. So much was going on in their lives right now, and all of it seemed bad. Lord, why do I feel like Job all of a sudden?
Hanna opened the file drawer and pulled Devon’s application. Her eyes skimmed the page for anything suspicious, but everything looked in order.
Who else could it be? A stranger who picked the lock in the middle of the night? The thought sent a shudder through her. Maybe she should have the entrance locks changed. Who else had access to the lodge?
Micah. The uneasy thought flashed through her mind. She fished through the files for his application, but she couldn’t find it. She started at the front of the stuffed file and paged through the papers again, tossing out old papers as she went. His tax form was there and, right behind it, a half-sheet of paper with names and phone numbers scrawled on it.
That’s right. He’d just stopped in, spur of the moment, and I didn’t have him fill out an application. Her head spun. No. This is silly, Hanna; he wouldn’t do this. You know him. He’s the man who found Gram, the man who stirs your heart, for heaven’s sake.
Hanna breathed a laugh. Of course Micah isn’t doing this. What was she thinking? She shook her head, feeling a momentary pang of guilt. After all the things Micah had done for her, for Gram, for the lodge, and she was suspecting him of betrayal.
Rendering a mental apology to Micah, she tossed his references in the trash and went to the front desk to check out a couple. While she printed out their bill, Micah approached the desk and began looking over the sign-up sheets for this week’s climbs. The couple chatted with her for a few moments and thanked her for her restaurant recomm
endations over the past few days. Micah remained at the desk, quietly scanning his papers. Finally the couple left.
“Hi,” she said to Micah.
“How’s it going?”
It was his typical greeting, and she knew by now he didn’t expect a response. She reached under the counter for the register paper and began replacing the empty roll. She glanced at Micah. What was he doing? It only took a few moments to see how many were going on each trip. It was almost as if he were stalling, wanting to be there for some reason.
She harrumphed silently. Not a chance of that. He’d done nothing but avoid her since their kiss. One week ago today, she noted.
Micah cleared his throat, but a quick look at him showed his eyes were still fastened on the sign-up sheets.
“Did you want something?” she asked.
He glanced at her, then looked back at the papers as if studying them intensely. “No.” He flipped the page, and Hanna noticed the corner of the pages quivering in his hands. “I just—well, I …” He cleared his throat again. “I’m going canoeing on Thursday. Want to come along?”
Hesitant joy bubbled within her. Unless she was fooled by his tricky semantics, she had to believe he was asking her out on a date. She waited for him to look at her, but he studied the page as if her answer were written there. Sudden suspicion smothered her elation. Why was he asking her out? He’d been avoiding her for weeks, especially the past week.
“Why?”
His eyebrows popped. “Why?”
“Yes, why are you suddenly interested in spending time with me?”
Color mottled his cheeks as he flipped through the pages in his hand.
It didn’t take a genius to see he was embarrassed. Should she have put him on the spot that way? After all, she’d made her interest very clear over the past several weeks. He probably thought she’d jump at the chance. She longed to do so, but her impish, curious side wanted him to say it. She wanted him to admit he was asking her on a date and not making a casual, last-minute invitation as his words had suggested.
Mending Places Page 17
