"I couldn't say. I wasn't there long enough. I should have asked her to go for a cup of coffee and find out, but at the time I didn't even think I'd be here much longer. For all I know, she might not have even accepted my invitation. She looked like something was bothering her. Maybe that's why I didn't ask. I watch out for her car when I'm out. It has a butterfly sticker on the back bumper. "
"I can't imagine too many people have butterfly stickers on their bumpers. I'll keep an eye out for you too."
Ronni smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate it. It's nice having my best friend back."
"It certainly is," Halie said. "Speaking of which, we're having a couple of friends over for Thanksgiving this year and we'd love it if you could come too."
"Good company, free food and beer, are you kidding? Of course I'll be here." Then in a serious note she added, "Thanks. I wasn't looking forward to spending the holiday alone. My dad's going to my uncle's, but I haven't built up enough vacation time to visit him. Plus, I need to save money right now, not spend it."
"Great. I'm sure Sam will be happy. She really likes you."
"Of course," Ronni said. "What's not to like?"
After dinner, Halie prepped the fireplace and lit the wood. The temperature dropped below the freezing mark. In a way she was glad, since no more kids came to the door in over an hour. Relaxing, she made a bowl of popcorn and sat watching a movie with Ronni and Jake. Not ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Halie's body jerked as she sat erect.
Jake barked, sprung up, and ran first to the door and then back to Halie.
A concerned expression crossed Halie's face.
"Who'd be out now? I wouldn't even answer it," Ronni said.
After the ringing came a set of rapid taps on the front door. "I better go see anyway," Halie said. "Stay here," she said to Jake. The porch light was on. Halie peered out the peek hole and saw a woman dressed in a pirate outfit with a black hat and feather sticking out, her breath rising in the air in front of her. "It's Felice," Halie whispered. "The woman you met in the photo gallery."
"The one you seemed to not really want to be there?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Pretend you're not home."
"I can't. She must have seen the lights on."
"Then go ahead and open it if you want. I'm here, so you don't need to worry. I'll kick her ass ten ways to Sunday if she gives you any trouble."
"I don't doubt that," Halie said. She opened the door.
"Trick-or-treat," Felice said.
"Felice," Halie said, her reply flat. "You're kidding, right?"
"I am. Actually, I brought a treat for you." Felice held up a bakery box. "Devil's-Ghoul cake. I know you like to eat, and I know Sam's out of town, so I thought you might want a little company on a cold night. I can't stay for long, unless you want me to. I've got a party to go to, as you can see," she said. She placed her hand on the plastic hilt of her scabbard.
"How did you know where we lived and how did you know Sam was out of town?" Halie asked.
"I'm still on good terms with certain people in Grand Teton who don't think I'm such a terrible person and who'll talk to me. People who tend to forgive and forget, and give other people second chances. And as I'm sure you're aware, secrets are few and far between around here, even when you don't live in government housing," Felice said. She leaned to her right and glimpsed into the foyer past Halie.
"That may be so, but your dropping by unannounced kind of took me by surprise. Under different circumstances I'd invite you in, but with Sam not being here--"
"You have company?" Felice shot back. "I smelled the fireplace on and saw the lights, but I didn't realize--I mean--I wasn't expecting--"
"Is there a problem here?" Ronni said. She held Jake by the collar.
"No problem," Felice answered. "I stopped by to drop off a cake for Halie and thought she might like a little company for a while, but I can see she's well taken care of." Addressing Halie, she continued, "If you ever decide I'm not such a bad person to be around, give me a call. You can get the number from the college. That is, if you can fit it into your schedule."
"I really think you should leave now," Ronni said. "I'm not fond of your tone. I suggest you keep the cake too. We ate already."
Felice opened her mouth as though she was about to reply. Instead her eyes narrowed. "Enjoy the evening," she said, then turned and strutted down the front steps.
RONNI DROVE OUT of Sam and Halie's driveway and headed to work the following morning. She enjoyed spending time with Halie, but was anxious to get back to her normal routine. She'd planned on working on her Jeep that night after work. But when she reached the end of the driveway, she threw it in reverse and headed back from where she'd left. She rang the doorbell and Halie answered. Halie stood in her bathrobe.
"Hi, what's up? Did you forget something?" Halie asked.
"No. I don't want to worry you, but I think you should take a walk with me to the end of the driveway. It looks to me like someone ran over your mailbox."
Halie took a deep breath. "Let me throw on some clothes and I'll be right there."
The mailbox was leaning into the yard at a forty-five degree angle, and a portion of the fence beyond was broken. "I didn't hear anybody run into this last night, did you?" Halie asked.
"No, nothing."
"Maybe a group of kids pushed it over, with Halloween and all."
"I don't think so," Ronni said. "There's a dent in the post. I'm guessing someone ran into it."
Tears started to well in Halie's eyes. "I'm so tired of this, I really am. We haven't done anything to anyone. Why can't whoever's doing this leave us alone? I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Ronni cradled Halie in her arms. "It's okay. I'll tell you what. Why don't I come back again tonight after work and stay with you? Sam will be home tomorrow. I'll see if I can get off work early if you want."
"That'd be great if you would stay. Don't take off early though. I'll be alright. I have to go to work too."
"Come on, let's go back in the house. I'll see what I can do about temporarily fixing the mailbox and then I'll go. I find it highly coincidental though, that your friend Felice stopped by last night and now this morning, the mailbox and part of the fence are mowed down," Ronni said.
"Yeah, that doesn't sit well with me either."
"Are you going to tell Sam?"
"I'll wait until she gets home tomorrow."
WHEN SAM FINALLY got home late Wednesday afternoon, Jake all but knocked her over. He barked and sprang in a circle, knocked over her duffle bag and pushed his weight against her until she kissed and petted him. Then he ran toward his bed and raced back, leaving barely enough time for Sam to get in a quick hug with Halie. "This guy's crazy," Sam said.
"You have no idea," Halie said. "He's been on pins and needles since you left. He stares out the window at night waiting for you. I'm surprised he has any energy at all. I think having Ronni here helped though. He seemed to quiet down when she was around."
"Yeah, I'm glad she stayed with you. It put my mind at ease." Sam walked to the cabinet where they kept Jake's treats. "Let me give him a chew stick so he calms down, and then I can say hello to you properly." After Jake raced off, chew stick in mouth, Sam took Halie in her arms. "I missed you so much," she said.
"I missed you too. I'm glad you're home again. I got worried with the weather. I hoped your flight wouldn't get delayed. It started snowing here around one and within a couple hours, we already had half a foot. I left work early. The forecast called for a foot," Halie said.
"At the rate it's falling, they may have underestimated a bit."
"You should've seen Jake when I let him out. He pounced in the snow off the steps and raced around the yard like a loon, until his footprints crisscrossed the yard in every direction. He practically left no fresh patch of snow untouched."
"Yeah, he loves the first snow of the season. It's funny to watch him when he gets crazy like that."
"So, did you br
ing me anything?"
"As a matter of fact, I did, but I'll get to that in a minute." Sam pulled Halie closer. She missed the scent of her and enjoyed the feel of her body pressed against hers. She leaned forward and kissed Halie tenderly on the lips.
Halie reciprocated the kiss more timidly than Sam expected and ended it in what felt to Sam as, once again, an abrupt manner. "Let's go eat," Halie said. Then she spun around and headed into the kitchen. "I'm starving and I've got some things I need to tell you."
Under other circumstances, Sam would have found humor in Halie's eating comment, knowing her desire for food takes over almost everything else, but today the comment cut like a knife. She hadn't seen Halie in days. They hadn't been close since before their trip to New Jersey. The slender veil of confidence she bore of their relationship returning to normal was shaken once again. The energy in Sam's body was sucked from her the instant Halie turned and walked away. All she could manage to say was, "I'm taking my bags upstairs." She knew she couldn't go in the kitchen at that moment and eat, as dejected as she felt. She also realized in some way she was part to blame. She could have spoken up. She could have tried charming her partner. She didn't have the confidence though to do more.
Chapter Twelve
"WHEN DO YOU start giving ski lessons again at Alpine Crest?" Cali asked April as she brushed the shiny back of one of her favorite quarter horses stabled at the ranch.
"In a few weeks, why?" April said.
"I thought I might apply for a part time job there this season. I need to stash away some extra cash. There are a few things I wanted to buy that I've had my eye on."
"You have room for another part-time job?"
"The animal hospital cut one of my nights, plus the reduced winter hours here don't help, and I still have weekends free."
"You better hurry then. I think tomorrow's the last day they're taking applications. And you'll need to go in person. They won't hire anyone without interviewing them. What job did you have in mind?" April asked.
"What do they offer, do you know?"
"It's more like, what don't they offer. When I applied a couple of years ago, I went to the job fair they held in town. I recall openings for housekeeping, daycare, guest services, parking attendants, working the ticket office, front desk, maintenance, ski lift operators and ski lift attendants--"
"Ski lift attendant is actually what I was interested in. I get to meet people and be outdoors. I guess they let you ski the slopes for free on your time off too?"
"Yeah, plus you get discounts on lift tickets in the other resorts, and in local businesses and free ski and snowboard lessons if you want them. You might even get me teaching you."
"That would be great. I love to ski. The problem is I don't have the money to spend on tickets," Cali said.
"Not that you'd have much time with your schedule. But if you're really interested, I'd give a call over there today and see if they can fit you in tomorrow. It'd be better than stopping by unannounced."
Cali closed the stall door behind Midnight. "I'll do that, thanks."
SINCE RONNI WORKED late at the garage on her car the night before, she decided to take a break this evening and enjoy a relaxing dinner in town and a movie, per her roommate Tracy's insistent invitation. Tracy was beyond attractive, and Ronni enjoyed her company, but all during dinner, all she thought about was Cali. The time between the present and their meeting that night in the rain continued to grow and despite Ronni's effort searching for her. She was no closer now than she'd been that night. She'd almost resigned herself to the fact that finding Cali wasn't in the cards.
Perhaps worse than the thought of never seeing Cali again was the fear that she would find her and Cali would have no interest in her whatsoever. She couldn't read Cali's assessment of her when they first met. It wasn't like they came upon each under the best of circumstances, and the fact Ronni felt an unexplainable attraction didn't mean that Cali did. Ronni knew she wasn't hard on the eyes, but she could stand to lose a few pounds, and her smoking probably hadn't made a great impression, not that she was trying to impress anyone. She could quit smoking though. That might stack a few more cards on her deck.
"Hello, earth to Ronni," Tracy said.
"Huh, what?"
"Yeah, "˜what' is exactly the point. Have you been listening to anything I've said over the past five minutes? You seem like you're a million miles away. Am I that boring?"
"Uh, no. I'm sorry. No, you're not boring at all. I'm enjoy your company and I'm glad you asked me to go out with you--well, not go out, out with you. I mean--you know what I--"
"Forget it. I get the drift. So who is she?"
"Huh?"
"I said, who is she? What, you didn't think I knew you were gay? Pu-lease, I may be straight, but your gaydar or whatever you own that you beam out is quite clear. Besides, why else would your attention not be smattered on me?"
Ronni's expression relaxed and she smiled. "Gaydar? And how do you know about gaydar?"
"I may have a couple of rainbow stripes in me. Hell, I am human, and you have an alluring charisma to you, whether you know it or not. Not that I'm interested, of course, since I'm straight, so don't let it go to your head."
"Of course, no, I wouldn't do that." Ronni wiped her mouth with her napkin before placing it on the table and tapped her belly, pleasantly surprised by her roommate's confession. She sat a few inches taller. "Man, I'm stuffed."
"Me too," Tracy added. "So, spill it. Who is she?"
"Her name's Cali Brooks. You don't happen to know her, do you?"
"Sorry. The name doesn't ring a bell. Why didn't you get her number?"
"Because I wasn't thinking at the time I guess, and didn't see the point. It's not like I lived here. I was visiting friends and riding back to my motel after dinner. It was late and raining. I was tired. I saw her on the side of the road. Her car broke down and I helped get her on her way, but there was something in her eyes and the tone of her voice and the way she carried herself. I don't know. I know it sounds stupid, but I sensed something special about her. I just didn't do anything about it. And now, months later, all I can think about is her and I don't even really know who she is, or if by some miracle I might even be a passing thought in her mind."
"You got it bad girlfriend, I can see that. Well, I know if some tall, handsome stranger rescued me one rainy night, I'd remember them," she said, then winked.
"Thanks for saying that."
"Come on, let's get out of here and rent a movie instead of wasting our money in the theatre. You most likely won't be paying attention anyway. I'll make us a nice, big bowl of popcorn, and you can drift off to wherever you like, and still have company doing it."
"Thanks, Tracy, you're the best."
"You got that right, and don't forget it."
Ronni forced herself to stay focused on the ride home. She knew not doing so could prove fatal. After passing through a traffic light, the vision of what she'd seen seconds before registered in her mind. They passed a convenience store parking lot and Cali's car, or what she thought was Cali's car, was parked out in front. Ronni's heart raced. Her palms sweat. "Hold on," she said to Tracy, then spun the Jeep around and headed back to the store.
"What the heck are you doing? Are you crazy? You're lucky there wasn't a cop around or you'd have gotten a ticket."
"I looked first."
"The heck you did. So what gives?"
"I saw Cali's car in the parking lot of the convenience store we just passed."
"Of course. That makes perfect sense now. If you ever do that again, even though you're bigger than me, I'm going to make you pay," Tracy said.
Ronni pulled into the parking lot. "Sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have done that, at least not with you in the car. The car's gone, but this means she probably lives in the area and wasn't passing through."
"Well that's something I guess," Tracy said.
"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Nah, I've done worse. I
think it's nice and I hope you find her. It'd be nice if you didn't kill yourself or anyone else in the process though."
"I said I was sorry. It won't happen again."
When they got to the apartment, Ronni said, "I think I'm going to give up smoking. If I ever do get a chance to meet her again, I don't want it to be with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth."
"Yeah, not a great look, but good luck with that."
"Thanks, I'll probably need it," Ronni said. At least Cali Brooks was no longer a phantom. Warmth rose up within Ronni. Cheeks flushed, her hope of finding Cali was renewed, and now she had a place to start her search.
Chapter Thirteen
A LIGHT SNOW sprinkled the landscape early Thanksgiving morning, then picked up considerably as the day wore on. By noon, six inches had fallen. Halie hoped the weather wouldn't ruin their Thanksgiving dinner. She spent the better part of the morning and the prior evening preparing for the meal while Sam spruced up the house. In addition to making butternut squash soup, a vegetable lasagna, winter salad with walnuts, apples, and cranberries, along with a cranberry-orange balsamic vinaigrette dressing, she made Sam's favorite stuffed mushrooms. She also cleaned and cut string beans which she'd later sauté and top with roasted almond slivers. Last on the to-do list was to cut the spinach and corn quesadillas into slender triangles for appetizers.
Jake barked several times and ran from one end of the living room to the other as an unfamiliar car pulled into the driveway. Cali Brooks stepped from the driver's side of the vehicle first, then April and Corrine got out. Sam opened the front door and waited for them behind the glass storm door. "You sit and be a good boy," she said to Jake.
Sam hugged April first, then Corrine, and shook Cali's hand as April introduced her. "It's so good to see you guys," Sam said, "and to meet you Cali. You resemble your mother so much."
Cali smiled. "Thank you, and thanks for inviting me. My mom told me what you did for her. I can't thank you enough. She might not be here today if it weren't for you."
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