by Sue Clifton
Charlie shook his head and continued looking down at Jezebel.
“Steve tell Charlie you good and not peek. Charlie not try scare. Charlie run like wind.” Charlie made a fast-moving motion with his hand in the air.
“You are a fast runner, but I won’t run after you anymore. You come see us whenever you want.” Cayce hesitated for a few seconds before changing the subject. “We saw Jesus today. You take good care of Jesus. I bet Sara likes that.” Cayce hoped to get Charlie to talk about the little spirit again.
“Sara sing ‘Jesus love me, dis I know.’ Sara dance when I give Jesus bath. Charlie like Sara, but Charlie not like black Belle. Not like black fog neither, but him like blue bubbles.”
Teesh came out of the cabin with Charlie’s fudge wrapped in foil.
“Here are some more plastic bags for you to use for the trout you’re getting for Harri. Clean them good like you do for Teesh, and put ’em in cold water and then in the bag. Zip it tight.” Teesh zipped and unzipped a bag to show Charlie.
“Charlie clean good. Charlie not come in. Charlie not like black Belle.”
As soon as Charlie got the fudge, he pulled his hat down, even though it appeared impossible to get it any tighter, and put Jezebel on the porch. He gave the cat one quick pat on the head and walked back toward the side of the cabin.
“Come back in a couple of days, Charlie, and I’ll have you some new boots.”
“Bye, Charlie,” Cayce called.
“Come visit us soon,” Harri added.
Charlie threw one hand up in a half-wave and disappeared around the corner of the cabin.
Chapter Thirteen
Piper boarded the small plane in Salt Lake City, dreading the window seat she had been assigned. The flight was full to Idaho Falls.
Thank goodness there are only two seats on each side, or I couldn’t stand it. I’ll die if some big fat man or woman sits beside me and hangs over onto my seat.
Piper knew she would not be a burden to whoever sat beside her, with running three or four miles every day, lifting weights three days a week, and watching what she ate. Piper was physically fit and trim, taller than her mom by two inches or so but with her mom’s build otherwise. Dressed for comfort, something very important after hours of flying from France to New York City, she wore her usual faded jeans, a fitted green T-shirt, and hiking boots. Piper was glad for the afternoon flight to Idaho Falls and had slept late that morning, hoping to ward off jet lag before reaching the ghost town where she planned to surprise her mother and aunt.
Piper’s long, curly blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail reaching halfway down her back. She had further contained the thick mass of curls under the bright-yellow fly fishing cap her mom had sent her. “Winston Rods” was written across the cap. Her mom had sent her a five-weight Joan Wulff Winston fly rod for Piper’s thirtieth birthday along with the cap, but she had been so busy studying art in Europe and visiting all the great art museums she’d never found the time to use her new rod.
Nine, ten, eleven…thirteen…oh, there’s row fourteen.
Piper checked to see where seat D was. A man was putting his pack in the overhead bin with his back to her.
Thank goodness! If that’s my seatmate, I’m in luck. He’s tall, but trim. No hangovers.
Piper continued to stare, noticing the guy’s faded but nicely creased Wranglers, roper boots, and thick, black, slightly wavy hair that hung over his jacket collar in the back. He took off his jacket and stuffed it on top of his pack.
Not bad from the back. Cute butt and awesome physique. If he looks that good from the front, this could be an interesting flight…maybe even too short.
Impressed with the muscles in his upper arms showing from under the short-sleeved tight-fitting gray T-shirt, Piper also noticed a black cowboy hat beside his pack.
He turned and started to sit in the aisle seat when he noticed Piper and did a double-take, teetering on the armrest of his seat. He immediately stood back up in the aisle and faced her.
“You might want to wait a second. That’s my seat by the window.” Piper smiled at the guy and was further impressed by his extremely handsome face. His hair was parted in the middle and hung over a dark-complexioned face with high cheekbones. He smiled, showing two deep dimples that somehow did not fit the high cheekbones. He moved out of her way in the aisle.
Piper took her pack off her back and reached to place it in the overhead.
“Here, let me help you with that.” He took her pack, scooted his down, and placed hers directly over the seats.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to get something out of my pack,” Piper apologized. She had been too intent on staring and had completely forgotten about her sketchpad.
“Not a problem.” He handed the pack back to her.
Piper took her sketchpad and pencils out of the pack and handed it back to the young man. “Sorry about that, but I need entertainment. Never can sleep on a plane.”
“I know what you mean. I can’t either. I’ve got some work to do myself.”
Piper slid into her window seat and placed her sketchpad in the seat pocket in front of her. After putting on her seatbelt, she turned to the young man.
“My name is Piper McCallister.” Piper held out her hand to the good-looking stranger.
“I’m Zachary Rockaby.” Zachary took Piper’s hand, gave it a firm squeeze, and held on to it while staring into her face. Then suddenly, as if he just realized he still held her hand, he dropped it. “Sorry…I uh…”
Piper noticed he was embarrassed and decided to start a conversation. “So you must be a BYU fan.” Piper nodded toward Zachary’s T-shirt.
Zach looked down at his shirt. “Well, yes, I am.” He hesitated before continuing. “But I also work at BYU.”
“Oh, really?” Piper replied. “What do you do there?”
“I teach psychology and history.” He paused before continuing, “And yes, I know it’s an odd combination, but I have degrees in both. BYU needed a part-time professor in each department, so I lucked up and got the job.”
“Pardon me for saying it, but you don’t look like any of the professors I had in college.” Piper smiled. “So are you Doctor Zachary Rockaby?”
“You’re not the first person to be surprised by my profession.” Zachary smiled in return. “But please call me Zach. That’s actually what most of my students call me, and no, I don’t have my doctorate yet. I am close, though. ABD, as those with doctorates like to call it.”
Noticing the questioning look on Piper’s face, he explained the acronym. “All But Dissertation. I’m having a hard time narrowing down my topic.” He rubbed a hand through his hair that had fallen across one eye. “So what do you do, Miss McCallister…or is it Mrs. McCallister?” Zach looked at Piper’s ring finger and saw a large solitaire diamond on a wide gold band inlaid with crushed turquoise.
“No. I’m not married,” Piper answered a little too quickly. Embarrassed, she continued, “This was my mom’s wedding ring. She gave it to me when she and Dad divorced.” Piper straightened the diamond. “I should probably wear it on my right hand, but it has actually saved me from creeps a few times over the years. Not that you’re a creep or anything…far from it.” Again, her cheeks heated, and she decided to change the topic. “Actually, I’m just returning from Europe, where I’ve been studying art. But I’m not famous—at least, not yet. I have a degree in art and probably will teach at some point, but right now, I’m a starving, unemployed artist.”
“Well, I’m somewhat unemployed myself. I’m on sabbatical while I finish writing a book. I need to be published in order to make full professor, and I have a publisher lined up already—a university press, so I probably won’t make the bestseller list. I just need to finish it.” Zach reached for the zip notebook under the seat in front of him. “And this is my entertainment for the trip.”
“What’s your book about? I’m guessing it’s nonfiction, of course.” Piper was enjoying the conversation with
the handsome professor. She hoped they would talk all the way to Idaho Falls so she could continue to look into those tantalizing dark eyes.
“I’m researching ghost towns of Idaho, and I’m thinking about extending my research to Montana. I know it has nothing to do with what I teach, but I’ve always been fascinated by them. I’m hoping I can connect my interest to my fields at some point, but right now, I just need to get published.”
Zach seemed to also enjoy looking into Piper’s eyes, and he smiled considerably, as if the pleasure was all his. “You have the most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen. They’re like light-colored emeralds—real ones, not the dark green like the manmade ones.” Zach continued staring until her face heated even more with embarrassment. He cleared his throat and looked away for a second, like maybe he realized what he’d done to her, and then turned back. “You ever been to a ghost town?”
Piper could not believe what she was hearing. If she was anyone other than Cayce McCallister’s daughter, she might actually believe in coincidences, but her mother had told her many times, “Coincidences and luck do not exist in our family,” a philosophy Piper was trying to come to terms with, along with the Gift her mother and aunt had, the one she insisted she did not have. Yet here it was again, one of those nonexistent coincidences happening way too much lately. Piper looked away from Zach to fidget with her sketchbook, not wanting to continue the conversation. Zach, however, would not let her reaction go unnoticed.
“Is something wrong, Piper?” Zach cocked his head, lowered it, and looked up into Piper’s face. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you with the beautiful-eyes remark. I meant it as a compliment, and I swear it isn’t a pick-up line.”
“Oh, no. I’m not embarrassed.” Piper stopped fidgeting, placed the sketchbook in her lap, and crossed her hands on top of it. “I mean, thank you. I did take it as a compliment.” She smiled at Zach. “Uh, what was it you asked me?” Piper attempted to give herself time to think, afraid of what was coming next.
“I asked if you had ever been to a ghost town.”
“No. But my mother and aunt are staying in one as we speak, and I’m headed to visit them.” With reluctance Piper asked the next question. “Where are you headed?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Piper threw up one hand to stop Zach before he could answer. “No, wait! Don’t tell me.” Piper tore off a corner of an unwanted page in her sketchbook, tore the scratch paper in half, and handed one piece to Zach.
“Okay. This is a little experiment, so bear with me. Don’t let me see what you write but write the name of the place where you’re going. I’m going to write down the name of the place where I’m going to visit my mother, but I won’t let you see it, either.” Piper took a pencil from the spirals of her sketchbook while Zach took a pen out of his notebook pocket.
“Okay. I like games.” Zach leaned over into the aisle, hiding his paper from Piper. Piper turned her back to the window and did the same. They each folded their papers twice.
“All right. On the count of three, we exchange papers,” Piper instructed. “One, two, three.” Quickly, the two exchanged scraps, and each unfolded at the same time.
“I cannot believe this! Is this for real?” Zach looked puzzled after reading Piper’s scrap of paper.
“I’m afraid so. I had a feeling you were going to Bar None. Coincidences have a way of finding me, and it is becoming a little disconcerting.” She wadded the scrap of paper up and put it in the seat pocket.
“ESP? Can you predict the future?” Zach looked serious, but had a little bit of a twinkle in his eye. Piper eyed him suspiciously. “But then, you couldn’t have planned this. Hmmm. Very interesting.” Zach rubbed his chin and smiled at her. “Care to explain why you turned this into a game?”
“Like I said, it’s something that has been happening to me a lot in the past few months, mostly since I’ve been away from Mom.” Piper looked at Zach. “And no, I had no idea we would be heading to the same place. I can’t explain the coincidences or the things that have been happening to me, and I can’t explain why we just happened to be seated beside each other. I guess we can just call it fate.” She shrugged her shoulders and gave a half-hearted smile.
“You know, the word ‘fate’ can have negative connotation. I just can’t seem to feel anything negative about this encounter. Feels pretty darn lucky to me.” Zach winked at Piper and gave her hand a squeeze, but then let go of her hand and rested it on his notebook in his lap.
“If you want to talk about these…uh, coincidences…I’m a pretty good listener. Remember, I had a double major in undergrad and grad school, and psychology is a main area of interest. I promise not to psychoanalyze you.” Zach crossed his heart. “Promise.”
Their conversation was interrupted by, “Please use the card in the seat back pocket and follow along with our safety instructions.”
Piper was relieved the flight attendant started the pre-flight instructions. She was not sure she wanted to confide in her new friend about all the experiences and mixed feelings from the past six months in Europe. Part of her wanted to tell someone, and the other part still wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. She was glad for the few minutes to think about it as their plane took off.
While Zach looked at the safety card, Piper flipped through her sketchbook and stopped at a page containing scenes from a frontier town that seemed to be alive and thriving. Buildings covered both sides of the street, with snow-capped mountains forming the perfect backdrop. On one side of the town ran a meandering stream with big boulders beside it, and on the other side was a railroad track, part of which ran right through the middle of town. Piper was so intent on staring at the scene she didn’t notice Zach looking over her shoulder.
“I thought you said you’ve never been to a ghost town.”
“I haven’t.” Piper closed the sketchbook.
“Wait a minute.” Zach flipped through his notebook. “Here it is.” He pulled the rings open and took a sheet out of his notebook. “Check this out.” Zach handed the sheet of paper to Piper and almost butted heads with her as they both looked at the picture. It was almost identical to the sketch Piper had drawn.
“Let me guess. This is Bar None before it died.” Piper turned back to her sketch and held the picture beside it. She looked at Zach, disbelieving and more than a little spooked.
“It’s Bar None in about 1880,” Zach explained. “You’re sure you’ve never seen a picture of the old town before? Maybe your mom sent you a picture and you forgot about it.”
Piper was not buying it and shook her head. “Zach, I dreamed it. I woke up at two-thirty a.m. a couple of days ago, like I do almost every night, and the picture appeared in my mind, so vivid I spent the rest of the night sketching it.” Piper handed the picture back to Zach and closed her sketchbook. “This just can’t be happening to me again.” She leaned her head against the window, folded her arms, and closed her eyes with no intention of sleeping.
“This really bothers you, doesn’t it?” Zach hesitated, but got no response. “You said, ‘again.’ Have you had other dreams? Do they all come true?” Zach put the picture back in his notebook and zipped it closed, giving her all his attention.
Piper opened her eyes but looked straight ahead, not knowing whether to continue discussing her fears with this stranger or not. “I just met you, Zach, but for some reason, I don’t want to scare you away. But if I tell you everything and you’re as smart as I think you are, you’ll ask to change your seat.” She looked at Zach, who was regarding her with concern.
“I don’t scare easily, and to be quite honest, I’m thrilled we are going to the same place. I would like nothing better than to get to know you, Piper McCallister.” To Piper’s surprise, Zach reached over and put his hand over hers. “Now, tell me as much as you feel comfortable with telling me.”
Piper had no idea why she trusted this complete stranger, other than his awesome good looks, but she did feel comfortable with him. Before she knew it, words flowed f
rom her mouth about her family’s Gift, that came from her grandfather’s side of the family, and how it affected her mother and her aunt Harri. She also told him she did not want to have paranormal powers and had tried not to acknowledge what was happening to her but could not ignore it any longer. Before she knew what was happening, tears puddled in her eyes.
Zach still had her hand covered with his and now locked his fingers through hers. “Piper, I wish I could help you with this. I don’t have any kind of powers, so I have no firsthand knowledge of how you feel, but I do have Native American ancestors. They were all spiritualists. My grandfather was Shoshone-Bannock, and though not a shaman himself, he believed in the power of the shaman, and that included the power of dreams. So I’m not foreign to the subject; I just don’t have any powers of my own.”
“Native American ancestors? Well, that explains your dark hair and eyes and high cheekbones. I’m not sure if it explains the wavy hair and the dimples, though.” Piper looked into Zach’s face, scrutinizing his features. “And there’s something about your eyes that is not quite Native American.”
“Yeah, well, I’m kind of a mixture in the bloodline department, but I’ve been told I look like my grandfather.” Zach ran his left hand through his thick hair again.
Piper was feeling power from Zach as he continued to hold her hand, but it was not paranormal. She had not experienced a romantic relationship since she’d been in Europe. She’d had plenty of offers but was just getting over a relationship that had lasted over a year—until she found out Jonathan was leading a double life, as in having a wife in Colorado. She’d been so hurt by his duplicity she’d sworn off men indefinitely. This was another reason she had wanted to study abroad. But here she was feeling something like complete trust, along with another kind of sensation that had nothing to do with trust and everything to do with physical attraction.
As if realizing he was moving way too fast, Zach let go of Piper’s hand and pulled his notebook from under the seat again. Piper also, under the same impression, began flipping through her sketchbook. She stopped at an unfinished sketch of two little girls in Victorian dress having a pretend tea party.
