As the coffee hit her tongue, she discovered it had gone cold. After a glance down at her pajamas, she rose from the glider, tossed the bitter liquid over the railing, and strolled across the porch. Time to get dressed and get the ATV loaded. She looked forward to the thirty-minute ride up the primitive trail to the gravesite. The peace of the forest would ease her mind. She also needed to get back down the mountain in time to talk to Mrs. Newell’s third-grade class about the local raccoon population and that no matter what the children saw on television; the animals did not make suitable pets.
A chittering noise at the edge of the woods grabbed her attention.Without even looking, she knew who it was and called over her shoulder as she headed toward the back door. “I don’t have time today. If you want to meet me at the gravesite, go on ahead, and I’ll see you there.” Through the screen door, she glanced across the yard to make sure the animals had heard her. “Go on. Meet me at Jake’s marker. Today is our anniversary, remember?” Three squirrels, a doe, and a very obese raccoon turned and disappeared into the woods.
3
What a quaint town, this Jasper Mills. Taggart rolled his shoulders as he followed the sidewalk running alongside the tree-lined road. Gads, the next time he traversed across several continents he would sift into a secluded wood. He didn’t care if he did risk discovery. Hours wedged inside a plane bordered on unbearable torture. He didn’t care if the flight attendant swore it was first class. The seats didn’t fit his arse.
“MacPherson Clinic,” he read aloud. The brilliant blue sign with white lettering ran across the front of a white clapboard building. His heart sank when he discovered the blinds drawn in the wide, plate-glass window. A bright red closed sign also leaned it. ’Twas the middle of the day. The middle of the week. Where in Hades could the woman be? Shouldn’t she be at her place of business?
He spun on his heel and scanned the street, even though he didn’t know what she looked like. However, if she came close enough, she would draw him in like a bee to pollen. He reached out with his senses but still felt absolutely nothing. Hannah MacPherson was not in town.
“Bloody hell.” Then he noticed the neat script written on thebottom portion of the closed sign.In case of emergency, see Millie at the diner. She knows how to reach me.
“Millie at the diner, eh?” He turned and looked up and down the street. “I would definitely call this an emergency.”
“Excuse me, young man?” A wisp of an old lady with shining blue hair squinted up at him through her thick, silver-rimmed spectacles. The sparkly blue chain attached to the earpieces dangled down around her neck, swaying every time she spoke. “Did you say something to me?”
He adopted his most charming smile and bowed. “Would ye be kind enough to give me directions to the diner? I am from out of town and seem to be a bit lost.”
A hint of a pinkness blushed across the woman’s crinkled cheeks as she patted a lace hanky to her bright red lips. “Why certainly, young man. Just across the way there. Cross the lane here and go down a block to your left. You are not far at all.”
With another gallant bow, he gifted her a blinding smile. “Ye are most kind, ma’am. Thank ye verra much.”
The woman tittered into her hanky as he headed across the street.
He had best keep his thoughts to himself rather than speak them. That kindly lady might not have been so helpful had she arrived a few moments sooner to find him cursing the air blue. The thought of her made him smile. That first inhabitant of Jasper Mills reminded him a great deal of the gentlefolk of Erastaed.
A jangling bell above the diner door sounded just as the smells from the kitchen assaulted him. His empty stomach roared to attention as he identified the mouthwatering aroma of grilled hamburgers, fried potatoes, and sautéed onions. Perhaps he would do more than just ask for Millie. After all, a man must eat. After a glance around the restaurant, he opted to sit at the counter. At least until he found Millie.
“What’ll you have?” A perky blonde poured a glass of ice water and set it in front of him.
“Millie?” He wrapped both hands around the cold, sweating glass and rubbed his thumbs across the rim. Her sharp intake of breathand the alarm in her pale blue eyes gave the young woman away. Aye. This was Millie for certain.
“Why do you ask?” She sidled back, putting more distance between them.
“I need to reach Hannah MacPherson. ’Tis quite urgent, and the sign at her clinic said to ask for ye.” He suppressed a smile. The lass was transparent as glass. She tensed even more, and her hand had curled into a fist when he mentioned Hannah MacPherson. Why was Millie so protective of his precious Guardian?
She turned away, snatched a coffeepot from the warming plate, and held it aloft while edging her way out from behind the counter. “I am Millie, but today is a full day on Dr. MacPherson’s calendar. I refuse to interrupt her unless you tell me what you want. Like the sign said, it has to be an absolute emergency. Do you have an injured animal or something?”
Taggart allowed himself a smile as he stared down at the rings of condensation on the well-scrubbed counter. Millie guarded Hannah as though she were the lass’s mother. Good. But he wasn’t the one Millie should fear. He had come prepared for just such a situation. He pulled a manila-bound packet from inside his jacket and slid it down the counter toward the nervous young woman. “Read this. I feel certain ye will understand why it is of the utmost importance that I contact Ms. MacPherson right away. I have been trying to contact her for quite some time and as ye can see, the news is quite good.”
Millie sat down the coffee urn, opened the packet, and withdrew the sheaf of papers from within. After skimming the pages, she lowered them and hit him with a disbelieving frown. “Is this for real?”
“I wouldna be here, lass, if it were not.”
Sticky bundlesof fragrant honeysuckles covered the rack of her ATV. The hillside behind her house crawled with the flowering vinesthat she both love and hated. Loved for their fragrance. Hated for the painful memories they stirred.
Hannah leaned to the side as the machine lumbered up the winding trail. The engine grumbled as she traveled between gnarled trunks and bumped across growth attempting to reclaim the path. The chunky wheels grabbed hold of rocks and roots, overcoming anything she hit. Her heart grew heavier with every twisting turn. She could drive this trail with her eyes shut. She walked it more than drove it the first year after Jake died. The trees blocked most of the sunlight, creating a green tunnel up the mountainside.
This mountain owned her heart and soul. She and Jake had planned on filling it with generations of MacPhersons when he returned from the war. He had promised her lots of babies. It would have been just them since both their families were gone. Now she lived alone on their mountain, just her and all the animals.
She swiped a hand across her damp cheeks, remembering her oath to keep the tears to a minimum. All that brought was an aching head, a snotty nose, and hiccuping until she puked. Everything happened for a reason. Wasn’t that what Granny always said?
At least she and Jake had enjoyed growing up together and a couple years of marriage. She could just hear Granny preaching for her to quit whining. Granny didn’t believe in dwelling on the negative. The stubborn old woman had promised there was always somebody in this world whose lot in life was worse than your own. With a sigh, Hannah revved the ATV over a small fallen log downed across the path. Sometimes it was just easier to wallow in self-pity than count blessings.
The trail opened into a sunny clearing, the ground soft and spongy with years of fallen leaves blown across it like a quilt waiting to be pieced. A large obelisk of weathered stone stood in the center of the tree-lined circle, looking as though it had fallen forward in time from some medieval century. The three squirrels, the doe, and raccoon waited for her in a contented pile beside an outcropping of elderberry bushes.
She killed the engine, blinking to clear away the threat of moretears. It had been a while since she had been here last. Jake’s birthday, to be exact. Her hands tightened on the textured grips before she threw a leg over the side and slid off the seat.
