That wasn’t thewisdom bomb I was looking for.
What were you lookingfor?
I was hoping you’d say that I’vehit my personal growth quota for the year.
Scout. Youstared down one of the scariest trails in the countryand came out on top. You can handle this.
Youhaven’t met my father.
Then maybe it’s timeyou do.
Sixteen
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.
—Edward Abbey, author and environmentalist
The persistent knocking at Scout’s cottage door startled her awake. She blinked, unsure if she was dreaming. Another knock—firmer this time—was followed by Naki’s deep voice. “Scout. It’s me.”
She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed. When she opened the door a crack to confirm it really was him and not a weird dream, Naki stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. She blinked. “You could’ve called to let me know you were comin’.”
“Sorry.”
She blinked again. “So what brings you here at”—she looked at her watch—“four o’clock in the mornin’?”
“After I left here yesterday, I stopped by Ranger Rivers’s office to study the clues. I think I know where a gold cache is hidden.”
Now she was wide awake. “I’ll go get dressed.”
A few minutes later, Scout emerged from her bedroom, tying her pink ribbon at the back of her neck. She brushed past Naki to grab her boots, then sat on the wobbly rocker to slip her feetinto them and tie the laces, aware that he was watching her. Too aware. She finished and stood. “What?”
“Your father is left-handed. Like you.”
Mid-reach for the jeep keys in a bowl on the coffee table, she froze. “We are nothing alike. And I don’t want to discuss my father. That topic is off-limits.”
Naki didn’t push, but his silence carried its own weight. Scout grabbed her keys, plopped her hat on her head, and crossed the room to the door.
“Scout.”
She turned.
He lifted a hand. “Gloves?”
She spun around and went into her bedroom to get her gloves.
They walked in silence to her jeep, the dawn air cool and damp against her skin. As she slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, she hesitated again, the question escaping her lips before she could think better of it. “Did he ever remarry?”
Naki, already buckling his seat belt, looked at her. “I thought you didn’t want to discuss him.”
“I don’t.” She gave him a side glance. “But did he?”
“Remarry? No.” He settled into the seat, stretching out his long legs. “I believe he is still in love with your mother.”
Scout snorted as she pulled out of the driveway, her knuckles tight on the steering wheel. “Not possible.”
“Then why does he still wear his wedding ring?”
She stilled for a second before shifting out of reverse. “So does my mother.” Whenever Scout asked her about it, she would say, “Honey, I earned this diamond by putting up with that man.” Scout’s theory was that Mother didn’t want people to know she was a divorcée. She shook off that thought and shifted gears, the hum of the engine filling the silence as they drove into the darkness. It was after she had turned onto themain road that it occurred to her that she didn’t know where she was going. “Directions?”
