“Cayn Stiner? Yeah, I know her. In fact, you just missed her. She was in here earlier.” The woman snapped her fingers. “You know, you sound just like her. Same accent and everything. Are you two from the same country?”
Smiling, he nodded. “Yes. You could say we were childhood sweethearts.”
“Well, I don’t know where she lives,” Cora admitted, and he instantly recognized the lie. “But if you come back here tomorrow morning between seven and seven-thirty, she usually comes around that time for breakfast. We got the best damn flapjacks in the county, I guarantee.”
I bet you do, he mentally responded. “Thank you. I appreciate the help.”
“Tell you what. I’ll go make that phone call right now and see if the motel’s got a spare room. Won’t take me long. Enjoy your meal!”
As she made the call, he dove into the bowl of soup, all the while keeping an eye open to the early evening traffic outside. He’d made progress. He prayed it would continue.
Accosted
She slept fitfully. Her mind kept replaying that scene over and over again with the stranger who’d come to the grocers. Something about him…compelled her. Spoke to her in a secret, almost intimate way that didn’t appall her. Just the opposite. She felt drawn to him, but she couldn’t understand why.
A block away, when the St. Agnes church bell rang at six a.m. to announce morning services, Juda gave up trying to get any decent rest. She took her time dressing and preparing for the day. “Might as well go over to the diner and have an extra cup of coffee. I will need it to help me get through my shift.”
The wind was brisk, sending fall leaves whirling around her feet, but the sun shone warm against her back. She didn’t make much working at the small store, but she didn’t need to. She lived frugally, albeit some may claim poorly. Yet after having to live on almost nothing, sometimes for years on end, it was a comfortable existence for her.
It was almost seven when she reached the diner. She ate almost all her meals here, mostly because she’d never learned how to cook. Most of what she knew was rudimentary—kill it, skewer it, and hang it over a fire. There were a few tricks she’d learned, either by accident or taught to her by someone she’d met during her travels through time. Most of those were medicinal, for whenever she and…Cayn…
There he was again, taking up all the space in her mind until there was nothing left but him. Who was he to her? A brother? A lover?
“Good morning! My, you’re bright and early this morning!” a familiar voice greeted her.
Juda plastered a smile to her face. “Good day to you, Cora. I had a rough night last night, so I thought I would go ahead and get my day started earlier than usual.”
“I take it you’d like your coffee first instead of last, then?” The motherly woman smiled almost affectionately.
“Yes. Please. Thank you.”
She was blowing on her hands to warm them when the waitress returned with the coffee pot. Juda watched as she turned over the mug in front of her to fill it.
“Oh! I need to pass along a message to you,” Cora stated. “A nice young man came in last night, after you’d left. He was looking for you. Called you by name.”
Juda added a liberal dose of sugar to the liquid. “He did?”
“Yes. Said he was an old friend of yours. I didn’t tell him where you lived or anything like that. I’d never do that. Not without your permission.”
Juda nodded. “Thank you. What else did he have to say?” In her mind she envisioned the young stranger, but a part of her argued it couldn’t be him. If he was, he would have said something at the store. Called her by name, or whatever it would take to let her know who he was.
“He asked me to let you know that Cayn Stiner was in town.”
Juda stared at the woman in disbelief. “Cayn? Did you say Cayn?”
“Yes.” Cora bobbed her head. “Do you know him?”
She didn’t know she’d gotten to her feet until she realized she was facing the woman directly. “Do you know where he is? Did he say where he was staying? Or where he was going?”
She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. His name pulsed inside her head like a sun, promising light and warmth. And more.
Cora stared at her wide-eyed. “My goodness, child! Are you all right? Yes, I was able to find him—”
“Cayn Stiner? You know where Cayn Stiner is?” a gruff voice demanded behind them.
Juda whirled around to see Goen and his man standing just inside the front door. Before she could react, the man strode toward them, blocking her way and keeping her from escaping. Instead of grabbing her, as she expected him to do, Goen grabbed Cora by the front of her uniform and jerked her toward him.
“Tell me where he is!” he ordered.
