But there was no use worrying about it—she’s going to leave soon no matter what the sister says. It’s not as though she’d camp out in his cabin through the holidays—she had people at home. Never mind her grousing about her sister, at least she had a sister who loved her, cared about her. And what had she said when she asked for a ride to town? Just a little while longer…
It was the first relationship he’d had in about four years. Old Raleigh didn’t count—that had been pure servitude. If the man hadn’t left him part of a mountain, Ian would never have suspected Raleigh was even slightly grateful for the caretaking in the last months. Ian saw people regularly—he worked for the moving company when the weather was good, had his firewood route, went places like the library, had a meal out now and then. People were nice to him, and he was cordial in return. But he never got close; there had been no relationships. No one poked at him like she did, making him smile in spite of himself.
That business with the puma—her opening the outhouse door and yelling at him like that—he knew what that was about. She was afraid he’d get hurt by the cat and risked her own skin to warn him. Been a long damn time since he felt anyone really cared about him at all.
Maybe that was it, he thought. Marcie thinks she cares, and it’s because I was important to Bobby. If we’d just met somehow, it wouldn’t be like this.
But that didn’t matter to him right now. He liked the feeling, alien though it was. He’d be back for her in two and a half hours and while he was delivering a half a cord to some dentist in Fortuna he’d watch the time so he wouldn’t be late getting back to pick her up. And with every split log he stacked, he’d be hoping her family wouldn’t find a way to get her home right away.
It was just nine-thirty in the morning when Marcie walked into the bar, and there was no one around. She heard voices in the kitchen. She was going to have to go back there to use the phone anyway, but as she pushed the swinging door slowly open, she knocked on it a couple of times before she entered.
“Yeah, c’mon back,” someone said. That response was accompanied by a woman’s laughter.
There were four people gathered around the work island. Two couples. There was the cook, Preacher, and Paige, the woman who’d been helping to decorate the tree that first day. And then there was the local cop, Mike, and a very beautiful woman about thirty years old with light brown hair that went all the way to her waist. Mike was wearing an apron that was covered in red and green icing. “Hey,” he said, grinning at her. “Marcie. Did you find your marine?”
“Wow,” she said, astonished. “Mel really doesn’t say anything.” She shook her head. “I found him almost a week ago.”
They all just exchanged knowing glances. Each one chuckled. Apparently they all knew Mel quite well. “Do you know everyone here?” Mike asked.
“Preacher, Paige, you…”
He put his arm around the beautiful woman and she leaned into him. “This is Brie, Jack’s sister.” He nuzzled her neck. “My girl.”
“How do you do?” Marcie said, suddenly envious of all the love in the world.
Brie nodded and smiled. “Pleasure,” she said.
“So. How is he? Your guy?” Mike asked.
“He’s good,” she said. “He’s been living out on the top of a mountain for almost four years now. It’s pretty rustic—but I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“And he was glad to see you?” Mike asked.
“Oh, yes,” she lied. “Pretty much. As long as we don’t have to talk about his experiences in Iraq, we’re good company for each other.” She shrugged. “He’s letting me stay a little while. Well,” she said, looking down. “I caught a bad…cold. And he was stuck with me. So I’m taking advantage of him.” She looked up and smiled. “He’s being very patient about it. Listen, I need to make a collect call. I promised to check in with my sister every couple of days and Ian doesn’t have a phone.”
“Help yourself,” Preacher said. “Dial direct—we have one of those deals with the phone company—unlimited long distance for a monthly rate.”
“Really?”
“Jack has four sisters and a father. Paige has girlfriends,” he said with a shrug. “We make a lot of calls. Yours is free as long as it’s in the U.S. Just go for it.”
Paige stepped around the worktable. “Marcie, if you could use a little privacy, you’re welcome to call from our apartment.”
“You wouldn’t mind?” Marcie returned.
“Not at all,” she said. “Come with me. I’ll show you where.”
Marcie started to follow Paige, then turned back toward the group. “You’re making Christmas cookies?” she asked.
“Paige and Brie were,” Mike said. “They’re having some kind of women’s thing here today. I’m just doing this so they have someone to make fun of. I’m much better with a taco. And I can make some mean carne asada.”
“Fortunately we have our cookies done,” Brie said with a laugh. “Mike can eat his own mess. He’s pathetic. Who ever heard of a person who can’t even frost a Christmas tree cookie.”
“Rules,” Preacher said. “The men can’t help with this because they all know I’m the best cookie wrangler in the business.”
“Come on, Marcie,” Paige said, pulling on her hand. “The phone’s right in here.”
Marcie let herself be led into a small efficiency apartment—a bedroom and living area right behind the kitchen. Paige pointed to a cordless phone on a side table between a leather sofa and chair. “Help yourself,” she said.“Thank you. You live here?”
“Uh-huh. This was Jack’s place before he married Mel and moved out to her cabin. Then I married John and…”
“John?” Marcie asked.
“Oh, everyone calls him Preacher, but his name is John. John Middleton. And I’m Paige Middleton,” she said, beaming proudly. “Now make your call, and then we’ll have some coffee and cookies. We’ll send some home with you.”
Then Paige pulled the door closed, leaving Marcie alone.
This was amazing, Marcie thought. She’d never been around people like this before. They were generous and sweet to a fault. Didn’t they worry that she’d rifle through their closets and drawers? They didn’t know her at all, knew virtually nothing about her, and yet they were all about helping her, accommodating her.
She sighed deeply. Ian should be around people like this a little more. He was turning into an old curmudgeon before his time. She lifted the phone and called Erin’s office.
Erin’s secretary answered, but explained that Erin was in court. Marcie actually let out a relieved breath. “That’s okay, Barb. Will you tell her I called, that I’m fine and enjoying my visit very much and will try her again in a couple of days? I’d sure appreciate that.”
“And everything is working out for you?” Barb asked.
“Absolutely. Perfect. But I’m staying with a friend out in the mountains and there’s no phone. I can only call when I come into town. So, it’ll be another couple of days before I can try her again. But tell her it’s just beautiful here and I’m having a good time.”
And then, given the no-charge situation, she called Drew’s cell phone. He picked up on the third ring. “Drew,” she said in a breath. “Drew, I found him!”
“This is the rumor,” he said, chuckling. “You okay, Marce?”
“I’m very okay,” she said, but then unexpectedly she coughed. And coughed again. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I do have a cough—but I saw the town doctor and have some cough medicine. Nothing to worry about.”
“Doesn’t exactly sound great, Marcie. Are you sleeping in a heated house?”
“Of course.” She laughed. “And he made me chicken soup and everything. Are you in class? Can I tell you about him without you freaking out?”
“I stepped out of class—the guy’s just reading the syllabus anyway. Why would you worry about me freaking out? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing. He’s a good person. Kind and tenderhearted, but a little grumpy if the conversation gets too close to the war. So…we stay away from that for now. But, Drew, he’s something else! No wonder I couldn’t find him—he has a ponytail and a huge, bushy beard that grew in red. Not as red as me, but his hair is brown and his beard is more red than brown. He’s been up here all alone for a long time now—since he got out of the Marines. He has a couple of jobs, hunts and fishes, chops wood. I’m getting to know him and I like him.”
And then the thought came suddenly: I do. I really like him.
“So,” Drew said slowly. “You’re out of town, isolated, staying with this guy who has no phone, this guy who gets a little grumpy if—”
“We’re having a good time together and there’s nothing weird about him, unless you count an awful lot of hair. But around here, that’s not so unusual. And in this town there are a lot of marines. They kind of all look out for me in a way, checking to be sure everything is okay.” That was a white lie—Mel did the checking, but clearly all the men were interested and cared. “And everything is fine.”
Drew took a breath. “And you’re coming home?”
“Soon,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to tell him some things I want to tell him—you know, about the letter, the baseball cards. And I want to know…” She wanted to know why he ran off like that, leaving everything he loved behind. “I want to know some things.”
Drew’s voice became fatherly. “And if he doesn’t want to tell you the things you want to know? You’ll thank him politely and come home?”
She should’ve answered more quickly. It took her two long seconds before she said, “Of course, Drew. He’s a good person. I don’t want to hurt him. I’d just like it if he told me some things about my husband, about his situation. But if he won’t, I’ll leave him alone.”
“Erin’s going nuts,” Drew said. “She’s on the verge of frantic. If she weren’t so controlled all the time, she’d be biting her nails and tearing at her hair.”
“I tried to call her. Tell her that—I tried to call her, but she’s in court so I called you.” She smiled to herself—great family negotiating! She hadn’t really called Drew because Erin was in court, but because talking to Drew would feel good. “You can tell her everything—and that I’ll call again in a couple of days. Okay?”
“Something about this isn’t really—”
“Everything is better than I imagined,” she broke in. “I’ll be back in touch and, in the meantime, try to get Erin on some medication. Really, I hate carrying around the burden of her worry. I want to get done what I want to get done. It’s why I came up here.”
Drew sighed. “I know,” he said. “I understand, even if I don’t love it.”
She laughed softly. “Go back to class. I’ll talk to you again soon.”
“Love you, pet,” he said.
“Love you, baby brother.” And she hung up the phone.
She sat quietly for a moment, relaxed in the soft tan leather of the chair. They didn’t really understand what this had to do with her, but God they loved her enough to care what was happening, to be a little afraid she was making a mistake in putting herself in this strange man’s care. Erin’s love could be sometimes overbearing, based as it had so often been with concern, but balanced with Drew’s boyish good humor she knew how lucky she was to have them. Without their love, she would be so empty inside.