Finding Kate (10 page)

Chapter Seventeen

The wind picked up and rustled the leaves on the trees. The beginning of summer had seen more than a fair share of dry storms this year.

Thunder rolled through the skies, jolting Will back to reality. He turned the key in his truck ignition and the engine rumbled. Although it rattled and dinged, Will wondered if his truck was the only thing reliable in his life.

As he backed out of the parking spot in front of the Mesa Verde Chief Ranger’s Office, he watched a bolt of lightning crack across the sky. His emotions mirrored the violent storm.

The black clouds rolled in and flashes of light flickered across the canyons. Hopefully rain would accompany this storm.

Since Emma’s death, he found it harder to reconcile his emotions. As much as he cared about Kate, how could he possibly have a relationship with someone? It just wasn’t possible. Not now.

***

“I’m sorry for your loss, Will,” Pastor Connor said. He took Will by the arm and shook his hand. “She was an amazing woman.”

Will nodded. “Thanks for handling the funeral service.”

“I know it would have been more ideal in the church, but…” his voice trailed off. “She was a big part of the beginning of what this church is now. I understand your mother was very involved here before her passing.”

“She was. This was her second home,” Will said.

“Let me go set up. I can stand with you after the service if you’d like.” He stared at Will, waiting for an answer.

“That would be great.” Will sat down in the front row and waited for the service to begin.

***

The Community Center filled up with people to full capacity. Every seat was taken and people continued to filter into the room. They lined up along the walls—some even stood outside. The show of people gave testament to how much the community loved Emma.

Arriving early gave Kate a chance to find a good seat. She sat down toward the back of the room, hoping to remain unseen by Will. When he told her he couldn’t face a relationship, it broke her heart. She understood his grief, but couldn’t understand how he remained so unable to love in spite of the trials life brought him.

Throughout the service she watched him. His face remained stoic, almost rocklike. She knew underneath he had to be falling apart. Emma seemed to hold him together. She was all he had left. His parents were gone, and other than his cousin, Will remained alone.

Her heart longed to walk to the front and rest her hand in his, letting him know it would be okay. She wanted to be there for him.

Love for him seemed to flow through her veins. But, she’d show her respects to Emma and leave. Will didn’t want her in his life, and she would reluctantly respect his decision against every fiber of her being. She couldn’t change his mind. He didn’t budge on his opinions. Kate knew that much was true.

The service ended and as the preacher closed in prayer Kate kept one eye open, watching. Will walked down the isle through the crowd and caught a glimpse of Kate.               The crowd moved out of the building at a snail’s pace. The line inched closer to Will as he shook hands with everyone walking past.

Kate felt warmth in her cheeks when he glanced her way. As she approached, she stuck her hand in front of him, waiting to shake. He shook her hand, but that was all he had to offer. Distance grew between them like the Grand Canyon. It was over.

Chapter Eighteen

The moonlight spilled across the floor in Kate’s room. Hours had gone by since she’d laid down to rest. The numbers on the clock ticked by slowly, and she’d lost count of how many times she’d rolled over in the past hour. A warm tear rolled down the side of her cheek. She’d lost Will forever.

After she sat up in bed, she flipped her feet over the side, and rubbed them on the carpet. Kate rose and walked into the living room. Maybe moving to the couch would help her find the sleep she so desperately needed.

As she sat down a high-pitched howl pierced the air. Shivers raced up Kate’s spine. The hair on her arm prickled against the rising goose bumps. The sound was close. Too close. She glanced out the window and several sets of yellow, glowing eyes stared back at her from the darkness. Coyotes.

“The bedroom window.” The image of the open window, with the curtains flittering in the breeze, sent chills right through her. She panicked and ran in her room to close the window. Her heart pounded against her chest and felt like it would leap out at any moment. More coyotes chimed in and the cries grew louder. Her fingers trembled against the metal bar as she slid the glass pane down and locked it. A flow of peace eased over her.

When she returned to the front window, the animals appeared to be pacing in the front yard.

She breathed heavy and lifted her hands in front of her and watched them shake. A familiar bark wailed outside. She flipped her outside light on and caught a glimpse of Max standing out in the front yard, taunting the coyotes. The hair on his back stood up like pin needles.

Kate counted six howling creatures inching closer to Max. His growl kept them from getting too close. Kate feared the worst for the animal, now standing alone and defenseless against the predators.

A sudden rush of panic raced through her blood. What could she do to help Max? She wasn’t about to let something happen to Emma’s dog. Not like this. She slid her feet into her shoes and flung the front door open.

She grabbed a piece of wood from the pile on the front porch and threw it at one of the animals, striking it. She paced back and picked up another, throwing it as hard as she could out into the darkness. Several of the coyotes crouched down. Two ran off into the black night. “City lights would be nice about now.”

She kept a count of the few that remained and continued to look behind her. Several of the coyotes moved in closer to Max.

“Get! Shoo!” Nothing worked. The more she yelled, the less the mangy creatures seemed to fear her. With one swift movement, Kate swung the piece of wood above her head, sucked in as much air as her lungs would allow, and screamed. Everything became silent. The dark night felt heavy as though it would cave in on her. The largest coyote turned and growled at Kate, bearing his fangs.

Beads of sweat rolled off her forehead. The muscles in her legs began to feel weak.

A pair of headlights shone in the distance coming up the hill.

Kate froze. If she turned back to get another piece of wood, the animal might attack.

The familiar clank of Will’s truck sounded in the distance, but the coyote didn’t waver in his stance. Deep growls roared up from his belly.

Will pulled in the driveway and jumped from the car with a rifle in his hands. “Haw! Get outta here!” Will shot off one round and the animals scattered.

A sense of relief washed over Kate and she exhaled, not realizing she’d been lifting her shoulders tight together until she relaxed.

“Max, get in the truck,” he yelled. The dog obeyed and jumped into the cab.

“I heard a scream. What are you doing out here?” Kate could almost feel the ground pound beneath her as Will walked in her direction.

“I was trying to scare them away from Max. I didn’t want anything to happen to him.” She backed up a few steps.

He stared at her for a moment before speaking. “Have you fed them before?”

“I threw some food out there a couple of times,” her voice quivered.

“Don’t do it again,” he said. His voice lowered. “You put everyone in this valley in harm’s way. They get indifferent to humans and pets when you feed them. They’re wild animals.”

“I’m sorry.” Kate bit her lip to keep from crying. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that he was tearing her apart emotionally.

“Get in the house. Stay inside no matter what. They may be back. I’ll make sure Max stays in.” He waved his hands at her and walked back to his vehicle. He slid into the seat, slammed the door, pulled out of the driveway, and drove back down to Emma’s.

A sick feeling sat in the pit of Kate’s stomach. She wanted to cry over losing Will. In spite of his anger, she still loved him.

However, sitting around and crying wouldn’t gain her anything but misery. Kate would continue with her plans to move back to Chicago, this time without Trevor or Will in the picture.

***

Thunder rolling overhead awoke Kate from her slumber several times during the rest of the night. She anticipated the raindrops falling, but they never came. When she got up in the morning she walked to the window to discover a dry and dusty ground. Yet the dark gray clouds continued to loom overhead.

She went back to the bedroom to dress when a knock on the door startled her. She opened the door to find Will standing on the other side. She drew in a quick breath of surprise.

“Did you have any more problems last night?” He stood with a small bag in one hand and the other in his pocket.

“No. I heard them howl once more and that was the end of it.”

“Emma wanted you to have this.” Will pulled a necklace from the bag and lowered it into her hands.

She ran her fingers across the delicate gold locket. She opened it, stared at the two pictures inside, and looked back at Will. “Is this her when she was a young woman?”

He nodded. “She told me she wanted you to have this. She said you reminded her of herself when she was your age.”

“Is this Walt?”

He nodded. Will reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “She also had me write a note out for you, before she…” He looked down at the ground.

Max ran up the walk. “Dog? How did you get over here?” Will asked. “Ever since Emma passed away, he’s wanted to come up here. I can’t understand it.”

“He’s fine here. I mean, if that’s okay with you. It’s your house.” She waited for an answer.

“He’s fine. If he gets to be a problem, let me know and I’ll put the board in the doggie door.” He looked down at the dog, “That’ll keep you inside.”

Max cocked his head to the side.

“I don’t know what to say,” Kate said, getting back to the letter. “I don’t deserve anything from her—“

Before she could finish, his cell phone rang. He reached in his pocket, pulled it out, and answered it. “Hello?” He turned around to look in the opposite direction. A line of smoke funneled into the sky in the distance.

Kate studied the worried look on his face.

“I’m on my way.” Will hung up the phone. “Lightning strike at Mesa Verde. It’s on fire, and the blaze is growing out of control.”

“You’d better go.”

He stared at her for a moment before turning and running to his truck.

“Be careful,” Kate yelled.

He lifted his hand up in the air acknowledging her comment. He jumped in his truck, turned it on, and backed out of the driveway. His tires spun backward shooting rocks out in front of the truck, before turning and driving toward town.

The black cloud in the distance was miles away. Kate made a fist before forcing herself to relax her hands. She knew he was trained to handle any situation up at the park, but she still feared for him.

Kate sat down on the couch and opened Emma’s letter.

Dear Kate,

I haven’t known you long, but you have impressed me as a beautiful, young woman. I have a feeling, much to your surprise, that Wintervale will become your home. It’s a place that stirs within your soul.

I wanted to give you the locket to remind you of God’s promise to us. He has a plan for each of us, and wants the best for our lives. I think his plans for your life are unfolding and you are beginning to see the direction he is leading you.

I always kept the locket as a reminder that no matter what happens in our lives, God is there by our side. I hope it can serve as the same reminder for you.

With love,

Emma

Kate unclasped the chain on the locket and put it around her neck. What did God have planned for her? She came believing Trevor would be her lifelong mate, until Will showed up. Why did she feel so unsettled about everything? The little town was finding its way into her soul and stirring up a longing to call it home. But how could she continue to see Will everyday without feeling torn apart?

She wondered if she would see Will again, other than to return Max to Emma’s house. For years she desired the fashion column at her father’s newspaper. Now, a life in the country was beckoning to her.

Everything seemed to point to returning to Chicago. Nothing seemed to be holding her in Wintervale anymore.

A helicopter buzzed low over the house, startling Kate. It headed in the direction of Mesa Verde, the fire, and Will.

***

Will drove the steep grades deep into Mesa Verde. Halfway to the Chief Ranger’s Station, he found Hal parked on the side of the road standing close to a train of fire trucks. He pulled his truck to the side, shut off the engine, and hopped out. He picked up his pace as he walked over to the disarray of vehicles.

“We’ve already got a one-hundred-foot wall of fire,” Hal lifted the handheld radio to his mouth and pressed down on the button. “Where’s the helicopters?”

In order to hear over the rumble of the fire trucks he lifted the radio to his ear.

“On their way, sir.” The comment buzzed over the radio.

Hal squinted his eyes in the sun and turned to face Will. “We’re evacuating about two thousand workers and visitors. This thing is getting out of control—and fast.”

A dense cloud of black smoke rose directly into the sky, looming in the distance. Ashes floated through the dry air, and the massive orange fire blazed above the treetops.

“The wind is shifting directions,” Hal said.

“It will hit the vegetation if it shifts to the east,” Will said.

Hal nodded. “I know. If it gets over that way, things are going to start looking a lot worse.”

The two ducked in unison, and looked overhead as a helicopter flew low and fast. Acres away, it dropped colored retardant on the fire.

“This had to stem from the dry cells passing over,” Hal pointed to the sky. “We’ve had a lot of trees catch fire in the past few days, but we got most of them put out before we had any problems.”

Will felt as though he’d been gone forever taking care of Emma. “We’re going to have to watch for spot fires. Those embers will carry on the wind and cause more damage.”

Hal’s radio sounded, “Come in Hal…”

“Go ahead.”

“We’ve got a problem.”

Hal held the contraption up his ear to hear clearly, “I’m listening.”

“The fire is spreading toward the museum. It getting harder to contain.”