Finding West (8 page)

9

KAT

Josie whined in the passenger seat
as I drove home, giving away that she was a sucker for a handsome face and a rub on the belly. As for me, I couldn’t care less that the stranger was gone; it didn’t matter if I never saw his face again. And this tightness in the middle of my chest? Well, that was just heartburn from breakfast, obviously.

No way in hell was I going to miss
those grey eyes and the breathtaking face surrounding it. And I definitely was not going to miss the way he pushed my buttons, the way he bulldozed past my defenses, through the anger and bullshit, and somehow found a path to the center of who I really was. Even though nobody else had ever gone there before—a few had tried, but none had ever managed to withstand the prickly hedges—I certainly wouldn’t miss the one person who had.

Nuh-uh.
No way, no how.

After securing Josie
back in the house and making sure she had food and water, I drove out of town towards Cormack Correctional, which was about twenty-six miles southwest of Ayashe.

The guards at the correctional center knew
me on sight, but I still had to sign in. Then I waited in a large room full of tables and benches, inmates and visitors, while they fetched my father from his cell. A few minutes later they brought him in, the guard reminding him to behave before going back to his post at the edge of the room.

My dad came toward
s me and wrapped me in his arms, but what used to lift my spirits now felt strangely lacking. At least, compared to the embrace I’d received half an hour earlier, when I’d felt both secure and warm and elated all at the same time.

I felt awful, as if enjoying a stranger’s hug more than my father’s was some sort of betrayal.

“Hey Dad,” I said, sitting back on the bench across the table from him.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, and I knew in the smile he wore that he was having a good day. Well, as good as it could be in prison anyway.
“What’s going on with you? Was the snowstorm as bad as predicted in Ayashe?”

“Yes, it was nearly waist-deep for a few days,”
I said. “I let this man stay with me during the storm.”

“What
man?” my dad asked, concern rumpling his face.

“
I found this unconscious man at the side of the road, so I took him to the house to get him out of the storm.”

“Oh, Kat
ie…” he said, shaking his head.

“What?” I asked, instantly on the defensive. “You always taught me to help the needy. Wasn’t it you who made me go to soup kitchens during Thanksgiving to help hand out food?”

He rubbed his forehead. “Yes, I wanted you to learn selflessness, but this… you could have been hurt or killed. Trust me when I say there are many evil men out there in the world who wouldn’t hesitate to cut down a girl. I live with many of them.”

“I’m not a girl anymore, Dad
. And I wouldn’t have hesitated killing him either had he shown any sign of wanting to hurt me,” I said and took a deep breath to keep my temper in check. “He was unconscious on the side of the road, face down in the snow. He would have died out there. What was I supposed to do?”

“But the s
heriff—”

“Drew wasn’t answering the phone.”

He gave me a disapproving look. “I want you to be careful, honey. You can’t just take bums off the street.”

“I know. I’m careful, promise.” I leaned forward. “It’s just… he didn’t strike me as a bum. This man is
n’t just lost. He has no idea who he is, not even his name.”

That got my dad’s attention. “He has amnesia?”

I nodded. “You should have seen him. He was so spooked when he realized he didn’t recognize his face in the mirror.” When Dad still looked unconvinced, I said, “He’s not dangerous. You always taught me that the truth is in the face, that if you really took the time to look someone in the eye, you would see their true character.”

“And what do his eyes tell you?”

I swallowed hard, remembering those luminescent grey orbs. “That he’s kind. Intelligent. Funny.”

Dad nodded slowly, but his features were tight.

“Don’t you believe me?”

He gave a short laugh. “I do,” he said. “But you’re in danger, Kat
ie-bug.”

“No, I’m no—”

“You’re going to lose your heart.”

I laughed in surprise, slapping the table a few times with my flat palm. “
How cheesy!” I said between breaths. After collecting myself, I said, “But seriously, no, I’m not.”

Dad sat up and smiled. “I’ve never seen you laugh so freely. I want to meet the man who did this.”

“I’ve laughed before.”

“Not like this,” he said, shaking his head.
“At least not since you were a little girl.”

All traces of laughter dropped from my face. “Well, you won’t get a chance to meet him anyway. He’s gone. I took him to the police sta
tion this morning. For all I know, he could be back home already.”

Dad nodded and looked at me thoughtfully for
a long time.

“What?”

“I like this change in you,” he said, reaching out and touching my hand. “You’ve been closed off since your mom died. You really need to start making some friends. No man is an island.”

I snickered
and held up my index finger. “I helped one guy out, Dad. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”

“Have you thought more about leaving
Alaska?”

“
Not this again,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Even if I did want to leave you, I wouldn’t know where to go.”

He shrugged. “My grandpa
from Oklahoma always told me,
Go west, Jay.
He said it’s where I’d find freedom and independence. So I went as far west as I could before falling into the ocean. And I guess this is where I’ll be until I die.”

I squeezed his hand. “You’ll get
out soon, Dad.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m going to die in here,” he said in a rare moment of bitter honesty. It was unsettling to see my father so disheartened
; he always tried to put on a happy face during our visits. He cleared his throat and shook off his cloak of sadness. “That’s why I keep pushing for you to leave, honey. I don’t want you putting your life on hold for me anymore. I want you to go and live your own life.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. God help me, I was going to cry. “
You’re my dad. I can’t leave you,” I said, feeling the hot rush of tears on my cheeks. I wiped them away with my sleeve. “You’re all I have.”

“Honey,” he said, reaching out and tucking
a lock of hair behind my ear. “You can have so much more than this bitter old man and that rinky-dink town you’re living in. You deserve a real life. A happy life.”

I nodded, sniffing.

“Promise me you’ll think about it. Look into a fashion school in L.A. or even New York.”

“New York’s not west,” I said just to be ornery.

He ruffled my hair. “It’s west if you travel far enough,” he said with a sad smile. “Just… promise me.”

I took a deep breath, prepared to make a promise I didn’t intend to keep. “Sure, Dad.
I’ll think about it.”

After the visit, I drove back to Ayashe with a heavy feeling in my stomach. It wasn’t enough that I had to say goodbye to the handsome stranger—my first real friend in God knows how long—but I also had to promise my father something nearly impossible. As exciting as it seemed to start a new life someplace else, I didn’t really think I was brave enough to leave my father and strike out on my own.

I went to The D
iner to avoid going back home, afraid of the loneliness that was sure to come. Hell, who was I kidding? I would miss the hell out of that handsome stranger. Lenny, Dwight, Merle; whatever his name, I would miss the way he looked at me, miss the way he’d stand so close my skin would tingle. And now I feared I’d look for it in every man I met, searching for a spark that I’d been content to live without before.

“Hey, I was wondering about you,” the young waitress said
, coming by with a mug and filling it with coffee. “Haven’t heard from you in a few days. Wondered if maybe you were still buried under the snow.”

“
I’m fine,” I said, realizing too late that I was smiling up at her. What the hell had happened to me? I very nearly asked her for her name!

I held my empty mug out and
waited while she poured from the carafe, but it kept coming until the coffee filled to the brim and started to overflow onto the faded wood table.

“Okay, that’
s good. Hey, stop,” I said and lifted the mug so that the carafe leveled up. “What the hell is wrong with—” I looked up to see what had her attention, following her gaze to the front door.

My heart jumped to my throat
at the sight of the stranger—my stranger—standing by the front door. His eyes flicked around the room and found mine; a bright white smile split his face, crinkling the skin around his eyes, and I found myself smiling for the second time that afternoon. Sheriff Drew followed him in and the two started to talk quietly.

“
Who the hell is that?” the waitress asked, then looked down and saw the mess on the table. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”

I
smothered a laugh, glad of the proof that I hadn’t just imagined the stranger’s effects on a woman. “It’s fine,” grabbing a bunch of napkins from the dispenser and throwing it onto the spilled liquid.

“Do you know him?”
she whispered.

“
In a way,” I said, admiring his strong, angular profile. I didn’t want to admit it, but it sure felt damn good to see him again. I turned back to my drink, hoping I hadn’t appeared too eager.

“
He’s hot!” she said behind a hand. “Are you two… together?”

I sputtered on my coffee. “Together? No!” I said much too emphatically.

“Can you introduce me then?”

I didn’t know how to answer
, even though “fuck no” seemed like an acceptable reply.

She looked up, watching as the two men came walking our way. “H
ey Sheriff and friend,” she greeted. “Would you like a menu?”

“
No, just coffee please, Franny,” Drew said with a genial smile. When the waitress—Franny, apparently—left, Drew turned to me. “Kat, how are you?”

“
Good. What’s up?” I replied, trying my damnedest to keep my eyes from straying to his right. I noted that both men were nearly the same height, which meant that my stranger was about six foot two. But that was where the similarities ended. Whereas the stranger was dark and mysterious, Drew was the All-American boy who played football in high school, who still mowed the lawn for his mom, who helped the older townsfolk shovel their driveway. Drew was the brown-haired, blue-eyed sentry of our little town, and even though he was only twenty-seven, he was well-respected and liked.

“
I just wanted to clear something up,” Drew said, putting his hands on his hips, above his holster. “This man here says he knows you, even though he doesn’t know himself.”

I nodded seriously.
“That is a true statement.”

“Explain,” he said, slid
ing in the seat across from me, leaving the stranger to either keep standing or take the seat beside me. Not that it was much of a choice, but he chose me.

I
glanced at him before giving Drew the clinical version of my story with the stranger.

When I was done,
Drew laced his fingers together. “And you let him stay with you for a few days?” he asked with his eyebrows drawn.

“Obviously
she’s fine,” came the deep voice beside me.

Drew gave a short nod then turned back to me. “
I’m not quite sure how to handle this situation,” he admitted. “It might take a few days to figure out how to proceed. In the meantime, I’ve taken photographs and will be sending them to the stations across the state. We also paid a visit to Dr. Jo’s office in Cormack and had him looked over. She said he was fine but there wasn’t much she could do for the amnesia. Apart from checking the missing persons report and driving around for an abandoned vehicle, there’s not much else I can do at this point.”

Franny came back with the menu and two cups of coffee.
The stranger took a sip, leaned over to me and whispered, “Your coffee tastes better.”

Drew pursed his lips
. “He said he could stay with you, Kat. But I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

I
hoped I didn’t appear too eager when I said, “I think that would work. I have plenty of room.

Drew’s frown deepened. “
No. I’m sure we can find another place for him to stay.”

I looked up at the man beside me and though I had no name for him, I could say with all honesty that I felt safe
in his presence. “It’s okay. Really.”