Rancher's Refuge (Whisper Falls) (6 page)

“You two take it easy,” he said and pushed away from the counter, eager to leave. Just as he reached the door, it swung open.

And Annalisa walked in.

Chapter Five

A
nnalisa stopped in the doorway of the dimly lit train station. The building was late 1800s like many in Whisper Falls, and the walls were dotted with memorabilia from the past, mostly railroad artifacts. Overhead a pair of lazy ceiling fans stirred the smell of slightly musty wood and pine floor cleaner. On one wall, two ancient green train lanterns bracketed a railroad crossing sign.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she spotted a man and two children sipping sodas at the counter and Austin Blackwell watching her from a bar stool. Coming at her like a torpedo was the energetic Evelyn Parsons whom she’d met at the Tan and Tress Salon less than an hour ago.

“Digger, look here,” Evelyn said, smiling with hands outstretched toward Annalisa. “Isn’t she the prettiest thing? Look at that hairdo. Why, if I had hair that blond, I’d go to Hollywood.”

Annalisa couldn’t hold back a smile. The older woman, whose salt-and-pepper curls were cropped close to her head in a tight perm, exuded energy and goodwill. Annalisa extended one hand which Evelyn clasped warmly with both of hers.

As she’d walked the two blocks from Cassie’s workplace to the train depot, Annalisa had vacillated between hope for a job and the urge to catch the first flight out. Yet, something about the pretty old town and the friendly people drew her like a basket of new puppies. If nothing else, she needed some downtime in a quiet environment to think about her future as well as her past. Starting over, alone and broke, was hard.

Austin Blackwell pushed off the counter and sauntered in her direction. Expression serious, he said nothing. He had the most uncanny ability to make her feel safe and jumpy at the same time. She turned her focus on Evelyn.

“Is this a good time to talk?” she asked, anxious now that she was here, although Cassie had encouraged her to come, insisting Miss Evelyn and Uncle Digger were for real.

On the walk through town, she’d passed the pharmacy where Austin had purchased her prescription. She still marveled at the gruff kindness and even more at his refusal to discuss repayment. Austin Blackwell was a bewildering contradiction.

“Anytime is a good time for a new friend. You come right on in here and get yourself acquainted. That handsome cuss manning the register is my man, Digger. Everyone calls him Uncle Digger. Suits him, don’t you think?” Before Annalisa could say a word, Evelyn hooked her arm and propelled her forward. “You know Austin already.” Austin, standing by the exit, bobbed his head, an amused quirk on his lips as the two women sailed past. “That fella with his head buried in the news is Mayor Fairchild. He’ll come up for air after a few more cups of coffee and a half dozen doughnuts. These folks at the bar are locals. Davis Turner, meet Annalisa Keller. She’s new in town.”

Davis Turner turned his sandy brown, all-American good looks in her direction, his smile wide and infectious. “A pleasure, Annalisa. Welcome to Whisper Falls. These little urchins are my kids, Nathan and Paige.”

“I’m nine,” Paige announced. “Nathan’s only eight. I’m older than him.”

Their father’s hundred-watt smile brightened. “And she never lets him forget it, either.”

Annalisa’s tense shoulders began to relax as she returned the smile. The kids were adorable, and the father wasn’t bad, either. “It’s good to meet you. All of you.”

“Nice cast you’ve got there.” Davis motioned to her arm. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Austin turn back from the door.

“Just a broken bone. I’ll be good as new in no time,” she quoted Dr. Ron.

“What happened? Did you get a boo-boo?” The little girl, Paige, hopped off her stool to get a closer look. She was kitten-cute with short brown hair, a thin, elfin face and a splash of russet freckles across her nose. With brown eyes as big as half dollars, the pixie haircut was perfect on her.

“I did. A pretty big boo-boo.” But this was nothing. The past few years of her life had been a major boo-boo.

“Want me to pray for you?” Paige already had her hand on the green cast and her eyes closed.

Taken aback, Annalisa didn’t know what to say, so she stood like a statue while the child’s lips moved and her face glowed with radiance. In seconds, Paige’s eyes popped open and she said, “You’ll be all better now.”

“Uh...thank you.” That was different.

“You want to come and sit with us? Daddy will buy you a root beer, won’t you, Daddy?”

Her father laughed, but Annalisa could see his daughter had embarrassed him.

“Paige,” he said, “leave the lady alone.”

“I’m not bothering her.” She turned to Annalisa. “Am I bothering you?”

Before Annalisa could answer, Austin’s voice came from somewhere over her shoulder. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Austin Blackwell.”

He walked up beside her and offered a hand to Davis. “Annalisa’s staying at my place.”

Annalisa flushed. “Temporarily.”

Miss Evelyn, who, surprisingly, had ceased talking and moving during the exchange, started up again. “Austin, why don’t you have some more pie and get acquainted with Davis and these little cuties while I show Annalisa around? And don’t run off. I want to talk to you about something important.” She took Annalisa’s elbow and guided her to the counter. “Digger, honey, get Austin some more pie.”

The older gentleman touched the brim of his conductor’s cap. “Coming right up. How about you, Davis? You and the kiddies want the last couple pieces? No use in good pie going to waste.”

“I want some.” The boy, Nathan, looked at his dad with comical hope. Smaller and fairer than his sister without the benefit of freckles, the boy would someday be the image of his handsome father.

“With ice cream on top. Okay, Daddy?” The freckled-nosed girl bounced back to her seat with all the confidence of a well-loved child. “Remember what you told the teacher? We’re great kids. We deserve it.”

Davis ruffled her hair. “I think maybe you do.”

Annalisa wondered how different her life might have been if she and Olivia had had a father like Davis Turner.

But they hadn’t and she’d already spent enough years mourning what she’d never had.

Leaving the men and children, Annalisa followed Evelyn to a tiny office with double doors, one leading in from the snack shop and the other leading out to the museum. The office wasn’t much—a telephone, a computer, a small desk and a display rack of tourist information. An assortment of brightly colored brochures proclaimed antiques shops, bed-and-breakfast inns, helicopter flights over the waterfall, a romantic boat ride down Blackberry River and a prayer chapel proclaiming the most beautiful place for weddings in the state. Whisper Falls was a lovely mix of modern tourism and down-home charm.

“Sit right over there, hon.” Evelyn pointed at the single chair against one wall. “And tell me all about yourself.”

The hopeful haze evaporated faster than sweat under AC. She wasn’t prepared to talk about herself. No way would she tell this sweet woman about James or the reasons she’d ended up in Whisper Falls.

But she had to say something.

She fidgeted, cleared her throat. It seemed stuck full of the lies she didn’t want to tell. “I— There’s not much to say. I’m a good worker. Honest.” Most of the time. “I learn fast.”
Though I didn’t learn my lesson about James nearly fast enough.

“Cassie tells me you’ve been down on your luck a bit.”

“That’s right.”
Please don’t ask me why.
“That’s the reason I need to find employment. The Blackwells have been very kind, but I prefer to pay my own way.”

“You been friends with Austin and Cassie a long time?”

“Not long.”

“They’re good kids.” Miss Evelyn chuckled. “Well, they’re kids to me. That Cassie, she’s a dilly. Austin’s on the quiet side. Keeps to himself, but I’m thinking he needs to come out of his shell. Maybe you can help me with that. I can’t quite figure him out.”

“Welcome to the club.”

“You, too, huh?”

When Annalisa nodded, Miss Evelyn went on, “Got our work cut out, then. But I got me some ideas percolating.”

Annalisa had no clue what she meant. “Ideas about a job?”

“About Austin.”

“Oh.”

“Let’s talk about your employment problem first. I’ll work on Austin later. Here’s what I think. Uncle Digger, bless his heart, prefers tinkering with the museum and the train to working in that snack shop. He’s the perfect person to man the museum desk and tell folks all about the town and our wonderful recreational amenities.
I’m
busy as a beaver at a wood chopping contest with the city council and the tourism board, especially now when we’re gearing up for Pumpkin Fest.” She glanced at a giant pocket watch hanging on the wall. “I should be over at city hall right now. So what do you say? Do you want to try your hand—” she chuckled at the reference to Annalisa’s broken arm “—at the snack shop? Doesn’t pay much, but the work is easy, the people are friendly and you can get acquainted with practically everyone in town.”

“Will you mind that I’m slow at first until I get a smaller cast?” Annalisa elevated the prohibitive green plaster, her arm frozen at a right angle.

Miss Evelyn laughed heartily. “Hon, anyone is faster than Uncle Digger. You’ll do fine.”

Relief flowed through Annalisa. Somehow they’d gotten past all the usual employment questions and personal history. Maybe God was watching out for her after all.

* * *

Austin stirred his fork in the puddle of melting ice cream and waited for the women to return. He didn’t know what Miss Evelyn wanted with him, but she’d said it was important, and he didn’t mind the wait. He worried about leaving Annalisa alone in a strange place, especially out in public. The unknown whereabouts of James the jerk made him nervous. His fingers tightened around the fork. Even though he knew better, he itched to throw a couple of good punches if the sleazeball decided to show his face in Whisper Falls.

“You own the ranch near the waterfall, don’t you?” Davis Turner asked, interrupting his thoughts of revenge. “The pretty ranch that sets down in the valley.”

Austin put his fork down and shifted slightly toward the other man. “That’s my place. Have you been out my way?”

“The kids and I picnicked near the waterfall a few weeks ago. Paige would take a tent and move out there if I’d let her.” The little girl grinned up at her dad. “Beautiful area.”

“We like it. It’s peaceful.” Or it had been until the Whisper Falls madness began and a certain blonde whacked him upside the head.

His ears strained toward the closed office. What was taking her and Evelyn so long?

“You got a ranch?” Davis Turner’s little boy eyed Austin’s boots and hat with interest. “Do you have horses, too?”

Austin dipped his head at the eager face and a mouth smeared with vanilla ice cream. “Sure do. You must like horses.”

“Yes, but Daddy says you can’t have a horse in town.” The boy’s disgust with this unfortunate turn of events was accented with a deep sigh.

“Sorry, buddy,” Davis said, touching the boy lightly on the shoulder. “That’s the way things are. Someday, maybe we’ll buy some land in the country and you can have a horse all your own. Until then...” As if he’d suddenly come up with a solution, Davis looked to Austin. “You don’t happen to give riding lessons, do you?”

The idea set Austin back. Riding lessons? “Never thought about it.”

“Nathan’s wanted a horse since he was big enough to talk.” Davis wadded a paper napkin and placed it on the counter. “I’d be glad to pay if you’d be interested in teaching him.”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it,” Austin said, more to be polite than because he was actually considering such an invasion of his privacy.

“With the influx of tourists a man could make good money with a stable of riding horses.”

A shiver of dread ran through Austin. The last thing he wanted was more strangers traipsing around his land, poking into his business. “Not my kind of thing.”

The affable Davis smiled as he lifted his drinking cup. “I understand. You did mention peace and quiet, something you won’t get with kids around. But if you change your mind...” He reached inside his golf-style shirt pocket and handed Austin a business card.

“Sure, sure.” Austin glanced at the card. “Ceramic tile? So you’re a tile mason?”

“Showers, kitchens, floors. I should be working today, but school is out for a parent-teacher conference.” He rattled the ice in his cup. “Being a single dad, I took off for that.”

“And to hang out with your favorite kids, right, Daddy?” Paige batted long, pale lashes at her father.

He scuffed the top of her head. “Right.”

Austin’s gaze fell to the little boy. Nathan had gone from hopeful to deflated when Davis had asked about riding lessons. Austin’s conscience niggled. What harm was there in giving one little kid a ride on a well-broke horse? On the other hand, he didn’t want to get something started. Familiarity breeds contempt, and he’d had enough of that to last a lifetime. Still, Davis seemed like a good guy, and a boy who loved horses needed to learn somewhere.

Warring with himself, Austin returned to his pie and ice cream. He scooped a giant bite of ice cream and shoved the fork into his mouth. A powerful pain shot from the roof of his mouth to the top of his head. He dropped the fork and pressed a hand to each temple, certain his brain was about to explode.

“Uh-oh, brain freeze,” the little girl said and hopped from her stool to stand beside Austin. “I’ll pray for you.” And she did.

When the moment passed, Austin shook his head to find the headache gone. No surprise there. An ice-cream headache came and went. The relief had nothing to do with prayer.

He shifted uncomfortably on the bar stool. All this company was starting to get under his skin. When Annalisa had entered the snack shop, she’d looked too pretty with her hair all fluffed up and glossy, and now some kid prayed for him while another looked at him with a mix of hero worship and disappointment. He should have stayed home.

But there was the matter of his unwanted houseguest who chose that moment to reappear from the back room, a dazed look on her face. Interestingly, she went behind the counter. Miss Evelyn, who’d followed her from the office, pulled an apron from a hook. “Let’s see what you can manage with that hand of yours.”