She Waits (10 page)

We parked in what I could only guess was the downtown of this small town and walked across the street to a little diner for breakfast.

As usual, I was starving by the time we sat in a booth by the window.

I started the conversation as the waitress set a coffeepot in front of us. "So you're a doctor." I eagerly poured both of us a much-needed cup.

"
Almost
a doctor," she corrected me.

"I appreciate you taking care of me Almost Dr. Winfield. Seriously, thank you."

"I should be thanking you after what you did last night. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I have a frightful temper, but you're the last person in the world I should be angry with."

As Maggie spoke, I noticed a man at the counter staring at both of us. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. "Who's the guy at the end of the counter?"

She glanced over and grunted. "Christ, it's my cousin, Charlie. I thought he was out of town."

"He's very handsome."

"I think that's part of his problem. He even dated Allison once or twice," she said as she drank her coffee.

"Really?" That surprised me. "Maybe I got the wrong impression, but I thought you and she had a relationship at some point in time."

"Yes, we did. We were involved for four years. We were having problems for the last six months of the relationship and thought a vacation was in order. We were in England. She was buying antiques for her shop. We argued one day, and I stormed out. I walked around London for hours, knowing it was over, but not wanting to give up." She shrugged. I saw the dejected look.

"I know what you mean, Maggie. The realization hits you right between the eyes. You wonder what in the world you were thinking. How you could have been so foolish. It's a hollow feeling," I said and stared at my coffee cup.

Once again, the visions flashed through my mind
. How could I have been so foolish, so easily taken in?

"Speaking from experience?" she asked. I looked into her eyes and for the first time in quite a while, I thought of spilling my guts.

Then the anxious feeling started once again coupled with the urge to get up and run. "Everybody falls in love, Maggie. I'm no different. So, you were in London..." I said, dismissing the topic. I felt the eyes of scrutiny upon me and drank my coffee.
Leave it be, Maggie, please.

Graciously, she continued. "I went back to the hotel and found Allison with Charlie of all people. They were standing in an intimate embrace. They didn't even notice I was there. I took the first plane back. She tried to tell me I was imagining things, that we were all childhood friends and there was nothing intimate about Charlie, that I was being paranoid and ridiculous. I don't know, maybe I was. In any event, she wanted to try again. She's been persistent ever since."

"Why would she want someone else when she had you?" I immediately felt the blush rush to my face.

Maggie raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Well, that was an unexpected but nice thing to say."

"Well, you, I..."
No stammering, please.

Luckily, my new best friend, the waitress, arrived.

Maggie looked at my plate in amazement. "Where are you going put all that?"

"Hey, I'm gonna need all the nourishment I can get. Getting thrown through a door takes its toll."

Her smile faded and she became very serious. "You shouldn't be involved in this. I don't even know you."

"Well, I am involved now, and you do know me now, so let's put our heads together and figure this thing out." I could feel her watching me as I ate a mouthful of pancakes. I was in the middle of a bite when I glanced up to see her looking at me. "Do I have egg on my face?" I self-consciously looked down at my shirt. I was afraid my feeding frenzy was out of control.

"It dawned on me that I know absolutely nothing about you. Except that you once had a private investigation business and now you're a photographer."

"What kind of photographer?" I asked, wagging my fork in her direction.

"A well-known photographer," she corrected herself with a slight grin.

"That's better."

She gave me a suspicious glance, which again, I ignored. She was about to go on when her cousin got out of his chair.

"Uh-oh, Charlie at three o'clock. Wait, that's nine o'clock to you," I whispered.

She gave me an exasperated look, and looked up to see her cousin standing next to our table.

He was indeed very handsome with deep brown eyes and a devilish smile, almost a smirk. In that respect, he looked like Maggie. Apparently, they came from a strong gene pool. He looked Irish, like a sea captain on the cover of one of those romantic novels.

"Hello cousin," he said.

"Hi, Charlie, I thought you were out of town. You've been gone for a few weeks, haven't you?" Maggie asked without even glancing up from her plate.

"Yes, I have, in London. I've got a few irons in the fire," he added with a grin before looking at me. "We haven't met. I'm Charlie Winfield."

"I'm sorry, this is Kate Ryan. Kate, this is my cousin."

"Nice to meet you," I said, trying to be polite. "I met your mother this morning."

"You met my mother first thing in the morning? You poor thing. I can't believe you still have an appetite." He turned his attention back to Maggie. "What brings you to town, Maggie? You haven't been in for quite a while."

Maggie said nothing, which I thought was either odd or rude or perhaps both.

"Would you like to join us?" I asked. Might as well get to know the rest of the family. You never knew who all was implicated in whatever this mess was.

"This is cozy," he said settling in next to Maggie. He poured himself a cup of coffee as he glanced at both of us. "I understand there was a slight problem last night," he said, looking at my bandaged brow. "Everyone all right?"

"I'm fine. Thank you," I said. Maggie wasn't saying much and I didn't want to start anything.

"Someone broke into the house and left a note on my pillow," Maggie finally said, never looking up. "It scared me to death, Charlie."

He was shocked. "In your room?"

As I told him about the intruder and finding the jewelry, I thought he looked a little uneasy.

He put his arm around Maggie and kissed the side of her head. "So, Miss Ryan, or may I call you Kate? Miss Ryan sounds like a schoolteacher, and you don't look like any schoolteacher I ever had."

Maggie and I looked at each other. I smiled warily.

He apparently caught the look. "Oh, am I barking up the wrong tree?"

I smiled and shrugged. "You can't win 'em all."

"But he'll try," Maggie said into her coffee cup.

It was not a joke. I looked down and stirred my coffee.

Charlie stiffened and gave her a side-glance. "Well, I should be off. Please let me know if I can do anything. We
are
related, remember." He held his hand out to me. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kate. Perhaps we'll meet again soon. I'd like that."

Hell, he sounded sincere.

As I watched him walk across the street, I thought he was quite a gentleman. He did not look like someone who bullied little girls when he was a boy, as Hannah had said.

I was still watching when I saw Allison walking down the other side of the street.

"Uh-oh, Allison at nine o'clock--wait, three." I was all turned around.

Charlie crossed the street and walked right up to Allison. They stopped and exchanged a few words. She laughed and went on her way. He continued in the opposite direction.

Nothing special. No signs of anything between them, I thought. However, I didn't know them at all. Maybe that was to my advantage. I could be objective where it was obvious Maggie could not. This was something else to add to the growing list of things I didn't know.

We finished our breakfast and walked out into the bright sunshine of a beautiful autumn morning. I could tell Maggie was upset about seeing Charlie and Allison.

She must still care about her, I thought. Allison was an attractive woman, and they had spent years together, so why shouldn't she care?

I was so lost in my thoughts I nearly missed Maggie's next words.

"I don't suppose you can ride a horse?" she asked.

"Yes, I can. Why?"

"I thought maybe we could take the horses out," she said. "That is, if your shoulder isn't bothering you. I know at your age the healing process takes a while longer."

"You're asking for it, you know that don't you?" I asked. "Let's go, you little brat."

She laughed all the way back to the car. I tried to dismiss the feeling of contentment her contagious laughter made me feel.

Chapter Nine

As we saddled the horses, I remembered my conversation with Bedford earlier that morning. "Maggie, do you saddle your own horse? Or coming from obscene wealth, do you have Bedford do it for you?" I thought it was funny, but from the glare in the blue eyes, I could tell Maggie did not. However, she didn't answer. "You have Bedford saddle your horse, don't you?" I accused.

"He likes doing it for me," she said as she roughly cinched the poor mare. "He's very efficient, he had Thunder all ready for me yesterday morning. But yes, Miss Ryan I can saddle my own horse if need be. I can even feed myself on occasion."

"Okay, okay, it's just that Bedford told me you saddled Thunder yesterday."

"Aunt Sarah had him saddle both our horses yesterday. Why would Bedford lie, or do you think I'm the one who's lying?"

"Maggie, let's not get carried away. I don't think you're lying, but there is something odd here. Let's drop this for now. I see your left eye twitch, and that cannot be good."

We rode side by side but didn't take the trail that led to the woods. Maggie suggested we take the horses down by her uncle's house.

It didn't take a brain surgeon to realize she was avoiding the woods. I thought of telling her to confront her demons but thought better of it. I had no business telling her to do something, I had yet to accomplish myself. I glanced at Maggie, who looked deep in thought.

"A penny for your thoughts, Maggie."

She looked at me and smiled. "Touche. I was thinking about my mother. After she died, I had this dream of a faceless person chasing me through the woods. Suddenly, I'd be in the lake with water up to my waist, while someone grabbed my ankles. I couldn't move or scream. My mother stood on the other side of the lake, as if she were waiting for me. The harder I tried to get to her, the deeper I sank. As I was about to go under, I'd wake up." She looked at me. "Pretty nutty, huh?"

"No, not at all," I said.

My mind drifted back to that night four years ago and all the nightmares I'd had since. Through all the horrible nights, I'd wake in a pool of sweat, screaming. Suddenly, I felt my body shake as an anxiety attack started. I took a deep breath and it subsided.
I could show Maggie a thing or two about being nutty.

I looked up to see her once again watching me with a curious look. "Last night, before I woke, I had a similar dream. It was almost like someone was trying to tell me to wake up, but I couldn't, you know?" I said.

She nodded while looking at the woods. "Well, whoever it was, I'm grateful. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come into the room when you did."

We were both quiet as I tried to dismiss the idea. I didn't want to think what would've happened if I hadn't woken when I did. I looked over at Maggie, noticing the forlorn look on her face. I felt something pull at my heart. I felt bad for this young woman and I only hoped I would be able to help in some way.

"Hey, can't we get some room to open up these horses?"

"If you think you're up to it."

"Just get me there."

I said my prayers, hoping I wouldn't fall off the horse. It seemed I was promising a great many things to the Man upstairs lately.

Maggie led us to a clearing and we stopped for a moment to enjoy the breathtaking view. Straight ahead was an open meadow and I could almost feel my horse chomping at the bit to break into a steady gallop.

I hadn't been riding for a while, but I'd spent many a time on horseback over the years, in many different states, getting perfect photos.

Maggie gave me a challenging look then did the ole giddy-up and took off. I watched for a few seconds. She was good.
Oh well, here goes nothing.
I struggled for a few minutes to get the feeling back. I wanted to make sure I was back in the saddle again, not out of it. My childhood hero, Roy Rogers, would be proud, but I knew my arse would be killing me later.

All at once, I felt a little more at ease on the galloping mare. However, my inner thighs were burning, my muscles clenching to stay in control. I was having the time of my life. I cannot remember how far we had gone before Maggie motioned to me to slow down.

"These horses aren't used to going so fast this long. Let's walk them," she said, a little breathless. We walked in silence for a time before Maggie spoke. "Okay, I'm impressed. I didn't think you could ride that well."

"I'm a little surprised myself. It's been a while and I must admit I was holding on for dear life there for a minute."

"Where did you learn to ride?" she asked.

"I've been on photo assignments all over the country, in such remote places you couldn't reach them by car." I shrugged. "Horseback was the only option. I love the untouched beauty of this country. There's so much out there the average person can't get to. I like to think through my photos, I'm giving them the opportunity to see God's creations before we muck it up with concrete and parking lots." I suddenly realized how much I had been talking and let out a nervous laugh. "Am I talking too much? I haven't talked like this in a long while. Sorry."

It was true. I hadn't talked about my job or anything else with anyone but my editor for quite a while. I realized how pathetic that was. I stole a glance at Maggie. She was easy to talk to. Maybe too easy.

"Why should you be sorry?" Maggie asked. "It's fascinating. I would love to see some of your work."

"Well, when all this is over, perhaps you can visit Chicago," I said.

"I'd like that," she said. It seemed as if she meant it, and I had to admit the idea appealed to me. Then again, it scared the hell out of me.