Chapter Three #2
“Quinn, I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You have every right to be angry. I didn’t think, I should have left you a note or something
saying I wasn’t taking the car.” Her eyes pleaded with his.
He shrugged carelessly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But I am.” His cool facade did little to disguise his anger. Silently she beseeched him to understand. All this was new to
her. She hadn’t even thought about letting him know she was going someplace.
“Is Jill gone?”
Meggie nodded.
Quinn looked away guiltily. “She phoned Hariette.”
Miserably Meggie hung her head, but continued to watch him from beneath thick lashes that veiled dark eyes.
“Church,” he murmured drily. “All the while you were in church and I was thinking . . .”
Meggie was grateful he didn’t repeat what had passed through his mind.
Their eyes dueled across the short space of the open doorway. The look in his eyes seemed to pry into her soul. Gradually
his look softened and he smiled.
“I’m relieved to know you’re safe, Meggie,” he said unevenly.
“I’m glad I’m safe too.” Meggie realized that she should probably return to her apartment. Everything she’d wanted to say
to Quinn had been said and his look didn’t invite further conversation.
She shifted uneasily. “Well, I guess I’d better go change clothes,” she murmured, her eyes not leaving his tightly controlled
expression.
“Yes, I suppose you should.”
She took a step backwards. “I’m terribly sorry,” she repeated the apology.
He nodded, unsmiling.
Halfway between their apartments, he called, “Meggie.”
She blinked. “Yes.”
He gestured irritably with his open palm. “I broke the lock on your apartment. I’ll replace it this afternoon.”
Astonished eyes flew to her apartment. She was silent for a moment, examining the damage. Her eyes widened at the sight; that
Quinn must have been in a panic was evidenced by her door.
“On second thought, I’ll replace the lock right now.” He reached one hand inside the apartment, withdrawing a leather jacket,
and locked his door. “You’re coming with me.” It was an order, sorely lacking the politeness of a request.
“That’s unnecessary,” she said calmly.
Quinn breathed in heavily, some of the first anger returning to the grim features. “It damn well is necessary.”
Meggie hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, “I’ll be perfectly safe until you return. Don’t worry about me, Quinn.”
The dark eyes flashed as his mouth twisted wryly. “Let’s just say that after this morning I’d appreciate a little peace of
mind where you’re concerned.”
A smile trembled at the edges of her mouth, but she didn’t think Quinn would appreciate her humor. “All right, but can I change
out of my dress first?”
He studied her coolly, then shrugged his shoulder. “Go ahead.” He walked with her to the apartment, entering the room first.
Meggie noticed the way his trained eyes quickly surveyed the living room and kitchen area, looking for anything out of order.
He led the way to her bedroom, switching on the light and making the same sweeping glance.
“Go ahead and change. I’ll wait outside.”
Meggie barely concealed a smile. “I’m beginning to think this is a James Bond movie.” Their eyes met, hers crinkling with
silent laughter, his deadly sober.
“I’ve seen too much in my life not to take this seriously,” he said with a stoic expression, then turned and left the room.
The peace that had surrounded her since she’d been to church was something Quinn wouldn’t understand. To even attempt an explanation
to someone who wasn’t a believer would be impossible. If she were to say something to Quinn, he’d think she was no longer
rational. As the designer jeans slid over her slim hips, she wondered how she could transmit this sense of tranquility to
him.
His reaction to her being gone this morning had surprised Meggie. She had judged Quinn to be levelheaded, an even-tempered
man. Usually her insights into another’s personality weren’t far off base, so his behavior this morning seemed strangely out
of character. Fastening the last of the buttons of her shirt, she grabbed a light jacket in case there was a change in the
weather.
Quinn was standing in the living room waiting for her, his hands thrust deep into his pants pockets.
“Have you been to the Grotto?” he questioned her unexpectedly.
“The Grotto? No, I don’t even know what it is.”
Thick brows came abruptly together in surprise. “Then I’ll show you. Words would be inadequate in describing the place.”
Silently they rode together. Quinn didn’t say a word for the entire twenty-minute ride.
When they drove past the airport and into the lush green forests, Quinn maneuvered the Jeep into the parking lot. He paused,
looking around as if seeing the magnificence for the first time.
“It’s been years since I was last here,” he murmured. “Every time I come, I’m amazed at the beauty.”
Meggie examined the area around her uncertainly. “What is it?”
Quinn’s gaze wandered over her. “Technically it’s an outdoor cathedral. Not too far up the path is a replica of Michelangelo’s
famous Pietà. People from all over the world come to the Grotto. Thousands have viewed the sanctuary in honor of the mother of Christ.
There’s world-famous artwork on display, but I’ve been inside only a couple of times. I prefer communicating with God through
nature.”
Meggie wanted to question him further, but he swung open the Jeep door and climbed out. Meggie followed.
His hand reached for hers, enveloping her smaller one as they walked along the tree-lined trails. “I know you’re close to
God, Meggie. I knew you’d understand my feelings for this place. I’m not the type of man to sit in a church. When I need to
feel close to God, I come here.”
“I used to feel that way,” she replied softly. “There were times when I was troubled and I’d find an empty church and sit
alone in the back pew. Other times I went on long walks by myself, hoping I’d find God. It took me a lot of years to realize
God wasn’t hiding from me, I didn’t have to go searching for Him. All my life He’s been right here waiting. Suddenly I realized
that if I felt God was far away, I was the one who’d moved.”
She could feel Quinn’s gaze studying her for a long moment. Hand in hand they continued along the paved pathway. Lush green
ferns and a wide variety of flowers and trees marked the way.
“I first came here back in the sixties right after I got my shipping orders for Southeast Asia. I was young and patriotic,
and believed I probably wouldn’t be coming back alive. At the time making peace with God seemed the sensible thing to do.”
“Did you?”
He glanced up confused. “Did I what?”
“Make your peace?”
He shrugged, his eyes avoiding hers. “I suppose,” he responded noncommittally.
The walk amidst the beauty of nature was as beautiful as it was serene. Meggie could understand Quinn’s feelings for this
place. Following the paths, Quinn led her toward the fourteen Stations of the Cross and later the huge statue of Christ standing
atop a rock-hewn monument base.
Gazing up at one of the many statues, Meggie whispered, “I can understand why the Grotto is called a place of peace and solitude.”
She couldn’t recall a time she’d felt more at peace with herself and God, walking the fifty-eight-acre complex with Quinn
at her side.
“There’s something else I want you to see,” Quinn insisted later, tugging her hand as he led her to the ten-story elevator
that transported them to the upper level of the Grotto.
A sense of awe filled Meggie as she faced the sweeping view of two of the most picturesque states in the Pacific Northwest.
“Who could ever doubt there’s a God, gazing at this,” she said, contemplating the breathtaking beauty of the Columbia River
Valley.
Quinn’s hand cupped her shoulder, the other hand pointing into the distance. “That’s Mount St. Helens,” he told her.
The once-majestic mountain peak looked almost flat, presenting only a shell of its former magnificence. Meggie could see the
mountain every day, but never so clearly. Although the purity of the white snow was clearly visible, so was the drab, depressing
color of gray ash that covered everything in its path.
Meggie, like most everyone in the world, had heard of Washington State’s volcano. But to actually view the lopsided effect
of the entire north side of the mountain, blown away with a force five hundred times more powerful than the bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, was more than could be described with words.
“May the eighteenth, 1980, became known as Ash Sunday, the day she first blew,” Quinn explained. “Thirteen hundred feet of
mountain exploded in searing gas, ash and rock at the rate of two hundred miles an hour. It was the first volcanic eruption
in the lower forty-eight states in sixty-three years.”
“Dear Lord.” Meggie sighed disbelievingly.
“It’s estimated that two million animals, birds and fish perished that Sunday, plus dozens of human lives.”
“She looks so peaceful now.”
“Isn’t that just like a woman,” he commented drily, “but believe me, beneath all that tranquility stirs molten rock bursting
out bit by bit every day. Although we can’t see the dome-building process from this side, we do see occasional blasts of steam
and ash. But nothing in comparison to the 1980 eruptions.”
“Did Portland get much of the ash?”
The look he gave her was incredulous. “It was unimaginable. Not only that first time, but a few days later and then again
in June. It was everywhere—the car, the house, my hair. Most everyone was beginning to wonder if we’d ever live normal lives
again.”
They left soon afterwards, taking a leisurely trail back to the parking lot.
“I’m so glad you brought me here, Quinn. Thank you,” she said, the sincerity of her words shining deep from within her brown
eyes.
He opened the door of the Jeep for her, walked around and swung his long frame beside her. “I’m not sure why I did. Maybe