Chapter Nine #2
She led the way downstairs into a yellow-and-white kitchen.
Sunlight spilled from windows on two sides across marbled tiles.
Diane opened a cabinet and took out a basket of potatoes.
She selected a paring knife from a block on the kitchen island, then pulled out a stool.
“You can sit here and peel potatoes while I cut up chicken to grill.”
Roxanne slid onto the stool and picked up the knife.
This scene felt familiar—when she was a young teen she had often helped her foster mom prepare meals.
She hadn’t seen it then as anything more than a mostly pleasant chore, but now that she was grown she realized how many times she had poured out her heart to Mama Marjie, and how much good advice she had taken in.
“What brought you to Eagle Mountain, Roxanne?” Diane asked, as she cut open a package of chicken thighs.
“I wanted a fresh start, and this seemed like a good place for it.” Roxanne cut a long spiral of potato peel. “The mountains are so beautiful.”
“When young people tell me they want to make a fresh start, I always think of a broken relationship,” Diane said. “Is that what happened to you?”
“No. I just wasn’t happy where I was.”
“Where was that?”
“San Antonio. I thought it would be easier to get to know people in a small town like Eagle Mountain.” She had believed there would be safety in the anonymity of a city, but there was also loneliness.
“Small towns can be cliquish, but Eagle Mountain isn’t like that,” Diane said. “So many people here are from other places. Of course, it’s easy for us to fit in, since we have a business where we meet so many people.”
“How did you end up here?” Roxanne asked.
“Dalton didn’t tell you this story? We’re from Vermont originally.”
She shook her head. “We’ve never talked about it.” Probably because she was so reluctant to talk about her own past, she never asked other people about theirs.
“Oh, well, Bethany moved here first. She did have a bad relationship and wanted to get away. And I think she wanted to be on her own for a bit. She took a job working for the very Jeep business we now own. We came to visit, fell in love with the place, learned the business was for sale and here we are.”
“All of you? I mean, all your children, too?”
“The twins—Carter and Dalton—didn’t really have anything keeping them in Vermont, and they liked the idea of living in Colorado.
Bethany was already a member of search and rescue and they wanted to do that, too, and they came to work for us at the tour company, so it was an easy choice for them.
Aaron was a bit surprising—he was already working for a sheriff’s department in Vermont.
But there was an opening here and he decided to take it.
He’s never said, but he hadn’t been very lucky in love, either, so I think that was another reason for the move.
And of course, once he moved here, he met Willa, so I have to think Providence had a hand in it all. ”
“And now three of your children are getting married,” Roxanne said. “That must be exciting.”
“It’s a lot.” Diane drizzled olive oil over the chicken. “It really hits home that they’re no longer yours when they take a spouse.”
“You still have Dalton.”
“Yes.” She smiled, a fond look that pulled at Roxanne’s heart. “He’s always been the quietest of the four of them. The brightest. Sometimes the most devious.”
“Devious?” The adjective surprised her.
“That may not be the right word, but he’s always thinking about things—doing things that surprise us. He’ll find his match one day.” She sent Roxanne a speculative look.
Roxanne focused on cutting the eye out of a potato. She liked Dalton. A lot. But she wasn’t in a place where she could even think about a relationship.
The doorbell chimed. Diane hurried to wash her hands. “I’ll get that.”
She left the kitchen and Roxanne peeled the last potato and tried not to listen to the muffled voices from the front room. Moments later, Diane returned. “There’s someone here to see you, Roxanne,” she announced.
“Hi.” Kara lifted her hand in a shy wave. She held a small box in her other hand. “This came for you this morning and I was worried you might need it,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind that I tracked you down.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Roxanne took the box and read the label, aware of the other two women watching her. “It’s just some face cream I ordered,” she said. “You know, after seeing one too many social media posts.”
“Oh my gosh, I do that, too,” Kara said. “You’ll have to let me know if you end up liking it.”
“Um, how did you find me?” Roxanne asked. Why had she believed she would be harder to find in a small town? Obviously, that wasn’t true.
“Actually, I wasn’t trying to find you,” Kara said.
“I was trying to find Dalton.” She turned to Diane.
“I figured he would know how to get in touch with Roxanne. I saw the name of your Jeep tour company on the back of his Jeep, so I went there first, but the woman at the counter told me Dalton had left for the day. She didn’t know where he lived, but she gave me your address.
” She turned back to Roxanne. “I thought I’d leave the package here for Dalton, but then Mrs. Ames told me you were here. So this is where you’re staying?”
“I’ll have to speak with Ashlynn about giving out our address,” Diane said. “I’ve got to finish getting dinner ready. But you two feel free to sit out in the living room and visit.”
The women moved to the living room and Kara perched on the edge of the sofa. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing the package,” she said. “I’m not trying to intrude on your privacy.”
“No, of course not.” Roxanne sat in the chair across from her and put the package on the coffee table between them. “Thank you for going to so much trouble. Is everything okay out at the house?”
“Oh yes. I mean, I haven’t seen anybody over there or anything. Mr. Lusk came over and put a new lock on the door this morning. I guess you’ll need to get the key from him.”
“That’s good.”
“Have you found out anything more about the break-in?” Kara asked. “Do they know who did it?”
“I haven’t heard anything,” Roxanne said.
“I haven’t seen anyone except Mr. Lusk since the sheriff’s deputies left.” Kara smoothed her hands down her thighs. “It’s freaking me out a little, being out there by myself since this happened. Did they take anything valuable?”
“Not really.” Her peace of mind. Her sense of safety. Had that been the aim all along?
“It’s good that you have friends to stay with,” Kara said. “Does Dalton live here, too?”
“No. He has his own place.”
“Oh.” Kara’s face was full of questions, but all she said was, “He’s really cute. Have you known him long?”
“Not long.”
Kara laughed. “Then you must have really made an impression, if you’ve already moved in with his family.
” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. That probably sounded really rude. I didn’t mean it that way.
It’s great that you have such good friends.
” She stood. “I’d better go now. I promise I’ll keep an eye on your place.
Do you know when you’ll be moving back in? ”
“I’m not sure.” Roxanne stood also, and walked with Kara to the door. “I’ll let you know. Thanks for dropping off the package.”
She closed the door behind the other woman and turned the lock, then returned to the kitchen. Diane was finished dicing the potatoes. “Would you and your friend like something to drink?” she asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t offer before.”
“That’s all right. She couldn’t stay long.”
“I guess Eagle Mountain was a good choice for you,” Diane said. “You’re already making friends.”
“Kara is my neighbor at the tiny houses.” A potential friend.
“It’s good to have neighbors who are friends.”
“She said the sheriff’s department is done with the property and my landlord has installed a new lock. There’s no reason I couldn’t move back in.” Except that Ledger—who else would have left that doll and that note?—was still at large.
“I think you should stay here for a while longer.” Diane didn’t look up from chopping herbs. “You know you’re welcome. And my oldest son, Aaron—did you know he’s a sheriff’s deputy?”
“Yes.” Roxanne tensed. “What about him?”
“He didn’t go into any details, mind you.
He takes confidentiality very seriously.
But he did tell me it wasn’t a good idea for you to move back to your tiny house until they had figured out who was behind the burglary and arrested them.
He told my husband and me to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity in the area, and he said he and the other deputies would be making regular patrols by the house. ”
So much for being an unobtrusive guest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“We’re not upset,” Diane said. “Though if you have any idea of who we’re watching out for, that would help.”
Roxanne hesitated. “Maybe a man. But I’m not sure. It . . .it’s someone who tried to harm me once before. A long time ago. He was in prison, but now he’s out. He’d be in his late forties or maybe early fifties now. Not too tall, with a mustache.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I don’t know more.”
Diane moved over and put her arm around Roxanne. Roxanne held her breath, surprised by her longing to lean into the hug. She couldn’t speak, sure she would burst into tears if she tried to say anything.
“We want you to be safe and it sounds like you’ll be safest here,” Diane said. “Better to have a lot of people looking out for you.”
Roxanne nodded. “Thank you,” she managed to whisper.
Diane patted her shoulder. “Look in that cabinet behind you and take out the cocoa, baking powder and vanilla. I feel like making some brownies for dessert. Chocolate doesn’t cure everything, but it can’t hurt, right?”
It was such a simple thing—homemade brownies and hugs. But Diane would probably be shocked to know how much they meant to Roxanne.