Chapter Nine
HER STOMACH CLENCHED as she drove out of the lot. Down the street, the penguin in the crafts store seemed to wave at her. Her broken heart hadn’t healed yet. Besides, she wasn’t going to stay here. But the main reason to guard her heart from falling for Laredo was her secret. No, she couldn’t hope he might be interested in her. There was no such hope if he knew the truth.
All her concentration should be on her missing friend, not the attentive, caring cowboy who’d dropped everything to help her. Yes, the hurt shoulder might’ve prevented him from some hard labor at the ranch, but he could be sitting in front of his TV right now, watching movies or car races while telling her to bring dinner or drinks.
Her dad had done that in the rare times he’d been home. Adam was moving in that direction. But he’d been kind to suggest hiring a maid to alleviate Diana’s load. Several times, though, she’d sent the maid home and cooked meals herself and tidied up before the maid had come to clean. While she didn’t like having someone in the house and had let the maid go after his death, she’d still had to appreciate his kindness and agreed. She didn’t understand why Pat scoffed every time Diana mentioned that kind gesture—or maybe she didn’t want to understand.
“Would you mind if we stop by the places where Pat was spotted?” She glided through the green light.
“I was about to suggest it. Go straight ahead, please, then turn right at the third traffic light. We’ll go to the souvenir store first.”
“Thanks.” Her heart warmed.
No.
It shouldn’t warm toward him. She’d forbidden it to. But how could she not respond to such compassion? She slowed behind a forest-green sedan. It didn’t matter, anyway. She wasn’t far from the first traffic light as it turned yellow, so as eager as she was to move forward—in many senses—she had no need to speed up with a red light looming ahead.
At least, she needed to remember his compassion wasn’t directed specifically to her. Kindness seemed to run in the Lawrence family.
After the third traffic light, Laredo gestured to the right. “Here’s the souvenir store. Printed Sunshine also serves as a stationery store. Our uncle owns it, and Kai often helps out here part-time. Kai should be there today.”
She smiled as she pulled into a parking lot far busier than the pharmacy one. Amazing how interconnected things were in small towns, comforting, really. People knew people. One could meet the same people in different places. She was much more comfortable with familiar faces, or at least somewhat familiar ones.
“Please let me check the surroundings and then open the door for you.” Laredo climbed out of the truck.
“Oh, okay.” She turned off the engine and clicked the belt open. She’d charged into Sunshine Healing without thinking about their safety.
Soon he opened the vehicle door for her with his left hand—though he didn’t have to be such a gentleman. Frankly, she wasn’t used to such treatment. Her father thought that, if women wanted equal rights, they could open their own doors, and Adam had felt the same. She sprang into action.
The souvenir/stationery shop window boasted a watercolor seascape with a ship in the distance and seagulls in the sky. Christmas wreaths dangled over it, and beside it, a plush dolphin swam beneath a modest Christmas tree.
“My sister-in-law Skylar painted that.” He opened the front door for her. “She’s an artist.”
“She must be very talented.” Diana walked inside. Besides a decent voice, she didn’t have any special talents and always admired people who did.
The store smelled of paper and pine needles. The latter likely came from another Christmas tree, much larger than the one in the shop window. The tree, as well as the Christmas carols and the decorations strung from the ceiling and floating like paper ships, gave a festive mood. Instead of giant silver snowflakes like at the pharmacy, here they offered seascape postcards displaying Port Sunshine alongside seasonal greeting cards.
“Skylar designed many of the greeting cards and postcards, as well.” Laredo stood taller, and pride for his family rang in his voice.
Hmm. Instead of ornaments, local postcards and seasonal greeting cards decorated the fir tree. Even the row of potted poinsettias lining one wall had ocean postcards glued to them.
Of course, Christmas merchandise crowded onto shelves already displaying souvenir mugs, key chains, and plush toys, along with beach towels, flip-flops, sweatshirts, caps, and T-shirts all stamped with the town’s sunny logo. The postcards, well-crafted miniature reprints of watercolors, attracted her attention. She wasn’t the only one who liked them. An elderly couple at the counter left with a stack bundled with their Christmas sweaters and ornaments. A tall woman in sunglasses bought a watercolor seascape, and a white-haired man leaning on a cane selected greeting cards.
“Come on in! Happy to see you.” Beckoning them in with both hands, Kai met them with a wide grin.
“Hello, Kai,” she said. As much as she wished their uncle’s store much success, she was grateful they were the only customers here now.
“Happy to see you, too, bro, but we’re here on business.” Laredo pressed a hand to Diana’s back as he led her to the counter.
His touch zinged through her skin, and her heartbeat went into overdrive. She steeled herself against the reaction.
“Well, now you’re offending me. Just kidding. Sure. I might even know what that business is.” Kai’s grin widened.
With a red bandanna on his head and another one wrapped around his neck over a loose-fitting pirate shirt, she could envision him in those pirate ship reenactments where Laredo said he often entertained the children. Somehow, the outfit suited Kai in real life, as well. Something mischievous and easygoing about his personality suggested he liked to play more than just in the pirate shows and didn’t take life too seriously.
Envy pinged her. She never took time to play and always took life and her obligations too seriously, which stretched her as thin as Laredo’s guitar strings. If she hadn’t gone on this trip, she’d probably have snapped sometime soon. Or relapsed.
Most likely both.
Kai slapped his hands together. “You want the recording from when your friend visited the store, correct?”
“Yes, please,” she said before anyone else came in.
“No problem. I’ll email it to you, okay?” He opened the laptop on the counter. “I watched the recordings and only found the one you wanted just a few minutes ago, or I would’ve sent it to you already. I wasn’t at the store when your friend came in. Sadly, Uncle worked the counter at the time but didn’t remember ‘the girl with blue hair,’ maybe because a cap covered her hair at the time. I didn’t realize we had this recording”—his chest puffed out that puffy pirate shirt—“until my brilliant wife found it.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” She gave him her email address.
She traced her fingers over the smooth counter surface. Had Adam ever talked about her with such pride as Kai talked about his brilliant wife? Her shoulders slumped. Surely, he had when she hadn’t been around, right? Why did she listen to that voice inside her saying he hadn’t? She’d been proud of her brilliant spouse, but had it been reciprocated? Not wanting to be envious of what Marina and Kai had, she looked away.
And met Laredo’s concerned gaze.
“Are you okay?” he mouthed.
She wasn’t, and she couldn’t blame it on grief or even on her missing friend, though her broken heart was aching for Pat. That broken heart stirred as she immersed herself in his eyes, blue like the ocean in the watercolors on the walls, as if he were the only glue capable of putting the shards back together. She longed for not only a new chance but also for a different kind of romance, a different kind of relationship, and a different kind of marriage. Maybe when she was ready for it. And when she thought about what man she wanted it with, Laredo stood in front of her—literally.
Yet he didn’t exist for the sole purpose of giving her a do-over. With Pat gone—hopefully just on one of her escapades—loneliness felt especially acute. Loneliness always cut sharper during Christmas. Okay, okay. After she found Pat or Pat returned, Diana would bury herself in work and wouldn’t have time to feel lonely.
“Yes,” she mouthed back, touched by his concern, then searched for a distraction from those understanding blue eyes. “Whose watercolors are these?” She pointed at the wall, though she suspected the answer.
One of the seascapes drew her in more than the others. In it, a couple rode horses along the shoreline. Sunset painted the sky and the water in golden and peach hues. Stetsons hid their faces, but the overall feeling was oh-so romantic. “They are impressive.”
“Skylar. She’s becoming quite famous, at least locally.” Laredo stepped around the counter, stopping below the painting. “For years, she worked as an accountant, but she returned to her real passion now—art. Well, besides my brother being her passion, as well.”
Another wistful pang twinged Diana’s chest. Skylar was living her dream now. While Diana enjoyed her purposeful job, whose dream was she living? She knew the expectations for her, but did she know her dream ?
Part of her new dream might be right in front of her, looking at her with compassion. But that dream was forbidden.
“I’d like to buy it.” If she couldn’t take this handsome and caring cowboy with her or stay here with him, she could have something to remember him and this place by. Maybe even imagine for blissful moments that the couple on their horses could one day be her and Laredo.
Kai’s eyes widened. “I’m happy to sell it to you, but you didn’t ask the price.”
“That’s right.” She nodded. “I didn’t.” A little more time here, and she’d pay whatever price necessary for even a fraction of a chance with Laredo, as well. She winced. Hadn’t she already paid a high enough price for a broken heart?
Kai named a price surprisingly reasonable for this kind of work.
Her brows lifted. “It would’ve been more expensive at a Dallas art gallery. It’s gorgeous.”
“I’ll be happy to pay for it. And carry it.” Laredo stepped forward.
“No, that’s fine.” She gave Kai her credit card.
He rang up the purchase and wrapped the watercolor. “Thank you for your purchase. Skylar will be glad to hear how much you liked it. I’ll take it to Laredo’s truck, okay?” Kai extended his hand, and she dropped the keys in it.
Laredo groaned. “Bro, you’re making me look helpless.”
“You shouldn’t reinjure that shoulder. I say it as your brother.” Kai hurried to the truck with the watercolor.
“And I say it as a nurse,” she added.
“Two against one!” Laredo groaned again but with less protest.
Kai returned fast.
The watercolor couple were holding hands, and she had a nearly irresistible urge to reach for Laredo’s hand.
What was she thinking? They weren’t a couple. Would never be. She swallowed a bitter taste. She needed to see the recording, and she shouldn’t wait another moment. She should’ve done it already.
Seriously, she’d always been such a responsible person and a faithful friend. So, she’d better start to act like it again. “Once again, thank you so much for the video.” She shook Kai’s hand.
“Thank you, actually! And thanks, bro.” Laredo patted his brother’s shoulder.
They walked outside—after he’d checked their surroundings. And just in time because more people filed into the store. A small crowd.
The urgency to find her friend pounded in her temples. Diana climbed into the truck and pulled out her phone. “Is it okay if I watch the video now? I can’t wait until we get to the ranch.”
“Sure.”
With her heart beating faster, she opened her email and downloaded the video. The rapid beat was because she was eager to see what was in the footage, of course. But it was also because of Laredo’s proximity.
She hurried to open the video. Was Pat still alive? Diana flinched. She had to believe so. She tipped the phone so Laredo could see the screen, which made her lean in close too, so close his hair tickled her forehead.
Nearly close enough for their breaths to mix. Close enough to kiss?
Don’t think like that!
She pulled back. Something changed in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure what.
Concentrate.
The phone screen was small, but she could enlarge the image. Still, she struggled to recognize Pat who usually dressed in bright clothes and moved freely. This woman in nondescript jeans and a navy-blue turtleneck walked with caution. A gray cap hid her hair indeed. Whatever made her friend buy a gray cap or a navy-blue turtleneck? But it was Pat all right. Diana knew her enough to know that.
“It’s her.”
The guy from the pharmacy video hung behind her and kept quiet. If Diana hadn’t known they were together, she wouldn’t have guessed it. A beard covered most of his face. Was it on purpose? He shoved his hands into his nondescript jeans pockets. The hooded look in his eyes warned others away. And that birthmark was like an itch she couldn’t scratch.
“Did you see her two years ago?” Pat showed Laredo’s uncle at the counter something on her phone, likely whoever she was inquiring about.
That reminded Diana of her question. But who was Pat talking about? And why?
Laredo’s uncle shook his head. “I don’t think so. But frankly, I wouldn’t remember. Two years is a long time. Also, she could’ve come in when I wasn’t manning the counter.”
Diana’s mind whirled as she replayed the video, then tucked the phone in her pocket. She turned the key in the ignition and drove into the street.
“Do you know who she was talking about?” Laredo shifted sideways, bracing his good arm on the console between them. “And why was she looking for her?”
“I wish I did.”
What was happening? And why hadn’t Pat talked to her about it?
Okay, okay. “What is our next step? Could we go to the candy store maybe?” She slowed her speed and craned down the street. Where was that place anyway?
“Sure. Let’s do it.” He gave her directions.
Then something bugged her. Well, a lot of things bugged her, but this one, she could pinpoint. “Pat said she lost her phone on the boat. It might be worth digging into. Are there charter boats here?”
“There sure are.” He made a few calls. On the third one, his voice perked up. “Aha. Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
When he disconnected, she held her breath and forced herself to slow down to keep from tailgating the van ahead. “Any news?”
He touched her arm. “The captain of one charter boat—despite working with tourists, he’s kind of a loner, which might be why he hadn’t seen our missing person posters or social media posts yet. He remembered a blue-haired girl. She and some guy chartered his boat and asked a weird question. He didn’t say what the question was.”
Everything in her perked up. “We need to speak to that captain. Please.”
“He’ll see us on his boat tomorrow morning.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. People are friendly here.” Laredo’s voice softened. “Even loners.”