Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (26 page)

Chapter
Forty

Jake left Sam in the cabin with a
rawhide bone while he headed over to the Hidden Pines Bar & Grill. When he
arrived, he parked the truck, grabbed his Stetson, and climbed out. He walked
through the side entrance from the parking lot and stood just inside the
doorway, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim lights.

Quite a few people filled the
tables, so he stepped up to the bar and grabbed a stool. The bartender came
over to him, removed an empty glass, and wiped down the bar with a towel.

“What can I get ya?

“I’ll have a Budweiser,” he said.

The bartender pulled a bottle
from the cooler beneath the bar and set it in front of Jake, who handed him a
five-dollar bill.

“You’re new here?”

“Yes, I arrived on Friday.”

“How do you like it? Are you
enjoying yourself?”

“Sure am,” Jake said. “I’ve found
it to be a perfect place to come and relax.”

“That it is. They’ve always been
booked, every season throughout the year. Fishing in the spring, summer and
fall and duck, bear and deer hunting follow. We also have ice fishing in the
winter. There’s something going on up here all year round. My name is Tom, by
the way.”

“I’m Jake,” he said, and he
watched when two more men entered.

“I’ll be right back,” Tom said.
When he returned, they talked about sports for a while, until Tom excused
himself again and stepped down to the other end of the bar to check on his
customers.

An elderly man sat on the bar
stool next to him and introduced himself.

“Hi there, I’m Gus,” he said,
lifted his beer and tipped his head at Jake.

“I overheard you saying you’re
staying in Cabin #9. I’m your next-door neighbor, if you call a block away from
each other next door,” he laughed. “I’m in Cabin #8.

They’d been talking about hunting
and fishing, when the bartender returned and asked if they’d like to order
lunch. They both ordered a burger and fries and continued talking.

“Have you met the woman who lives
down near the fishing hole?” Jake asked.

“Nope, never even seen her,” Gus
answered. “I’ve heard she pretty much keeps to herself. Just shy, I guess. She
hasn’t been around very long. I’m a regular summer tenant. She moved here
recently, not sure when. Never shows her face; doesn’t even own a car. That’s
unusual for someone who lives so deep in the woods. But then again, she never
leaves her cabin.

“Hey Tom!”

“I’ll be right there, Gus.”

Tom finished up at the cash
register and came over.

“What can I get ya, Gus? Need
another beer?”

“No thanks, just wondering about
the new gal livin’ in the old place.”

“Don’t know much about her. Marv
sold the place to her for a whoppin’ one hundred dollars, I guess. She handed
him the money, then he gave it back to her. The place was just a shack and he
was driving over that way on his quad to check things out. He was going to pay
someone to tear it down. When he got there, he discovered the girl had already
been stayin’ for close to a month. Marv said she’s a cute little thing. Felt
sorry for her. She wouldn’t tell him anything, except that she needed somewhere
to settle for a while. The shack was so rundown and deserted she figured no one
would care. She cleaned the mess up, and turned it into a cute little place to
live. When Marv found her, she was frightened. He looked her over carefully,
and could tell she was running from someone. She had bruises on her face, arms
and legs. He asked her if she needed help. She said no, just a place to stay.
She offered him one hundred dollars if he’d let her stay there for a while, and
promised she wouldn’t cause any trouble. He figured she was desperate. He let
her know the cabin was hers; even signed the title over to her. He wouldn’t
take any money. He told her she made the property look almost as beautiful as
she looked herself; with that, she smiled, he got back on his quad, promised
her she’d be safe, and drove away.”

“Jake told me he ran into her up
the creek.”

“Well from what Marv said, she
wanted nothing to do with anyone.”

“She did seem quite frightened
when I said hello,” Jake said and shook his head slowly when he thought about
it. “She spoke to me about the fishing pond, even led me to it.”
Then she
was suddenly anxious to escape from my presence
.

“Well I’d better get back to my
cabin and feed my dog.”

“Nice meetin’ ya,” Gus said and
lifted his beer bottle to him. “Come on back later. We’ll all be here.”

“I might do that,” he answered,
then stood, left the bartender a generous tip and turned to leave.

“Thanks, Jake,” Tom said.

Jake raised his hand in response
and walked out the door.

* * *

Sunday brought rain, but that
didn’t bother Jake. He had Sam to watch the Vikings football game with him. It
would be their time to bond. Sam didn’t mind either. Jake grabbed some chips
and a beer. He sat down on the couch and Sam snuggled up alongside of him and
fell asleep.

When the game ended, he picked up
the phone and called Nick – again.

He answered on the first ring and
instead of saying hello, he asked, “You miss us that much, Jake?” They both
laughed. “Just joking; how’ve you been? You aren’t bored up there, are you?”

“Heck no. But hey, I’m not used
to being on vacation.”

“And that’s exactly why I talked
you into taking one.”

“Oh you did, did you?” Jake
smirked, though he knew Nick couldn’t see him. “If you recall, I asked
you
for time off.”

“How are you and Sam getting
along?”

“Great. He’s one heck of a friend
– and so well trained. I swear he knows every word I say to him. He’s really
the best.”

“Trying to hurt my feelings, are
ya?” They both laughed, and then discussed the Vikings game.

“Well, I’d better get going,
Jake. Now relax, take it easy, rest up, and stop missing us. Your job won’t go
anywhere. Believe me. It’ll still be here when you return.”

“Hey Nick, I wanted to ask you.
Have the police found out anything new about that missing neighbor woman of
yours? Wasn’t her name Natalie?”

“Yes, well actually Mariah said
her name is Natalie but she and Sarah called her Nattie in school. Why do you
ask?”

“Oh, just wondering. I’ve never
seen nor met her or the husband.”

“Well, be glad you didn’t have
the opportunity to meet Carl. He was quite a malicious person. Mariah and Sarah
both had seen his wife a couple of times, and they’re sure he physically abused
her.”

Jake slowly set his beer bottle
down on the end table. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I just don’t understand what men
are thinking when they treat their women that way.”

“He ended up committing suicide.
I guess Mariah, Sarah and Natalie were good friends in high school. Anyway,
they’ve come up with nothing more at this time. They strongly suspect that she
drowned, after finding Carl’s suicide note. They don’t have much to go on, but
it’s all been pointing to Carl as being the one who ran his wife off the road
and over the cliff. With Carl gone, it’s going to be more difficult, but they
have detectives on the case.

“Now put your feet up, Jake. I
expect you to be ready to work when you get back here, and that’s less than two
weeks from now.

“Okay, so long Nick.”

Jake closed his cell phone and
placed it on the table. He leaned his head on the back of the couch and stared
up at the ceiling. He thought about everything that the bartender told him:
covered with bruises, frightened. He said the names aloud. “Natalie – Nattie.”

“Sam, tomorrow we’ll take another
hike down to the fishing hole. We’ll pay our new friend a little visit.”

Sam looked up, and Jake could
swear he wore a smile on his face while he wagged his tail.

Unfortunately, when morning
arrived he woke to a downpour of rain, which lasted through the next five days
of his vacation, though he didn’t mind. He and Sam were able to relax, be lazy,
and become the best of friends.

Nearly a week later Jake opened
his eyes at dawn, as the sun slipped through the bedroom blinds. He looked down
at the weight on his feet. There was Sam, who sat and stared at him, while his
tail moved back and forth.

“Okay, boy, it looks like a
beautiful day. Let’s get up and enjoy it.” He threw off the covers and Sam
jumped to the floor excitedly.

Chapter
Forty-one

At six a.m., with the straps to
his backpack over his shoulders and his fishing pole in his hand, Jake and Sam
began the hike along the trail. Sam walked a few feet ahead and gave himself
time to stop and sniff this and that while he waited for his master to catch
up.

When they arrived at the fishing
hole, he looked around in disappointment. He hoped to see Natalie again. He
wanted to find out what makes her so terribly frightened to associate with
other people. She’s so lovely and delicate. He needed to learn one way or
another, if she had actually lived in terror, and if she’s the woman from
Pinewood Hills. Perhaps it was simply his own uneasiness, to have met such an
attractive young woman, who lived alone so deep the woods.

Thirty minutes later, he sat on a
large boulder, his line in the water and Sam sprawled out on a flat rock
alongside him. All of a sudden, Sam jumped up and looked carefully into the
wooded area behind them. Jake turned around to see what had attracted his
attention. He saw nothing and was about to turn back toward the pond, when a
flash of yellow caught his eye. He placed his pole on the flat surface of the
rock, and stood with his hand shading his eyes to help him see deeper into the
trees and brush. Whatever it had been, it was gone now. He sat down on the
boulder and turned to call Sam when he again spotted the fleck of yellow. Sam
stood and wagged his tail while he kept his eyes on a large oak tree.

“Hello?” Jake called out. Then he
saw a fraction of material, as it blew gently in the light southwesterly
breeze. “Please don’t be afraid. Sam and I would never hurt you.”

He watched as she cautiously
peeked around the trunk of the tree. Sam walked over to greet her. She looked
beautiful. She wore a light yellow blouse with ivory ruffles, and a skirt the
color of a daffodil that blew lightly in the wind, and barely touched the
calves of her legs.

“Are you alone?” She whispered so
softly, he barely heard her.

“Yes, and Sam, of course,” he
added with a grin. “Come on over. We can talk.” His greeting was a husky
whisper.
“It’s okay, no one else
is here.”

She stepped quietly around the
tree and avoided placing her feet on the dry leaves that would make a crunch
beneath her shoes.

Jake motioned for her to come
closer and patted the flat surface next to him. He could see that she seemed
determined not to reveal her joy at seeing him. He smiled when she sat as far
away from him as possible without slipping into the pond. She drew a deep
breath, and finally appeared to be comfortable next to him.

He looked over at her. Her blue
eyes were full of life, pain, and a burning, faraway look. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, although she was
actually trembling. He reached over and placed his free hand over hers. When he
spoke, his voice was warm. “It’s okay, Sam and I would like to be your friend.”
Her lips drew a faint smile.

He turned his head to look at his
fishing pole, and then reeled in the line.

“I guess the fish aren’t biting today.”

“You arrived too late. They’re
active around six a.m.”

“Oh, no wonder. I got
up
at six o’clock. I’m on vacation, so even that’s sleeping in for me. I’m usually
at work by then. He smiled at her and again found a worried expression on her
face.

“I better go,” she muttered and
stood.

“No, wait. Please don’t go,
Natalie.”

The anxious look on her face when
he called her Natalie told him what he’d already suspected. She is Natalie
Larson.

She paused and looked down at her
feet, then into his eyes, while hers clouded with tears.

“Don’t be afraid of me, Natalie,
please. I won’t hurt you. No one sent me to find you. I didn’t even know who
you were until I went on the KTSP News website. They placed a description of
you along with an old photo. Your high school graduation picture was the only
one available.

“The police believe you’re dead.
They thoroughly searched the area in Lake Superior when they discovered that
your car had gone over the cliff and plunged into the water. How did you
survive?”

“Come with me,” she said and
stepped down from the boulder. Without looking back, she continued to walk
toward the path.

“Let’s go, Sam,” Jake said, after
he gathered their things. They followed close behind as she led them to her
temporary home.