Mending Places (24 page)

Hanna paced the floor of the lodge, peeking through the sheers every few minutes. Where was she? There was no answer at her parents’ house. She’d already called all of Gram’s friends, and none of them had heard from her today.
Keep her safe, Father.

She stopped by the window and pulled back the drapes. Darkness had fallen in the valley like a black, velvet cloak, and only the light in the parking lot lit up the night sky. She’d seen few headlights approach, and all of them had gone past the lodge. Was she lost? Hurt? She would’ve called by now if she could’ve; Hanna knew that much. She glanced at her watch. It had been forty-five minutes since Micah’s last call.

Added to all this stress was the phone call she’d received from Gram’s doctor’s office earlier. All the questioning and testing he’d conducted pointed to Alzheimer’s. She hadn’t told Gram yet; she was waiting for the right time. The doctor suggested the tests be repeated by a neurologist and had recommended one. If this was Alzheimer’s, tonight was just the beginning of a long, scary trip into complete senility.

The phone shattered the silence, and she grabbed it as though it were a lifeline, without even saying hello. “Micah? Did you find her?”

A great weight lifted when she heard his voice, and her body sagged.
Thank You, God,
she prayed, as she hung up and went to the window to wait. Headlights finally shimmered in the distance, and she was unable to stop the rapid pulsations of her heart.
Please, let it be Gram.
It seemed to take an eternity for the headlights to draw near. They disappeared momentarily, blocked by trees, and her heart faltered until they shone again in the distance.

She cupped her hands against the window. Was that three lights she saw? They grew nearer, and she saw that it was indeed three lights, with one ahead of the other two, and she knew it was Micah leading Gram home. They approached the lodge, and Hanna exhaled a heavy sigh when the vehicles pulled into the parking lot. She opened the door and walked along the porch, then saw Gram, followed by Micah, walking up the dim incline to the lodge.

“Gram, are you okay?” She reached out a hand to help her up the steps.

“Oh, I’m fine. I just got a little turned around.” Her voice sounded strong.

But even in the dim porch light, Hanna thought she saw the evidence of tears. And her hair was in disarray. She sent Micah a questioning glance but received only a shrug in answer.

She took Gram’s arm and led her to the door. “Let’s get you inside and fix you some—”

“Now, don’t fuss, child. I haven’t forgotten how to feed myself.” Gram patted her hand, then slipped through the screen door. “I can still smell that pot roast …” Her voice faded as the door fell shut.

Micah pulled the handle, and she stopped him with a hand on his arm. The porch light cast a silver glow over his features.

“Is she really okay? What happened?”

His hand fell from the handle. “I found her on Spring Gulch Road, pulled to the side. She’d lost her way, like she said.”

“But how? She’s lived here all her life. How could she get lost?” She knew the answer but didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that Gram was losing her faculties.

Micah shook his head.

“What condition was she in when you found her? Was she worried, afraid?”

“Both, I suppose.” His voice rumbled softly in the night air. “She was crying. I took a few minutes to calm her down before driving back.”

A lump formed in her throat. What if Micah hadn’t found her? What if she’d been lost all night? Anything could’ve happened to her. She met Micah’s gaze briefly before he looked away. What an enigma, this man. Strong, harsh even, but gentle enough to console an old woman when she wept in fear. He could say anything he liked, but his actions were proof of the man he was.

Her hand reached up to cradle his jaw. It was rough with stubble and tightened at her touch. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. The kiss landed on the soft corner of his lips. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He didn’t move, not a muscle, but she sensed the tightening of his body, saw the desire in his expression. What was she feeling, this pleasant emotion burning deep within her? It was more than attraction, more than … anything she’d ever felt. Love’s tender sprouts were taking root in her heart, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

She felt the heat from his body, only inches away. Why couldn’t he take her in his arms? Why couldn’t he kiss her like he did before? He wanted to. She could see it in his eyes. But she could also detect the iron will that held him back. The same will that had kept him distant, that had stopped their kiss before.

She sighed and broke eye contact, slipping through the door, brushing close to him purposely. He could fight it all he wanted, but she didn’t have to make it easy for him.

Gram was coming through the swinging doors of the kitchen with a plate of food when Hanna entered the dining room. She took a deep breath and sat across from Gram. Hanna’s emotions had been all over the board tonight from anxiety and fear to gratitude and passion.

But now only Gram mattered.

The woman bowed her head in silent prayer. She seemed smaller than she used to be. Had she lost weight? Her disheveled hair and puffy eyes were the only remnants of what must have been an evening fraught with worry and fear.

At last, Gram dug into her mashed potatoes, and Hanna wondered how to break the news she’d gotten earlier. Gram was no dummy. When she heard she needed to see a specialist, she’d put two and two together.

“Don’t worry so, dear. I’m fine. Really.”

Hanna’s lips slanted in a smile. Tonight’s fiasco had proved one thing. Gram could no longer drive anywhere alone, Alzheimer’s or not. It just wasn’t safe. But how could she convince her? Gram, who’d taken over the lodge fearlessly upon her husband’s death. Gram, who prided herself in independence and courage. She might be angry with Hanna for suggesting it, and she might even refuse to comply. But Hanna had to try.

“You really had me worried tonight.”

“I’m sorry, I know you must’ve been.”

“I think … I think maybe it would be best if you took me or Mrs. Eddlestein with you when you run errands.” Her heart beat out a frantic staccato. “At least for a while.”

Gram calmly set her milk glass on the table. “Maybe you’re right.”

Hanna blinked.

“Don’t look so surprised. You’re not the only one who was worried tonight.” Gram placed her wrinkled hand over Hanna’s. “You’ve no idea how terrifying it is to be out somewhere and realize you have no clue where you are. To not recognize anything even though you know you’ve been there hundreds of times. To know everything should be familiar, but nothing
is
familiar. Believe me, I have no desire to go through that again.”

Hanna breathed a sigh of relief as Gram squeezed her hand and continued eating. She’d handled that better than Hanna had expected, but the next news was even worse. How could she soften the information so as not to alarm Gram? Maybe if she handled it matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal.

“Your doctor’s office called today. They suggested more testing and gave you a referral to another doctor. I went ahead and made an appointment for you.”

Gram’s loaded fork made a slow descent to her plate. The frown between her brows spoke of keen understanding. “So,” she said, “the testing Doc did is pointing to Alzheimer’s.” She settled back against the wooden slats of the high-back chair.

“Well, he thought a neurologist might be better suited to conduct the …” Her voice trailed off as Gram shook her head.

“You don’t have to beat around the bush, child. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting around on the Internet. I’ve been conducting my own investigation, and I know what this referral to a neurologist means.”

Sadness bubbled up in Hanna’s heart. How would it feel to be going senile and to know it would get worse until she was totally dependent on others for even the simplest tasks.

“Don’t look so glum, Hanna. I’ve been walking with the Lord for sixty years, and He’s not let me down yet. If I do have that dreaded disease, He’ll be with me—with us—all the way through, giving us the strength we need to cope.”

Gram’s faith blew Hanna away. She was one of the few whose life was a living testimony to Christ’s faithfulness. “There’s still a chance you don’t have Alzheimer’s at all.”

“And even if I do, it takes
years
for the illness to progress.” Her eyes lit mischievously, and she winked at Hanna. “I have plenty of time to give everyone around me a hard time.”

Hanna laughed and squeezed Gram’s hand. It was true; they had years together, even if she did have Alzheimer’s, and God would give them what they needed in the meantime.

Hanna stacked the clean towels in Micah’s bathroom and picked up the dirty sheets from the floor. It was a lesson in temptation, cleaning his room. Not only did the spicy scent of his cologne linger in the air, but
there were personal effects lying all over the room. Folded papers, mail, a leather-bound book that looked like a journal. Curiosity ate at her each week, but thankfully, she’d inherited her father’s determination and had so far resisted the urge to peek into Micah’s private life.

She stuffed the bedding into the hallway cart and pushed it into the storage closet. She needed to do laundry, but first, she wanted to check on reservations for the rest of July. She’d been keeping track of cancellations since she’d installed the lock on the office door, but if her hunch was right, they were still in trouble.

She was almost certain the cancellation she’d received that morning was for a reservation made
after
the lock was installed. Was someone breaking in and getting into their files?

The lodge was quiet this morning, several guests having checked out and several of the others gone for the all-day climb. She rounded the front desk and pushed open the office door.

Devon turned from his place at the computer, a startled look blanketing his face. “Hanna.” The screen flickered to the home page.

She frowned, suspicion flowing like poison through her veins. “What are you doing?” She couldn’t prevent accusation from tainting her words.

“Oh.” He rolled the chair out and stood. “I was just checking on the shuttle schedule. You were busy cleaning, so I just …” He shrugged. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Hanna studied his face, wishing she could read people the way Micah did. He didn’t look guilty. If anything, he looked embarrassed. “I left next week’s schedule at the front desk as usual.”

“Oh, I didn’t even look. I thought you wouldn’t have had time to—well, anyway, I’ll go get it. Thanks.” At the doorway he turned. “Hey, I was going to go to the Central Wyoming game next Friday; what about coming with me?”

Unfortunately she was free, and she didn’t want to lie. Maybe it was time to set the record straight. “Thanks for asking, Devon, but I think it’s best if we keep things on a professional level. Have fun at the game, though.”

He tossed her a boyish grin. “No problem. See ya.”

Hanna turned and watched him leave, closing the door behind him. He seemed to take that well. There was no attraction on Hanna’s side, not to mention she was suspicious of him after finding him at the computer. Could Devon be sabotaging them? She’d never considered it could be one of her own employees.

She opened the file cabinet and pulled out the office lock receipt and compared it with the reservation that had just been canceled this morning.

Her stomach lurched. The reservation had been made
after
the lock was installed. Whoever was getting the information was not being deterred by a lock. She resolved to lock up during the day from this point on. Only she and Gram had a key, and hers was on her all the time. She would tell Gram to keep the key someplace safe.

Micah scurried up the last scree slope before coming to a good resting spot. The group with him, an overweight woman and her husband, a thirty-something man, and his foster father, Jim, sank to the ground for a moment’s rest. Jim had always made a point of climbing with Micah several times a year.

“So, your job’s going well?” Jim asked.