Mending Places (7 page)

Micah held the door open for Hanna, and she slipped through, waiting for him to follow. She surveyed the vast array of sporting equipment, overwhelmed by the size of the store and the variety of goods.

She followed him with a shopping cart back to the camping area, stopping just short of bumping him in the back. “Sorry.”

“Do you have a list?” he asked.

She tucked in one side of her mouth. “I was hoping you could show me what we need.”

“Sure.” He led her to a wall crowded with backpacks, then proceeded to point out the advantages and disadvantages of styles and brands.

Hanna flipped over a price tag and winced at the price. “We’re kind of on a budget here, but I want the gear to be safe and durable.”

They settled on backpacks, then Hanna went to get the flashlights while Micah moved on to the climbing gear. She stared at the shelves stacked with flashlights. Good grief. There was such a thing as having too many choices. Should she get the big six-volt ones, or would they be too heavy to lug around? Maybe she should get the industrial-sized one for Micah and smaller ones for the guests. She took a step toward the sporting-goods area, intent on asking Micah, when she noticed a woman standing with him.

She stopped and watched for a moment, wondering who the woman was. Micah’s back was to her, but she could see the lady’s face. Her red hair was set in a style popular among the twenties crowd, but
Hanna suspected the woman was well into her thirties. The tennis out fit she wore showed off a pair of legs that could’ve passed for a teenager’s. The woman laughed and laid a hand on Micah’s bicep, where it lingered too long to be a friends-only gesture.

Just then, Micah turned and pointed to Hanna, and she quickly grabbed a flashlight and pretended to read the label. She felt heat infuse her face as she realized they’d probably seen her staring. A quick glance showed that the couple was once again engaged in conversation. Was
she
Micah’s Thursday night appointment? He“d never mentioned a girl friend, but they hadn’t really talked about their personal lives.

The woman had moved closer to Micah and was brushing some thing off his sleeve. Micah repositioned his arm causing hers to fall away. The smile fell from the woman’s face, and her chin raised a notch.

Stop being so nosy, Hanna. Honestly.
She forced her attention back to the shelves in front of her but couldn’t miss the rumble of Micah“s voice, then the hiss of an angry woman.
Don“t look. It’s none of your business.

Big flashlights, little flashlights, waterproof flashlights … batteries.
Don’t forget the batteries.

The low, angry tones of the woman’s voice reached her; then, in her peripheral vision, she saw the woman storm away. What’;s this? A lover’s quarrel?
None of my business, none of my business.

Minutes later, Micah approached and dumped an armful of ropes and harnesses in the cart. He helped her select the flashlights, then they moved on to the tents.

It was a much quieter Micah on the ride back to the lodge. During the silence Hanna sought for a way to ask him who the woman was.
Why do you care so much anyway?

The thought jerked her mind to a momentary standstill.
Yeah, why do I care so much?

Hanna tossed to her other side and squinted at the red digital numbers on her alarm clock. Twelve-sixteen. She kicked off the covers and
flopped to her stomach. She felt like she was in junior high and tomorrow was her first day of school.
It’s just Memorial Day weekend, Hanna, get a grip.

But it was much more than that. It was the beginning of tourist sea son, and the lodge was booked fully for the first time in almost two years. It had always been one of the most popular weekends, but this one marked a new start. Tomorrow they would kick off the plan they’d been working on for six months, ready or not.

And they
were
ready. So why did she feel uneasy? Devon was scheduled to pick up the guests from the airport. Micah wouldn’t have his first climb until Monday, when he would do a two-dayer up Mount Moran, but his schedule was set and advertised in the front lobby. She and Gram had prepared all the empty rooms today—make that yesterday—and Mrs. Eddlestein had made scones and biscotti to be served at tea in the afternoon. The van was up and running, and she had finished entering all the customer data into the computer.

The computer. Had she saved all the information she“d entered on disk? Surely she had. She’;d been burned before, so she
always
saved now. It was routine for her; that’s why she didn’t remember doing it.

But could she honestly recall putting in the disk and clicking on save? She glared at the clock. Twelve-seventeen. She knew she wouldn’t go to sleep until she checked. At any rate, she wasn’t sleepy, so she crept out of bed and slipped into her terry robe. Once out in the living room of the suite she shared with Gram, she peeked in on her, pleased to see that the excitement of the new season hadn’t kept her grandmother awake.

Hanna grabbed the key off the hook and closed the door softly behind her. She pulled her collar tight, feeling awkward about traipsing around the hallway in her nightclothes. There were only two guests for the night, though, and they’d turned in before Hanna.

Night sounds seeped through the log walls, reminding Hanna she was alone. The hall shone dimly with the Exit sign at the end of the corridor, but she turned into the main room of the lodge and headed
toward her office. The Exit light by the main door was burned out, leaving the room in darkness. Her heart rate automatically accelerated, and she pushed back the terror that clung to her like a wet cloth.

Thwack!
Her thigh bumped what she assumed was the end table, causing the lamp to teeter. She reached out and managed to grab the shade before the whole thing toppled over, then rubbed the spot just over her knee.

when she rounded the counter, she saw a dim light sweeping across the office. She stopped short. Then she breathed a laugh of relief. Of course. It was only the light of the screen saver flashing on the shadowed walls.

She flipped the light switch, grateful for the overhead light that flickered on. She took a seat behind the desk and clicked on the pro gram’s icon. The gentle hum of the computer, unnoticed during the busier daytime hours, seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet of the night. She heard a car pass on the road outside and wondered what someone was doing out at this hour on a weeknight. Finally, she retrieved the information she’d typed in and slipped a disk into the drive to save it.

A thump sounded in the main room, and her hand stilled on the mouse. What was that? A shuffling sound sent her heart into wild palpitations. It was probably just a guest getting up for a snack or getting something from his car.
At this hour?
her thoughts demanded.

Her mind flashed back to the previous night when she“d checked in Mr. Humphry, a middle-aged man whose flirting wink and lingering touches had made her shudder. His overt behavior would have been offensive enough even if he hadn’t been wearing a wedding band.

Her ears tuned in sharply. Even the crickets outside had hushed, and only the hum of the computer filled the night air. She could almost hear the beating of her own heart. What if Mr. Humphry had seen her leave her room and followed her? What if he meant to attack her? She’d worried about it before. After all, she and Gram knew nothing about their guests except their names and addresses. How many criminals had they
unknowingly harbored under their roof in the past? A psycho could check in, and they wouldn’t know it.

Her eyes scanned the room for a possible weapon. A stapler, a stack of disks, and a paperweight. She reached for the latter and stood, letting the chair roll back silently on the floor.

Should she go out and investigate or stay here and wait? Her body, too scared to move, made the decision for her. She was at a severe disadvantage, here in the brightly lit room with only darkness beyond the doorframe. Even if she did go out there, her eyes would need time to adjust. And she would be visible to whomever was there.

She stared at the doorway. A creak sounded. There was definitely someone there, and he was just to the left of the register where the floor board was squeaky. She raised the granite weight over her head as a shadowed figure loomed in the doorway. She froze. Her breathing came in shallow rasps.

“Hanna?”

There was no mistaking the deep voice. “Micah.” She lowered the paperweight. Relief gushed through her veins like water through a dam. A hand went to her chest as if to still her riotous heart. “You scared me silly.”

“Sorry,” Micah said. “Heard someone moving around out here and wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

She sank back into her chair, suddenly feeling weak and shaky. “It’s just me.”

He looked around the office, as the fluorescent light flickered. “You do lock this up at night, don’t you?”

She shook her head. “There’s not even a lock on the door. Besides, there’s nothing in here worth stealing.”

“There’s a lucrative market for office equipment. A guest could make a copy of your entry key and rip you off one night.”

She blinked. “Oh. I guess you’re right.”

He shuffled for a moment, then backed up. “Guess I’ll head back to bed. Good night. Sorry I scared you,” he added as an afterthought.

“That’s all right. Good night.”

She stared at the doorway after he’d disappeared. Man, but he’d given her a fright! She hated feeling scared. Hated how helpless it made her feel. Reminded her too much of another time when she’d been scared and helpless.

Hanna shook her head as if to dismantle the thought. She scooted up to the desk, clicked on the save button, closed the program, and removed the disk. Her short errand had turned into an adrenaline-pumping fright that would probably keep her awake for hours.

It wasn’t until after she padded back to her room and snuggled up in bed that a disturbing thought jolted through her mind: When she’d seen Micah, she’d not been afraid. She’d been relieved.

Micah lay on his back staring up into the vast darkness. He knew the nightstand clock must read after one o’clock, but he felt as if he’d just had half a dozen cups of coffee. His mind kept racing back to the moment he’d discovered Hanna in the office. He’d been relieved that it was her and slightly amused at the sight of her in her bulky robe with that useless paperweight suspended over her head. But in the flickering light of the office, he’d read the fear in her
eyes
and felt her immense relief in the lowering of the weight, in the sudden sagging of her shoulders. She’d been relieved to see him.

Relieved. What a wonder that was. If it had been several years ago, meeting him alone at night might’ve been her worst nightmare. Micah flipped on his side and turned his face into the pillow. Thinking about those years, it almost seemed like it was someone else. Not him. How could he have sunk so low? How could he have been so cruel when he, of all people, knew what it was to hurt?
When will I forget, Lord? When will Your forgiveness be enough?

CHAPTER SIX
 

A week later Gram dropped onto the recliner and leaned her head back. “My goodness, I’d forgotten what it was like to clean all those rooms.”