A Soldier's Journey Read online

  “Just wait until you get bitten by the bug.”

  “Been there, done that. No intention of ever doing it again.”

  Josh just smiled.

  “I think I’m going to love working for you guys,” Susan said. “But right now you have decisions to make.”

  They went through the items one by one.

  The inn was just outside the city limits, and he’d had to get permits from the county. It passed the building inspection with flying colors, but there were a dozen last-minute details. The hiring of staff, training, final purchases.

  “Oh, I called Mrs. Byars,” Susan said. “She would be delighted to provide brownies for our guests. I didn’t give her a price yet, but if it meets your approval, I figured twelve dollars for two dozen. It would make it worth her time and wouldn’t bankrupt us. We also have to decide whether we want to offer free wine and tea in the afternoon.”

  “What do you think?”

  “Clients really appreciate it. It makes them feel as if we’re going the extra mile. I know you haven’t settled on final prices, but a glass of wine when guests come back after a busy day more than pays for itself in goodwill and repeat business.”

  Josh nodded. “I know damn little about the hotel business, but I trust your judgment. Nate?”

  “Agreed.”

  Susan nodded. “I’ll have some figures ready for you next week. I know you’ve been quoting some promotional rates, but they’re a bit on the low side.”

  “We’re not trying to make a lot of money,” Josh explained. “It’s the first step to revive the town, to introduce it to Denver and maybe get another couple of businesses going.”

  “Understood. But I don’t want you to lose money, either.”

  “I like that,” Josh said.

  Josh and Nate walked out together. “Thanks for recommending her,” Josh said. “I’m not sure how all this would go without her.”

  “We were lucky. Our moms are good friends and when she wanted to leave Nevada, Mom thought she might be just what we needed.”

  “She’s pretty,” Josh noted.

  “Yeah, I guess she is.”

  “Any interest?”

  “Nope,” Nate said. “She was a couple of years ahead of me in school. Too familiar, I guess. Besides, she just left a bad marriage and I left a bad one in Seattle. I suspect neither of us wants to repeat that experience.”

  Josh changed the subject. “How was Andy when you drove her home?”

  “Embarrassed, I think, though God knows she shouldn’t be. She’s been through hell.”

  Josh shot him a look. “Did she say anything?”

  “No, but I guessed from last night it was pretty bad.”

  “Dr. Payne didn’t give me any details. He just told me that she needed a safe haven right now.” He took a long breath. “I know how that feels.”

  Nate felt even worse now that he had snooped into Andy’s story.

  “Dr. Payne never tells me much. That’s kind of one of our rules for the cabin. I’m there if he, or she, needs help, but otherwise it’s up to the vet to decide what, if anything, they want to reveal.”

  “I know,” Nate said, “but last night...”

  “She came out of it, and joined us. She listened and even made a contribution. A darn good one, I might add. I called Dr. Payne and told him about it. He thought it was a huge step forward.”

  Nate nodded.

  “I have to get home while I still have a family,” Josh said, hesitated, then added, “It still sounds strange saying that. Family. Getting home.”

  “You’ve got a good thing going.”

  “I know,” Josh said somberly. “At times, I can’t quite believe it.” He hesitated again. “I know I said I wouldn’t push you and Andy together, but she needs to see the falls to really understand Covenant Falls, and I just got home from Denver. She’s also very alone. Can you take her there? Fill her in on what we talked about today? I swear I won’t ask again.”

  “I seem to remember we had a deal. I would pick her up for supper yesterday and you would desist from calling on my services again.”

  “I promised for Eve, not myself,” Josh replied with a smile, then he lost it and his tone changed. “That was before last night. You saw how devastated she was after the flashback, then how she changed when we talked about the history of this area. I think we should encourage that interest.”

  “Don’t you think we might be pushing too hard? She’s only been here three days.”

  “Maybe, but she doesn’t have anyone here. It can get lonely in that cabin.”

  “I thought you liked it that way.”

  “Don’t rub it in,” Josh replied with a grin, “but it’s up to you.” He climbed in his Jeep and drove off.

  * * *

  ANDY HAD A touch of cabin fever on Sunday. She and Joseph headed for the mountain. She was relieved to note it was easier today than it had been before.

  The blue in the sky was so pure she ached with the beauty of it. She and Joseph sat there, trying to erase the memory of last night. Well, who knew what Joseph was thinking. He cocked his ears at the chirping of a bird or a rustle of a squirrel or rabbit, but he didn’t move from her side.

  After their walk, she played with Joseph, or tried to. He was obviously as clueless at play as she was. She would throw one of the dog toys she’d been given by Karen. Joseph just sat there and regarded her with a puzzled expression.

  She threw out a ball and said, “Catch,” and he looked at her as if she were crazy. She would go get it, stand where it landed and hold it out. Joseph would trot to her, waiting patiently for his person to do another crazy thing.

  She dropped to her knees and gave him a big hug. Proper, solemn Joseph. He licked her hand in appreciation, then rested his head on her arm in a gesture of trust. Warmth filled her at the unquestioning affection he offered. “You’re such a good boy,” she said, “even if you don’t know how to have fun.”

  She shouldn’t be critical. She hadn’t known how to have fun, either.

  She’d been so intent on leaving her hometown that she’d studied every spare minute she had. Every moment, that was, that she wasn’t helping her mother raise two younger children. After her father died when she was fourteen, her mother waitressed in the only café left in town. Tips were rare, and they mostly lived on leftovers from the café.

  That reminded her. She should call her mother. She had promised to do that when she reached Colorado, but so much had happened so fast she’d barely taken a breath. She punched in her mother’s number on the cell phone she carried with her when walking alone. It was answered immediately.

  “Hi, Mom.” She forced cheerfulness into her voice.

  “Hey, baby. How is everything?”

  “Good. The cabin Dr. Payne found is great. So far, I’ve met three other vets, and they’re all helpful. To help pay for the cabin I volunteered to write a short history of the town. I may not be able to send you anything for a while.”

  “That’s the last thing I care about,” her mother said. “I saved some of that money you sent. We’re fine. Joy’s husband got a job as a mechanic at the mines. Thank God, he doesn’t have to work in them.”

  “And Barb?”

  “Honor student,” her mother said. “Says she wants to follow your path. She’s thinking about trying for one of those ROTC scholarships, as well. Sure would be fine to have two college graduates in the family.”

  Andy wasn’t so sure she wanted her younger sister to go into the army, but, except for that last week, the army had been good to her. And the war in Afghanistan was winding to a close.

  “That’s great,” she said.

  “When are you comin’ home?”

  “You know there’s nothing there for me,” Andy said.

>   “Dr. Odum said he could use a nurse. Can’t pay much, but he’s a good man and you would be home.”

  Except for her family, home was the last place she wanted to be. “I can’t go back to nursing,” she said. “Not yet.”

  “Okay, baby, take your time. We’ll be here for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She hung up, feeling a familiar guilt. She had escaped, and she’d sent money home to assuage that guilt. Now she couldn’t do even that. She should be helping...

  “Damn,” she said to Joseph. The peace of the morning was gone.

  Her phone rang. She hesitated before answering.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi,” Nate said. He didn’t have to identify himself. She recognized that deep voice, but it was hesitant. He had never seemed the hesitant type. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “No,” she said.

  “Josh thought you might like to see the falls, where everything happened back in the 1850s. I’m going out there to look for a location to place signs. I could stop by and pick you up. We won’t be gone long. No more than an hour and a half.”

  She had been thinking about driving to the falls, but she had no idea how to get there and she hadn’t wanted to call anyone, not after the scene last night. Nate made it sound like the most natural thing in the world. Business.

  “It sounds good,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “Great. Twelve thirty okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll bring some sandwiches,” he said and hung up.

  CHAPTER TEN

  TELEPHONING ANDY HAD been more difficult than he had expected. He was stepping across a boundary, a protective boundary.

  After his talk with Josh, he’d weighed the pros and cons. He thought about her alone in the cabin in a strange place with people she didn’t know, then how her face had become animated for the first time when they were discussing Covenant Falls history and those darn camels.

  He knew from experience Andy would be feeling the emotional hangover after last night. She’d seemed to snap out of the flashback, but he was personally familiar with them. He suspected she felt very much alone.

  There was also a business reason. Andy Stuart should see the falls before she talked to Al Monroe—if, indeed, she did. She should have a good idea of why Angus Monroe had chosen this place in the 1850s and what had kept him here. What kept most of the families here.

  He was surprised when she’d agreed to go to the falls. It meant he was right. She needed company today. He would keep it friendly and no more, and then he would have done his duty. She would meet the other vets Monday and have a support group.

  He didn’t need to change. He’d dressed casually for the meeting at the inn. Jeans and a light V-neck sweater. He ran a comb through his hair and headed to Maude’s.

  Maude greeted him as he came in. “Your mother and her friends are in back.”

  “I’m just here for takeout,” he said. “Two ham and cheese, two roast-beef sandwiches and some of that great slaw.”

  “Gotcha. Be ready in a jiffy. Want something to drink?”

  He hadn’t thought about that. “Make it two lemonades.”

  “Okay.”

  He stood to the side. He noticed the Presbyterians apparently heard a shorter sermon than the Baptists, since his mother was already seated and the Baptists were just coming in. He wondered whether the pastors got together on Friday and decided the length of their service so their congregations wouldn’t all converge on Maude’s at the same time.

  He went over to say hi to his mother and her friends, a group of widows who banded together for church and other events. He was grateful to them on his mother’s behalf. They played bridge twice a week and had organized a book club and a club where each member hosted a full dinner once a month.

  “Have lunch with us,” said one.

  “And learn all the secrets of this formidable group?”

  “More like they want to interrogate you,” his mother said with a smile. “I told them you wouldn’t tell me about your dinner last night.”

  “Yes, I did. I told you the steaks were great and it was a companionable evening. The dogs all behaved themselves.”

  “He’s a very exasperating son,” Agnes told the others. “He doesn’t gossip.”

  He winked at her. She’d neatly stopped any more questions.

  He asked about the ladies’ families, then said, “I have to work, and I think my takeout is ready.”

  It was ready when he returned to the counter. “Love ya, Maude.”

  “Have a good time with whoever you’re lunching with,” Maude said with a wink.

  “Work, Maude. Just work.”

  “Okay, but I stuck some pieces of pie in there, too.”

  Nate just shook his head. Maude seemed to know every move anyone made in town. If she didn’t know, she guessed. Usually correctly. But not this time. This was business. Just business.

  He arrived at Josh’s cabin exactly on time in his pickup. Andy and her dog sat on the porch, and the funny little lemon bug sat in front. He would love to drive it.

  She walked through the porch door and down the few steps just as he opened the door on the passenger side of the pickup. Joseph jumped in first, and then Andy stepped inside. She was back in jeans and this time wore a red-and-white-checkered shirt. She looked like a waif. He tried to picture her in uniform, but he couldn’t.

  “Hello,” he said after they were both in the pickup.

  She smiled. And he had a glimpse of the woman she’d been before Afghanistan.

  “Hi,” she replied.

  “I thought you might like to hear about the meeting this morning. We took a vote, Josh and I, and changed the name of the inn to the Camel Trail Inn. Thank you. The reward is a great sandwich from Maude’s.”

  “I was at Maude’s Friday with Eve. I take it she’s an institution in Covenant Falls.”

  “She’s the heart. She and Eve.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, then said, “I’ve been walking up the trail next to the cabin. It’s...beautiful. Peaceful.”

  “Wait until you see the waterfall,” Nate said.

  “I don’t understand why you don’t have more people here. I would think retired folks would be banging on your doors.”

  “We don’t have any industry and minimum services. We’re well off the interstates, and we had a city council that didn’t want anything to change and passed enough restrictions to discourage newcomers. Eve and the new council are trying to reverse that. She doesn’t want to change the character of the town—she grew up here—but she does want to bring in jobs. Tourism will do that faster and with less disruption than anything else.

  “How far are the falls from town?”

  “As the crow flies and by horseback, about eight miles, by the roads about twenty minutes. Earlier generations of the Monroe family managed to keep it within the city limits. It makes for a strange map—it looks like a giant puzzle piece.”

  Joseph made a little sound like a moan behind her.

  “He doesn’t want to be in back,” Nate guessed. “He was worried about you last night.” He’d hesitated to bring it up, but he wanted to know she was all right.

  “He’s a worrywart,” she said. “He wouldn’t let me out of his sight when I got home.” She paused, and he saw that her hands were knotted together in her lap. “He curled up next to me as if he knew...” Her voice trailed off.

  After a moment, she asked, “Do you have a dog?”

  “I did as a boy, and then Mom had a little beagle until he died about six months ago. I guess I considered him partly mine. She hasn’t been ready to get a new one, and my schedule doesn’t exactly work for a dog. Eve’s been hounding me about taking one of her rescues, thoug
h, and I’ll probably do that once the inn is squared away. She has several in foster homes.”

  A few miles later they stopped at a narrow asphalt road that turned left up into a forest of pine trees. He pulled onto it, then stopped. He stepped out and looked around. The road needed a sign and he thought he found the right place for it. He staked it out in his mind.

  “This road takes us up to the falls,” Nate said when he returned to his seat. “A sign will go up next Wednesday. It’s never been marked because the former city councils didn’t want it marked. They wanted the falls for Covenant Falls people only.”

  He started the car again and drove up the twisting road. He glanced at Andy. She looked far more relaxed than she had when he picked her up. Her hands had stopped twisting together. The windows were open, and a breeze ruffled her hair. He wondered whether she had any idea how pretty she was.

  He immediately banished that idea. Everything in his life was coming together. He was building again. Designing. And even better, he felt he was helping to bring life back into the town and people he loved. Andy would be going back to her roots just as he had come home to his.

  The road needed some repair, but Andy didn’t seem to notice as she stared out at the forest around them. It was slow going because of the winding turns, but then he turned onto another road and, in a very short time, stopped at a large grassy area, which served as a parking lot.

  “We have just a short walk,” he said as he stepped out of the pickup and hurried around to her side before she could get out on her own. He opened the door and held out his hand. “The ground is uneven,” he said as she took it and stepped out. He let go of it almost immediately. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her off...

  * * *

  ANDY HEARD THE roar up ahead and stopped.

  “Come with me,” Nate said. She walked with him to a wood railing and looked down about 150 feet. A creek meandered below, the water so clear she could see rocks beneath it.

  “The falls are just around that stand of trees,” he said.

  They continued toward the sound of thunder, and once they passed the trees Andy stopped and stared with awe at the torrent of foaming water tumbling over rocks into the river below. Spray spun into the sky to create a perfect rainbow. Her breath caught in her throat and without thinking, she reached out and touched Nate’s hand. He clasped it and grinned.