Page 25 of Mountain Captive

“It’s just the wildest thing. I mean, you don’t think about something like that happening here. I hope they don’t come back. They might think there’s money in the gallery, though I make it a point not to leave much cash on hand, and I wouldn’t think artwork was something they could readily sell.”

“I’m sure the sheriff’s deputies scared them off.” Chris added an art gum eraser to her purchases. “I’ll take these.”

“Where are you staying?” Jasmine asked as she rang up Chris’s selections.

“With a friend,” she said. She didn’t wait for Jasmine to probe for more details, instead collecting the art supplies and her change and starting for the door. “I have to run. See you soon.”

She decided to walk over to the bank and get some cash. She hadn’t gone very far when someone called her name. “Chris!”

She turned to see Bethany Ames hurrying toward her. As usual, Bethany was smiling. “I’m glad I ran into you,” Bethany said. “I came into town to grab some lunch. We could eat together.”

Chris had already taken a step back. “I don’t really have time right now. Thanks anyway.”

Bethany’s smile faded. “If you don’t want to hang out with me, you can be honest. It’s because I made such a fool of myself with Vince, isn’t it?” She covered her eyes with her hand. “I’m never going to live that down. But honest, I didn’t know he was involved with someone else. I’m new here in town, right? I’m trying to make friends—to be more outgoing and positive. That’s what you’re supposed to do, isn’t it? But I keep getting it wrong. I’m sorry to bother you.” She turned away.

“Wait,” Chris called. Bethany’s raw honesty was shocking, and also appealing. And Chris knew a little about being the “new kid” and trying to find a way to fit in. “I’ll have lunch with you. What’s this about you and Vince?” Vince Shepherd was a fellow search and rescue volunteer who was living withEagle Mountain Examinerreporter Tammy Patterson.

“Are you sure?” Bethany asked. “I don’t want to impose if you’re busy.”

“I have time,” Chris said. “And I want to hear your story.”

Bethany’s smile returned. “In that case, I’m happy to give you the whole sad tale of me making a fool of myself. I thought Vince was so good looking and I would sweep him off his feet with my awkward but endearing charm.” She rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately—or maybefortunately, since he already had a girlfriend—he was immune to my flirting. When I found out he was involved with someone else, I was mortified. I figured everyone in search and rescue knew about my crush on him.”

“I didn’t know,” Chris said. “But then, I’m not usually clued in on local gossip.” She wasn’t close enough to other people for them to confide in her.

But Bethany was willing to tell all. She obviously needed someone to talk to, so why couldn’t Chris be that person? The thought surprised her. Six months ago that wasn’t something that would have occurred to her. She had always believed she didn’t need close friends.

But Rand had refused to be put off by her reserve. Apparently, Bethany felt the same way. Chris smiled at her. “Let’s go over to the Cake Walk and have lunch. You can tell me how you ended up in Eagle Mountain.”

“It’s a doozy of a story, I promise,” Bethany said.

An hour later, Chris had shared a cheeseburger with Harley on the patio of the Cake Walk Café and learned all about Bethany, her three overprotective brothers and the fiancé who had jilted her. Despite what some would have labeled a tragedy, the young woman remained sunny and optimistic, and excited about starting life over alone in a new place, despite some bumps in the road along the way. Chris could never see herself being so upbeat, but spending time with her new friend had inspired her to do a better job of not dwelling on the hurts of her past. Bethany’s approach to moving on struck her as healthier, though she suspected a lot of determination lay beneath the young woman’s cheerful exterior.

She ended her afternoon in town at the local grocery, for a few items to add to Rand’s supplies. She hesitated in front of a display of portobello mushrooms. She had a recipe for grilled mushrooms that Rand might like. She could make dinner for the two of them.

And then what? Would that be too much like a date? A chance to repeat that kiss and see if it had been a fluke or as sensational as she remembered?

She shook her head. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she mumbled, but she put the mushrooms in her cart anyway.

She saw no one suspicious in town, and no one followed her back to Rand’s place. She texted to let him know she had returned safely, but got no reply. Maybe he was in surgery.

She settled into a chair on the back deck and began to sketch the scene before her—a patch of woods, with mountains in the distance. Soon she was lost in the work. This was what she needed, what had always made her feel better—to let her unsettling thoughts find their way out through her pencil, transformed from fears to fantasies of a hidden world that she controlled.

RANDWASHALFWAYhome after his shift when he remembered he was supposed to meet Danny to review the medical protocols for search and rescue. He was tempted to call and cancel, but he resisted the urge and drove to SAR headquarters. Once there, he texted Chris to let her know he would be a little late.Should be done by 6:30he said, and hit send before he could talk himself out of it. Had he assumed too much? It wasn’t as if they were in a relationship and needed to report their comings and goings to each other. But he also didn’t want to worry her when she already had so much to deal with.

Danny was waiting for him inside the building. “These are all our protocols,” he said, hefting a large notebook. “Some of them are on the computer, too, but not all of them. Maybe eventually that will happen, but for now, we’re still doing things the old-fashioned way.”

“No problem,” Rand said. “Let’s see how many we can get through this afternoon.”

They moved to a couple of folding chairs set up at a table near the front of the room. “I guess you heard about the commotion at Chris’s last night,” Danny said.

“You know about that?” Rand tried not to show his surprise.

Danny shrugged. “It’s all over town. I guess people saw the sheriff’s deputies there this morning.”

“I did hear about it,” Rand said, unsure how much to reveal. Should he mention that Chris was staying with him? He decided against it. Not that he didn’t trust Danny, but it seemed safer for as few people as possible to know her whereabouts.

“I wonder if it was a random break-in or if someone targeted Chris,” Danny said.

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