Page 53 of Chasing Dreams
They went through the entire carton with similar results. Throwing the objects back in and closing the lid to hide them, she curled up in the corner of the sofa, disappointment knifing through her chest, exhaustion creeping into her bones. “I didn’t get a thing. Not a single helpful thing.”
Austin paced the small room. Finally he flipped on her television and watched the news.
“Mind if I run?” he asked later.
She shook her head.
“You need to sleep,” he said.
“I want to check on things upstairs first. There’s not much to do in the evening, but I want to make sure Maya is resting.” She went to a drawer in the kitchen and took out a key. “Don’t forget this.”
“I would have. You had to remind me to lock my own house when we left it.”
“I don’t expect the moose have much experience at hacking software.”
“Elk,” he corrected, and kissed her nose on his way to change.
She checked on Maya before returning and falling into wearied slumber.
She awoke early, discovering the other side of the bed empty. She found Austin seated on one of the stone benches beside the herb garden she’d started last year. He held a coffee mug and studied the plants.
“Hey,” she said.
He slid over to make room for her. She pulled her robe around her more tightly and sat beside him.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“I slept.”
She buried her hands in the pockets of her robe, grateful the mornings here weren’t as cold as in the mountains.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said.
She turned her face to him.
“If Jack’s not dead, maybe it’s Maggie’s things you need to hold.”
“What good would that do?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s just a hunch I have.”
She trusted his hunches. She remembered the horrible feelings of loss and anger she’d experienced through the little girl’s ballet shoe, and wondered what would come of touching something belonging to the sister she loved so dearly.
“It’s up to you,” he said.
Of course it was. It had all been up to her. And if this was the only way to get a handle on this whole crazy situation, then she’d do it. She’d do whatever it took. Undoubtedly Austin knew that, too. “After breakfast and a few chores?” she asked.
He nodded. “Mind if I do a little yard work?”
“Gee, I’ll have to think that one over. Hmm. No, go right ahead. Tools are in the shed there. Key’s on my ring.”
She took his empty mug and headed for the inn, her mind leaping ahead. Perhaps touching something of Maggie’s rather than of Jack’s was what had initiated her dreams.
Maybe there was something among her sister’s possessions that held the answers she insisted on having.
At the same time she dreaded it, she hoped like crazy it was so. She didn’t know how many more disappointments she could handle. Nor did she know how long Austin would hang around to assist her. He’d get bored and restless here soon, and she had no right to expect him to stay.
She needed results. Now.
