* *
ANDY WAS RESTLESS. She’d finished the last few issues of the bound newspapers. She had scrawled a couple of notes of dates and events she thought might be important.
She wanted to know more about the Monroe family. If she was going to talk to the man, or even try to, she needed as much information as she could find. She decided to drive to the community center, return the volume she had and look at more recent newspapers.
She drove the Bucket, since she had the newspapers with her. Bill Evans wasn’t there, but a Mrs. Wilson was.
“Bill told me you might be showing up. I’m real glad to meet you. My husband is Calvin Wilson. He and my son run the hardware store. You need anything—a replacement lightbulb, anything at all—you call them. They would be real proud to help.”
The real proud reminded Andy of home. It sounded like her mother. It also reminded her she needed to call her mother, make sure everything was all right and let her know where she was. She had made duty calls once a week, but she knew they had been more worrying than comforting. She had repeatedly refused to go home to heal. She didn’t want to add another burden to a family that already had more than they should have to handle.
“You need anything, you just call me,” Mrs. Wilson said. “There’s usually coffee in the club room.”
“Thank you. I might try that.” After Mrs. Wilson left, Andy looked through the stacks of bound newspapers and picked up one that covered the years 2005 through this year. Someone, probably Bill Evans, had conscientiously added each newspaper.
After flipping through them, she understood exactly what Bill Evans had meant when he’d dismissed The Covenant Falls Herald as a serious newspaper. The editions were little more than a collection of gossip, dry recounts of city council meetings and legal ads. She flipped through them until she came to a headline—Councilman Monroe Resigns After Arrest of Nephew.
She read the article. Al Monroe, chairman of the city council, had resigned when his nephew was arrested for kidnapping. Her interest boiled over when she read that the victim had been the mayor’s son, who was rescued by the mayor’s current husband and her husband’s dog, Amos.
Maybe Covenant Falls wasn’t quite as tranquil as she’d thought, and now she understood, at least in part, why the mayor indicated she wasn’t exactly the councilman’s favorite person. And maybe, just maybe, why she wanted an outsider to write—attempt to write—the history of the town.
Strangely enough, it deepened her interest. She had been intrigued before, but now her thoughts were going at warp speed.
She turned to the next week’s news. Nothing much of interest.
The nephew was being held for trial. Al Monroe disappeared from the papers.
She kept turning the pages. The wedding, four months later, of Josh and Eve Manning. Then the arrival of chopper pilot Clint Morgan last fall was duly reported.
Andy closed the paper. This was getting her nowhere. She wanted to go farther back. She wanted to know Covenant Falls when it was little more than a trading post.
She checked the other bound volumes of papers, but none went back farther than 1919, unless there were scattered editions in the pile of boxes lining the room.
Then she found what she was searching for: a box marked “Early Years.”
She wished she had a computer. She hadn’t bothered with one in the hospital or the months of recuperation. The purchase of a cell phone after her release from the hospital had been a big deal.
Note to self—laptop computer. It would take a bite out of what little money she had, but it was necessary. Not only for this task but for day-to-day living now that she’d decided to be a functioning person again. She opened a box and started prowling through it.
WHAT DO YOU wear when meeting your landlord and a bunch of strangers while dining at the house of the mayor?
Eve had said it was casual. But there was casual, and then there was more casual. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a choice. Her wardrobe was limited, and that was an understatement. Her predeployment clothes had been much too large by the time she left the hospital, and she hadn’t had the heart, desire or reason to buy more than basic necessities.
That translated into three pairs of jeans, one pair of black pants, two sweaters, three T-shirts and several shirts, including two pullovers. Her choice of footwear was a pair of lace-up walking shoes, a pair of sandals and one pair of well-worn loafers.
She chose the best pair of jeans and a blue-gray shirt with long sleeves. After running a brush through her hair, she added a touch of lipstick, then stared at herself in the mirror. Really looked for the first time in months. Her hair needed a cut. Badly. She was thin, too thin. Her cheeks were hollow.
Joseph watched every movement, following her from room to room as if afraid someone would snatch her.
“It’s okay,” she said. “You can come with me.”
The doorbell rang. Joseph barked. “It’s a bit late for that,” she told Joseph. “You’re supposed to bark before the bell rings.” She hurried to the door and opened it. Nate stood there, a rueful smile on his lips.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m really not stalking you.”
“Are you sure?” she asked with a slight smile.
“Nope, I swear. Eve will vouch for me.”
He wore jeans and a casual blue pullover cotton shirt with short sleeves that showed off muscled arms and a fit body. A shock of unruly chestnut hair fell over his forehead.
“Tell me about the other people at the dinner.”
“Josh is a former loner who finds himself surrounded by people and animals and can’t quite figure out how it happened. Clint is the opposite. He’s never met a stranger and could charm a rattler. Clint likes to tease Josh about his current zoo and a wife with a finger in a hundred pies.”
“And you enjoy standing back and enjoying it.”
“Guilty. But then Stephanie and Clint are interesting, too. Clint’s the outgoing one, and Stephanie is all practicality.”
“Should make for an interesting evening.” Andy turned to Joseph. “Let’s go.” Then she glanced back at Nate. “Eve said it was okay to bring him.”
“I would be shocked if he wasn’t invited,” Nate replied as Joseph picked up his leash and brought it to her.
“Eve will be impressed,” Nate said as he opened the door for her, then the screen porch. “Her dogs never do that.”
She’d expected the pickup but instead he led her to a middle-aged Buick sedan. “My mom’s car,” he said. “I thought it would be more comfortable.”
“She lives here?”
“It’s one reason I came back. She’s getting older.” A shadow crossed his face and she realized there was probably more to the story. But she knew better than to probe. She didn’t want anyone to probe into her life.
Once they were on the road, he turned to her. “Everyone who’ll be there tonight is good people. Really good people. They’ll understand if you need to walk away. Just nod at me, and we’ll leave. Okay?”
She swallowed hard. He understands. She hadn’t been around more than a few people since...waking up. She’d refused group therapy. No way could she talk about what happened.
“Thank you,” she finally said.
He turned on some jazz in the car and they rode in silence.
Nate drove to a parking area in front of a one-story ranch house. A screened-in