He could still feel Gloria’s wrinkled hands patting his cheeks and see the crow’s feet beside her eyes gathering up as she smiled at him. He’d never had a grandmother, and all the time he’d wished for one as a boy, his imaginings had involved someone a lot like Gloria.
“She loaded me down with everything I needed, and then some.” Travis lifted the potted lantana he held in one hand, then set it on the floorboard of Red’s truck beside two bags of new clothes.
“I was worried she’d hold you up too long,” Vernon continued. “Hannah said y’all were on your way to pick up a new horse before the storm hit.” He frowned at the gray sky and a strong wind ruffled his white hair over his forehead. “Looks like that could be any minute now.” His blue eyes strayed above Travis’s shoulder toward the thick blanket of smoke the wind had blown into town. “Not that I wish ill on your trip or anything, but I kinda wish the rain would hurry up.”
Yeah, and so did Hannah. Travis glanced at Hannah, who, poised with one leg in the truck and the other outside it, returned Gloria’s good-bye hug. She smiled at the older woman and promised to visit again soon, but her eyes, increasingly shadowed, kept returning to the distant wildfire.
Hannah hadn’t said much while Gloria had led him around the store. She’d remained by the large windows next to the entrance and stared at the mountain range across the road. Several times, he’d noticed her glancing at her watch and her attention would shift to the dry pavement of the parking lot outside, then the dark clouds hovering overhead, her mouth tightening.
He knew she was worried; he was worried, too. This was only his third day in Paradise Peak and already the fire seemed to have tripled in size. The thin plume of smoke had billowed with each gust of wind, spanning a much wider range than it had when he’d first arrived.
He hadn’t had any experience with wildfires—the closest he’d ever been to one had been viewing the resulting devastation on TV in the prison commons—but he knew they were unpredictable at best.
“I hate to rush off, Gloria,” Hannah said. “But we really need to get going.”
“I know,” Gloria said. “Business has been pretty slow today and the weather’s turning ugly, so we’re gonna close up shop in about an hour, check a few of our rental cabins, and head home to hunker down.” She stepped back as Hannah slid into the driver’s seat, waited as she closed the door, then leaned in through the open window. “You be careful running these roads with that trailer, and stay safe in the storm.”
“Will do.” Hannah cranked the engine as Travis slid into the passenger seat, then smiled at Vernon. “If you need anything, let us know.”
“Aw, we’ve seen our fair share of storms and fires.” Vernon held his hand out to Travis, who shook it. “Good meeting you, Travis. Safe travels.”
Travis shut his door and Hannah pulled off, easing onto Paradise Peak’s main street. He looked out the passenger window and eyed the mailboxes, long gravel driveways, and houses as they passed, but the quiet rustle of movement at his side and the prickle up the back of his neck alerted him each time Hannah studied his profile.
Traffic was light but picked up as they drove further through downtown. There were two more shopping centers, bigger than the one Gloria’s shop had been in, one large bank, and an even larger, white-steepled church.
“The farther into town you go, the bigger the banks and churches.”
Travis pulled his attention away from the wrought iron cross that crowned the towering steeple and glanced at Hannah.
Eyes on the road, she smiled, then added, “God and money take center stage in Paradise Peak—and not necessarily in that order. Least, that’s what my friend Liz Tennyson said after moving here. You’ll meet her at the stables. She runs an equine therapy program with Carl.”
Travis recalled Red mentioning a man named Carl when he’d spoken about the possibility of a new horse. A Carl Lennox, owner of Misty Ridge Stables. “Is Carl’s spread as big as Red’s ranch?”
Hannah shook her head. “Not acre-wise, but his stables are top-of-the-line and make our rinky-dink barn look like a shack. He’s not lacking for business.” She shrugged. “Every now and then, though, he has more animals than he can handle, and he gives us a call. He knows we’re struggling, and he does us favors on occasion. He’s been a good friend to Red. To all of us, really.”
Travis smiled at that, recalling how sweet the word “friend” had sounded from Hannah’s lips as she’d introduced him in Gloria’s shop. He’d never had a real friend—only acquaintances who liked to get high and party as much as he did. Even his brother, Kyle, hadn’t stuck around after Travis had been incarcerated. Drugs and women, it turned out, were more important to Kyle than family.
Travis’s smile fell. He couldn’t blame Kyle for that. Travis himself had never been much of a brother and he’d learned well from Kyle’s example. Drugs and alcohol had always taken center stage in Travis’s life. The only thing he’d ever fully shared with the women he’d known had been his body—never his thoughts, dreams, or hopes.
Never his heart . . . or the truth. Those things had begun to swell within him the moment he’d set foot on this mountain, and after meeting Hannah, he’d been moved on the inside by her beauty and steadfast presence. He wanted to ask her to share her secrets, voice his own, and see if she could find something more inside his soul than a liar, murderer, and coward.
He’d had his first shot at being honest with Hannah an hour ago, sitting in this truck, in the same spot, when she’d asked, “Why do you no longer drive?”
And he’d blown it.
But after learning about Bryan, he’d been too afraid. How could a good, honest woman like Hannah take a chance on him after suffering so much pain at the hands of her ex-husband—a selfish addict like the one Travis had been?
With every lie, he dug a deeper hole for himself. He doubted he’d ever climb out of it, much less have a shot at redeeming himself with Margaret, Red, and Hannah.
“. . . feeling?”
Travis shook his head, his face heating as he noticed Hannah’s eyes on him again. “I’m sorry, what?”
She maneuvered a sharp curve and the road widened—they’d left the center of town and were on the outskirts of Paradise Peak now. Then she glanced at him again. “I said, how are the new duds feeling?”
He glanced down at the long-sleeved Henley shirt, new jeans, and dark belt he’d chosen at Gloria’s store. They were the cheapest items Gloria carried but more stylish than he’d expected, and paired with the boots Red had loaned him and the shower and close shave he’d had first thing this morning, Travis had to admit he looked like a new man, even if he didn’t feel like one.
“They’re comfortable,” he said, tugging the soft sleeves up his forearms. The shirt was fitted and warm despite the thin material. “Thank you.”