Unveiled Treasures (2 page)

“Um, thanks,” she stammered.

Warmth spread up his arm; gently he caressed his thumb across the back of her hand and was intrigued when she shuddered before breaking the contact. He took great enjoyment from watching the heat slowly seep up her neck and caress her cheeks.

Rachel chewed on her lower lip. “Look, Sheriff, I really would like to go inside and assess the situation before it gets dark. I don’t think I’d like trying to maneuver that road at night and I’m sure I’ll need to run down to the market. So thank you for stopping by, everything’s fine and I’m sure I’ll see you around town.”

Todd became more curious about Oak Creek’s newest resident by the minute. He had been just as affected by their brief contact as she seemed to be, yet she was trying to get rid of him. He knew when he was being brushed off. His suspicious nature kicked in again. Ignoring her implied attempt to get him to leave, he just smiled and looked down at her. He caught a subtle whiff of some exotic flower and found the scent fit her perfectly. “As I said earlier, Ms. Hardy, there’s been a string of burglaries in the area, with the most recent only being two days ago. It’s my responsibility to make sure everyone is safe. Contrary to what you said earlier, not everyone is guilty until proven innocent. But you were right when you said I was naturally suspicious. It helps to keep you alive in my line of work. I also noticed you’re not wearing a wedding band. You should take care out here alone. Your closest neighbor is a mile away and I’ll go in with you to be sure everything is fine.”

Walking up to her, Todd took the keys out of her hand and continued to the front door. Checking quickly over his shoulder, he saw Rachel gaping at his back. He could feel her eyes burning holes in his back as he turned the key in the lock and opened the door. He turned around and looked at her, “You should realize, Ms. Hardy, I meant exactly what I said.”

The musty smell of years of neglect and dust hit them both upon opening the door. Sneezing in to her sleeve Rachel pushed past him and walked in to the living room. “I don’t think there is anything left to burgle,” she said, scanning the room. There was an old brown leather couch and a matching chair with a lonely end table sitting between the two pieces of furniture. Everything was covered with a thick coating of dust. Bare hardwood floors begged for a thorough scrubbing, along with everything else in the room.

“Did you make arrangements for the utilities?” he asked as he looked around the living room.

“Yes I did. Power, water, gas and phone are all supposed to be set up and working.” She replied as she ran her finger through the thick layer of dust on the table.

Todd nodded to her and quickly made his way through the rest of the cabin. He scanned the rest of the rooms to make sure no one was there. Once he was convinced she was alone, he turned on his heel and headed back out to his SUV. He needed to get some distance between himself and the sexy writer. The lusty feelings were simmering just under the surface, if he didn’t get out quick he just might act out the little fantasy he had dreamed up about the bewitching woman. He was climbing into his vehicle when Rachel came out of the cabin. “What is it? Did you find something?”

“No. Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t really like the taste of crow, Sheriff. I’d like to apologize for my behavior, it was rude.” She laughed; it lit up her whole face and caused her eyes to sparkle lively. “It was nice to meet you, Sheriff Bradley. I hope to see you again and hopefully you won’t hold my earlier outburst against me.”

“Apology accepted Ms. Hardy. It was nice to meet you as well.” Todd shook his head and grinned as he drove down the drive.
What is so appealing about Rachel Hardy? The woman ran hot, cold and then hot again. Is she trying to be a tease or does it come naturally to her?
Whatever it was, she was definitely going to see him again. He was going to make sure of it.

* * * *

He has charm as well as looks, and he doesn’t seem to hold a grudge.
She was forced to admit what she felt was pure animal attraction. The sheriff was hot. She watched him turn around and drive down the hill and hoping very much she would run in to the sexy sheriff again, and soon.

What am I doing blatantly flirting with this man? I sound like a school girl
. She shook her head in disgust. No time to dwell on that now. Dreamy sheriff or not she was wasting what was left of valuable daylight. Calling for Brutus she looked at her watch. Where was that crazy dog anyway? She would have to hustle to make it down to the market before they closed. Small mountainside towns did not offer twenty-four hour grocery stores.

Going back inside, Rachel took a hard look at her new surroundings.
Oh no, Rachel, what have you done?
The place was covered in cobwebs, filthy, musty and dusty but it felt…right, comfortable. This was her home now. Walking over to the light switch she turned it on. Nothing happened. Well, she was going to make it her home.
First things first
I need to find the breaker box so I can get some lights on in this place.
She grabbed the flashlight out of her backpack and started through the cabin.

The cabin was a lot smaller than she remembered but the layout was as clear as if she had been here only yesterday. The main living room had a stone fireplace taking up the whole of one wall, through the archway led into the kitchen. Pale yellow countertops with what was once bright yellow rosebud patterned wallpaper was now browned and faded with time. The appliances had surely seen their prime eons ago.
Well what did I expect moving into a house that hasn’t been lived in for twenty years? I should have come up here weeks ago and started on this stuff. But no, leave it to you, Rachel, to jump in with both feet and no life jacket.

Leaving the kitchen she made her way back to the front door and called for Brutus again. Her heart warmed while she watched his tawny gold fur shimmer in the sunlight as he ran to her at top speed. She smiled and wondered what Sheriff Bradley would think when he met her dog. She crouched down and opened her arms to her beloved Great Dane as he came skidding to a halt right in front of her. “Did you have a good time out there?”

Brutus wagged his tail enthusiastically and gave her a happy bark. “I’m glad you like it here. I wasn’t really sure if you would with you being a big city dog and all.”

Together they walked through the living room into the kitchen and to the hallway. Forked to the left were three bedrooms and the bath, and through the kitchen to the right was the laundry room and garage. The breaker panel was out in the garage. “You stay in here, I’ll be right back.”

All the cobwebs had her thinking of spiders. Thinking of spiders led her to thinking of pack rats. Rachel cringed inwardly before heading to the right and opened the garage door. She screamed and sputtered as she walked through a giant cobweb hanging in the doorway. Frantically batting and clawing at the gossamer-like material, she finally got it all cleaned off. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she flicked on the flashlight and began to wind her way through boxes and paintings to make it to the panel. She considered it odd to find so many things in the garage when the house itself was so empty. She dismissed the information without giving it another thought. She mentally filed away the information so she could ask her father about it when she spoke with him. She opened the panel and threw the main switch. The overhead light flickered on as she closed the door of the breaker box.

A quiet rustling noise came from behind the boxes in the corner. What was that? Gripping her flashlight as a weapon she made her way over to the boxes. The rustling grew louder. She gripped the flashlight tighter and lifted the top box out of the way. Another scream erupted from her throat before she could catch herself. Looking down on the floor behind the boxes was a mother raccoon nesting with her babies. “Great,” she sighed, “not pack rats. I’ve got raccoons living in my garage.” Mother raccoon had a very menacing snarl on her face. “Alright, alright, just calm down, Mama, I’m not going to hurt you or your kittens.” Slowly backing away from the litter of animals. “You and your family are welcome to stay another night. I will deal with you later. Right now, I need to get to the store before dark.”

Rachel made sure to lock the door between the house and garage behind her. She didn’t want Brutus to tangle with the raccoon. She worked her way back through the house, turning lights on as she went. Together they double-checked each room to make sure no other non-rent paying tenants were in residence. Finding the house all clear, she and Brutus stepped outside and made their way to the truck.

Unloading the truckload of gear and supplies she’d brought with her required two more trips back and forth inside the house before climbing behind the wheel to head in to town. She sat and stared out the windshield for a minute. She couldn’t get over the serene beauty of this place. “Look, Brutus,” she said, pointing to the horizon. The sun was just beginning to set over the canyon wall, turning the sky a cascading array of colors. The purple faded into pink, which bled red into a fiery orange ball as it melted into the western sky. “You know, during all of my years of traveling I firmly believe there is nothing as beautiful as an Arizona sunset.” She let out a heavy sigh and started the truck.

Canyon Grocery looked like something straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The wooden storefront was complete with wooden slat front porch that had faded silver with age. The Coke and ice machines were there to remind one that they hadn’t fallen into a time warp. She turned to Brutus as she climbed out of the truck. “Now I want you to stay in here and be a good boy. No jumping out the window and running off, you hear? I’ll be right back.” Brutus curled up on the front seat as best as he could, considering his size, and awaited his mistress’ return.

The bells jingled as she opened the door. This was going to be your basic staples shopping. She grabbed a cart and started down the aisles. She threw in a small jug of milk, some cheese, lunchmeat, a loaf of bread and some junk food—just for good measure.
It has to fit in the ice chest
. The rest of her stuff wasn’t arriving for a few days. She walked up to the register and grabbed a couple of candy bars because they looked good, and well, it was chocolate. She was greeted by a kindly looking woman with large green eyes and curly, graying brown hair.

She gave Rachel an owlish look from over the rim of her glasses, set aside her crocheting and smiled. “I haven’t seen you around here before. It’s a little late in the season to be renting a cabin, ain’t it?”

Rachel had never met one before but recognized a busybody when she saw one. This little lady had town gossiper written across her forehead. “I just moved in to the Hardy place, I’ll be staying here for awhile.” News traveled fast in small towns. Better to deal with it from the start than delay the inevitable.

“The old Hardy place? You mean the one just up the road a ways? Never will understand why that place is still standing. Shouldda been torn down years ago if you ask me. Now wait a minute…I know you from somewhere. I never forget a face. Why it’s you! I knew you looked familiar! But I couldn’t place where I’d seen you before,” the clerk all but shrieked. “You’re Rachel Hardy, oh honey, I just love your books. When are you coming out with another one? Oh dear, I’m sorry about the tearin’ down your house comment.”

Rachel smiled graciously and replied, “Apology accepted, and to answer your other question right before Christmas… I’m taking a small vacation.” Paying for her groceries, she started for the door.

The sales clerk wasn’t going to let her leave just yet. It wasn’t very often that a real life honest-to-goodness celebrity came walking in to Canyon Grocery. “Now hold on a minute. Don’t go rushin’ off just yet. We haven’t been introduced. My name is Josie,

if there’s anything you need. Anything at all, you just let me know.

I’m sure we’re going to be great friends. Yessirree, I can see us bein’ great friends.” Josie was tickled pink. She couldn’t wait to call Phyllis Villmer and tell her who she’d met.

“Thanks, Josie, I appreciate that. It was nice to meet you. I’ll see you around.” With that, she dashed out the door, jumped in her truck and headed back to her quiet sanctuary.

Rachel knew it was childish, but she still had the same reaction every time she was recognized in public. She loved her fans, knew she wouldn’t be anywhere without them. She took a couple of deep breaths to settle the butterflies in her stomach. Looking over at Brutus still curled up on the seat, she said, “Book tours and signings are different, there they come to see me and meet me but I have some sense of security. Maybe it’s a false security but I’m not alone with them.” She sighed as she started to climb the winding drive again. “It’s almost funny, there are times I can go completely unnoticed in a crowd for days on end and then again there are times I can’t spend an afternoon shopping without being stopped a dozen times.” She still couldn’t get over her success. It shocked and thrilled her to think about it, a best selling author of romance novels, when her own personal love life couldn’t get any worse. She laughed at the irony, if people only knew what kind of shape her love life was really in.

A long time ago, her mother was the only one who had truly believed in her writing ability. Rachel had dedicated her first published book to her for just that reason. Clara Hardy taught her daughter at an early age to appreciate the written word. She had also been a sucker for a happy ending. The next few books were to prove to everyone she could do it, that she wasn’t a one hit wonder. Now Rachel wrote just for Rachel and the sheer pleasure she found in writing. She also found out that like mother like daughter, she too was a sucker for a happy ending. Then there was Jake. She shook her head and forced herself to stop thinking about the no good excuse of a man as she parked the truck. He didn’t deserve her time or energy. “Oh well,” she said to Brutus, “I just write it, no one said I have to live it.”