Whispers (Argent Springs) (6 page)

“Exactly.” Livia pointed a manicured fingernail at
her. The sparkle at the tips caught Erin’s attention.

“Do you drive out of town to get your nails done?”
She couldn’t imagine the little town of Argent Springs having a salon.

“Actually, no. A friend of mine and Annabelle’s
does them. Piper,” she said to Annabelle, clarifying.

“I just met Piper. She seems very nice.”

“She’s a doll. She comes across as pretty quiet,
but once she gets to know you, she can be downright hilarious.”

Erin smiled. She couldn’t picture the quiet, downtrodden
girl as hilarious, but she, herself, never let anyone see the real her unless
she trusted them.

Annabelle took her hand, her fingers feeling cold
and frail. “I hate to ask this, Erin, but would you mind tending the counter
for a few minutes. I need to speak to Livia in private.”

When Erin glanced at the old-fashioned cash
register, Livia chuckled. “It’s pretty straightforward to use. If you’re not
comfortable with it, I can close the shop down for a few minutes.”

There were a few people perusing her wares, and
Erin hated to cause a disruption to them and to Livia. “No, I should be fine.
I’ve worked a cash register before and a credit card machine. I’m sure I can
figure it out if you trust me to.”

Livia’s full lips parted into a generous smile,
and Erin had a hard time picturing her in a business suit in a courtroom full
of lawyers and defendants. “If Annabelle trusts you, then I trust you. Besides,
your pink aura gives me some pretty good insight on you.”

Erin’s insides warmed from the friendliness
emanating from Livia. She’d always wished for a girlfriend that she could
really connect with, but her previous friendships had always seemed shallow and
fleeting. Erin had assumed it had been faulty wiring on her part that she
couldn’t trust someone enough to let her see the real person.

But something about Livia seemed different. She
seemed was authentic and very likable. “You guys go. I’ll be fine.”

Annabelle took Livia’s arm as they headed into the
back room. Erin couldn’t help but wonder what Annabelle needed to talk about,
but really, she had no right to ask. She and her aunt might be family, but they
hadn’t known each other that long. Annabelle was entitled to her privacy.

Two girls in their late teens approached the counter,
one carrying an ornate looking cross encrusted with jewels. The multicolored
stones glittered in the afternoon light shining in through the large window
next to the cash register.

“Will this be all?” Erin asked.

“Uh-huh,” the shortest girl said, pulling out her
wallet.

Erin rang up the sale. “Sixteen seventy-five,
please.”

The girl pulled out a twenty, and Erin made change
before wrapping the cross in tissue paper and putting it in a sack. As the
girls walked out the door, she smiled to herself. She didn’t mind being a
cashier at all. In fact, she enjoyed helping people get what they wanted or
needed.

As the young girls bounded away from Livia’s shop
and down the sidewalk, a man walked past the storefront window and slowed to
peer inside. His dirty, unkempt appearance left her uneasy. It wasn’t so much
his appearance that bothered her. It was his eyes. They were hungry for
something, and that sent a chill racing through her.

He glanced away, and she was grateful when he
continued down the street.

Several quiet minutes passed as Erin studied the
selection of stones and jewelry Livia kept on her counter. Most were priced
under ten dollars, and Erin realized Livia had placed them there in the hopes
that people might snag another item or two before they left her shop.

The chimes on the front door rang, and Erin looked
up, ready to greet Livia’s next customer. Her words died on her tongue.

Glancing around the room as though looking for
resistance, the dirty, unkempt man Erin had seen earlier approached the
counter.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“You’re new here.” He said it without question.

“I’m covering for Livia for a few minutes. She’s
in the back room.” Hopefully knowing there were others nearby would keep him
from doing anything stupid.

He glanced toward the back room and then focused
on her again. “What’s your name?”

“Erin.”

“You related to Livia?”

“I’m Annabelle’s niece.”

A smile cracked his lips showing dirty teeth. “You’ve
come to visit Rosa.”

Awkwardness slithered over her. “I’ve come to
visit my Aunt Annabelle for a couple of weeks.”

He pointed at her and laughed, his voice gravelly
and a bit unbalanced. “You’ve come to see Rosa and find love,” he said louder
than the first time.

Erin glanced toward the back room, wishing Livia
would hear the commotion through the closed door and come to her aid. “I’m
sorry. I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve only come to stay a
couple of weeks, and then I’m headed back home.”

“Ask Annabelle. She’ll tell you about Rosa.”

The man was unhinged, and no one was coming to her
aid. She’d have to handle the matter by herself. “Look, mister. I’m trying to
run a store here. If you’re not looking to buy anything, then you should
probably be on your way, or I’ll have to call the police.”

He widened his eyes as though she’d completely
insulted him, and then an injured expression crossed his features. “I’m not
hurting nothing.”

Guilt stabbed at her. He obviously struggled with
some mental issues and probably didn’t realize he was harassing her. “Look, I
don’t want to get you in trouble, so if you leave now, we’ll both be happier.”

She swallowed and met his gaze with a
straightforward one of her own. He held it for a moment and then dropped his
shoulders. He turned and walked out the door, leaving the stench of an unwashed
body and stale cigarettes in his wake.

She sagged with relief when the store was once
again vacant.

Erin was beyond tempted to interrupt Livia and her
aunt in case the crazy man came back, but really, there had been no harm done.

A good thirty minutes passed before the two women
returned from the back room. Livia approached the counter, and Erin vacated her
spot. “How did things go?”

“Fine.” Erin paused. “Except you did have one
customer who was a bit odd. I guess he wasn’t actually a customer. A guy,
mid-forties, maybe. Dirty hair. Missing some teeth?” she ended with a question.

“That’s George. He’s harmless,” Annabelle said.

“Town drunk,” Livia added. “I usually give him a
coke or candy bar.”

Now, she felt guilty. He’d probably just been
hungry and wanted something to eat. “I asked him to leave.”

Livia gave her a warm smile. “Don’t worry about
it. George harasses enough people that if you gave him a bit of grief in return,
it’s all good.”

“Are you sure? I think I hurt his feelings.”

Annabelle put a reassuring arm around her
shoulder. “You couldn’t have known who he was, love. He’ll be fine. He’ll
probably come back in an hour or so, and Livia can soothe his ruffled feathers
then.”

Livia nodded in agreement. “How about I take you
to lunch before you leave town, Erin? Payment for watching the store for me?”

Erin looked to her great aunt, sure that she’d
coerced the invitation out of her. Probably as part of the ploy to get Erin to hang
out with people her age. But honestly, that wasn’t why she’d come to Argent
Springs. “Sure. I’d love to. Maybe I can convince Aunt Annabelle to come, too.”

“It depends on the day.” Annabelle smiled. “I do
have some previous engagements.”

Erin raised her brows. She hadn’t considered that
her aunt may have other things to do than entertain her. The more she learned
about her aunt, the more she realized, despite her age, she didn’t sit around
growing old.

*        *        *

When they returned to the house, her aunt excused
herself to take her daily nap, leaving Erin alone. It took her no time at all
to snag her camera and head back outside.

This time when she walked the streets of Argent
Springs, she had an eye for angles and lighting. Aunt Annabelle’s whore-house
turned bed and breakfast looked completely charming even though it needed to
have the trim painted. She walked farther down the road and then captured the
quaint blue house with white gingerbread trim. Then the old church that, if
shot at a particular angle, looked more like damnation looming overhead than a
place for salvation.

After shooting the most interesting buildings in
town, she glanced at her watch, surprised to find the time was close to four
o’clock. Since the Finchers had only been staying one night, dinner would be
less of an event tonight with just the three of them. She and her aunt had
planned on having spaghetti, which meant she had at least an hour to explore
before she needed to be back to help prepare the simple meal.

She eyed the soft meadow extending beyond
Annabelle’s house, spreading out until it reached the edge of the mountains.
The distance was perhaps three or four city blocks, nothing she couldn’t cover
in a short amount of time. And with the sun sitting at its current angle, she
could make the most of the shadows and less harsh lighting. It would be
perfect.

She set off on a jaunt across the meadow,
following a well-worn path. Rocks, big and small forced her to keep her
attention on the trail, but she didn’t mind. Sun rained down on her, and a soft
breeze smelling of the earth kept her company. God, this was good for her soul.

As she drew farther away from civilization, such
as it was, she realized squirrels…at least she thought they were squirrels…had
made a home in the tall grasses swaying in the breeze and tumbling onto the
edges of the path.

The first time one scurried in front of her as
though on a suicide mission, she’d startled so badly she’d almost tripped in
her haste to stop. Then the critter was gone again, scurrying through the grass,
probably chattering about its near-death experience.

Now that she knew the little animal was harmless,
she realized she’d enjoyed her run-in with nature. Encountering a crazy-ass squirrel
was much more preferable than listening to her neighbor back home drone on
about how his wife had left him with nothing but the bills. She couldn’t say
she blamed the woman. Shacking up with a loser who spent the majority of his
life drunk was no way to live.

It didn’t take Erin too long to come upon the
lazy, winding river she’d first spotted as she’d descended into town. The
narrow river now ran between her and the mountainside, drifting past much the
way the whole town operated, slow and easy, as if it were intent on noticing
each rock it crested and each hollow it dipped into.

She stopped at the edge of the shallow river. Someone
had taken two two-by-fours and laid slats across them, using four-by-fours to
support them at varying intervals. Together, the pieces of wood formed a
tenuous bridge. Erin eyed the structure until a movement in the water caught
her eye.

A
fish
. And not a small one, either.

She watched it for a moment as it wiggled its body,
moving with the current. The colors of the fish, the smooth way it bent back
and forth, all of it was a beautiful exposition of nature displayed right
before her eyes.

She pulled out her camera, knowing she wouldn’t
capture a quality picture between the movement of the fish and the movement of
the water, but she wanted to take it anyway. She snapped a few shots, then swiveled
and captured the makeshift bridge.

Moments in time. Moments she’d never have again.

Even if she came back to visit Aunt Annabelle time
and time again, she’d never have the pleasure of discovering this makeshift
bridge out in the middle of nowhere for the first time.

Strong emotions caught her unaware as she realized
if she’d skipped out on the family party like she’d wanted to, she’d never have
met Annabelle, which eventually brought her to this quiet little town that
carried the strength of mother nature on its back. She never would have known
this beauty.

She inhaled a deep breath and straightened.

If she wanted to go further, she’d have to chance
the bridge. Really, that was so much like life. If a person wanted the rewards,
she’d have to step out of her comfort zone and take a chance.

Besides, if the bridge crumbled, she’d end up with
wet pants and an uncomfortable walk home. Not that big of a deal. Once weighed
and measured, that was a reasonable consequence.

She placed her booted foot on the board and kicked
it. It didn’t budge. “Here goes nothing.”

She put her full weight on the first board, and
when nothing happened, she stepped forward. Several more steps, and she was
close to halfway across the bridge. When a board creaked beneath her foot, she
squealed and dashed the rest of the way.

A laugh full of happiness escaped her when she
reached the other side. She’d made it without incident, and now nothing stood
between her and the thick line of trees. As she reached the edge of them, she
glanced upward, capturing the tall, stately pines from different angles. In one
picture, she framed the edges with a close-up evergreen limb and captured the yellows
of a grove of aspens beyond.

A sudden crunch of leaves caused her to freeze in
her tracks as goose bumps exploded on her arms. She swallowed and turned slowly
to look behind her, hoping it wouldn’t be the crazed man she’d met earlier, let
alone anything worse. Not much separated the civilized part of town from the
wild that surrounded it.

At first, she couldn’t see anything beyond
branches and leaves. Then she caught a slight movement in her peripheral
vision. She twisted farther and spotted a light brown deer camouflaged by the
bark of a tree. It stared at her with serious brown eyes, waiting for her to
make a move or leave.

Her pent-up breath eased out of her.

She slowly lifted her camera, hoping her movements
wouldn’t scare it off. She captured a couple of photos right off the bat, and
then took the time to zoom in on her subject.

It stayed completely still as she took what she
needed from the scene. Then she slowly swiveled back toward the way she’d come
and used quiet footsteps to leave the area. She’d invaded the deer’s home, and
she didn’t want to make a nuisance of herself.

By the time she’d exited the grove of trees, the
sun had fallen behind the tall mountains. She hadn’t realized how dark it had
grown because she’d been surrounded by trees which made everything darker
anyway. She hurried toward the river. With each minute that ticked past, the midnight
hues in the sky deepened like an exposed piece of old-fashioned photo paper dipped
in processing chemicals, making it harder to see the path ahead of her. All of
the squirrels were probably home tucked in their little grass beds.

She was sure Annabelle would have started dinner
without her, and that wasn’t a great way to show respect or appreciation for
her aunt’s kind invitation.

When she reached the edge of the river, the clear
water had turned to ink, and it didn’t seem the friendly wanderer like it had
before. She shored up her fears and stepped onto the bridge, quickly putting
one foot in front of the other. She didn’t flinch this time when she reached
the loose slat, but kept a steady pace instead.

As she reached the opposite shore, she pulled out
her cell phone and turned on the assistive light, using it to illuminate the
path ahead of her. If she would have been smarter, she would have programmed
Annabelle’s number into her phone so that she could call her if necessary. Too
late for that now.

She held tight to her camera as she jogged along
the rocky dirt toward home.

An oncoming flashlight beam came into view when
she was halfway across the meadow. She wanted to shut hers off, to hide her
from view, once again afraid it might be someone like that crazy guy she’d met
earlier in the day, but she couldn’t afford to go without light.

As the flashlight grew closer, someone shouted out
her name. A sick feeling dropped into her stomach. Rick.

“Yes,” she called back.

The light stopped racing toward her at a fast
pace, and she realized he’d stopped and was waiting for her. In her mind that was
a pretty good guarantee that he wasn’t particularly thrilled that he’d had to fetch
her.

When she reached him, he faced back toward the
house and started walking without saying a word.

“You didn’t need to come looking for me.”

He stopped so abruptly that she nearly plowed into
him. “Really?”

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

“Your aunt’s not fine. She’s been fretting for the
past hour, worried about where you’d gone. If I hadn’t seen you heading across
the meadow earlier, I wouldn’t have had
any
idea where to look.”

A shiver raced across her knowing he’d been
watching her. Had he seen her jump when the squirrel had frightened her? The
river had been too far away for him to have seen her study it and then race
across. “You don’t need worry about me. I’m a grown woman who’s been taking
care of herself for a long time.” She’d headed for college straight out of high
school and hadn’t looked back.

“When was the last time you spent the night in the
mountains?” His question came out hard, angry.

“What difference does that make?”

“Woman, there’s been more than one person who
hasn’t made it out of these hills alive. The nights are getting colder than you
think, and if that doesn’t scare you, then maybe coming face-to-face with a
bear or mountain lion might.”

She widened her eyes, surprised by the amount of anger
in his voice. “I’m not your problem.”