by Aimée Thurlo
Her skin grew cold and clammy as memories of her life at one of the group homes came rushing back. It had been the best of all the foster homes she’d stayed at, but certainly no picnic. The older kids had teased the younger ones unmercifully, spinning hideous tales about the well beside the barn. Gathering her courage, she’d approached it once, but one of the older boys, seeing what she was doing, had grabbed her from behind and forced her head down into the blackness. She remembered the terror of falling, the numbing cold and screaming herself hoarse because of the spiders she could feel but not see as they crawled all over her body.
But she’d been just a child then. She was a grown woman now, quite capable of stomping a few spiders into oblivion if she so chose. Yet despite the logic of the thought, Lanie couldn’t help the shiver that ran up her spine as she stood near the well.
This was ridiculous. She was made of sterner stuff. She forced herself to inch forward, then, taking a deep breath and gripping the side, leaned over and looked down.
Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her. She turned her head in time to catch a flash of a stocking cap just before someone grabbed her in a choke hold. He held her in a viselike grip, forcing her head down and cutting off the air from her lungs.
“I want the bowl. Where did you stash it?” His voice sounded deadly, though it was whisper soft.
“Let go!” she gasped. She stomped down on his instep, and as his choke hold eased slightly, she screamed for help.
Twisting around, Lanie grabbed at his ski mask, hoping to scratch his eyes and force him to let her go. The cloth tore, and she heard him curse, but then, in a lightning move, he grabbed her legs and lifted her over the stone wall, sending her tumbling into the darkness of the well.
Chapter Nine
Lanie landed with a soft thump. For a moment, terror obliterated all thought. Childhood fears, coupled with the reality she now faced, paralyzed her. She tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. Her body was shaking so hard, her teeth were chattering.
She took a deep breath, trying not to panic, and discovered that the air was fresh, not stuffy. As she looked up, she realized that she wasn’t in the rotting pit that had filled her childhood nightmares. Sand, which must have blown in over the decades, had half filled the well and cushioned her fall.
She stood up slowly. The sand flooring was soft enough for her feet to sink in up to her ankles. There was enough light for her to see that there were no snakes hiding there, nor was it teeming with spiders. It was too cold even for them. One section of the bottom was damp and compacted from the recent rains, but no puddle remained. A small tumbleweed was her only companion.
Lanie tried to climb out, but the sand was so soft, it broke away from her weight before she could find a toehold. She yelled for help, but after a few minutes, she stopped. Her throat was sore, but obviously no one had heard her. The side street had been deserted before and undoubtedly still was.
As the wind began to pick up, the temperature inside the well began to drop. She cupped her hands and blew into them, trying to warm them up. Anger filled her as she thought of the man who’d tried to mug her. At least he’d found out she was no easy target. But he was probably someplace warm now, hoping she’d freeze to death in the cold.
Horror movies about women trapped and alone filled her mind, but she pushed them back. She couldn’t afford to panic now. Sooner or later, someone would walk by, and then she’d call out. Until that happened, she’d save her voice and energy.
She reached for her tote bag and checked the bowl inside. Once again, it had somehow survived intact. She placed her hands around it, surprised at how warm the pottery felt. Heat seemed to radiate up her arms, filling her body with a pleasant warmth.
Then she heard someone whistling. Lanie quickly tucked the bowl back into her bag and began yelling for help. A minute later, a head appeared above in the light. She recognized the newspaperman, Ralph Montoya.
“How in the…?”
“Please, Ralph, just go get a ladder or a rope or something. I’ve been stuck down here long enough. I’ll be glad to explain when I get out, okay?”
“Sure, sure. Are you hurt? Lucas is gone, but I can call the sheriff and have him radio the county’s EMTs.”
“I’m not hurt, just please get me out!” To her own chagrin, a touch of fear tainted her voice.
Ralph nodded quickly. “Hang tight. I’ll be right back.”
The minutes after he left seemed the longest. Seconds stretched out into their own imitations of eternity. She knew there was no reason to be impatient now that rescue was assured, but she wanted out, and she wanted out now!
Lanie took several deep breaths, hoping to calm herself, but nothing helped. Her body thrummed. When she heard a strange rustling beneath the tumbleweed in the darkest shadows, all her old fears came rushing to the surface. She could feel the scream building at the back of her throat. Then she felt the breeze and saw the tumbleweed’s tendrils rubbing against the side of the well. She sighed with relief.
“I’m here,” Ralph yelled out at last. “I’m going to lower a ladder down to you, so try to keep out of the way so I don’t hit you with it.”
The way her luck had been running, that’s exactly what would happen. “I’m ready.”
Lanie climbed out in a hurry, and as she stepped back outside the stone wall, her knees almost buckled with relief.
“Boy, I should follow you around,” Ralph said. “You’ve managed to make news again. Some of our oldest citizens have never had their names in the paper. You seem to be destined for notoriety.”
She started to argue that she was only a temporary resident, but suddenly it didn’t seem to matter so much. She was out of the well. She’d forgive him this time.
“I’d really prefer if you didn’t report this, at least not right away. Like you said, I’m already the focus of enough attention around here.”
“Well, I can’t promise to ignore something like this, but I won’t sensationalize it. How’s that?”
“Better, but I really need you to hold on to the story, please, at least until I can talk to Gabriel and…” She saw the way his eyes rose the second she mentioned Gabriel’s name, and instantly regretted having done so.
“How exactly did you fall in?”
Lanie shrugged. “I’ve had a really hard day, and I’m just too rattled to talk about it right now.”
“Of course! Let me buy you something to eat Sally’s diner is just down the street, and her food can fix up anyone. As a matter of fact, that’s where I was headed.”
She wasn’t hungry, just cold. “I could use something warm.”
“Sally makes the best chili stew this side of the border. It’ll be my treat, and no questions, I promise.”
“I’m all covered with dirt. I must look like a mess,” she said, brushing herself off.
“Sally won’t mind.”
Lanie wasn’t sure if he was trying to ingratiate himself or not, but it worked. “I accept. Just point me in the right direction.”
As they walked down the road, she could feel the questions in his gaze and in the way he studied her. Ralph was no fool. He had probably guessed that she hadn’t fallen in of her own accord.
“What time is it?” she asked, more to take his mind off his suspicions and speculations than anything else.
“It’s twelve-thirty,” he said, checking his watch. “I was on my way to Sally’s to pick up lunch. Come to think of it, I’m not going to be able to have lunch with you after all. I have to get back to the office. I have only one other worker there, and I promised her the afternoon off to go visit a relative. I intended to pick up a bagged lunch.”
“That’s no problem. If you want to hurry on ahead, I can find Sally’s on my own.”
“I’m not in that big a hurry. I still have to pick up my lunch, so I’ll buy you a bowl of chili and then be on my way. Believe me, that stew of hers, with a couple of her homemade tortillas, will take the chill right out of y
our bones.”
They arrived at Sally’s a few minutes later. Several diners were already there, but Ralph was able to find an unoccupied booth in the corner. “You’ll be okay here. I’ll take care of ordering for you while I’m picking up my lunch.”
Lanie watched him pick up his carryout at the cash register, surprised he hadn’t been more hard-nosed about what had happened. It was instinct for a newspaperman not to let go of a possible story, so his departure threw her. Lanie stared at the exit for several moments, lost in thought.
“Hey, are you okay?” Sally said, coming up to the table. “Ralph said something about you having an accident.”
“It was nothing, just a little mishap,” she muttered. “I could use something warm, though. I’m cold all the way through.”
Sally nodded. “Your green chili is coming right up.”
It surprised her that Ralph hadn’t divulged more details to Sally, but at least that was consistent with a reporter’s desire to keep a story to himself until he was ready to break it. As her gaze drifted around the room, she saw the clock on the wall. Alma would be worried.
She walked to the phone booth, looked up the number and dialed the shop. Not wanting to alarm her, Lanie told Alma that she’d fallen down and needed to change clothes. Alma, after finding out Lanie was okay, assured her goodnaturedly that the library would still be there in another few hours, and encouraged her to have lunch first.
Lanie returned to the table and saw Sally seated there in the booth. “Mind if I take a load off my feet for a few minutes? It’s time for my break.”
“Sure. Company would be nice.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you any questions about your accident. I can see that you’d rather put that out of your mind.”
She nodded, but didn’t reply.
Sally gestured toward the plate she’d just set down for Lanie. “That green-chili stew is my own recipe, and the specialty of the house. It’ll warm you right up.”
“You love cooking, don’t you?”
She nodded. “It gives me a lot of pleasure to fix hearty meals people keep coming back for. Before I owned my own place, I used to cook for neighbors, for Peter’s school functions, for just about anyone who’d enjoy it.”
“So this is your little piece of heaven,” Lanie observed with a casual gesture that encompassed the room.
Sally smiled. “Yes. Seems crazy, doesn’t it? It isn’t a reservations-required restaurant or anything, but that wasn’t the type of place I wanted. I’d like for my diner to remain exactly what it is, a place people don’t have to dress up to come to. A home away from home, where someone else fixes the meals.”
“This stuff is wonderful. Better than a brandy,” Lanie said after several spoonfuls of the spicy and hot chili stew.
“Sure it is. A brandy doesn’t warm you up, it just makes you feel that way while you actually lose more heat, I’ve been told. That stew of mine gives you fuel to burn.”
Though she hadn’t been hungry, Lanie found that her appetite had been awakened. She consumed the food greedily as Sally chatted away.
“I don’t know how you see us here in Four Winds,” Sally said, “but it’s the best place on earth, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a place for happy endings, if you’re willing to work at them. You won’t lack a helping hand if you reach out for one, either. And if you want to go it alone, people will let you be. Privacy is a big thing with all of us.”
“I’ve noticed,” Lanie said with a wry smile.
Sally laughed. “But is that a bad thing? We all have private lives that we want to keep that way. Here you get a chance to do just that. There are dues to be paid in every person’s life, but once those are out of the way, you know you belong.”
“Dues? What do you mean?”
“Everyone who comes to Four Winds is facing one kind of trouble or another, or they wouldn’t have left where they were. It differs for all of us. But it comes down to the same thing. There’s always something that needs to be resolved before we can really find ourselves. That’s the first step toward finding your dream and making it come true.”
Sally’s answer had intrigued her more than ever, but she knew that to pry would mean Sally would clam up completely, just as she’d done before. Lanie had to let her go at her own pace.
“Of course, there will always be complications that arise,” Sally added with a small sigh. “I don’t know of any place on earth that can protect you from life’s little problems.”
“Neither do I, but if you hear of one, don’t keep it to yourself,” Lanie joked.
Sally laughed. “Heck, if I could find one, I’d zip over there with my son, Pete. That boy is making me crazy.”
“Growing pains?”
“I guess so, but I sure do wish he’d show more responsibility. He’s been running around with his friends instead of coming in after school to help me here at the diner. I count on him, and he’s been letting me down a lot lately.”
“The independent stage. It’s rough for kids and parents.”
“I know he wants to be his own person, but he certainly isn’t going to find himself by hanging around with that lazy Ted Burns. He’s the mayor’s only son, and he’s spoiled rotten. My son has to work for his allowance. I’ve tried to teach him some solid values, and believe me, it’s tough getting the message across when he sees Ted free to do anything he wants.”
“At some point, you have to trust him to find his own way. Too much interference can drive him in the opposite direction.”
“You sound like you know a lot about kids,” Sally said cautiously.
“Not enough. I’ve made my share of mistakes. But I was a teacher once.”
Sally reached out and patted her hand. “We’ve all made mistakes at one time or another. I’m a world-class champ at it. But if you’re a teacher, why don’t you go over to the high school and interview for a job there? They need staff desperately.”
“I don’t teach anymore.”
Sally nodded and, to Lanie’s relief, didn’t pry. “Well, I better get back to work. If you need anything, give a yell.”
Lanie stood up. “I’m finished, so I’d better get going, too. I’ve got to find Gabriel, then change clothes before I go to the library. I’ve got a job to do there for Alma.”
Lanie used the front door on her way out. She’d avoid shortcuts or side streets from now on. She was hurrying to Gabriel’s office when she turned the corner and ran straight into him.
Lanie staggered back a step, but Gabriel reached out quickly and steadied her.
Gabriel’s grip was strong. He looked down, noting how dusty her clothes were. “Where the hell have you been! I’ve been worried about you! Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine. I just had lunch….”
The concern on his face turned to gladness, and with one fluid motion he drew her into the shadows and pulled her against him. His grip was fierce and possessive. It felt wonderful.
“I’ve been searching all over the place for you,” he murmured, his voice raw.
Before she could answer, his mouth found hers, caressing and seducing. The sweet fires spreading through her made her light-headed. She clung to him desperately, heeding his strength to stand as his tongue slipped into her slowly, in a rhythm as primitive as the dawn of time.
Lanie surrendered to the exquisite pleasure that sizzled through her body. She felt loved and cherished, just as she had in her dream. From the edges of her mind, logic screamed that she was no longer dreaming. Yet at that wonderful moment, she wanted to be swept away, and needed to give as much as she was taking.
As her heart roared above common sense, she pressed herself into his kiss. Gabriel’s response, that jagged intake of breath, the way he tightened his hold, all added to the fire in her. He was like a wild desert wind, raging and shifting everything in its path, molding it to its will.
Just as the last bit of her willpower melted, she heard a car going by. The driver honked. Gabriel eased his hold, t
hen with a groan, moved away from her. “We’re in the middle of town, yet in another minute, I would have done a lot more than kiss you.”
“In another minute, I would have helped you.” She drew in a breath, trying to come to her senses. “I really don’t know what’s happening to me. Sometimes when I’m around you I hardly recognize myself.”
“You’re not alone in that, woman. A Navajo man is taught to live his life by certain rules. Harmony is only a word to many, yet to us, it is the basis of our strength. To be spiritually at peace, to walk in beauty, a man has to achieve a certain balance. No excesses. All in moderation. But when I’m around you, the last thing on my mind is moderation.”
“If it’s any consolation, I spent many years as a teacher. Control is, was, a big part of my job. I’m used to taking responsibility for my own thoughts and actions. Only none of those habits seem to work when you’re near.” Lanie leaned back against the cold wall. It gave her something to think about besides the desire to step back into Gabriel’s arms. “The worst part is that I’ve heard all about the famous, or infamous, Blackhorse brothers, who can have their pick of women, and probably have.”
“I’m going to tell you something, because I want you to know exactly how I feel,” Gabriel said, his voice low and even. “I’ve known other women in my life, in every way a man can know a woman. But it was mostly their sex that aroused me, not who they were. Then I met you. Everything I felt was different right from the start. I can’t explain it, it’s not at all like me, but it is the truth.”
“It’s happening too fast. I don’t want this.”
“Don’t you?” he murmured. “Some say Four Winds reads the heart’s deepest secrets, then finds a way to make them come true.”
“You don’t really believe that,” she countered quietly.
“No, but I have no better explanation. I’m not a man prone to idealism, or romantic nonsense. I know sex for what it is. But what I feel for you goes beyond that. Sometimes when I hold you, it’s as if I’ve found a vital piece of myself.”
“I feel that way, too,” Lanie breathed, though her heart had lodged in her throat. “And sometimes that scares me to death.”