RAINBOW’S END: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION

by Valerie Comer, Annalisa Daughety, Nicole O’Dell

  Her strong, lithe body looked so perfect as she climbed atop the rock aptly named Love’s Reward.

  But, wait! What was she doing? Was she about to dive? She’d never survive a dive from that spot. The lake below was deep enough for a canoe this time of year, but she had to be two stories high. He had to stop her. Somehow. If only he could do it without giving away his presence. Noah glanced in every direction. Frantic. He was running out of time.

  She dropped her backpack beside the rock, kicked off her shoes, and inched her toes forward.

  “Stop!” Noah bolted from his hiding place. “Stop!” He reached Hadley and grabbed the hem of her shorts before she could carry out her plans. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

  She turned on him with fire in her eyes. “Excuse me? Get your hands off me.” She jumped from her perch in a fluid motion, like the gazelle he’d known she was.

  “Hadley, I—”

  She searched the area around her, fear mingling with the anger that already clouded her face.

  “Why did you stop me? I was about to jump in for the cache.” Hadley held up her waterproof GPS unit.

  “Why on earth would you jump in the water from here? The clue never told you to do that. You’d have killed yourself.” Simmer down, Noah. “I meant … you’re only supposed to get ready to dive so you can find the cache from the viewpoint on top of the rock. Can’t you see that right here?” He leaned over her shoulder to point at the geocaching site on her web display. Why had he written such a stupid clue?

  “Yes. I see it,” Hadley sputtered. “I just thought … oh, I don’t know what I was thinking. But thanks for ruining it for me. Now if I uncover the cache because you helped me—it wouldn’t be fair. There goes a wasted day.”

  Not for me. “Oh, don’t worry about that. You can still find the cache. I didn’t tell you its location.”

  “No thank you.” Hadley pointed her nose at the sky and turned away. “I’m finished here.”

  Of all the nerve! First he had to write an ambiguous clue. Then he intruded on Hadley’s privacy—although he did save her life … but that was secondary to her humiliation. What had he been doing hiding in the bushes anyway? Come to think of it, had he been following her? The horror of being a spectacle while exercising flooded into her brain, and Hadley hated the young youth pastor for ruining her day … maybe even the whole hunt. How could she go out again tomorrow? And now she was behind, since it was likely everyone else had already retrieved their first caches of the hunt.

  If a bike could stomp, hers acted like a petulant child all the way back to Norma’s. Hadley paced alone in Norma’s living room. If only she could avoid him the rest of her time, she’d be fine. Maybe, if she gathered the nerve to go out tomorrow, she should follow the crowd and hope he wasn’t among them.

  A light knock sounded at the front door. Who could that be? It better not be Noah there to apologize. Hadley wanted nothing to do with him. She jerked the door open. “What do you wa—Oh.” Her tone fell, and her anger washed away as she saw Brad grinning on the other side of the door.

  “Hey, gorgeous. I’m here to take you to dinner. Let’s go.”

  Why was he whispering? “Um … I don’t remember setting up a date for tonight.”

  “No, it’s a surprise. Come on, let’s go.”

  “Can I at least change my clothes?” Hadley plucked her damp shirt away from her sticky, grimy body. “Come on in.”

  Brad glanced at the stairs. “Nope. You won’t care in a minute. I promise.” He held the door open for Hadley to walk through.

  At least someone was a gentleman. Brad steered his beemer through the streets of Osage Beach and turned on a dark road—almost a path—into a wooded area. The trees cleared almost immediately, and they were in a clearing that housed a modern two-story house.

  “This is a great location, Brad. Do you live here?”

  “Yep. Wait until you see the back.” They walked around the house, climbed the stairs to the deck, and stepped into another world. The deck was actually a dock where several boats were moored. The private lot shielded them from everything but an expanse of water and the stars in the sky. Hadley could get used to this.

  Brad stepped onto a small yacht and steadied himself as the water level ebbed in the wake of passing boats. He held out a hand to Hadley. “Come onboard. You’ll love it.”

  She placed her hand in his and climbed into the most luxurious private boat she’d ever been on. Luxury boat, handsome man. Yep. She could get used to this.

  Brad’s eyes twinkled, and the moonlight glinted off the silver hair around his ears. His gaze held intent … intent to …

  He leaned his face close enough that she could smell the musky scent of his cologne mingled with the salty sweat of the day and feel his hot breath on her face. Realization smacked her: she was about to receive her first kiss in thirteen years.

  No! Hadley needed time to think about this. It was happening way too fast. She wasn’t prepared. She stepped back and put her hands on Brad’s shoulders. “Sorry, I’m—I don’t think I’m ready for all this. Can we just slow down a little?”

  Brad’s eyes darkened momentarily, but the corners of his mouth raised. “Of course, doll. I’m sorry. We’ll slow down for a while. We can take a quick buzz around the lake and enjoy the night sky. Sound okay?”

  Hadley nodded. She’d heard the “for a while.” What did that mean? How long was a while? She’d hurt his feelings, obviously. Brad wasn’t the kind of guy who was used to being turned down. She was out of her league with him. But maybe he was exactly what was needed to pull her from her shell.

  Chapter 5

  More determined than ever after the debacle of yesterday’s hunt, Hadley woke at 5:00 a.m. She had some lost ground to make up. From conversations she’d overheard on opening day, it seemed that most people planned to find at least one cache each day. So three would make up for her lost day and put her ahead a bit. And she still didn’t want to shoot for the ones closest to her. Those were too easy, and taking the easy road was not why she’d come.

  Why had she come? To stretch herself. Push her body. Test her limits. Do something she’d have never done as the old Hadley. Maybe she could even bury that old Hadley once and for all before it was all over. In the meantime, she’d fake it until she made it.

  Hadley plodded over to her laptop, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and typed in www.geocache.com. Without too much trouble, she plotted a trip to the first cache of the day—fifteen miles away, toward the east side of the lake and around the tip. The second trip would veer off from there, headed southeast, six miles down and somewhat away from the lake and deep into the woods.

  The third one appeared a bit more daunting. It would bring her toward home, but via a different route. Uphill most of the way, biking through miles and miles of uncharted territory. Sounded fun. Hadley chuckled. A year ago she would have read about this sort of thing in a novel while she snacked on tortilla chips and soft drinks, thinking the cache-hunter was out of her mind.

  To have any hope of getting through the day she had planned, Hadley would have to use her bike and would need to refill her water at least once. Where could she do that? She scoured the map until she spotted a public bathhouse in a wooded area. And several rest areas along the lake. Hadley felt as ready as she’d ever be.

  By the afternoon, with the first two caches out of the way, Hadley pressed on to the third. Hill after hill loomed in front of her. The lake was far away—no hope for a dip in its cool water—and it had been a couple of hours since she’d happened upon a water source. Her pack was still full at that point, even though she should have drained it by then. But now she was going through it too fast. Time to tighten up the rationing to make sure there was some left for the way home.

  Finally arriving at her coordinates, Hadley’s knees shook as she climbed down from her bike and laid it on the ground. She stretched her legs and allowed herself a small drink while she considered her clue.

 
; Who? Who? Says the owl.

  The hiding place is hollow.

  What? That didn’t even rhyme. But Hadley easily found a hollow opening in a tree—right where you’d expect an owl to hide. And, just as expected, a cache was nestled right inside.

  Okay. Three down, and all that was left was the ride home. It would be as tough as the ride there. What if she couldn’t make it? What if she collapsed out there in the hundred-degree heat and humidity with no water supply? No one knew where she was. She could die. All she could do was press on. One hill at a time.

  Finally, Hadley spied the cedar shakes of Norma’s roof in the distance. It was a soothing beacon to her shaking legs and raspy lungs. She could make it to something she could see, no matter how far away it was, right? She pushed aside her fears of dying alone on the side of the road. As long as she could keep her eyes locked on home.

  Rounding a mountainous bend, Hadley lost the comforting sight of the structure that housed her soft bed and promised her aching body a cool bath. She lost her grip on the hope of soothing hot tea and hearty soup. Suddenly, all she could see was the mountain that loomed before her. It was probably more like a hill, but it might as well have been Mt. Everest. Her legs couldn’t coax another revolution from the pedals, no matter how much she willed them to push on. Her bike came to a wobbly standstill as her knees locked. She tried to put her feet on the ground, but it was too late. She was going down.

  She crashed to the pavement, and a hot poker shot through her elbow and upper thigh. Her face took a beating from the handlebar, and her head rapped the cement. Pain filled her body, but it was the realization that she couldn’t be seen by a motorist coming around the corner until it was too late that sent a chill through her bones. It would only be a matter of time before she got run over. She had to move. Forcing herself to a sitting position, Hadley could almost see the stars circling her head like they did in cartoons. She reached around with spaghetti arms to grasp her legs and swing them to the side, but it was no use trying to lift lead with a wet noodle. She collapsed back to the ground and began to cry.

  What had she been thinking, coming out here alone like this? She was nothing but a fat girl in a weak, skinny girl’s body. She wasn’t fit. She wasn’t powerful. A lifetime on a treadmill couldn’t prepare her for the real world, and there she lay, about to be roadkill.

  Panic coursed through Hadley’s body as she heard the sound of a car cresting the hill just beyond where she lay. She gave a renewed effort to shove herself out of the way—if only to will herself to the shoulder of the road. The car began its descent. Hadley had moved but an inch or two. God, make it stop in time. She squeezed her eyes shut against the coming darkness.

  The brakes squealed. The squealing grew closer. And closer. The car wouldn’t be able to stop in time, not with its downhill momentum.

  The screaming tires finally stopped beside her right ear. Was she dead? Hadley peeked through the slit of one eye.

  The driver jumped from the car, ignoring the beeping of the keys in the ignition. “Are you okay?” The familiar male voice rushed to her side.

  Hadley felt like passing out, but she held on long enough to make eye contact with this … angel … Noah?

  Blackness descended.

  He could do mouth-to-mouth. Noah glanced at Hadley’s chest to see it rise and fall with steady breaths. Was he actually disappointed that he couldn’t touch those lips with his own? He pressed 911 on his cell phone as he lumbered back to his car and threw open the back door. He leaned in and rummaged for a bottle of water. His hands grasped two that had rolled under the driver’s seat. One still had a cylinder of ice through the center; the other had melted completely. Best to go with room-temp so she didn’t have brain freeze on top of heatstroke.

  After giving his location to the dispatch officer, Noah glanced at Hadley’s crumpled, lifeless form, and his gut wrenched. She was probably dehydrated. If he could get some water into her, she’d probably be okay. She’d have a killer headache, but she’d make it. But he probably shouldn’t move her until the ambulance arrived.

  Hadley stirred, and a low moan escaped her cracked lips.

  Noah hunched down beside her head and lifted it gently to place a rolled-up fleece jacket beneath her. He smoothed the dripping blond tendrils away from her face and held the water to her lips. “Come on, Hadley. Take a few sips. Just a little at a time.” Noah poured some into her mouth.

  Barely coherent, Hadley gulped at the fresh water.

  “Not too much now. You don’t want to shock your system.” Noah patted her forehead with a towel then offered her another sip.

  After a few more draws at the bottle’s neck, Hadley looked up at Noah with those gold-glinted eyes. She’d have to appreciate his help this time.

  The glints turned to fire. “You?” She sputtered. “Why is it always you?”

  What? He’d only been trying to help. “Um, you might have died here on the roadside. It’s a miracle I came along when I did. I guess you can ask God why He keeps sending me to you.”

  Hadley’s head rolled back to the makeshift pillow, and her eyes closed. As the sirens wailed in the distance.

  That woman is crazy. Straight nuts. A complete cuckoo. Out of her ever-loving mind.

  Noah would be really smart if he took his hands off the whole thing and forgot she even existed. What did he want anyway? It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Why couldn’t she forgive him? It happened so long ago. Noah shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had no interest in reliving the moment when Hadley walked in on him kissing her best friend.

  There was no hope that things could happen between them. Too much history. Too much distance. Too much hate.

  Then why couldn’t he get her off his mind?

  Lord, what are You trying to do to me here? Is there some reason this crazy girl is on my heart and mind so much? Are You trying to do something for her through me?

  “No, I’m doing something for you through her.”

  Noah slammed on the brakes. It wasn’t very often that he felt a direct answer to a prayer. At least not one so obvious. Was that his imagination? Was Noah imposing that thought on God because he wanted it to be so? Besides, if Hadley Parker had a mission to do something special in Noah Spencer’s life, she sure hadn’t gotten the memo.

  Noah pulled his lanky legs from the driver’s seat and hurried into the church. He didn’t even bother to unlock the office door, just slid his new cache coordinates underneath it. Shoulders slumping, he returned to his car. Dinner, a shower, and then he could answer the call of his bed and try to forget this day ever happened.

  Tossing and turning for hours, Noah couldn’t get the words out of his mind. His legs got tangled in the sheets as he wrestled to make some sense over what was happening and what he needed to do. He was attracted to Hadley, always had been. But anyone would be. She was so beautiful—but didn’t seem to know it. Besides attraction though, he’d always loved her as his best friend. He thought they’d marry and live happily ever after. Until he messed it all up.

  Would she ever get over the past?

  Why had she fallen for Brad Hopper’s charms?

  What could he do to change things?

  Would he ever find answers to the questions that haunted him?

  Chapter 6

  After the week she’d had, the last place Hadley wanted to go was Hunter’s Happy Hour at Common Grounds, but she might as well size up the competition. Plus, maybe Brad would be there. Then again, maybe Noah would be there—she’d have to steer clear of him.

  Hadley stepped from the bright sun into the shop, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the fluorescent light. She recognized some people from the kickoff rally in the corner sharing a table. A coffeepot was set up with all the fixings next to it just for the hunters. Hadley helped herself to a steaming mug and stirred in some fat-free vanilla cream and artificial sweetener while she listened to the buzz of conversations all around her.

  One voice stood out from
among the others. She peered around the group to find its owner. Ah, one of those guys. A middle-aged man with a tanning-bed tan and bike shorts. The kind of guy who wanted everyone to hear him and know what he was doing or saying at any moment.

  “That’s Chuck.” Brad sidled up to Hadley, grinning. He nodded at the boorish man in the purple polo then turned his attention to Hadley. “But enough about him. How are you? I heard you took a spill?” He touched the bruise on her cheek.

  Hadley shrugged. No sense letting him see her annoyance. “News travels fast around here.” She pulled her sleeve down over her beat-up elbow.

  “Eh. Small town. The pretty new girl is all people want to talk about. They know you’re with me … so they bring me news.” He smiled as the words rolled easily from his tongue.

  Hadley didn’t know which comment to process first—that she was the “pretty girl” in town or that she was “with” Brad. What did that even mean? Before she had a chance to ask him, his phone chimed.

  “Oops. Have to take this.” He flashed the screen at Hadley and ducked around the corner for privacy.

  In the instant the phone faced her, Hadley read CRYSTAL’S CELL on the caller display. Who was Crystal? And why did he have to take her call in the middle of their discussion? Wouldn’t Brad have been more discreet if it was someone Hadley shouldn’t know about? Unless he didn’t know she could see that far or read that fast. Or unless he wanted to make her jealous. Is that what she felt? Jealousy?

  That was a first. Hadley had never been close enough to a man to have those pangs of fearful possession. Longing, sure. Loneliness, definitely. But jealousy implied some sort of ownership or claim. Did she even have a right to feel that about Brad?

  Don’t look again—it smacks of desperation. Noah tried to avert his eyes as he watched the pain cloud Hadley’s eyes. She busied herself with her iced tea, but stole a glance at her watch every few seconds.