Pearl Valley

by Felicia Rogers

  “I would consider us friends, wouldn’t you?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Maybe I haven’t been obvious enough with the way I feel, but I like you.”

  He’d been more than obvious. She patted his hand. “I like you, too.”

  He grabbed her hand and squeezed. Pain shot through her fingers. She tried to pull back, and he released his grip. “No, you don’t understand. I really like you. Don’t worry about your past indiscretions. Before I met you, I always had a relationship. I forgive you.”

  She arched her brow and blinked, cradling her tender hands on her lap.

  “I’ve never forgiven myself for not being able to fix you. Maybe if I’d come to town sooner, then I could have done something, but three years after the accident was too long.”

  “I don’t blame you for that.”

  “I know. But I can’t get your perfect, unblemished hands out of my mind.”

  What was he talking about? He had never seen her hands before the accident.

  From his shirt pocket he pulled a black velvet box and placed it on the table between them. Carol stood in the background, jumping up and down. Renee stood to the side, popping gum. Janie had trouble breathing.

  “I know it might seem sudden, but I’ve been thinking about you for the last seven years. I knew you needed time, so I didn’t want to rush our relationship. But now seems like a good time to ask you.” He lifted the lid. The sapphire was surrounded by tiny diamonds. The silver band sparkled under the fluorescent lights.

  He picked up the box and moved to the floor, bending in front of her on one knee. “Will you marry me?”

  ****

  Rory encouraged Trevor to report the suspected theft immediately. Climbing from his truck, Trevor strode back into the police station. The sheriff was on a late lunch break and wasn’t available for at least another hour. This left him with two choices: wait on the sheriff or speak to one of the officers.

  It was already three o’clock. He had left Janie alone for over two hours. He missed her terribly, but he had a hunch that turning Doc in would lead to other answers that he was looking for.

  Afraid a mere officer would be insufficient, he decided to wait on the sheriff. An hour passed, and the sheriff remained at-large. Inquiring at the front desk, he discovered where he could find him.

  Entering the dark and dusty eatery, Trevor removed his cowboy hat, but there was little need. The room was filled with men wearing cowboy hats, their spurred boots propped on the tables creating permanent scars.

  In the corner the sheriff was stretched out. His legs were crossed at the ankles, and he drew deeply on a cigar. As Trevor approached, he stubbed it out and waved the smoke away.

  “Oh, it’s you again.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, sit down.” He snapped his fingers, and a young waitress with a bunny tail attached to her rear bounced over. “Bringing us a glass of tea, will you, sugar?”

  “Sure thing, honey bunch.” She leaned down and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

  Trevor opened his eyes wide.

  “That’s my wife. Don’t be staring.”

  Trevor looked away and studied the sheriff.

  “So, what do you want?”

  “I need to report a crime.”

  The sheriff leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “Now look here, sonny. I know you’re some kind of war hero, and that was why I gave you some slack earlier. Besides the fact it would be plum stupid to burn a building and leave all your good stuff inside. But I got to let you know just ’cause I listened early don’t mean I’m going to listen now.”

  “This is important.”

  “Ain’t it always?” The waitress dropped their drinks and giggled as she ran to assist other customers.

  “Sheriff, I know you are a busy man. Assisting with a town that is as unlucky as Pearl Valley can’t be easy, but I’m not talking about a crime that occurred in Pearl Valley. I’m talking about one that occurred today right on this very street.”

  The sheriff sat straighter. “You got my attention, boy. Don’t make me regret it.”

  Trevor explained how he had followed the doc from one store to the next, and how at the last one, instead of looking at rings, he had dropped a handful on the jeweler’s glass counter. The sheriff eyed him warily and stroked his triple chin.

  “Listen, boy, I don’t know why you’re following the good doc, and I don’t care, at least not yet. But if what you say is true, don’t you think those other jewelry stores would have reported missing jewelry by now?”

  “Well—“

  “I know all the owners, and the one at the last shop is a relation, and he would never be involved in purchasing stolen merchandise.”

  “But what if he didn’t know it was stolen?”

  “That is different. But Joe keeps a close eye on the other jewelers because he wants his store to be unique. I think he would know if someone tried to sell him something that came from another store.”

  Worried he was getting the brush-off, Trevor asked, “Would you talk to him?”

  The sheriff sighed. “I don’t see the point, but if it will get you out of my hair, then I’ll talk to him.” He called bye to the waitress, and Trevor followed him out the door.

  By the time they reached the last store on the strip, the out-of-shape sheriff was huffing and puffing. “You wait here, sonny, and I’ll tell you what I find out.”

  Trevor paced in front of the store. He wanted to go in and see what was happening but feared the sheriff wouldn’t help him if he disobeyed. The spot of his amputation pained more than usual, and he wished for a place to sit.

  Leaning against the brick wall of the store, he fanned himself with his cowboy hat. The day was quickly getting away from him, and he felt as if he hadn’t accomplished his goal.

  The bell jangled, and the sheriff walked out and headed toward the station.

  “Well? What did you find out?”

  The sheriff grunted and kept walking.

  “Sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, but I need to know if the doc is a thief. I know people that could be severely hurt by him.”

  The sheriff stopped and faced him. “Listen, sonny, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I just accused one of my relatives of thievery, and I’m not in the best of moods.”

  “So he did steal the rings!”

  “Cool your jets. The miracle doctor of Pearl Valley is clean as a whistle and straight-laced as they come, but I’m starting to wonder about you.”

  “What?” He lowered his arms to his sides.

  “I talked to my cousin, and he told me plain that Doc has been working for him. He gives him gems, and the doc puts them in settings.”

  “But I saw him—“

  “What you saw him doing was checking out the competitions’ setting designs. He goes in and looks at the new rings to get ideas for how to make Joe’s merchandise more unique.” The man held his stomach and twisted up his face. “Now you’ve done gone and given me a stomachache. I’ll have to go back to the office and get out my pills.” The sheriff muttered under his breath as he waddled toward the station.

  Trevor climbed into his truck and revved the motor. On the main highway, he called Rory.

  “So what did they find out?” His English accent thickened with his excitement of a good story.

  “I found out that I’m an idiot.”

  “What?”

  “I may have just blown my credibility forever.”

  “What are you talking about? Slow down, old chap, and tell me the news.”

  Trevor filled Rory in on what had happened. “So now if I do find anything legitimate, I’ll be hard-pressed to get the law to believe me.” Trevor sighed and added, “Good ol’ miracle man, Doctor Giles Robinson. By the way, I don’t know one miracle the man has performed.”

  “That name sounds vaguely familiar. Perhaps I can have Olin look it up.”

  “If you want to.”

>   “Olin has had a quite a life since he helped me rescue Hannah in South Africa. I kind of feel sorry for him.”

  “I would too, since I know he married Tina.”

  “Oh, she’s not all bad.”

  “No, she’s not bad. She is just hard to be around without a harem of men attached.”

  “True, but oddly enough, she only has eyes for Olin.”

  “Lucky man,” said Trevor, thinking of Janie and how he wished she felt that way about him.

  “Agreed. I guess I better run. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know. By the way, now that the only hotel in town has burnt, where do you plan on staying for the duration of your visit?”

  “Good question.”

  They ended their call, and Trevor accelerated. As he pulled into town, the clock read 6:00. He drove past Janie’s house, and all the lights appeared off. Deciding not to burden her with cooking, he drove to the diner.

  The bell over the door rang as he entered. The room of patrons all stared in one direction, and Carol’s face appeared in a frozen state of shock. Following her gaze, he gasped. Doc was on one knee in front of Janie, and a black box rested in his open palm.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The Siberian desert was louder. Carol stood by the counter, rooted to her spot. Renee’s bubble appeared frozen, and several old geezers leaned on their stools like statues ready to fall. Then there was Trevor.

  He stood stone-still in the doorway. It appeared that not even his chest rose and fell. As for Janie, she didn’t know what to do. It felt like Doc had stared at her for hours, even though just a few seconds had passed.

  She knew the answer to his question but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Could she really blurt out no in this room full of people?

  “What in the world is going on in here?” asked Trevor in a loud booming voice. The glass door crashed against the frame as he slammed it before stomping over and standing beside Doc.

  Doc Giles rose to his full height, two inches below Trevor, and puffed out his chest. “I was asking Janie to marry me.”

  “Well, you can’t,” said Trevor, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “And why can’t I?” asked the doc, mimicking his pose.

  “Because I already asked her to marry me, and she said yes. That’s why.”

  Doc twisted to face her. “Is this true?”

  Janie looked at Trevor, and then she looked at Doc, and then she looked at Trevor again. She squeaked, “Yes.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Ye-e-s.”

  “Yes, he asked you, or yes, you said yes?”

  “Doc, don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  “Don’t make this harder. Don’t make this harder! How can it not be harder? You’ve just embarrassed me in front of half the town!”

  Trevor placed his hand on the doc’s arm, but he threw him off.

  “Don’t you touch me.” He faced Janie. “And you! You’re a liar. You’ve led me on this entire time. You knew that I cared for you. Seven years I waited! Seven years I put up with this town and these people and all their whiny illness so that you could be my wife, and this is how you treat me.”

  Carol narrowed her eyes and placed her hand on her hip. “I think you need to leave.”

  “Don’t worry, that is my plan.” He snatched the ring box from the table and stalked out of the diner.

  Trevor faced her. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t think what you did was a good idea.”

  Trevor slid into the seat opposite her. “He deserved it.”

  “What?”

  “He deserved it. He only asked you in the diner because he thought you would be too kindhearted to say no in a public setting.”

  “And why did you say that you asked me to marry you while we are still in the diner? Was it because you thought I would be too kindhearted to say no in a public setting?”

  He grinned. “I hoped he would accept the explanation and leave you be.”

  “Hmm, that didn’t work out too well, did it?”

  “Let’s say this day hasn’t exactly gone as I’d hoped.”

  Carol and Renee sauntered over to the table and stopped. “Sorry to bother you two, but I wanted to let you know tonight’s dinner is on the house. In honor of your engagement and all.”

  Janie felt Trevor squeeze her thigh under the table. “Thank you, Carol.”

  “We are just so excited that you shared it with us first. And also disappointed that the doc went a little crazy. I’m sure he will get over it though. The poor man has been rejected more times than I can count, and for some reason he always does his asking in a public place. You would think he would move past that.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Trevor, leaning on his elbows.

  “I shouldn’t gossip.”

  “Please, take a seat,” offered Trevor.

  “Okay.” Carol sat on the opposite side and directed Renee to fill their order. “Let me think, I believe it was about ten or eleven year ago—”

  “Eleven? But the doc has only been here for seven,” interrupted Janie.

  “Do you want to hear this tale or not?” Carol asked, and Janie apologized. “As I was saying, about eleven year ago the doc blew into town on a motorcycle. He got a job at the oyster farm, and he fell in love. ‘Course he wasn’t wise in his choice. He fell in love from afar, you know, by looking at the lady, and he didn’t realize she was a grown woman with a child and a husband.

  “He proposed, and the lady told him flat-out that she wasn’t for the takin’. He didn’t like that too much and ran away on his bike and didn’t come back for three years.”

  “Who was the woman?” asked Trevor.

  Janie’s heart squeezed in her chest.

  “Why that woman was Janie’s mother, Teresa.”

  ****

  Janie’s silence since Carol mentioned her mother’s relation to the doc worried him. They had eaten and traveled to her house, and still she hadn’t said more than two coherent words.

  Using the quiet time, Trevor thought over what he now knew. For one thing, Doc wasn’t exactly what he appeared. He needed to call Rory and pass on this new information and see if there was a direct correlation to the doc’s time in Pearl Valley and any of the fires.

  Trevor pulled into the driveway and cut the motor. He looked out the windshield. Janie didn’t move.

  “Can I ask you a question?” She didn’t answer and he continued, “Why do they call Doc Giles the miracle doctor? I haven’t heard one story of someone he helped.”

  Janie studied her hands. “A boy was found floating in the lake outside of town, and he wasn’t breathing. Giles worked on him until he came back to life.” She paused before adding, “The boy was my cousin.”

  Trevor sucked in his breath. “How did it happen?”

  Tears coursed along her cheeks, and she made no effort to wipe them away. “It was the year the oyster farm closed. For some reason, the lake swelled. Jamie wasn’t a very good swimmer. They say he was face down in the water for ten minutes.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He died.”

  “But—“

  “I know I said the doc saved him and he did, but two years later he died in a car accident.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Janie wiped her face with the back of her hand, and Trevor handed her a tissue. “I don’t think about it often. It always seemed more tragic that he had survived drowning, only to die in a car crash.”

  Trevor drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Let’s go inside.”

  He helped her in and fixed her a glass of sweet tea. They settled on the couch in the living room and he took the seat next to her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and drew her into his side. “Sorry I lied about the proposal.”

  She shrugged.

  “I guess I was afraid you would say yes to him, and I wasn’t ready for that.”

  She patted his hand. “Doc is a nice man, sometim
es a little touchy, but I’ve never felt that way about him. So I think you’re safe.”

  “Forgive my selfishness, but I’m glad.”

  “Somehow, when you started out to find Jane Dossett, I bet you didn’t imagine any of this.”

  He weaved their fingers together. “It has been a nice surprise.”

  She studied their clasped hands. “I find it hard to believe you feel this way after only one week.”

  Trevor said, “Believe it, darling.”

  She moved from his side and stood at the window facing the backyard. She wrapped her arms around her waist, mimicking a hug. Trevor had a feeling all wasn’t well.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I think you should go home,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “Everyone I love always gets hurt. I don’t want you to be next.”

  The word love reverberated in his mind. He wanted to say something but stopped himself.

  “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Trevor watched her retreating form and regretted not speaking when he’d had the chance. He stepped onto the back porch. Stars winked in and out like a thousand diamonds encased in a dark blue sapphire background. Streaks of light flashed through the sky. The entire scene reminded him of the ring Doc had sold to Joe, the jeweler, and the ring he’d used when he proposed to Janie. Wonder if Doc had designed the ring he had offered Janie? He almost felt sorry for the man. However, even with his Christian sympathy for the man, his worry meter still pegged.

  His phone vibrated. “Hello?”

  “Trevor?”

  “Rory, have you got something for me?”

  “Maybe.”

  Trevor listened as Olin was added to the call. The information Olin shared caused cold chills to race along his spine. The call ended, and he replaced his phone in his pocket and walked upstairs to Janie’s room. Outside, he slid down next to her door and slept.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sunlight filtered into Janie’s bedroom. Languidly, she reached her arms above her head. Kicking her covers aside, she climbed from the bed and strolled toward the hallway. The door opened, she lifted her foot to step out, and quickly set it back on the ground.