by Kathi Macias
Chapter 2
Kate fumbled on her bed stand for the alarm, trying to shut out the ringing noise that had pulled her back from a very deep sleep, but the noise continued. She opened her eyes and squinted at the clock. Eight-thirty. It couldn’t be. She’d set the alarm for seven so she and Jason could get an early start for the lake—or, at least, she thought she’d set it.
She realized then it was the phone she was hearing. Snatching the receiver from its cradle, she answered. “Hello?”
Silence.
“Hello?” she repeated, suppressing a shiver.
Nothing.
She slammed down the receiver and jumped up from her bed, trying to ignore the warning signal buzzing faintly in the back of her mind. “It makes me so mad when people call and then don’t say anything,” she mumbled, grabbing a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved blue shirt from her closet. “But, then again, maybe this time whoever it was did me a favor. I can’t believe I forgot to set that alarm.”
She threw on her clothes, then hurried into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face, and run a comb through her hair. She dabbed on a touch of blush and lipstick, then went into Jason’s room.
“Hey, Sport,” she called, using her father’s nickname for Jason. “Time to rise and shine.” She opened the blinds to let the sun stream into the room and across the bed. Kate smiled as her son rubbed his eyes. “You’ve got porcupine hair this morning,” she teased.
Jason grinned and smoothed his thick, dark hair self-consciously. “Is it time to go already?” he asked.
“Already!” Kate exclaimed. “Would you believe we’re late? I overslept, so we’d better get a move on. We’ll just skip breakfast and eat some fruit on the way, okay? We can have lunch as soon as we get to the cabin.”
Jason was out of bed and sliding into his shoes before Kate realized he was already dressed.
“What did you do, Jason Ames,” she said, laughing. “Sleep in your clothes?”
Jason shrugged and grinned again. “Wanted to be ready for a quick getaway.”
Kate kissed the top of his head, then looked into his dark eyes, dancing now with excitement—the eyes that always reminded her so much of Tony’s. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Can you make your bed, brush your teeth, and meet me on the front porch in five minutes?”
“No problem, Mom.”
She hugged him briefly and went to grab the suitcases she had packed the night before. By the time she had everything loaded into the back of their shiny blue SUV, Jason was in the front seat, waiting for her.
“Well, Sport,” she said, climbing in beside him, “we’re off.”
She’d driven only half a block when she realized they had no new reading material with them. With no TV at the cabin—for which Kate was grateful, since she’d never cared for TV and tried to discourage Jason from watching much of it—they both did a lot of reading in the evenings while they were there. Although she kept a supply of toys for Jason at the cabin, along with several games for the two of them to play together, there were times when they both wanted a good book to entertain them. Kate was thrilled that Jason seemed to be developing such an intense love for books.
“Let’s stop at that little bookstore on the way out of town and pick up something to read while we’re at the lake,” she suggested.
“All right!” Jason responded enthusiastically, shoving the last of his banana into his mouth. “Can I get two?”
Kate laughed. “Sweetheart, you can get three—or four. You know what I’ve always told you about books. You can’t have too many of them.”
As she pulled up in front of the store, she was surprised to see the name had changed. “The Book Worm,” she read aloud as they climbed out of their vehicle. “Well, Jason, looks like the place has a new owner. In fact, look, in the window it says, ‘Grand Opening Sale.’ Maybe we can find some real bargains. What do you think?”
Jason nodded, his eyes shining, then struggled to hold the door open for his mother. Kate was tempted to help him, but she knew how important it was for him to do it by himself.
Once inside, she pointed Jason toward the children’s section, then went immediately to the area marked “Fiction—New Releases.” As she looked over the titles, picking up the books to read the information on the inside jackets, everything around her faded as she stepped into the thrilling, captivating world of fiction that had held her spellbound since she was a young child. Other people, other lives, other times and places—it was all here for the choosing.
How wonderful to be able to work in a place like this. She smiled to herself. I wonder if I’d ever get any work done. How could anyone possibly concentrate with all these exciting books around, just crying to be read?
“Can I help you with something?”
Kate jumped. She turned, surprised to find a man standing at her elbow. She hadn’t heard him walk up.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he apologized. “I just thought maybe I could help you in some way.”
And then she noticed them—the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen. Deep, incredibly blue, bluer than the Utah sky. She had always thought her own eyes were blue, but compared to his, they were a washed-out gray.
“Are you all right?” he asked, frowning slightly.
She swallowed and found her voice. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Were you looking for anything in particular?”
“What? Oh...oh, no. I mean, yes. I...we...” She nodded toward the children’s section. “My son, Jason, and I are on our way up to the lake for a few days, and we wanted some good books to read in the evenings.”
The man smiled then, a warm, wide, easy smile that made Kate catch her breath. She hadn’t been able to look past his eyes until now. But when he smiled, it seemed to spread across his entire face.
A nice face, she thought. Not handsome like Tony’s, or even Lyle’s, but nice. Very, very nice.
“Sounds wonderful,” the man was saying.
Kate frowned, struggling to remember what it was they had been discussing.
“I go up there every chance I get,” he continued. “In fact, Panquitch Lake is one of the main reasons I moved here from Southern California. My family’s still there—my mom and dad, brothers and sisters. I had a good business going there, another bookstore. But I sold it to my brother and bought this one, and just left the crowds and the smog behind. That was only a couple of months ago, but I feel at home here already.”
Suddenly his smile faded, and he flushed slightly. “Sorry. You didn’t come in here to hear my life’s story. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off.” He shrugged self-consciously. “I do that sometimes.”
Kate smiled as reassuringly as she could. His sudden shyness was endearing, and she found herself wanting to make him feel at ease. “That’s all right. I don’t mind a bit. Really.”
His face brightened again. “Thank you. And I think I know just the book for you—if you haven’t already read it, that is. Come on over here; I’ll show you.”
She followed him to a section marked “Inspirational.” Oh, no, she groaned silently. Don’t tell me he’s going to try to sell me a Bible or something.
But he didn’t hand her a Bible. Instead, he showed her a thick, hardbound book—a novel set in the deep South prior to the Civil War.
“Oh,” she said, pleasantly surprised. “I love books about this time period. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this author.”
He smiled again, and she knew she was going to buy the book. “You’ll be a fan of hers in no time,” he promised. “In fact, I’d be willing to bet you’ll be back for the rest of her series.”
Just then Jason hurried up beside them. “I found what I want, Mom. See? Three of them. Is that okay? Can I have all three?”
Kate looked at the books. She wasn’t familiar with any of them, but the man beside her was nodding his approval.
“Good se
lections, all of them,” he said. “And they’re on sale. I highly recommend them.... Jason, is it?”
He held out his hand, and Jason shook it shyly, then nodded. “How did you know my name?”
Another smile. “You mother told me. What’s your last name, Jason?”
“Ames,” Jason said. “Jason Anthony Ames. I’m six. My middle name is for my dad, but he’s dead.”
“I see. Well, that’s a great name, Jason Anthony Ames. My name is Mark—Mark Edward Thomas. And I’m ancient—thirty, to be exact. I’m afraid I’m not named after anyone in particular, but you can call me Mark.”
Jason grinned. “I like your name, too, Mark.” He looked over at his mom. “And that’s my mom. I just call her Mom, but her real name is Kate.”
Mark’s blue eyes twinkled as he shook hands with Kate. His grip was firm and strong. “Is it all right to call you Kate? Or should it be Mrs. Ames?”
“Kate’s fine,” she mumbled, hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt.
“Well,” Mark said, turning back to Jason, “I hear you’re headed for the lake. I’m jealous. I love it up there. One of the best fishing spots I’ve ever found. You going to do any fishing while you’re up there?”
“You bet!” Jason answered. “My mom doesn’t like it as much as I do, but she’s a good sport. She takes me out in the boat and then reads while I fish.”
Mark laughed, a sunny, natural laugh that seemed to roll up from deep within him. “Well, now, that is a good sport, isn’t it? I’d say you’ve got a real nice mom, Jason Anthony Ames. By the way, what are you going to stay in—a tent, a camper?”
“We have a cabin,” Jason answered quickly. “It was my grandpa’s, but he’s dead now.” His lower lip quivered slightly, but he took a deep breath and went on. “He taught me how to fish when I was only three.”
“You’re never too young to go fishing, Jason.” Mark reached out and tousled Jason’s hair. “Or too old, either. Nope, there’s nothing like it. Just as soon as I get things under control here, I’m going to start spending more time up at that lake myself.”
“Wow, that would be great!” Jason exclaimed, his dark eyes shining eagerly. “Maybe you could take me with you sometime.”
Kate was horrified. She knew Jason was young and enthusiastic, but sometimes he said things that embarrassed her terribly. Before Mark could respond, Kate took Jason’s hand. “We’d better pay for these and be on our way, Jason. It’s getting late.”
She looked up at Mark. “Thank you for your help in selecting these books, Mr. Thomas,” she said, trying to fish her money out of her purse with her free hand.
“Mark,” he said.
She felt the color rising in her cheeks again. “Yes. Mark. Well...” She handed him the money and followed him to the cash register.
“Thank you again,” she said as he handed her the change and the bag of books.
He nodded and grinned. “Any time.” He looked down at Jason. “Come back and see me again sometime, Jason. I’d like to hear about all the fish you catch up at the lake.”
“I will. Bye, Mark,” called Jason as Kate hurried him out of the store.
The mid-morning sun was already warm on her back as Kate opened the driver side door, but she shivered as she climbed in, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as, once again, that now familiar feeling of being watched assaulted her senses. She shook her head and put the key in the ignition.
Jason grabbed a book out of the bag as soon as he was settled in the seat beside her. “You’d better not read while I’m driving, honey,” Kate warned. “The road to the lake is full of turns, and you know how you get carsick sometimes. Besides, you don’t want to miss any of that beautiful scenery along the way, right? And it’s only an hour’s drive. We’ll be there before you know it.”
Jason sighed and put the book away. “Okay, Mom, I’ll wait. But you know what?”
“What, Sport?”
“I like Mark. Do you?”
Kate swallowed. Mark Thomas wasn’t exactly tall and handsome. He wasn’t even charming, the way Lyle tried to be. But there was something, something more than those incredible eyes, that smile....
“Yes, honey,” she answered. “I do. I like Mark Thomas.”