Shadow of Turning

She smiled slightly. Maybe, when Sam came home and she told him about her escapade, he’d actually be proud of her.

“Not unless I get all his keys back,” she countered. That was enough to spur her into a trot. The sooner she drove to Mountain Home and picked up those other pictures, the sooner she could be back in Serenity and resume her search there.

Ted and his old dog came off the porch together to greet Nate and Chancy when they drove in and parked their respective vehicles.

“I see it was her van,” Ted said. “I watched you pick it up.”

Nate pulled the keys from the ignition and handed the ring to his grandfather. “Yes. And I suggest you not leave your keys in the truck anymore. It’s too chancy.”

She joined them with a slightly embarrassed grin. “Was that a pun?”

“What?” His brow knit. “Oh. No. Sorry. I didn’t think about that being your name. It was just good advice.”

“In this case I’m afraid I have to agree,” she said, sobering. “I don’t know what this world is coming to. We never used to have to worry about anything like that in Serenity.”

“Wrong,” Nate replied. “You always needed to, you just refused to see things clearly until today when you were forced to. Overlooking crime won’t make it go away, it just makes you a more likely victim.”

“Cynic.”

“Realist is more like it.”

Ted chuckled. “You two sound like Hester and me when we’re arguing about something. Come on. She’s nearly got supper on the table. We’d best go in.”

“I’m sorry to have made everything so late,” Chancy said. “I can’t imagine who had my van.”

The old man’s bushy gray eyebrows arched over twinkling eyes. “You know, if y’all were teenagers, I’d think you’d made up a tall tale so you could go joyridin’ instead of come on home to eat.”

“We didn’t!” Chancy insisted.

Ted laughed again. “I know. I keep a pretty close watch on the neighborhood and I didn’t see that van over there till a few minutes before you called and I told you about it.”

“Did you see who brought it back?” Nate asked.

“Nope. Sorry. But I do know for sure it wasn’t sittin’ there the whole afternoon.” He looked to Chancy. “If you told the sheriff it was stolen you’d best tell him he can quit lookin’ for it.”

“That’s right. I totally forgot!” She pulled a face and grimaced at Nate. “And that’s not all I forgot. You’re right about us being too complacent around here. I was so glad to get all my things back, including my purse and cell phone, I never thought about not touching the steering wheel or door handle to preserve fingerprints. I imagine the sheriff is going to be really upset with me.”

“If the thief is a kid, as I suspect, it’s probably just as well,” Nate said. “I can remember a few times when I was glad the law in Serenity wasn’t as thorough as a city department might be.”

She eyed him incredulously and saw a light of recognition in his eyes. After asking her to keep quiet about his youthful escapades, he’d just intimated he’d been in trouble and had therefore done exactly what he’d warned her against! It was funny to see a guy who was now so straight-laced struggle to think of a way to cover up his careless comment.

“Well,” she drawled in his defense, “boys will be boys. Since there was no harm done I guess it’s just as well I messed up the fingerprints. I’m sure we’ve all done a few things we aren’t proud of when we were growing up.”

Ted laughed as he led the way into the farmhouse. “I have tipped a few outhouses in my time,” he confessed. “But don’t you dare tell Hester. Her pa was sittin’ in one of ’em when I shoved it over. I thought it was her big brother in there. He’d threatened to beat me up if I kissed his sister and I was meanin’ to get him back for it.”

Chancy covered her mouth to muffle her giggles. “You didn’t!”

“Yup. I surely did. Boy, was that old man mad. He came boilin’ out of there ready for a fight. I hightailed it for the barn and hid till he went back in the house. Talk about scared. I was sure he’d find out and keep me from marryin’ Hester, but if he knew the truth he never let on.”

She started to follow Nate and his grandfather into the kitchen when she remembered she’d left her purse in her van. Again. If Nate realized what she’d done she’d be in for another of his lectures and that was not number one on the list of things she’d like to hear.

“You two go ahead,” she said. “I’ll be right with you. I just need to run back to the van for a second.”

“Make yourself at home and come on in whenever you’re ready,” Ted said magnanimously.

Nate followed his grandfather into the kitchen and they both hung their jackets on pegs on the wall. Hester was at the stove, warming the food, and Nate gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he peeked over her shoulder. “Mmm. Something smells good.”

“I hope it’s still fit to eat,” she said. “What in the world’s been goin’ on, anyway?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Where’s Chancy?”

“She went to get something out of her van. She’ll be along in a sec.”

“You be careful you don’t say anything unkind to her or upset her, you hear? She’s had it pretty rough these last few years.”

“She has? Why?”

Lowering her voice, the older woman took him aside to explain, “Her folks were killed by that tornado that blew through here a couple of years ago. Remember it?”

“Sure. It mostly took the tops out of the trees. If I remember right, it was only an F-1 on the Fujita scale. I didn’t realize Chancy’s parents were involved.”

“Well, they were. She took it pretty hard when she lost ’em both at once. She’d been on her own for a while before that but I think she blamed herself just the same.”

“For an accident of nature? Why would she feel responsible?”

“Because she wasn’t there to talk them into taking cover, I reckon. Her ma and pa used to fight all the time and she’d do her best to calm ’em down. I wouldn’t be surprised if those two hardheaded parents of hers were squabbling with their last breaths.”

Nate nodded. “I see. Thanks for telling me. It’ll keep me from putting my foot in my mouth.”

In the background his grandfather cackled. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You did a fair job of eatin’ your shoe when you were talkin’ out in the yard a few minutes ago.”

Chancy grabbed her shoulder bag, used her cell phone to quickly explain to her friend Louella what had happened, then called the sheriff to end the stolen-vehicle search.

Slamming the van door, she glanced at her reflection in the dusty side mirror. Any lipstick she’d had on in the morning was long gone and the ever-present freckles on the bridge of her nose stood out like spots on a hound dog. She looked about sixteen and felt at least fifty, maybe older. What a day this had been!

Pausing to remove her dusty sweatshirt and smooth her hair, she tried to convince herself it didn’t matter what she looked like. She was among friends, people who would accept her as she was. That was one of the things she liked best about living in a place like Serenity. Folks took each other at face value.

Then again, Nate Collins wasn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill resident, was he? He was as handsome as any man pictured in magazine ads and twice as interesting; him with that dark, wavy hair and those coffee-brown eyes that seemed to see right into her. Too bad she didn’t look at least as presentable as usual, wasn’t it?

Disgusted that she’d even think about wanting to impress Nate, she stuck out her tongue at the image looking back at her from the small mirror. Who cared? Certainly not her. As a matter of fact, she was glad she was so plain and natural-looking. Hopefully, that would convince him she wasn’t interested in him the way so many of her contemporaries had been when he’d lived here as a high-school senior.

In a way, Chancy felt as if she’d suddenly reverted to the awkward girl she’d been back then, particularly in the pit of her stomach. For some reason her long-banished teenage butterflies had reappeared and were creating a storm of flutters the likes of which she hadn’t felt for years. That was silly, of course. She was far from being a child and had plenty of hard-earned maturity to call upon in a situation such as this.

She straightened, squared her shoulders, tugged the hem of her T-shirt over her jeans-clad hips and headed for the house. If she hadn’t been worried about hurting Hester’s and Ted’s feelings she’d have climbed into her van and driven away. The notion was appealing. Then again, it wouldn’t accomplish a thing in the long run. She still had to deal with Nate long enough to get her auction purchases unloaded from Ted’s truck. Besides, everyone was waiting for her in the kitchen. The only gracious thing to do was swallow her pride and join them.

She patted the dog in passing, then entered the house and started across the small living room, following her nose toward the delicious smells coming from the country kitchen. In the few strides it took her to get there she laid aside her purse and reclaimed her confidence.

“Sorry if I kept y’all,” she said brightly, concentrating on Hester. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not a thing,” the older woman said with a smile. “Table’s set and everything’s hotted up. Just grab a chair and let’s eat.”

Ted was already seated at the rectangular dining table at one end of the kitchen. Nate held a chair for Chancy then tried to do the same for his grandmother.

She shooed him away. “Nonsense. I got work to do. Y’all just sit down and let me take care of this.”

Ted laughed. “Might as well mind her. When Hester gets a bee in her bonnet she’s as stubborn as a mule.”

Apparently amused by the mixed metaphor, Nate waited while she made two more trips to the table carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes and a dish of dark gravy with a ladle. Then, she settled into a chair next to her husband and Nate took the only remaining place, next to Chancy.

Chancy felt as if someone had plugged her finger into a fence charger. She knew if her hair hadn’t been pulled back into a ponytail, it would be standing straight up. The fine curls at the nape of her neck certainly tickled enough!

She kept her eyes on the red-and-white checkered tablecloth as she carefully placed a paper napkin across her lap. Off to one side she saw a flash of movement. Nate had started to reach for his fork, then had stopped abruptly.

She blinked nervously and bowed her head as Ted began to say grace over the food. Obviously Nate wasn’t used to praying before a meal and had nearly forgotten that his grandparents always said grace. How strange it must seem for him here. And how sad it was that he didn’t really fit in, that he probably never had. No wonder he was so determined to get his family to leave Serenity.

Her personal unease forgotten, Chancy began to pray silently for him. Lord, Nate has missed so much. Please show him how happy we are here and help him to understand, to share in what we’ve found.

Those simple thoughts calmed her fears and replaced them with an amazing tenderness toward the man beside her. It wasn’t she who needed to remember that she was acceptable just the way she was, it was Nate. For all his worldly polish and education, he was still needy, still on the outside looking in. Perhaps he always had been.

She would befriend him while he was here, she vowed. And maybe, just maybe, she could help him see why his grandparents were so content; why it was so very wrong to insist that they leave their perfect little home and move to unknown, unfamiliar territory.

Surely, given the facts, Nate would change his mind. After all, he was a thinking human being with the same God-given instincts they all shared. Just because he was a well-educated man didn’t mean he wasn’t approachable. Or did it?

FOUR

Supper progressed rapidly, due in part to the delay. Appetites were primed and even Chancy ate more than usual.

When Hester tried to press second helpings on her, however, she raised her hands, palms out, and politely demurred. “No, thanks. It was delicious but I couldn’t eat another bite.”

“Little thing like you?” Hester said. “You need to add a few more pounds or you’re liable to blow away in a stiff breeze.”

Chancy tried to hide her instinctive reaction to the innocent comment but she couldn’t avoid comparing it to what had actually happened to her parents. Judging by the look of distress on Hester’s face she, too, had realized exactly what she had said and the sudden silence at the table was noticeable.

Nate cleared his throat and provided a welcome distraction. “So, Chancy, do you want me to follow you to your shop so we can get your stuff unloaded tonight? I hate to leave it exposed in the bed of Grandpa’s pickup all night. Never can tell when it might rain.”

She couldn’t help being amused. “You’re the weatherman. Is that your professional opinion?”

“I haven’t been studying recent reports but you know what they say about Arkansas weather. If you don’t like it, wait a few minutes and it’ll change.”

“That’s the truth.” She rose from the table and reached for her plate. “Just let me help Hester clean up and we can head for my shop. It shouldn’t take too long to move everything indoors.”

The older woman immediately sprang to her feet and wrested the plate from Chancy’s hands. “Nonsense. I always wash and Ted dries. We’ve been doing it that way for nearly fifty years and it’s worked fine. Now, scat. We’ll take care of straightening everything up.”

Chancy hesitated. “Are you sure? I hate to leave you with a mess.”

“Comes the day I can’t do my own dishes, I’ll give up cookin’,” Hester replied. “Go on. Time’s a wastin’.”

Looking to Nate for guidance, Chancy asked, “Is she always this stubborn?”

His gaze rested tenderly on his grandmother. “No. Sometimes she’s much worse. And when she makes up her mind there’s no arguing with her, at least not right then.” He leaned down to give Hester a parting peck on the cheek. “Don’t work too hard. I’ll be back with the truck as soon as I can.”

“Take your time, children,” the older woman replied.

Nate had ushered Chancy out onto the porch before she started to giggle. “Children?”

He chuckled, too. “I know. It is funny, isn’t it? I suppose, no matter how old I get, I’ll still be a kid in their eyes.”

“How old are you, anyway?” Chancy asked.

“Mid-thirties. How about you?”

“Twenty-eight, going on eighty-two,” she quipped, rubbing her back at the waist. “I shouldn’t sit so still after a day of heavy lifting like today. I’m really starting to feel the muscle strain.”

He walked her to her van, opened the door and held it for her. “We’ll get you unloaded in no time. Then you can put your feet up and relax.”

That made Chancy laugh again. “Relax? You obviously work for somebody else. People who run small businesses like mine don’t have the luxury of taking time off.”

“You can’t work 24/7.”

“Of course not.” She tossed her purse in ahead of her and climbed into the van. “I go to church on Sundays.”

Nate shut the door and backed away. “Right. Well, give me a minute to start the truck and I’ll follow you.”

As he turned and walked to the waiting pickup, Chancy watched him, pondering his reaction to her simple statement. Apparently, saying grace at the table was not the only practice of faith Nate Collins wasn’t used to. Unless she missed her guess, he wasn’t much for church attendance, either, which might help explain his off-putting reaction when she had given credit to God for answered prayer. She sighed. His closed-minded attitude probably bothered Hester and Ted a lot more than either of them let on.

Well, the night was young, she thought, starting the van and letting it idle while she watched Nate don his jacket before climbing into the cab of the truck. It wouldn’t hurt him to humor his grandparents and attend church while he was in Serenity. And in case he hadn’t thought of doing so for their sakes, she was going to look for an opportunity to suggest it.

Given the horrible losses she had experienced in the past few years, Chancy didn’t know how she would have coped without her faith, weak as it was. How anyone got through life without knowing and trusting God was an unfathomable mystery to her, one she had long ago given up trying to solve. Maybe someday she’d understand why things had happened the way they had. Maybe she never would. That wasn’t the real issue.

As far as her parents were concerned, she was the one who had failed, not God. When she’d had a strong, unmistakable urge to go by their house and see them, she’d resisted because she hadn’t wanted to listen to their squabbling. And they had died. It was as simple as that.

Logic and Bible teaching told her that God forgave her. What she couldn’t seem to do was forgive herself.

Darkness had crept into the empty antique shop behind the grocery store as the sun had set. The prowler had not come prepared to stay so long.

She squinted, trying to see, as she sorted through stacks of merchandise that had yet to be priced and placed on the shelves in the front. Once the precious collage went on sale there was no telling who might buy it or how soon it would be sold. If it left Serenity, say in the hands of a tourist, it could end up anywhere.

The young woman brushed away tears of frustration. How could she have been so careless, so thoughtless? Why, oh why, hadn’t she mustered enough gumption to offer to buy the collage when she’d realized she’d missed the bid at the auction? Maybe the dealer would have sold it to her. And maybe the antique buyer would have sensed the desperation in her offer and raised the price far beyond her ability to pay.

Well, there was no use speculating. It was too late to do this the easy way. Now, she had to either locate the valuable artwork and steal it, or take the chance it might come up for sale soon without her knowledge.

She was not willing to wait and see. Time was running out.

Nate followed Chancy down Main to Church Street and through the pothole-riddled alleyway next to the small grocery market. The area appeared to be even more run-down than he’d remembered.

He brought the pickup to a stop behind the van, careful to leave plenty of room for unloading. By the time he climbed out and joined Chancy at the rear door of her shop, she was already fiddling with a ring of keys.

“That’s odd,” she muttered.

“What is?”

“This door. I could have sworn I left it locked.”

“You didn’t?”

“I guess not. When I went to turn the key, it was already open.”

“Are you sure?”

“Relatively.”

Even in the dimly lit alleyway he could see her sheepish smile so he said, “In other words, maybe not.”

“Okay. Maybe not.” Giving the knob a twist she swung the door open. “Wait here. I have to go into the front to turn on the lights.”

“You don’t have a switch back here?”

“No. I’m only renting and I never saw a need to rewire the place. It’s a little inconvenient but I usually open the front first and take care of everything from there.”

Nate peered into the crowded storeroom. “This place is a maze. How can you navigate in the dark without getting hurt?”

“Easy. I know where everything is.”

“Still, I don’t think you should try it. I’m sure there’s a flashlight in the truck. Hold on. I’ll go get it.”

Chancy rolled her eyes as he jogged away. How silly he was being. She’d managed just fine all these years without anyone telling her what to do or how to do it, and she wasn’t about to listen to the advice of some bossy city slicker, no matter how well intentioned he might be.

She swung open the heavy wooden door, stepped inside the barnlike storage area and gave her eyes a few moments to adjust to the lack of light.

Armless side chairs hung from the rafters by pegs and below them, armoires, dressers, desks and other heavy pieces of oak and mahogany furniture stood in rows like sentinels, guiding her path. Admittedly the way was narrow but as long as she stuck to the main aisle she knew she couldn’t go astray. Besides, the longer she stood there the better she could see. Sort of.

Sliding one hand along the top of the nearest chest of drawers, she extended her other arm in front of her and started into the labyrinth that was her stockroom. She always kept the floor clear, so she knew there would be no unseen obstacles. She’d have the lights on and everything squared away long before Nate got back with his unnecessary flashlight.

Suddenly, there was a skittering, scraping sound to her right. Chancy froze. “Nate? Is that you?”

No one answered. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She held her breath. Listened. The only thing she could hear was the rapid beating of her own heart as it echoed in her ears.

Logic told her she was alone. Instinct told her otherwise. Logic suggested the presence of mice. Instinct insisted on a prowler, instead.

Well, there was no sense just standing there, she reasoned. If she backed out the door, she could reenter with Nate. If she pressed forward, she could turn on the light and banish her groundless fears. Relying on him did not appeal to her one bit. Proving her mettle, especially to him, sounded a lot more appealing.

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