grinned. In the bright sunshine, her hair looked more red than blond, and she sure enough had a redhead’s temper. He almost felt sorry for her father, but maybe the man deserved the sharp edge of her tongue.
Her voice softened. “I do love you, Dad. Talk to you soon.”
She disappeared inside with the phone but immediately returned to lift her face up to the sun as if needing its warmth. He could still see the gawky girl she’d been the last time she’d come to the mountain, but she’d matured into a beautiful woman. Were those waves of red-gold framing her face as soft as they looked?
He drifted closer, careful to make sure the breeze wouldn’t push him into her. She might not notice anything other than a brief chill, but she’d already surprised him with her ability to sense his presence. Even in his current scattered state, it was hard to resist the sweet warmth of her life force. She positively glowed with it.
Hellfire, he wanted a taste of that. What he wouldn’t give to kiss his way across that scattering of freckles on her cheeks. He bet she hated them, but he’d always had a weakness for freckles. Did she have them anywhere else? No way to tell with what she had on.
That old flannel shirt of Ray’s did little to hide the female curves underneath. He preferred a woman to dress like a woman with lace and petticoats. He’d always loved the challenge of peeling off one layer at a time before he reached all that silken skin underneath. On the other hand, her dungarees certainly showed off the sweet curve of her backside in enticing detail. She certainly didn’t need a bustle to draw a man’s eye.
Suddenly, she shook her head and smiled. He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but he had to wonder if that lush mouth would taste as tart as her words had sounded. And why did he care? It wasn’t as if he’d ever know. He wanted her gone. That’s all that mattered.
After a few seconds, her smile faded, and she drew a deep breath that she let out in a soft sigh.
“Uncle Ray, I don’t know if you can hear me, but thank you for this gift. I need this time up here on the mountain, even if Mom and Dad don’t get that.”
Her smile was back and she laughed. “Well, Rayanne, you’ve only just gotten here, and already you’re talking to yourself. Time to get busy.”
Rather than heading back inside, she stalked off toward the woods. So now he knew her name—Rayanne. Seemed only fair since she knew his, even if she didn’t realize he was around. After all, no matter how he felt about it, it appeared they were destined to be neighbors for a while.
He waited until she reached the edge of the trees before following her. Where was she headed? And why did he care? He couldn’t remember the last time he felt curious about much of anything, but he wanted to see for himself where she ended up. He was betting on the old church belfry.
Besides, he had nothing better to do.
* * *
No matter how determined she was to not let anyone ruin her time on the mountain for her, it was hard. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? Yeah, like that was going to happen. Her parents meant well, but it freaked her out to have them joining forces against her. It was the first time they’d put up a united front since their divorce.
She understood their concern. As her father had rudely pointed out, they’d spent a lot of time and a ton of money dealing with the aftermath of her last trip to Blessing. Not that it had helped. After months of counseling and arguments, she’d simply given up and spouted whatever the shrink wanted to hear. He’d marked her down as another success on his scorecard, and her parents’ guilt had eased. Whoopee, everyone won except her. All she’d done was learn to keep the nightmares to herself.
Even Shawn hadn’t bothered to disguise his own displeasure in her decision to accept Uncle Ray’s legacy. Did they really think she didn’t know her own mind?
Well, she wasn’t going to let them ruin her good mood. She was proud of what she’d accomplished so far, even if she’d made a total wreck of the kitchen. She’d washed out all the drawers and cabinets. After she walked off her frustration, she’d replace the shelf paper and put everything back. Tomorrow she’d start on another room. Or not.
Her decision. No one else’s.
She stepped into the shadows of the trees. The old game trail looked unchanged from her last visit. At least this time she was wearing the right kind of shoes for hiking over the uneven ground. The faded scar on her shin was just one other reminder of that fateful day.
Here under the trees and out of the direct light of the sun, the day wasn’t as warm as she’d thought. Even with Ray’s flannel shirt, there was a bit of a chill in the air. As long as she kept moving, she’d be fine. If memory served her right, the far side of these woods was less than half a mile away, at best a ten-minute walk. From there, it was only a short distance to where Blessing sat nestled in a small valley.
She’d keep today’s visit short, just a quick trip to reacquaint herself with the general layout of the town. Her plan was to do a complete survey of Blessing, measuring each of the remaining buildings and marking them on a map. When that was complete, she’d follow up with a photo survey.
Once she finished that much, she’d make a trip to the county courthouse and see if there were any records of the town still on file. Maybe one of the local newspapers would have archives that went back far enough to tell her something. Who knew? Wyatt McCain’s death might have warranted a column or two.
Slowly, step by step, she hoped to complete the picture. By then, she should have a feel for whether her work would justify a book on the subject or if she’d submit a paper to one of the professional journals. Either of those choices would be the sensible thing to do.
Or she could just say the heck with being sensible and try her hand at writing a historical romance based on what had happened there in Blessing. She grinned up at a squirrel, which was chattering at her for disturbing his afternoon.
“Sorry, guy. Didn’t mean to encroach on your territory. I promise I’m just passing through.”
She laughed and kept walking. The trees came to an abrupt end just past the next bend in the trail, giving way to the valley below. The bright green of the grass sprinkled with early-blooming wildflowers stole her breath away. How could she have forgotten how pretty it was?
Somehow the beauty had been overwhelmed by the darkness in her nightmares. No wonder Uncle Ray had found some peace of mind living up here. She’d often wished there had been some magical way she could have known the man he’d been before the war had changed him. It was clear that Ray had come back from Vietnam a different man, one far different from the older brother her mother had grown up with.
Rather than dwell on the past, Rayanne started down the slope toward the edge of town. She’d like to think her pulse was picking up speed because of the workout she was getting from the walk, but there was no use fooling herself. This first trip back to Blessing was bound to stir up a few bad memories.
Keeping to a slow pace, she walked through the middle of town. In its heyday, Blessing had boasted a population of nearly two hundred people, but there was little evidence left of most of the houses. At least the old church looked much the same, as did the saloon. It was ironic that those two polar opposites survived.
It didn’t take long to reach the far end of town. Turning back, she had the oddest sensation that she was being watched. She did a slow turn, looking in all directions, but the only movement
