to have someone probing into her life. Making judgments or, worse yet, pitying her.
He pulled out his billfold from his back pocket and laid cash down on the counter.
“Here’s our homemade apple pie,” Ethel announced, setting the pie on the counter before moving away.
Luke rose and took a thick brown, shearling-lined leather coat from the hook and placed a traditional cowboy hat on his head. With an engaging grin he tipped the brim. “Faith, nice meeting you. Have a safe trip to Alaska.”
Safety. If only she had a guarantee she’d find it in the tundra, she’d actually head that way. “Thanks.”
As she watched him walk out, a familiar sense of loneliness assailed her. Only now it was more pronounced. For a moment, talking to the man, she’d felt normal. Mr. Campbell had been kind and thoughtful. Something she’d found too little of lately. Would she ever get used to the isolation?
“How’s that pie?” Ethel asked, as she refilled Faith’s coffee mug.
“Delicious,” she replied. “I…I wanted to…inquire about the job?”
Ethel’s expression went blank.
“The ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window,” Faith prompted.
“Oh, lands sakes.” Ethel shook her head. “I’m sorry, dear. That should have been taken down two days ago.”
Disappointment rolled through Faith with the force of a thunderstorm. “Oh, I see.”
“I’ll go take care of that sign right now.” Ethel hurried away.
Setting down her fork, Faith pulled open her handbag and brought out a small leather pouch. She tugged out the bills and let the change fall to the table. She didn’t think she’d have enough left after she paid her bill to buy another bus ticket.
Okay, time to regroup. The waitressing job wouldn’t have been an ideal choice anyway. She’d be too visible here, too easy to find. The town was too small.
She scoffed at the irony her life had become. Instead of tipping the server, she was the one in need of the tip. Her grandfather would be so disgusted. And he’d left her all that money. But she couldn’t dip into her inheritance without throwing up a big red flag.
Pushing away the pie plate, she dropped her head into her hands. Oh, God, please help me.
What was the point? God had abandoned her long ago. She supposed her grandfather’s steadfast belief kept her wanting to believe. But so far God hadn’t heard her prayers.
Lifting her head, she stared through blurry eyes at the money lying on the table. What was she to do?
An image of Luke drifted across her consciousness and she recalled his conversation with Ethel. He needed someone to care for his mother. An idea blossomed in the back of her mind.
He didn’t exactly say he was looking for a nurse, just someone to help his mother recover.
She could do that.
After all, she’d been the one to care for her grandfather after he suffered his heart attack. She’d watched the team of nurses come and go, seen the services they’d provided. She’d jumped right in when the nurses had refused to stay.
She had owed her grandfather that for having taken her in after her parents died. Gerald Emerson Delange had been a Bible-thumping, judgmental and unyielding man. But she’d loved him and no one could be as difficult to care for as he’d been.
Oh, yes, she could care for Luke’s mother.
But would it be a wise choice?
She wouldn’t be visible, she’d have a place to stay and the job would probably pay decently. If no one knew she was there, maybe she’d even be safe for a while.
She stretched the aching muscles in her back. She couldn’t go on like this. Fatigue was making her mind fuzzy, not to mention her dwindling funds. And the longer she stayed in the open, the more chance she’d be found.
What choice did she have?
Faith paid her bill, gathered her belongings, and hurried from the diner to find Luke.
She caught a glimpse of him as he turned the corner, disappearing behind a building a block down the street. Even from a distance he made a striking picture. Instead of the expected easy-rolling gait of a cowboy, he walked with a purposeful stride. Head up and shoulders back. Very controlled. In fact, everything about Luke spoke of a forthright and self-controlled man.
I’m a captain in the army.
She had the feeling that with Luke you got what you saw. Faith liked that. It was so opposite of what she’d lived with for so long.
Desperate to catch him before he disappeared altogether, she jogged down the sidewalk, her bags jostling at her sides.
She turned the corner as Luke climbed into a dark green Bronco. An instant later, the engine roared to life. He backed his vehicle out of the parking place, the tires crunching on the snow-covered gravel. Faith dropped her bags and ran toward him.
“Luke! Luke, wait!”
The Bronco screeched to a stop. Luke rolled down his window. “Faith, are you okay?”
His deep voice washed over her, smoothing the rough edges of her nerves.
Nodding, she blinked up at him. “I…I wanted to ask you something.”
He gave her a curious stare. “Ask away.”
Anxiety threatened to wrap itself around her throat, but she bolstered her courage and plunged ahead. “I’d like to apply for that job you mentioned earlier.”
A confused frown marred his brow. “Job?”
Faith took a deep breath. “For your mother. The helper you needed.”
“I thought you were just passing through?”
“I changed my mind. The country air agrees with me.” She breathed in deep, the cold air filling her lungs and making her cough. It was either the air or she was losing her mind.
She probably was nuts to be doing this, but would she be found in this out of the way town in the middle of the Oregon Mountains? And on a ranch?
No, she didn’t think so. She was ninety-nine percent sure she’d be safe.
She’d worry about the other one percent later.
TWO
Hire her, Luke thought to himself immediately, and then heard himself say, “You’re hired.”
Her eyes rounded in surprise. “Just like that?”
Luke hesitated. He knew next to nothing about this woman and yet, when he looked into her eyes, the haunted expression that had bothered him earlier seemed to recede. “Just like that.”
