If I said it once, I said it a hundred times—you have to get all the wet stuff out of the house, or you’re just asking for more trouble. But I’m an old woman. I don’t know anything.” Melba plopped the scrambled eggs onto a plate along with a large portion of bacon and a huge cinnamon roll. “There you go. Eat up.”
“Oh, that’s entirely too—” Lissa stopped at the hard glance Melba threw at her. “Looks delicious. Thank you,” she said, wondering if there was a hungry dog close by with whom she could share all the food.
She sat down next to an older man who had cleaned his plate. “Hello. I’m Lissa Roarke.”
The man nodded. “Nice to meet you. I’m Gene Strickland, Melba’s husband.”
“I don’t suppose you’re still hungry,” she said in a low voice.
He shook his head and chuckled. “No chance. But I’ll distract her when you’re done. You might wanna fix your own plate from now on. Melba thinks women are too skinny these days and she’s on a mission to change that.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Lissa said. She hadn’t wanted to offend the rooming house owner the second day she’d arrived in the state.
While Gene drank his coffee, Lissa finished her eggs, a slice of bacon and a few bites of the delicious cinnamon roll. When she could eat no more, she nodded in Gene’s direction.
He nodded in return. “Hey Melba, I think we might have a leak in the roof. You want me to fix it?”
Melba frowned. “We don’t have a leak in the roof. We better not have a leak in the roof,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Even if we did, I wouldn’t let you go climbing on top of the house at your age. Have you gone crazy? You show me what you’re talking about, Gene.”
Gene smiled and rose from the table. “I think it’s on the northeast side,” he said. “Let’s take a look.”
“Bless you, bless you,” Lissa whispered and quickly rose and wrapped the rest of her cinnamon roll to eat later.
Walking out of the rooming house, she felt a hint of moisture in the cold air. She glanced up at the sky. She hadn’t checked the weather, but she supposed that with those clouds, anything was possible. Shrugging, she headed down the street to the sheriff’s office. The weather wasn’t going to stop her today.
As she stepped into the building that housed the sheriff’s office, she saw Gage putting on his Stetson and looking as if he were preparing to leave.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Mornin’,” he said in return. “I just got a call about an accident, so I won’t be able to show you around today.”
Will immediately piped up. “I can do it,” he offered.
“You have to give the home-safety class for the school kids. Remember? You’ll be busy all day going to all those different places they’re holding class since we lost the school.”
Will made a face. “I forgot.”
“Good thing I didn’t. Those teachers would have been ticked off at both of us if you hadn’t shown up,” Gage said.
“Well, what are you going to do with Lissa?” Will asked. “You can’t just leave her stranded.”
Gage sighed. “Maybe I can get Gretchen Paul to cart her around today.”
Mildly offended by the word cart, Lissa shook her head. “Oh, I don’t want to be any trouble. Perhaps I could rent a car.”
Gage and Will glanced at each other. “Not unless you want to go back to the airport and get it,” Gage said.
“I don’t know. Melba at the rooming house might let Lissa use her car. She might not even charge her,” Will said.
“Not a good idea since she doesn’t know her way around the country. Will, you need to remember Lissa isn’t used to being in a rural place. No telling what might happen if she doesn’t have someone to help her,” Gage said.
Lissa’s stomach knotted at his inference that she couldn’t handle the job she was sent to do. “I think you’re exaggerating. It’s not as if this is Antarctica or outer Mongolia. Most of the roads I’ll be driving on will be paved, and Rust Creek Falls isn’t known for its violence.”
“That may be true, but it’s still a lot different than Manhattan and you just got here. You just sit tight. We’ll figure out something by this afternoon. I need to head out,” Gage said and left her staring after him.
Sit tight? I don’t think so, Lissa thought. “Thanks for the tip, Will.”
“Hey, maybe you better not do that,” Will said. “Gage made a good point. You don’t know your way around,” he said, a worried look crossing his young face.
“I can read a map,” she said, although she would have been much more comfortable with a reliable GPS. “I’ll be fine.”
Chapter Two
Lissa had been just fine until snow had started to fall and the roads turned slippery. After visiting a mom of three on the list Bootstraps had provided for her who needed new carpet and furniture, Lissa wobbled down the winding side road in Melba’s eighteen-year-old Buick. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, but Lissa wondered how Melba could possibly use such a vehicle with Montana’s treacherous winters.
The snow pelted against the windshield and Lissa gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. The car veered to the center of the road and she immediately pulled it back into her lane. If she could just get to the main road, she thought she would be okay.
Suddenly, a deer appeared in front of her. Her heart jumped and she instinctively slammed on the brakes. The car went into a spin that seemed to go on forever. She struggled to gain control then felt the sickening sensation of the massive Buick tilting toward a ditch.
“No, no, no,” she pleaded, willing the car back on the road.
Gravity won and the car slid headfirst into the ditch, stopping with an ugly jerk that yanked her head forward before the seat belt wrenched her back against the seat. It took a few seconds for Lissa to remember to breathe. As she gasped for air, willing her heart to stop pounding, she took inventory of herself, wiggling her shoulders and legs. Everything seemed okay, although the seat belt was holding her so tightly it felt like a vise. Pushing aside the discomfort, she glanced around and tried to figure out how to get out of the ditch. She opened the door to get out, but there wasn’t enough room between the side of the ditch for her to open it all the way. Lissa glanced at the other side and grimly noticed that she had succeeded in wedging herself perfectly in the ditch, a feat she wouldn’t have been able to accomplish if she’d intentionally tried.
She groaned. Lissa really didn’t want to call the sheriff. She could see the scowls and disapproval coming and she couldn’t blame him. If she’d followed his advice, she wouldn’t be in this mess. Frowning, she realized Gage wasn’t the only lawman she could call. Will had given her his number. She could call the deputy and deal with Gage’s displeasure another time. She was sick enough at the thought that she’d damaged Melba’s car.
Lissa
