I guess I just figured the good Lord would look after my stuff.” She could tell by his expression that he thought she was seriously deluded.
“I should have known,” he said. “Didn’t it ever occur to you that your God-given brain was meant to be used for something besides a place to grow hair?”
“I’ve never heard it put quite like that but, yes, I guess I do bear some of the responsibility.”
“Some of it? You bear all of it.”
She flinched. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
It didn’t surprise her much when he replied, “Well, I sure would.”
Nate felt as helpless as a feather caught in one of the tornadoes he was so fond of chasing. They had covered most of the town and were working in widening circles to survey the outlying countryside. It had occurred to him earlier that they were on a wild goose chase but he kept hoping they’d spot Chancy’s missing van just the same.
Finally, he pulled over and stopped on the unpaved shoulder of the road. “Look. I’m sorry. This isn’t doing any good and we both know it.” It bothered him to see her shoulders slump with such dejection.
She sighed noisily. “I suppose you’re right. What time is it, anyway?”
“Nearly seven.” Looking at his watch he remembered their promise to his grandparents. “Uh-oh. I think we’d better call Grandma and tell her what’s going on. She’s probably still waiting on us for supper.”
“Oh, no. Poor Hester. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking about anything but myself.”
“She’ll understand.” Nate pulled out the phone and pushed the button to speed dial.
“It’s me,” he said when Ted answered. “Chancy and I got hung up. We’re sorry if we put you out. Her van was stolen and we’ve been driving around looking for it.”
“Stolen?” The older man was incredulous.
“Yes, stolen. Right out from under our noses. One minute it was there and the next minute it was gone. We have no idea who took it or why but we thought maybe we could spot it if we drove around for a while.”
“Where did you see it last?” Ted asked.
“At the auction. Why?”
“Hold on. I thought I saw some activity over at the Hawkins place a few minutes ago. I’m gonna walk out on the porch for a second and take a closer look.”
Nate scowled while he waited. Patience had never been one of his virtues and he hated being put on hold, even for the short time it would take his grandfather to accomplish whatever was on his mind.
Ted returned with a question. “Where are you?”
“Over on the highway near Hickory Station. Why?”
“Well, I suggest you hightail it back here. Everybody else is gone but it appears to me that light brown van of hers is sittin’ smack-dab in front of the Hawkins place.”
“It can’t be.”
Ted guffawed. “Oh, yeah? Sure looks like it. ’Course, I could be mistaken. It’s a ways over there and it’s gettin’ dark so I can’t see real clear. Still, it might pay you to come on back and have a look-see.”
“Thanks. Keep your eye on it till we get there. We’re on our way.”
He glanced at the worried young woman sitting next to him and answered her unspoken question. “My granddad thinks he sees your van back at the Hawkins place. I don’t know how that can possibly be but he sounds pretty certain.”
“Praise the Lord!” Chancy was clapping her hands and grinning from ear to ear. “The prayer chain worked again.”
Nate huffed as he whipped the truck around and floored the accelerator. As far as he was concerned there had to be a sensible explanation for whatever had happened. Just because he couldn’t see the details of it didn’t mean he was ready to resort to giving credit to prayer or anything else unseen. It was far more likely that kids had taken the van joyriding, had had an attack of conscience and had decided to bring it back before they got in trouble with the law. It was just the kind of adolescent folly that had gotten him into trouble as a teen.
He considered expressing his opinion on the matter then decided against it. Although he did concede the probability of a Creator, he wasn’t willing to believe that God cared about the minute details of everyday life on earth.
He caught her peering at him. “What?”
“You don’t believe in prayer, do you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Wow.” She settled back against the seat and stared out the window at the passing scenery for a while before she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“No problem. You’re entitled to your beliefs.”
“And you’re entitled to yours. I guess I’ve just lived in the Bible Belt for so long I forgot there were folks who didn’t think the same way I do.” She paused. “What brought you back to Serenity, anyway? Are you just visiting?”
“Not exactly,” Nate said. It seemed the perfect opportunity to draw her into his confidence and enlist her aid so he said, “I came to talk some sense into my grandparents. I want them to move to Oklahoma.”
Her eyes widened. “Whatever for?”
“For their own good,” Nate said flatly. “I have the perfect place already picked out between Oklahoma City and Norman, where I work. They’ll have everything money can buy and they won’t have to lift a finger. They’ll love it. And I’ll be close enough to look in on them more often.”
He noted that Chancy was staring at him as if he’d suddenly grown two heads or sprouted horns, so he said, “I take it you disagree?”
“Oh, yeah,” she drawled. “That’s a real understatement.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Because it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, that’s why.”
Nate couldn’t help giving her a lopsided smile. “Hey, don’t hold back,” he taunted. “Tell me what you really think.”
THREE
The dark-haired young woman hiding behind the tangle of wild honeysuckle vines along Hawkins Mill Road watched Chancy reclaim her van and drive away.
She’d missed bidding on the collage with the keys because the stupid auctioneer hadn’t recognized its value. When he’d bunched it with all those other pictures from the Hawkins estate, the crowd had pressed so close she hadn’t seen that it was included in that lot until it was too late.
She sighed and blinked back tears. Well, at least she knew where her picture had gone and who had it. That was something. She
