Adrian exited his vehicle with both confidence and coolness at once and strutted his way to her window.
“Is this it?” he asked, once she’d rolled it down.
Her nerves were beginning to tap dance. “I’ll find out. Thanks again, for everything.”
She cut the ignition and waved to a couple of neighborhood kids who slowed on their bikes to gawk at her. Any minute now, Adrian would bid her goodbye and be off. Undoubtedly, he had other—better—things to do. Instead, he hung back, leaning against his car.
“I’ll just make sure you’re good here,” he said. “Then I’ll be on my way.”
She swallowed her nervousness and climbed the walk to the three-wide steps leading onto the porch, which was enclosed by an iron railing. She hesitated, chockfull of uncertainty, but the numbers by the door matched what her aunt had told her. 321 Columnar Street.
Goldie had the sudden impulse to turn around. Dash to her little truck, and keep on driving. But she couldn’t run away from this. There would always be questions. Who was her aunt, really? Why had she waited so long before contacting her?
Why had she allowed her mom to keep her a secret from Goldie?
Steeling her courage, Goldie hammered the knocker five loud, hard times. She waited, dwelling in the moment, in the intense anticipation and listening for the sound of footsteps within. She peered through the tall windows on either side of the door, but the glass was iced, designed to let light in and keep snoopers out.
That was unfortunate. She so wanted to snoop.
Goldie wasn’t sure how many minutes passed before she tried knocking again. Footsteps came this time, not from inside, but from behind her.
“No one here?” Adrian asked.
She chewed her lip. Fear was beginning to overtake her. Her mother’s cynical voice clanged in her head. What had she gotten herself into? She’d taken off of work, followed the breadcrumbs, only to find there was no candy cottage at the end of the road. The last thing she wanted to do was to call her mom and admit she’d been right, that Goldie should have ignored the letter and stayed in Wisconsin.
“I guess not. I’ll try again later.”
Even though she couldn’t see his eyes through his reflective sunglasses, she could feel him watching her. His forehead furrowed. “What are you going to do, just wait here?”
She shrugged. There were worse things. “I guess so.”
He ran a hand behind his neck. “Look, I’ve got to get going.”
She fought the sting of disappointment. Honestly, what did she expect him to do? They were strangers.
Goldie hoped her smile was passable. “Please, don’t neglect your day on my account. I’m really grateful for your help, Adrian. I’m sure my aunt will be back soon. I’ll just wait here. Or I might bebop over to that strip mall we passed. I love a good mall.”
He didn’t immediately reply. She could sense him thinking things over. Suddenly, she wished he would leave. She felt like such an idiot. First, from getting lost on the mountain. Then breaking into his cabin only to have him find her sleeping there. Now to have no verifiable evidence that what she’d claimed was even true. For all he knew she was a huge, compulsive liar and had made up the address on a whim.
Her throat tightened. “I’ll be fine. You go ahead. Thanks for everything you’ve done.” She had a portfolio filled with her students’ papers that she needed to grade before she returned. She could probably just camp out on the porch and pull those out.
Sure. Camp out on the porch of a stranger’s house to grade papers on the off-chance her aunt for one, lived here, and for two, was coming back sometime soon. What was she thinking?
He turned toward his car, then hesitated, turning back to her. “I feel really weird leaving you on your own. You don’t have a number for your aunt?”
“She left me her email address.”
“That’s not going to do you much good once the sun goes down.”
“Is there a hotel nearby?” She couldn’t exactly afford to stay in a hotel, not with what the trip had already cost her.
He kicked at the sidewalk. “There is, but with the fundraiser tonight, my guess is it’s probably already booked.”
“Fundraiser?”
He peered across the street. “It’s held every year, to help support the town. It’s put on by my father’s company. He did it to support the local community, and my mom wanted to make sure this year’s is the best one yet. Many of my father’s benefactors come from all over the country to support it, since he’s done so much to help others.”
His father’s benefactors? From across the country? She would never have guessed that, not in a town this size.
“What does it raise money for?” she asked.
“Whatever the community needs. Help the schools, the homeless; one year we used the proceeds to build a new park.”
“That sounds nice.” It still didn’t help the problem that she needed somewhere to stay.
Adrian must have read as much in her tone. He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets. “Would you like to come with me to the ranch?”
The cement vanished from beneath her feet. “What?”
“My family owns a bed and breakfast here in Two Pines. Well, just outside of town, actually. There’s plenty of space for you, and you can stay until you hear from your aunt.”
Goldie couldn’t believe this. A bed and breakfast? “Seriously?”
“Of course. Rustic Ridge Bed and Breakfast. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but that makes it a pretty popular getaway.”
Goldie lifted her phone—fully charged once more, thanks to her car charger—and did a quick search. The website popped up almost immediately. From the look of things it was rustic, and yep, located in Montana. Matthew Bear, proprietor. Goldie wondered if that was Adrian’s father’s name.
A bed and breakfast sounded much better than settling in on this seemingly random
