the other room, then. Double the security for Scarlet. The main house will have Meg, Matt and Adam, and we can call in reinforcements if necessary.”
“Excuse me just a second,” Scarlet said, rising and hurrying out of the room.
Brett didn’t say a word as he walked away to put Diego’s bag in Scarlet’s room, leaving Diego alone with the statue of Nathan Kendall.
“I don’t know your true story,” he said, feeling a little foolish addressing a life-size carving, “but hopefully we’ll discover what really happened to you and your wife, and maybe save some of your descendants. But for now...”
The painted blue eyes of the statue stared back at him, and Diego suddenly discovered that he was smiling.
“But for now, I guess I ought to be thanking you,” he said.
He left the room to join the others. He realized he was feeling famished.
In many ways.
* * *
Downtown Estes Park was filled with tourists. No surprise. Autumn was a beautiful time to be in the mountains, with winter’s potentially lethal ice and snow yet to come. Temperatures were a continuation of summer’s comfortable days and cool evenings, and the leaves were just beginning to change, covering the slopes with vibrant color. The gold of the trees, the blue of the sky and the streams, and the majestic white of the mountain peaks rising higher and higher in the distance all combined to provide a truly breathtaking vista.
Scarlet was surprised but pleased that the others looked to her for information about the area, and she embraced the role of tour guide with enthusiasm. She pointed out all the things they could do if they had the time, visit the Estes Park Museum to learn about frontier life or head up to the MacGregor Ranch Museum, a homestead from 1896 and the only remaining operating ranch in the area. She also heard more about Lara Mayhew, Meg’s longtime friend and Brett’s brand-new fiancée.
As they got closer to town Scarlet pointed through a break in the trees. “That’s the historic Stanley Hotel. If you’re a Stephen King fan, like me, you’ll enjoy taking the tour that talks about how he conceived
The Shining
while he was staying there.”
“I’d love to get over there. It’s certainly beautiful and
shining
up there on that hill,” Meg said.
“And if you have time before you leave, you really should drive Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. People say it’s the most scenic drive in the entire country,” Scarlet said.
She was sharing the backseat with Diego on her left and Brett on her right. She noticed that Diego was looking out the window as they drove, almost as if he was trying not to look at her. The longer they drove, the more she felt as if her left side was burning up. What on earth had she been thinking, inviting him to share her bed? A sense of longing swept through her with an intensity she wasn’t prepared for.
What had gone so wrong? Why had she been so determined to get away from a man she had loved with all her heart? She knew intellectually what had been in her mind, but now, sitting beside him, knowing that he’d dropped everything the minute she’d called... She was starting to think she was the biggest fool who’d ever lived.
She reminded herself that back then he hadn’t been there when she’d really needed him. And she hadn’t been able to forgive that.
She hadn’t let him explain or even hold her after—something inside of her had simply closed off.
They reached the compact downtown area and found a spot in a municipal lot. From there, she told them, they could wander and choose a restaurant, and if they felt like shopping along the way, well, there were plenty of opportunities for that, too.
She pointed out her favorite stores as they walked. While T-shirts with moose, bears, raccoons and other creatures emblazoned on the front were available everywhere, she made a point of showing them the shop Terry had talked about, where everything was all moose all the
“Excuse me just a second,” Scarlet said, rising and hurrying out of the room.
Brett didn’t say a word as he walked away to put Diego’s bag in Scarlet’s room, leaving Diego alone with the statue of Nathan Kendall.
“I don’t know your true story,” he said, feeling a little foolish addressing a life-size carving, “but hopefully we’ll discover what really happened to you and your wife, and maybe save some of your descendants. But for now...”
The painted blue eyes of the statue stared back at him, and Diego suddenly discovered that he was smiling.
“But for now, I guess I ought to be thanking you,” he said.
He left the room to join the others. He realized he was feeling famished.
In many ways.
* * *
Downtown Estes Park was filled with tourists. No surprise. Autumn was a beautiful time to be in the mountains, with winter’s potentially lethal ice and snow yet to come. Temperatures were a continuation of summer’s comfortable days and cool evenings, and the leaves were just beginning to change, covering the slopes with vibrant color. The gold of the trees, the blue of the sky and the streams, and the majestic white of the mountain peaks rising higher and higher in the distance all combined to provide a truly breathtaking vista.
Scarlet was surprised but pleased that the others looked to her for information about the area, and she embraced the role of tour guide with enthusiasm. She pointed out all the things they could do if they had the time, visit the Estes Park Museum to learn about frontier life or head up to the MacGregor Ranch Museum, a homestead from 1896 and the only remaining operating ranch in the area. She also heard more about Lara Mayhew, Meg’s longtime friend and Brett’s brand-new fiancée.
As they got closer to town Scarlet pointed through a break in the trees. “That’s the historic Stanley Hotel. If you’re a Stephen King fan, like me, you’ll enjoy taking the tour that talks about how he conceived
The Shining
while he was staying there.”
“I’d love to get over there. It’s certainly beautiful and
shining
up there on that hill,” Meg said.
“And if you have time before you leave, you really should drive Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. People say it’s the most scenic drive in the entire country,” Scarlet said.
She was sharing the backseat with Diego on her left and Brett on her right. She noticed that Diego was looking out the window as they drove, almost as if he was trying not to look at her. The longer they drove, the more she felt as if her left side was burning up. What on earth had she been thinking, inviting him to share her bed? A sense of longing swept through her with an intensity she wasn’t prepared for.
What had gone so wrong? Why had she been so determined to get away from a man she had loved with all her heart? She knew intellectually what had been in her mind, but now, sitting beside him, knowing that he’d dropped everything the minute she’d called... She was starting to think she was the biggest fool who’d ever lived.
She reminded herself that back then he hadn’t been there when she’d really needed him. And she hadn’t been able to forgive that.
She hadn’t let him explain or even hold her after—something inside of her had simply closed off.
They reached the compact downtown area and found a spot in a municipal lot. From there, she told them, they could wander and choose a restaurant, and if they felt like shopping along the way, well, there were plenty of opportunities for that, too.
She pointed out her favorite stores as they walked. While T-shirts with moose, bears, raccoons and other creatures emblazoned on the front were available everywhere, she made a point of showing them the shop Terry had talked about, where everything was all moose all the