These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf Page B

River into the country. “You don’t live in town?” I asked him, surprised.
    “No, just outside of Linden Falls,” he explained.
    It was a sweet house, plain and small but clean.
    He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a soda.
    “Come on, I’ll show you my room.” I raised my eyebrows slyly at him. “Don’t you want to?” he asked, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me to him.
    “I want to,” I said as I kissed him.
    He led me to his bedroom. It was a small, dark room with a plaid comforter and blank walls. “Not much for interior decorating, are you?” I teased.
    “A man’s gotta travel light,” he responded, slipping his hands into the waistband of my jeans.
    “Are you planning on going somewhere?” I asked, pulling his shirt over his head.
    “Yeah, I am,” he said, grinning at me. “If you’ll let me.”
    “Oh, I’m going to let you,” I whispered. And I did. I let him. And as he slid into me, I wasn’t scared or worried. It wasn’t painful. It was like coming home and all I could do was say his name over and over. “Christopher, Christopher, Christopher …”

Charm
    T he newspaper doesn’t reveal many details about the robbery at the bookstore, just that Claire Kelby and her five-year-old son were there and that Claire was taken by ambulance to the hospital. After reading the article, Charm rushes over to Bookends to check on Claire and Joshua.
    Through the years, Gus had heard the gossip from his friends at the fire station. They shared the news they gathered about the little boy that was left at the fire-house and in turn Gus would come home and share the tidbits with Charm, who listened greedily, hungrily. He was healthy, was adopted by a nice couple, the mother owned a bookstore, the father was a carpenter, they named him Jacob or Jeffery or Joshua.
    There were only four bookstores in town and it wasn’tdifficult for Charm to find the one owned by a woman who had a husband who was a carpenter. Bookends. She liked the name. It sounded strong, sturdy, safe.
    The first time Charm got the nerve up to go into Bookends, she was eighteen. She figured the store would be closed, maybe not even be there anymore. She slipped in unnoticed and went back to a spot in the self-help section. She only needed one look, she told herself, only needed to see his face, look into his eyes, then she could leave. A woman walked by a few minutes later, carrying a stack of books, a little boy toddling closely behind her. He was small and had blond hair the color of corn. She quickly dropped to a sitting position, making it even more difficult for anyone to see her among the stacks of books about how to get a lover, keep a lover and live without a lover. If she was discovered, she figured it would appear that she had settled in to look through the books that would somehow save her from herself. The squat little bulldog that roamed the store waddled up to her and she patted his head, hoping he wouldn’t give away her hiding spot. The woman passed by without a glance. But Charm saw the little boy’s face. His beautiful face that was his father’s. The same nose that turned delicately upward, the same ears that poked out a little too far from his head. His eyes were dark brown, the color of chocolate. She had found him.
    Their eyes, mirrors of each other, latched on to oneanother. Was there a flicker of recognition? Charm wanted to think so, wanted him to wade back through the days, months, years that they had been separated and find a memory of her. But the moment was too short.
    She thought that she would be able to just walk away once she saw him. That after she saw his face and knew that he had a family that cared for and loved him, she would be able to waltz right out without looking back. She was wrong. She couldn’t just leave. Who were these people who had ended up with him? Who were the Kelbys? No, she couldn’t walk away just yet. Maybe never.
    After seeing Joshua that first time in the