Amy had sidestepped her again. She was obstinate, and mulish, and maddening, and ignored everything Leone told her to do. She had given Amy too much freedom. She had failed to make her understand who was the boss here in the valley. But that would soon change.

It was time for these games to stop. Time for Leone to make a few things crystal clear to a certain Amy Ameila Fortune.

* 71 *

* 72 *

chapteR eiGht.

Listening to local radio and chatting happily to each other, Amy and Elicia rumbled down the forest lanes. Finally, they emerged onto an asphalt surface that wound down the mountainside into the small town of Lost Creek.

"What do you think of Little Dip?" Amy asked, curious if Elicia was enjoying her valley vacation.

"I love it. I can see why Jori comes here every chance he gets." "And it's not too daunting, meeting most of his family all at once?"

Elicia gave an awkward smile. "Well, I'm a little overwhelmed...

but coping. I just didn't expect them to be so nice. They have a real family connection thing going on, and they are all so kind.

They made me feel incredibly welcome..." Her words trailed off uncomfortably, and she blushed. She seemed either embarrassed or surprised at the quality of feelings she felt for Jori's family. "Hey, can I still go out with you on a field trip?"

"Sure. What about tomorrow morning?" Amy allowed the quick change in subject. She realized this was a big vacation for Elicia in so many ways and wondered once more at Marie's prediction that Jori would announce his engagement before the week was out. She could feel ambivalence from Elicia, as if she knew she was on some sort of cusp this week. It must be stressful. "But be warned, I start early."

* 73 *

"I'm there. Just tell me where and when. I'd love to see the valley through your eyes."

"Okay, it's a deal. I'll make you love it even more. You're talking to the converted." Amy put Elicia's ill ease down to Garoul overload. They were a big boisterous clan that seemed to swallow newcomers whole. "As a kid I spent every moment I could here. I've been known to hide in trees rather than go back after the holidays. I think I'm duly adopted."

"I can see why. And your aunt living here makes it even more like home. I suppose that makes it easier for you and Leone, seeing as how Marie is already like family to you."

"Huh?"

"I mean Marie's already as good as a mother-in-law."

"Oh no. No, no. Leone and I are not like that." Amy was flustered, and sat up straighter in her seat.

"God, I'm sorry. That idiot Jori gave me the impression you were a couple."

"Well, yes, we were once, but it was ages ago when we were in our teens. It's all dead and buried now." Amy tried to sound breezy.

She didn't want Elicia to feel awkward about bringing up her teenage romance with Leone.

"But everything's okay now. You're friends," Elicia stated rather than asked. "Please don't think I'm usually this nosy. I really did get the wrong end of things from Jori. For an educated guy he can be such an idiot sometimes." Elicia concentrated on the road as they entered Lost Creek's one and only shopping street.

"Don't apologize. His sister is the exact same," Amy said.

"Sometimes Leone acts so weird, standing there looking at me with that crazy glint in her eye, like I have all the answers to her secret questions." Amy gazed around her as they crawled along the main drag that passed as Lost Creek's town center. "God, this place hasn't changed one iota. Still the same old one-dog town."

Lost Creek had a total population of a little over eight hundred.

Even that was declining as young people moved away to the larger towns to raise their families and work closer to the area's major industries.

* 74 *

Elicia and Amy parked before the town library. It was a pleasing, sturdy affair, fashioned out of an old stable-house. The gray and white wood-framed building had been preserved from the turn of the century by the kind beneficence of a past mayor, bequeathed at a time when the little logging town had much more affluence.

"Okay, first on the list is to return Marie's books. Hey, this has to be the cutest library I've ever seen. If there was such a thing as library porn, this would be the centerfold." Elicia looked impressed with the quaint public building.

Amy laughed. "Yeah, the whole town's picturesque. If only the townsfolk realized it and maintained it better, they'd have a proper little tourist trap."

Amy looked around her. Apart from the library there were three other shabby storefronts. One was Johnston's general store. It limped along selling newspapers and overpricing the items people ran out of, like coffee and cigarettes. Then there was the pharmacist with the part-time dental practice upstairs, and beside that was Barney's, the local bar; and that was about it for Lost Creek.

The library only survived due to a combination of conservation and county funding, but it was an ongoing battle. Connie had told Amy years ago that the Garouls privately supported it with a small annual grant paid through the local county office. Not many townsfolk knew this, and if they did they wouldn't be impressed.

They cared little for the Garouls. Lost Creek and Little Dip were not easy neighbors.

They pushed open the swing door and entered the hushed interior. It was light and airy with the cool-toned outside color scheme continuing on through. Inside, the gray and white were complemented with raw pine shelving. The entire library was smaller than Amy remembered, but just as cozy and welcoming.

I wonder who the librarian is these days. Miss Crosier must be at least a hundred and ninety by now if she's still kicking around.

Amy recalled the formidable lady who had ruled these shelves with stern authority for as long as she could remember. On the rare occasions when she and Leone had visited as kids, accompanied by either Marie or Connie, Miss Crosier's shushes had sent chills down * 75 *

their spines. Terrified, they ducked heads and giggled quietly, bright eyed with guilt and mirth.

Her question was answered almost immediately when a tall, silver-haired gentleman appeared behind the counter from a back office.

"Good morning. May I help you?" he said.

"Hi." Elicia stepped up, setting her bag on the countertop. "I'm returning these books for Marie Garoul."

"Thank you." He opened the plastic bag and removed the books one by one. Every movement was delicate and relaxed, showing he was at ease with his work and environment. "But you young ladies are not Garouls, are you? If you don't mind me asking, that is?" He smiled at them charmingly.

"No. We're visiting for the weekend. Well, I am. Amy will be staying on a few weeks longer." Elicia indicated Amy.

"Amy?" He looked over questioningly. "Would you be Connie's niece?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Amy said. "You know my aunt?"

"Connie's a good friend. Let me introduce myself. I'm Virgil Bloomsy, town librarian and a self-confessed avid ornithologist. I simply adore your aunt's books, whether they're on botany or birds.

In fact, we have a considerable collection of her work under Natural History." He beamed at her. "My budget is very limited, so Connie kindly contributes from her own library. She donates her surplus author's copies. It's a great boon to our resources."

Amy's interest was immediately piqued, and she decided then and there to take a quick look at this collection and see if there was anything of interest. Virgil continued to smile at them. He held out his hand and shook Elicia's, then Amy's warmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Give my best regards to your aunt when you see her. I understand she has been unwell."

"I will." Amy shifted a little uncomfortably. She didn't want to discuss Connie's illness, not even with a friend.

As if sensing her discomfort, Virgil rushed to make amends.

"If you see something you'd like to take with you, I can issue a temporary pass. Please, feel free to browse to your heart's content.

* 76 *

I'll be here if you need me." With another reassuring smile he retreated into his office.

"Would you mind if I stayed here and had a quick look around while you did the rest of your errands?" Amy asked Elicia.

"No, not at all. I'll call back in, say...twenty minutes?" Elicia sounded pleased at the idea. "Maybe we can grab a coffee somewhere before we head back." With a little wave she headed for the door.

Amy wandered down to the Natural History section at the back of the small library. After several minutes' browsing she came to the conclusion there was nothing here that was not duplicated on Connie's own bookshelves. Connie had simply done as Virgil had stated, passed on her surplus author's stock to the town library. No wonder he was happy. With Connie's international reputation, if she kept endorsing his library like this, eventually he would end up with a unique collection and a center of study for her work.

Slowly meandering back to the front desk, she hesitated by the General Interest section, surprised that there was an entire shelf on code breaking, word puzzles, and other conundrums. She pulled a few down and flicked through the pages. Now this might be interesting. She eventually selected a basic introduction to ciphers and their history and took it up to Virgil's counter. He appeared out of his office almost immediately.

"Found something?" He went to his computer and punched a few keys.

"Is it okay if I borrow this one?" She set it down before him.

"Of course you can. I'll use the same address details for Connie, but I'll need your full name for the temporary ticket."

"Amy Amelia Fortune."

"You're as well known as your aunt," he said. Amy smiled back easily.

"Well, not quite. I'm based in Europe and the competition there is fierce. But I do get my fair share of intriguing commissions."

"I loved your book on Elizabethan gardens. Connie told me it was actually a televised series in Britain, and your illustrations were used for the opening credits."

"Yes. That was very special. I loved working on that project."

* 77 *

She was pleased he knew of it, and equally pleased Connie was proud of it, too.

"Do you study codes and ciphers for relaxation?" he asked as he entered the book's details beside her name.

"Not really. It's something that's beginning to interest me, and this book looked like an easy starting point. You have quite a few back there."

"Yes. It's an interest of my own, and being the librarian I have the luxury of ordering the books I like, as well as the few requests I get for the latest best sellers. I think of it as a perk."

"How long have you been here?"

"Nearly a year now."

"Good grief. Miss Crosier hung in there."

"No, no." He laughed. "Miss Crosier passed away quite a few years ago. After she retired another lady took over, but she left very suddenly. Then I applied for the post." The door swung open as Elicia returned.

"Hey, good timing. You get what you want?" She noted the book in Amy's hand.

"Yes, and you?"

"Yeah, let's go grab that coffee." They took their leave of the kindly Mr. Bloomsy and went out into the sharp fall day. The sky was electric blue, and the small town lay huddled in a horseshoe of snow-capped peaks and dark green forests.

"The car's open. Why not dump your book with my messages?

Mmm, is there a place around here to get a coffee?" Elicia looked up and down the street, not seeing anywhere obvious.

Amy opened the back door and placed her book on the rear seat. "There's a little booth section at the back of Johnston's store.

It's not the best but it's better than nothing," she called over her shoulder. As she pulled back, her coat sleeve brushed against Elicia's pharmacy bag, tipping the contents. Amy quickly scooped them back into the paper sack, but not before she noticed the home pregnancy kit. She set the sack upright and closed the car door. Elicia was a few paces ahead, leading the way to Johnston's.

* 78 *

It's none of my business. But I hope if she is pregnant it's what she and Jori want. Amy hurried to catch up, deciding to forget what she had inadvertently seen.

v "I don't know what sucks most. The coffee or the service,"

Elicia muttered into the cup that had been slammed down in front of her only moments ago. Both women had jumped in their seats as Norman Johnston served them with abrupt and surly rudeness.

"The service...you can always sweeten the coffee," Amy mumbled back, mopping up the coffee spill with her own tissues.

The paper napkin dispenser was empty.

Elicia shuddered at her first mouthful. "This is stone cold. Is yours?" Amy took a small sip and nodded.

"I'm taking these back." Elicia lifted their drinks and headed for the counter. She returned minutes later with two steaming mugs and an angry face.

"That has got to be the rudest man on the planet. If I hadn't watched his every move I swear he would have spat in our drinks.

Why the hell he isn't bankrupt I'll never know," she ranted. "What gives? They were just as stuck-up at the pharmacy. You'd think they didn't want my money."

"It's always been like this. Once they find you're from the valley they treat you like you kicked their dog, or sideswiped their truck, or ran away with their wife, wallet, rifle, God knows what."

"Well, why the hell is that?"

"History mostly. They just hate the Garouls. They sort of blame the family for the town's decline. But I think it's more like envy or scapegoating."

"What have the Garouls ever done to this pokey little place?"

"Nothing. The problems began after the war, when many of the young men who left to fight didn't return to logging. I suppose there were new and better opportunities opening up in the late forties. In fact, the timber industry in this area slid into decline. There were simply better resources and easier access farther north."