Hummingbird Lake Page 0,6
Springs didn’t need the state of Colorado to build a prison here to save the town. I believed then and I believe today that in order for our town to thrive, it needs to free itself from the prison of its past and utilize the gifts a generous and loving God has bestowed upon it.
“I hold that Angel’s Rest offers a tool to assist Eternity Springs in doing both. Now, though our journey forward has begun, our winter is not yet behind us. We continue to face the challenge of overcoming our fears, foibles, and failings. I stand here before you today asking each of you to reach inside yourself, take ownership of your personal power, and trust it. Explore the forces of good awaiting your participation. The rebirth of spring is closer than before. Have faith, offer thanks, and believe in Eternity Springs.”
Sage glanced around and smothered a smile at the skepticism and confusion painted on many of townspeople’s faces. Celeste spoke with authority, and in the past eighteen months the people of Eternity Springs had come to respect her and listen to her, even if they didn’t always understand her.
From her position at Sage’s side, Sarah asked, “Does that make you want to run off and paint a picture like her speech did last year?”
Sage laughed. “No. I’ve already indulged my creativity today. Besides, I smell barbecue and I’m ready for lunch.”
At the podium, Celeste continued. “As some of you may know, I commissioned a sign to be created by a longtime seasonal member of our Eternity Springs family, Dr. Colt Rafferty. Colt is a brilliant man, an engineer and former college professor who now serves the citizens of our country as a safety investigator out of Washington, D.C. But at heart, Colt is an artist who creates magnificent carvings from wood, a man whose soul is fed by all the wonder that is found here in Eternity Springs. Colt and his father, Ben, another frequent visitor to our town, have joined us for today’s celebration. Colt, would you step up here and assist me with the unveiling, please?”
Sage watched a tall man dressed in jeans and a blue chambray shirt make his way forward. From her position in the front of the crowd, she noted his long, lean build, wide shoulders, and thick, wavy black hair. When he turned to face the crowd, she saw that he had blue eyes. Striking blue eyes, the color of Hummingbird Lake in summer. His face was a study of sculpted angles and masculine planes that the artist in her itched to sketch. In a tone just shy of miffed, she observed, “So, that’s the great Colt Rafferty, hmm?”
Ali looked at her friend in surprise. “You have a problem with him?”
Sage shrugged. “I’ve never met the man.”
Lori Reese sighed. “Dr. Rafferty is the reason I decided to go to college. I’m hoping all my professors look like him.”
Sarah slung an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and said, “If all your professors look like Colt Rafferty, I’m going to enroll in classes myself.”
Leaning forward, Sarah added to Ali, “Sage has had a stick up her butt about Colt ever since one of his carvings beat one of her paintings for the blue ribbon at the summer arts festival last month.”
“I haven’t had a stick up anything,” Sage fired back. “I simply didn’t think his work belonged in the local artists category since he skipped coming to Eternity Springs for three summers in a row. How can someone be considered local if they’re gone for three years?”
“Local or not, he is one fine-looking man,” Nic observed. Sage watched Colt Rafferty’s large, tanned hands grasp the cord attached to the canvas covering the sign. Celeste signaled for the middle school band student to begin the drumroll she’d arranged. The sound vibrated through Sage, and anticipation swelled within her. Suddenly she felt as if she stood at the edge of the observation point up on Sinner’s Prayer Pass, and when she tangibly felt Celeste’s knowing gaze upon her, she had but one thought in her mind.
Uh-oh.
Colt’s gaze fastened on the redhead near the front of the crowd, a beacon of fiery beauty amidst a sea of attractive blondes. My oh my. The already gorgeous mountain scenery had been upgraded significantly since his last visit to Eternity Springs. Slender but deliciously curved, the woman had flowing auburn hair that made him think of a medieval heroine in an Edmund Blair Leighton painting. Big green eyes, fair