Hummingbird Lake Page 0,65
Sage responded to Mayor Hank Townsend’s gesture to stop and roll down her window. “Glad I caught you,” he said as she turned onto Second Street on her way to Sarah’s house, which was across the street from her grocery store, the Trading Post. “Somebody was trying to track you down yesterday. A tourist. Wants to buy that eagle photo you have in the window at Vistas. He put his card through your mail slot, and asked half the people in town to be sure and let you know so that nobody bought it before he did. Seemed real important to him. I’d have sent him straight to Marcus, but he’s up at Rocky Mountain National Park.” In case she hadn’t heard the latest gossip, he added, “With Marlene.”
“Thanks, Hank. I’ll look for it.”
“So, did you ladies have fun on your trip? My wife sure hated to have to miss it.”
“We had a lovely time,” Sarah replied. “Tell Linda not to fret. We’ve decided the Patchwork Angels will do a road trip each spring and fall, so she can join us in October.”
“Will do.”
Hank stepped away from the car, and Sage completed her turn and drove the two short blocks to Sarah’s house. As she slowed to make the turn into Sarah’s driveway, across the street the Trading Post’s door opened. Two people carrying grocery sacks and laughing with each other stepped outside.
Sage slammed on the brakes. Sarah jerked forward against her seat belt and glared at her. “What in the world?”
Sage couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move a muscle. She sat in her car in the middle of the street frozen in shock.
The woman carrying a sack and a gallon of milk was her sister, Rose. The man with the six-pack … “Colt is here.”
“Oh, yeah?” Now, Sarah perked up and she twisted her head to look. “Who is that woman he is with? She looks familiar.”
Sage’s mouth had gone dry as day-old toast. “She’s my sister. I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Oh.” After a moment of surprised silence, Sarah grinned impishly. “This is even better than an elk in the barbershop.”
Colt saw Sage’s car and cursed his timing. He’d had a nice romantic surprise planned as a way of sharing his news. Okay, then. Change in plans. Not a problem.
“Enjoy your stay at Angel’s Rest,” he told the woman with whom he’d shared an entertaining conversation about the space aliens on the cover of the tabloid while waiting to check out.
“Thanks. I am hoping I will,” she responded, and in the process gave a little shrug that had him doing a double take because it reminded him so much of Sage.
The same Sage who hadn’t moved since she’d slammed on the brakes.
He stepped out into the street, waving to Sarah as he walked in front of Sage’s car and approached the already lowered driver’s-side window. Her gaze was shifting between him and the tourist. Did she think he was with the other woman? He’d better make sure she knew otherwise.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said to Sage, meaning it. “Hey, Sarah. I hear you two have been off gallivanting in Denver. Did you have fun?”
Sage simply stared at him. Sarah’s grin grew bigger. “Had a blast. Didn’t we, Sage?”
From her safety seat in back, Snowdrop yipped excitedly.
Sage finally found her voice. “What are you doing here?”
“How about we talk about it over dinner? Your place? Sevenish? Steaks? I’ll bring everything.”
“No.” Her gaze returned to the Trading Post, and Colt realized he had totally lost her concentration. He gave the woman another look and deduced that she had to be a relative. The short crop of hair was the same shade of auburn as Sage’s. The eyes. Sage’s reaction. Sister, maybe? One she wasn’t overjoyed to see?
Well now, this was interesting. Another piece to fit into her puzzle. He couldn’t wait to find out what this story was.
When Rose Anderson identified her sister as the driver of the car stopped in front of her, a truckload of emotion hit her head-on. Excitement. Grief. Fear. Anger. Nervousness. Sage looked as beautiful as always.
She wished she had something stronger than Snapple in her grocery bag.
The hot guy stepped away from the car as Sage opened the driver’s-side door and climbed out. “Rose?”
“Hi, Sage.”
“Rose, what in the world are you doing here?”
The accusation in her sister’s tone prodded old wounds, and she reacted instinctively with an old childish taunt the sisters often had exchanged. “Hey, it’s a free country.”
The moment the childish