Book Of Days_ A Novel Part 8

"No, but I'm successfully ignoring all those negative thoughts." She paused. "At least I wish I were."

"Are you thinking of heading back?"

"No, I need to do this, Drew."

"Hey, do me a favor. If you have it in your laptop, could you look up the e-mail address of that photographer who came by the office last month? I want to have him take some new head shots of you and the rest of the crew."

"" Ann grabbed her keys and slipped out her door into the hotel hallway.

He chuckled. "It amazes me every time you do something like that."

"There are some advantages of having a photographic memory."

"What, there are disadvantages?"

"Remind me to tell you about them sometime."

"So have you figured out what you're going to say to Cameron when you see him?"

"I'm thinking about h.e.l.lo for starters." Ann reached her car, opened it, and slid behind the wheel.

"Hah."

"Hey, I worked on it the whole trip down."

"Seriously, what are you going to say?"

"I'm not thinking about it." Not at the moment. But she'd been debating what to say since that first disconcerting phone call four days ago. Ann jammed her keys into the ignition, started her Prius, and yanked the gears.h.i.+ft into Reverse.

"In other words, you have no clue how you'll greet him."

"I have nothing."

"I think you should take the blunt approach and tell him the reason you haven't had a relations.h.i.+p last more than nine months ever since you met him."

"I already told you, those feelings vanished years and years ago." A grocery store slid by on her left. Lunch. She needed some.

"I think the lady doth protest too much."

"Leave it alone, Drew." She didn't need him needling her about it. Especially when his needles were hitting such tender spots.

"Does anyone in Three Peaks know you're coming?"

"Who would even care if I'm coming?"

"Small towns make big stars like you even bigger."

"I'm not a star. I hate that."

"It's true."

"Fine. I'll get my pen prepared."

"I caught that alliteration. Nicely done."

"Thanks, I'll be in touch." Ann hung up and her stomach took advantage of the pause in the action to shout, Food! Now! Food! Now!

The Darn Good Deli caught her eye and she slammed on the brakes and turned hard to the right. Behind her a horn screamed at her.

"Yeah, sorry, my fault." She squeezed into a parking spot on the far side of the lot and grabbed her purse. As she stood in line trying to decide between the barbecue chicken sandwich and the turkey melt, the mumbling behind her grew in volume.

"It is!"

"Here? Nah. It is not."

"Is!"

Ann turned. Two women, one blonde, one brunette, both in short-sleeve blouses squirmed behind her. They looked to be in their midforties, carrying a few extra pounds, but their features were striking. Take twenty years and twenty pounds off and they could have been models. Who did they remind her of? Some old comic book with a blonde and brunette in it. Bingo. Archie. Archie. Betty and Veronica hit middle age. Betty and Veronica hit middle age.

The brunette spoke first. "Hi, sorry to bother you. We're not exactly the outdoorsy types, but we love reading and watching shows about it. And, well, there's this national TV show we're hooked on called Adventure Northwest. Adventure Northwest. They do shows on white-water rafting, and paintball, and hot-air ballooning, and kayaking, and skiing, you know, that kind of stuff. Well, we think you look just like the host, Ann Brewster." They do shows on white-water rafting, and paintball, and hot-air ballooning, and kayaking, and skiing, you know, that kind of stuff. Well, we think you look just like the host, Ann Brewster."

"Banister!" Betty whacked Veronica on the arm.

"A lot of people tell me I look like her." Ann nodded toward the sandwich menu on the wall. "What do you recommend?"

"I always get the turkey melt; it's never let me down," the brunette said.

"I'll take that one," Ann said to the man behind the counter. She winked at Veronica. "Thanks."

After giving him details on how she wanted it-mayo, mustard, no pickles, olives, lettuce, and tomatoes-she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're not Ann Banister?"

"I'm pretty sure. But it's difficult to be absolutely one-hundred percent positive."

"I think you're her. She's my favorite person on TV."

Ann smiled. "Okay," she whispered. "I'm me. I mean, I'm her. I'm Ann. But it's not a big deal. Really."

She paused to watch the absurdity of fame engulf the women.

"Ahh! I knew it was you!" The brunette drilled her finger into the blonde's shoulder like a woodp.e.c.k.e.r trying to get at a beetle. "See! See! I was right."

"Ouch! Stop it!"

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Ann said.

Both women leaned in, their mouths twittering with nervous grins.

"I'm no more special than you two, just a bit better known. Really." Ann might as well have mentioned aliens just landed in town square for all the effect her words had. The ladies nodded and kept grinning.

By the time Ann paid for her sandwich, the women had calmed down. Thankfully the two workers behind the counter had obviously never seen her show.

After creating a mix of Diet Mountain Dew, Cherry c.o.ke, and raspberry iced tea, Ann waited for her two new friends to pick up their sandwiches.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Hi," the blonde said. "I mean, yes, of course."

"I'm visiting in town for a few days and haven't connected yet with the person I'm meeting here. Do you mind if we eat together? I would love to find out a little bit more about your town."

After almost dropping their drinks the two women agreed, and the three found a table in the back.

"We'll introduce you to Jason Judah, absolutely for sure we will," Betty said. "He's the most spiritual man you'll ever meet and knows just about everyone in town. In fact, he's having a get-together tonight at the town hall. It's an open invitation and you'd get to meet everyone. You know what I mean? You should come."

Veronica gave her the address and time.

"Okay, I will." Ann noted them on her cell phone. "But for the moment, all I want to know is if there are any good swimming holes around here where the kids hang out during the summer."

"You came all the way from Portland to find out where the local kids go for a swim?" Betty tilted her head and frowned.

"It's pretty important to me to find out the answer." Ann reached into her purse and pulled out the picture of her mom.

"Oh my." Veronica stared at the picture, then slid it over to Betty. A few seconds later they both scooped up their sandwiches and grabbed their drinks. "We're so sorry, Ms. Banister. We just remembered something. There's somewhere we have to be right now. Gotta go."

Ann stared at them as they scampered out the door without looking back. Interesting. There were obviously some dark rabbit holes in Three Peaks. She looked forward to seeing how deep they went.

CHAPTER 10.

As Cameron trudged down Main Street on his way to breakfast with Jason on Thursday morning, he stared at a sign in the window of Step on the Field Sports that reminded him of Jessie. It said, "You gotta believe! The Outlaws will take State this fall!"

Three months after they'd started dating, Jessie had stood on the top of Mount Si thirty miles east of Seattle, gazing at the miles of trees laid out in front of them like a patchwork green carpet.

"Looking at this splendor, you just gotta believe." She turned to him, eyes lit up like diamonds reflecting morning sun.

"In what?"

"Something and Someone greater than yourself."

"What do you believe in, Jess?"

"I haven't told you enough already?" She laughed. "G.o.d loves you, you know." Jessie took his hands. "What about you? What do you believe in?"

"Us."

"Me too." She snuggled into his chest as he watched an eagle canter on the winds that swirled up the side of the mountain.

"That's it? No more questions? Aren't you supposed to try to save me?"

"That isn't in my job description." Jessie poked him. "G.o.d handles that part."

"So He's slackin'? I haven't felt anything yet."

"Someday He'll reach you, Cameron. I know it." Jessie pulled back, her hazel eyes gazing into his, her countenance suddenly serious. "He's not hung up on time like we are."

"Good to know." Cameron stroked her hair. "So there's a G.o.d and a heaven, huh?"

"Oh yes." She said it without a trace of doubt.

Maybe Jessie was there now, looking down at him as he tried to believe the book wasn't on the level of the Loch Ness Monster. And hoping Jason wasn't a quack.

Cameron stepped into the Outland Cafe and scanned the restaurant. Dishes clattered and an intense tang of bacon crept into his nose. Growing up, he'd been given two pieces of bacon every day before school. These days the smell made him nauseous.

He shook his head and waited to be seated. Two families sat at tables along the wall to the right, underneath a large picture of the three snow-capped peaks the town was named for. To Cameron's left, two men, who looked like they stepped off the pages of Field & Stream, Field & Stream, each downed a three-inch-high stack of pancakes doused in maple syrup. each downed a three-inch-high stack of pancakes doused in maple syrup.

The hostess led Cameron to a table at the back of the cafe. After settling in, he glanced at his watch. Another two minutes and Jason would be late.

He wasn't.

As Jason stepped through the doors of the Outland Cafe, the majority of eyes turned toward him. At least six foot five and probably 260 pounds, the man was Mount Everest, or K2 at least. People acknowledged him with either admiration or thinly veiled disgust in their eyes. There didn't seem to be any middle ground. Jason's eyes seemed to say "love me or hate me, just don't ignore me."

Spying Cameron, he burst into a wide grin and sauntered toward the back of the cafe, stopping along the way to greet his admirers with an encouraging word. He ignored the ones who glared at him or had a sudden interest in the food on their plates.

"Good morning." Jason stuck out his frying-pan-sized paw and Cameron shook it.

"Thanks for talking to me."

"The pleasure is mine." Jason sat across from Cameron and beamed. "Cameron Vaux. How are you?" It was a statement, not a question.

"You're popular around here."

"With some." Jason smoothed back his thick hair and nodded at two women three booths down who gazed at him with dopey looks on their faces. "Others not so much."

"Why not?"

"I make people uncomfortable." He paused and a thin smile appeared on his face. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Cameron considered Jason Judah. He formed an impression of most people quickly. Jason was not most people. He exuded confidence, yet below the surface floated insecurity, maybe even anger. Cameron saw it in the way Jason continued to glance around the room, attempting to catch the eye of a fan, frustration rising when it didn't happen quickly.

"What's your technique for making people uncomfortable?"

Jason looked him straight in the eye. "I tell them the truth."