Another Deception (5 page)

Another Deception

4

    
H
air pulled up in a ponytail, clad in denim pants, a tee shirt and wearing some sturdy boots, Jean climbed to the very top of the peak, which she could see out her window every morning. It made a beautiful picture when the sun burst out from behind the mountains with its array of spectacular colors. She took a deep breath in wonderment at the even more impressive view from where she was now standing looking down.

     It had taken her three hours to make the climb, and well worth the effort. Now, she planned to have a picnic before tromping back down to where she was
house
sitting
. She was in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. It was not the first time she ever stayed away from her friends and family back in Mississippi long enough to catch up on her writing projects.

      When she needed a break, she took long walks but this was the first time she had hiked this far. The view was well worth the effort and she drank in the wonder of it all.

     To look at her, you would never guess that she was the adventuresome type. Generally going about with no makeup and wearing the most unflattering glasses, she actually led a very placid life. She was tall for a woman, at five-nine and a bit too slender some thought. With a shocking head full of copper colored hair mostly kept controlled by pulling it back in a ponytail. Her face was pretty in an earthy sort of way, in spite of her ridiculous glasses. Her personality was shy but everyone knew her heart was big. She was a favorite in the nursery at Faith Chapel and she loved children.  It was by choice she was still single at thirty years old. At fourteen, she lost her first and only boyfriend to a terrible and tragic swimming accident. It was as if part of her died with him and she just was not interested in dating other men.

     No matter how many
were pushed
at her, every attempt to ‘fix her up’ failed. Eventually friends and family honored her wishes and left her alone. She poured herself into the romantic novels, using them as a substitute for the real thing.

     Sandwich eaten and a bottle of water finished, Jean reluctantly prepared her backpack for the hike back down the mountain. She breathed in the beauty one last time, and then with her bag strapped onto her back, she took the staff she carried when hiking and started the return down. She could not help but sing on the way, for sheer joy bubbled up inside her and she could not contain it. Song was her favorite form of praise and she knew it pleased God too. What she did not know was that she was not alone.

     There was a man following her. While keeping his distance, he stayed close enough to keep her in sight while unseen by her. He was a local and had been fishing in a stream when she crossed over it on her climb down.

     Curious, he wondered who would trespass on private property with signs posted. Since it was not hunting season, there was little to worry about but he was curious. With a face that could use a shave, he was in his late twenties and because of an early childhood
accident,
he walked with a slight limp. His granny had always called him handsome and he supposed he would do in the looks department, but he knew people called him the gentle giant because of his size and demeanor. Not one person could ever remember seeing him lose his temper or even say a harsh word to or about anyone. He stood a good six inches over six feet tall and his name was Howard, but most who knew him called him Hidey. The land belonged to him, and his grandfather before him.

     After watching the woman for a while, he decided that she was harmless. He had never seen her around before so figured she must be a visitor.
When she burst out singing a song, he grinned and dropping back, stopped following.
Retracing his steps to where his gear was, he kept thinking about her though, wondering who she was and where she was from. Even so, he managed to catch a mess of fresh trout for dinner.

     A short while after he got home with his catch, he asked,

   “Granny, have you seen a strange woman around town lately, real red hair, and kind of tall?”

     His Grandmother
Romona
was seventy years old but still fit. She doted on the boy, she and her husband had
raised
from the age of six after both his parents were killed in a car crash. Her husband Robert had been gone five years, so it was just the two of them now. She perked up when he asked the question, because at twenty-eight he showed no sign of settling down and having a family she could enjoy in her golden years.

“You met a woman and did not get her name?”

     His granny answered his question with her own, as she kept on preparing their dinner with the trout he had brought in, but she was more than a little interested.

“No, didn’t really meet her. I just saw her on the back side of the mountain there at Bear Creek, while I was fishing.”

“That’s posted land. What was she doing up there?”

“I’m not sure but it looked like she was just hiking. I spotted her as she was coming back down from the peak. I just thought you might have noticed her around town. No big deal.”

    
Romona
thought it was a pretty big deal if Hidey was curious enough to ask. She made a mental note to check with some of her friends about any new comers to the area. She wondered if this could be the one to make him forget about that witch Jillian, who had taken off for the glitter of the city with some modeling outfit.

      Shaking her head, as she finished up at the stove she murmured,

“Five years gone by and she still isn’t back.”

“What’s that?”   

“Nothing, I was just thinking this fish is going to be delicious. Set us up at the bar and it will be ready to eat.”

     He was already up reaching for the utensils.
Romona
taught him from an early age that if you ate her cooking, you best be ready to help with the work. He did not mind and by the time the fish was done, he had laid the bar with placemats and table settings for two.

    Three days later, he spotted Jean again. He was getting out of his truck when across the street at the bakery he saw the unmistakable red hair. Before he thought about it, he threw his hand up in a big wave only to receive a wondering look and hint of a smile as she glanced over her shoulder to see if there was someone behind her. When she saw there was not, she gave the smallest wave back and got into the little Subaru she was driving, thinking how friendly the people were.

     Hidey felt disappointment, but chided himself thinking,
you idiot, she never even saw you in the woods and here you go waving as if she was supposed to know who you are!
  He went on into the store with his list but his mind was still on the redhead.  Canadensis was actually just a small mountain village, so how hard could it be to find out who she was, he wondered. He had an idea and stopped at Pete’s Pizza. Feeling slightly awkward, he made small talk with Pete, an old school friend as well as owner and cook at the place. It was not a busy time so Pete took a pizza from the warmer and led Hidey to a table.

“I haven’t had lunch yet, help me eat this.”

     Hidey helped himself to a large slice of the pizza and they each had eaten two, before he shared why he was there.

“You haven’t seen a redheaded lady in here in the last few weeks have you?”

     Pete answered thoughtfully,

“Redheaded? Well, there is that kid of Jo Ann’s…”

     Interrupting, Hidey shook his head.

“That would be Amber and no she couldn’t be more than sixteen. Pete, I said a woman. I’m not sure if she lives here, but I saw her two weeks ago and then again today and was just wondering if we had some new people in town.”

“You want me to let you know if we get a redhead in for
pizza?
You know sooner or later they all end up here for a pizza fix.”

     He laughed at his attempt to be humorous, but sensing that Hidey was unusually serious, he picked up the dishes and walked back around the counter. Hidey stood to leave. He shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing important and felt a bit of irritation for it really was not. So why am I so curious? Aloud he said,

“See you later buddy.”

“Just a minute Hidey, I said no one like that was in here, but if you check at the post office, Nettie would know if there are any new comers to this area. Everybody gets mail.”

     This made good sense to Hidey and he agreed.

“Great idea, why didn’t I think of that?
Thanks Pete!”

     Heading to the door, Pete stopped him again.

“Wait! You never said why you are looking for this woman?”

“No, I didn’t, did I?”

“Well?”

“Nothing really, I spotted her hiking up on my place and thought I’d tell her it is posted property.”

“Yeah, right and when did you start caring if someone walked across your land? Get
outta
here!”

     Back in his truck, he wondered why he did have this compulsion to find her. She was nothing like Jillian, who came to his school in their senior year and made a huge splash amongst the
guys
, making all the girls jealous. She had chosen him, causing him to float through his last year of high school and the next four years of college.
Then bam!
She entered a fashion contest and winning offered her an opportunity to become a model for, of all things, underwear!  After a year of snatching only fragments of her time at home, he decided he would just make the move to Manhattan to be with her. As a graphic designer, he could work anywhere. It was to her surprise and his devastation, when he knocked on her apartment door to face another man, who was obviously more than just a
visitor
. He never told anyone about the incident, not even his granny. The unwelcome thoughts of his ex-girlfriend caused his mood to change and instead of going to the Post Office, he went home.

     Twice more, over the next couple of weeks, Hidey got a glimpse of Jean but was never where he could approach her. Once, while she was pumping gas and another while he was standing in the parking lot at Pete’s talking to friends, Carnet and JT, she passed by. He waved but she quickly looked the other way.

     He found himself thinking of her on a daily basis and one day impulsively stopped by the Post Office and asked Nettie if she knew who she could be.

     Describing her as a vivid redhead, it was to his surprise when Nettie smiled and said,

“Like the one behind you?”

       He turned, finding himself staring into the very face he was having a hard time getting out of his head.

“Hidey, meet Jean, and Jean, the guy who just almost knocked you down is Howard, better known as Hidey around here.”

     Jean gave him a friendly smile.

“How are you, it is nice to meet so many friendly people around here.”

“Uh, happy to meet you ma’am.”

      To
Hidey’s
dismay, Nettie announced,

“You were looking for a red head, is she the one Hidey?”

      He groaned in response and quickly explained,

“I saw you in the woods.”

     He turned a bright red while Jean looked confused.

“You see, I was fishing and you were hiking on my land. I mean….what I wanted to tell you
was
, that even though it is posted land, it is okay for you to hike up there whenever you like.”

     Jean kept just looking at him, now embarrassed. She had no idea she was trespassing!
Oh, dear!
  She gave Nettie the package she had come to mail. Turning back around to Hidey, she apologized,

“I’m sorry. I did not know the property
was posted
. I guess I should have asked someone before I took that trail.”

     Hidey cleared his throat.

“Aw, feel free to use the trails. The posting is mostly for the hunters and my grandpa put those signs up years ago, way before he passed away.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“No, it’s okay. He’s been gone a while.”

“Well, I’m sorry anyway and thank you for permission to use your trails. I really would like to go back up before I leave.”

      He felt a stab of disappointment that she was just a visitor.

“I can tell you are from the South, but where?”

“Mississippi.”

“Oh.”

     He could kick himself. She was moving toward the door. He hurried to catch it for her and asked,

“So how long you here for?
Unless you’d rather not tell me.”

     She smiled,