Chapter 1

Molly

It was going to be a good day. The sun was already shining out of my windows and I had a feeling that it was going to be a good one. I told myself that every day, but something convinced me that I was actually going to be right this time. Either way I was going to be as positive as I could be. It was something that I told myself years ago when I got divorced and found myself as stress as I could ever remember being. It was then that I had decided to make a change and that was what I had worked on the last five years. I was getting good at it if nothing else.

Moving off of the porch and the crisp air that was negated with the sun shining down on me, I went and refilled my coffee cup. It was a second cup kind of day and I don’t know why I thought that just that I did. The store was already opened; Denise called to tell me that everything was in order. I left it in her hands, knowing that I would have a little while longer before the amount of business would make me a necessity at the restaurant. Until then, I just wanted to enjoy the weather outside for a little while longer. Fall would be here before I knew it and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the warmth just yet.

I went back out to my favorite spot and tried to settle in for a while, but the phone was ringing. I got back up and tried not to let myself get aggravated. I should have turned the ringer off. It was my own fault for not doing it. There was no peace unless I went out of my way to get it. I knew that and I picked up the phone, still unable to let the machine get it.

“This is Molly.”

“Hey Molly, I was wondering if you could come in a little early. There is someone here to see you. He is really cute and I think you should come up to the shop right away.”

Now I was intrigued, but Denise didn’t have any more information. The man had come in looking for me and quickly left, saying he would be back in an hour. I didn’t have long to get down there, but my curiosity spurred me on. I wasn’t expecting any out of town visitors and he was definitely not from Nome according to Denise. I wondered who it could be and my brained whirled with the possibilities. I didn’t really come up with anything that really stuck in my mind and I tried to think of something else as I made my way in after I got dressed.

When I pulled up, there were no out of state or even out of county cars in the parking lot. I was a little early from when he said he would be back and I wished that Denise had at least gotten a name. It was most likely someone I never would have thought of or someone that I didn’t even know. It was more of a chance that it was government personnel more than anything else.

Denise was waiting for me by the door and I smiled at a few early morning customers before I moved behind the counter. “So you look good this morning. You were sounding like you just woke up when I called.”

“No, I was up a while. I had to feed the animals. They don’t let me have a day off, so I was onto my second cup of coffee when you called.”

“Sorry about that, but I figured that you would want to know someone was looking for you.”

“I do want to know, but I wish I knew who. You sure you didn’t catch a name?”

“No, I didn’t. He acted like he was in a rush and when I turned back around after I rung up a customer, to tell him what time you came in, he was already gone. Really weird.”

It sounded weird and I still was stumped on who it could be. I couldn’t think of anyone from out of town that would be looking for me.

“Well what did he look like?”

“I don’t know, really handsome in a rugged sort of way. He was a little more cleaned up then the guys around here, but I could tell that he was just like the rest. He was at least six foot something, dark hair, dark green eyes and no beard. That’s how I knew that he wasn’t from around here. No one comes to Nome fresh faced and if they do, it doesn’t stay that way for very long.”

“Green eyes?” That was about the only thing she told me that helped out. Green eyes weren’t very common and I knew that it would narrow it down. My insurance guy had green eyes, but I wouldn’t call him that handsome. He was alright, but not too easy on the eyes that my heart would skip a beat, so I decided it wasn’t him.

Denise didn’t have any more to tell me and I was forced to just wait and see who showed up. It was nerve racking to think about and I tried to keep myself busy with some of the cleaning that the last shift didn’t do. I was going to have to say something to the waitresses when they came into night, but it was all just incidental when it came down to it. I was there to see who was looking for me. It seemed to be going on a lot lately and I thought of Merle and who had come for her. Since most of my family resided elsewhere, I started to worry that it was going to be the bearer of bad news. I didn’t need any of that.

“Molly?