A Stranger's Promise by Betsy Lowery

Author:Betsy Lowery [Lowery, Betsy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781973648208
Publisher: WestBow Press
Published: 2019-01-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“Well, small world, isn’t it?” To Serena McCain Stillman, daughter of the Crook Mountain banker, Joan gave her name and a short explanation of how she had come to stay in the cabin. The woman, who looked to be in her early forties, had somewhat angular features framed by shoulder-length hair that was chestnut in color and very wavy. Several clues suggested a person who’d been blessed financially: the quality of her clothing, the size of the diamonds in her ring set (enhanced by a flawless manicure), the name of a store printed on a gift bag, presumably for a patient she was planning to visit, and the fact that it was breakfast food, not lunch food, on her tray. If Serena’s lifestyle was one of relative leisure, that would support the idea that she was not an early riser and that her breakfasts tended to happen much later than six or seven in the morning. The scuttlebutt was that Serena’s husband earned well. Besides that, the couple had extra income from at least two rental houses—the so-called McCain cabin and the brick house of that special errand on Monday morning.

“I’ll take a shot in the dark and say you’re here for the same patient we just visited,” Dove told Serena, who was moving her breakfast purchases from a blue tray onto the table.

“You got it. Dad called me this mornin’ about Laynie. I live close, you know. I found some cute hair barrettes as a gift, plus a small toy each for the younger kids.” Serena indicated the bag she had set on the table beside her fresh fruit, Danish pastry, and coffee lightened with creamer. Joan wasn’t hearing quite the same degree of dialect in Serena’s speech that was in Bonnie’s and in some others’, aside from dropping the Gs off her “–ing” words. Some of the townsfolk had come upon ways of broadening their worlds (and their speech, intentionally or not) through education or by living away for a while before coming back. Cora, for example. Gerald Givens. And, to a degree, even Marilyn.

Dove and Serena exchanged information about the Keys and hoped mutually that Laynie would improve very quickly. Serena had sometimes been a sitter for the Key children before moving away, Dove told Joan. Serena said she hoped Joan was liking the cabin. “I’m glad to hear that you find it attractive.”

Joan nodded and smiled. “The cabin and the town make a very appealing setting. Quite off the beaten track. And,” she made an effort not to inject any particular tone, “my stay has proved to be interesting.” After all, to say that one’s vacation somewhere had proved “interesting” didn’t suggest cloak and dagger business. It could refer to anything from taking a trolley tour of the historic district, to finding one good book at the local library, to noticing that you were sharing your hotel with an array of tall athletes who turned out to be a professional soccer team in town for a tournament.

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