Scent of Cedar Page 2

  Surely she hadn’t imagined the beast at her door, had she?

  Pressing her nose against the polished glass of the door, she looked to the left and right, but didn’t see anything amiss. If she hadn’t been so distressed, she might have taken time to notice the pleasing layout of the yard and the big oak tree off in the far-right corner that would provide a perfect place to sit in the shade in the summer.

  Instead, she gaped with wide blue eyes, afraid of what she might see, fearful of what she wouldn’t. Moving back from the glass, she closed her eyes and inhaled several calming breaths, aware of an odd odor.

  “I’m not losing my mind, I’m not losing it,” she chanted. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and found herself staring once again into a hairy, hideous face.

  She screamed louder this time as she raced to find the cell phone she’d tossed on the kitchen counter last night. Her fingers trembled as she punched in 9-1-1 and waited for an operator. Surely they had some sort of emergency response program in this tiny town, didn’t they?

  Cedar slammed the kitchen window closed then frantically paced the floor, one hand flapping back and forth as though that might make someone answer faster. Finally, a voice came on the line.

  “Operator 2377. What is your emergency?”

  “Oh, thank goodness. My name is Cedar Haynes. I just moved to town, and there’s some kind of wild animal trying to get inside my house!”

  “Wild animal, ma’am?” an unruffled voice questioned.

  “Yes! A wild animal!” Cedar cautiously peered out the kitchen window. She caught sight of a furry backend stepping off the porch and disappearing around the corner. “It’s kind of brownish-tan, furry, big, and it smells weird.”

  “What’s your address, ma’am?”

  Cedar rattled off her street address, surprised she could remember it in her distraught state.

  What sounded like a chuckle made her pull the phone away from her head and glare at it a moment before she scowled and returned it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Sorry, ma’am, but if you look out your kitchen window, can you see a big pasture and a red barn?”

  Stunned by the fact the operator described the exact view she had from her kitchen, Cedar almost demanded to know how in the world the operator knew her home so well. Then again, she had moved to a small town where secrets were rare and everyone knew everyone else’s business. “Yes, I see the pasture and barn.”

  The operator laughed. “That’s the old Bolton place. Will Bolton is known around here as an eccentric in everything from his house to his pets. You’ve just met Lolly, a unique welcoming party of one. She’s harmless, if not a bit frightening first thing in the morning.”

  Cedar frowned. “Lolly? What’s a lolly?”

  “A camel.”

  Convinced she’d misheard the operator, Cedar leaned against the counter and tapped two fingers against her forehead, trying to dislodge whatever crazy notions made her think the operator said the monster roaming around outside was a camel.

  A camel? She really was losing it. Her therapist would have a field day with this. “Would you please repeat that?”

  Another annoying chuckle carried over the connection. “Lolly is a camel, Miss Haynes. She’s a friendly beast, won’t do you any harm, but she does have trouble staying on her own side of the fence. If you like, I can send an officer over to herd her into the pen. Her owner is most likely already on his way to work.”

  “No, I’m sure that isn’t necessary. Thank you.” Cedar sank down on a stool at her counter and wondered what she’d gotten herself into by moving to a quirky little town where camels ran loose, terrorizing unsuspecting women.

  “Welcome to Faraday, Miss Haynes. We’re happy to have you here. My brother helped work on the house when your sister had the remodeling crew there.”

  “Oh, well, thank you,” Cedar said, feeling her anonymity of being an unknown newcomer slipping away. “I’m sure he did a great job. I haven’t had a chance to check out the whole house.”

  “I know. It was late when you got in. My cousin lives across the road and saw your lights come on last night.”

  The woman’s soothing voice did nothing to dispel Cedar’s concerns. Just how closely were these people watching her? Born and raised in a bustling city, she had no experience with anyone keeping close tabs on her every move. In Portland, people did not spy on their neighbors unless they wanted to be labeled as a stalker or some sort of psychopath. Juniper had warned her that life in a small town would be completely different from anything she’d known. Perhaps, she should have listened to her sister a little more closely on that particular point.

  “Thank you, Miss…”

  “Kirkpatrick. Sarah Kirkpatrick, but just call me Sarah. I’m sure we’ll meet soon at the grocery store or church, or one of the community events. There’s a Veteran’s Day parade in the works. You should plan to go,” Sarah said, with a burst of enthusiasm that was impossible for Cedar to miss. “Anyway, if you need anything, just let me know. As for Lolly, she was probably giving you her own special brand of welcome. If she didn’t like you, that fact would be abundantly clear by now.”

  “I see. Thank you, again,” Cedar said, disconnecting the call. The moment she heard a dial tone, she called her sister, prepared to give her an earful.

  In all the conversations she’d had with Juniper about Faraday and her new home during the past month, how had her sister failed to mention an eccentric neighbor and a wandering camel?

  Chapter Two

  Halfway through his second cup of coffee, Rhett Riggs stood on his back patio and watched the sunrise glisten across the frost-covered ground.

  It was too cold to linger outside long, but the morning light had been so inviting, he’d pulled on a wool coat and stepped outside to enjoy another cup of coffee before he left for work. He’d completed his daily workout, fed the animals, and eaten breakfast. After placing dinner in the slow cooker, he compiled a grocery list, and finished a load of laundry while most people still slept.

  Rhett had always been an early riser. Today was no exception. He leaned his shoulder against one of the patio’s support posts and took another sip of coffee. His gaze roved across the pasture and flicked over to his closest neighbor’s abode.

  The place had been a beehive of activity the past month as workers painted, put on a new roof, installed new windows, cleaned up the yard and added a picket fence. Those improvements were just what he could see outside. From what he’d heard around town, nearly all the rooms had been remodeled, old floorboards restored, a master suite completed, and a two-car garage added on the back of the house. He liked that the garage’s location was hidden from the road and wouldn’t detract from the curb appeal of the old Victorian home.

  Rhett couldn’t help but admire the gray house with navy, burgundy, and cream trim. It looked fresh, neat, and inviting. He contemplated if the new owner might look the same.

  He’d run into a woman named Juniper at the café a few times. She was in charge of the remodeling project and told him her sister had purchased the place with plans to move in sight unseen. Juniper seemed quite concerned that everything be perfect for her sibling.

  What kind of person bought a house and an acre of property in a backwater town like Faraday without ever setting foot in either the house or town? Juniper had spent money on the old run-down place like she had an unlimited budget.

  Rhett scoffed, wondering what that would be like. He’d been born to a single mother more interested in men and booze than her only child. If it hadn’t been for his crazy uncle, Rhett didn’t know how he would have survived his childhood. Will Bolton was actually his mother’s uncle, but he’d been the only relative Rhett had beyond his mother.

  His fingers unconsciously traced the scar on his forehead, a constant reminder of why his mother was an unfit parent. Uncle Will was the one who raised him, loved him, and gave him a home.

  He wouldn’t go so far as to say the home was stable, because Uncle W
ill was pretty far out there on the scale of how normal humans behave, but he was a good man with a big heart.

  Rhett had never planned to return to Faraday once he left after high school, but Uncle Will’s forgetfulness segued to full-blown dementia. Without giving a thought to his future, Rhett left his job in Portland, returned to town, and cared for his uncle until he died a year ago the previous spring.

  After the funeral, most people expected Rhett to sell the place and leave, but he couldn’t do it. The house and twenty acres now belonged to him and he couldn’t bear to part with any of it. He might have a reputation as a wild bad boy, but when it came to Uncle Will, his heart was softer than melted butter.

  That was why he kept Uncle Will’s loony camel, weird dog, and strange cat. The dog, Rover, and cat, Murray, were easy enough to handle, but that camel… she was an entirely different matter. Lolly was always getting into trouble.

  Rhett should have donated her to the zoo, but every time he thought about it, he could see her the day she arrived on the place, as lost and needy as he’d been when Uncle Will took him in. Lolly had been his uncle’s pride and joy.

  And the camel was the sole reason the house next door was up for sale. She’d taken an instant dislike to the last three owners. The first was a snippy couple from Seattle who purchased it as a weekend home. Lolly chased them away within a month.

  The next couple planned to turn the place into a bed and breakfast. Rhett wasn’t wild about the idea of strangers constantly coming and going next door, but Lolly took care of the problem before the couple had even finished unpacking the boxes the movers carried inside.

  The last owner managed to stick it out for three months before the woman hastily packed her things and left, threatening to sue Rhett for allowing his out-of-control animal to harass her.

  In truth, Rhett wasn’t concerned. The woman would never follow through with a lawsuit and it was going to be hard to prove Lolly was the reason she’d moved, even if he knew it was true. The camel took a firm stance on who she liked and did not. If a person fell on Lolly’s naughty list, they might as well pack their bags and leave town as quickly as possible.

  Suddenly, he noticed Lolly wasn’t in the pasture. He hoped she was in the attached shelter he’d built for her three winters ago, rather than up to no good. Despite all laws of reason and logic, Lolly had a talent for escaping her confines. She never wandered any farther than the neighbor’s place, but if she decided she wanted to go somewhere, a little thing like a fence would not deter her. Not in the least.

  A woman’s terrified scream ripped through the morning air causing Rhett to choke on the coffee he’d just swallowed. Coughing and thumping his chest with his fist, he slammed the cup down on the patio table and looked across the pasture. Sure enough, there was Lolly, staring in his neighbor’s glass door on the back porch. How had the crazy beast gotten onto the porch, anyway? Before he could call out to her, the camel trotted around the corner of the house.

  He hoped she’d come home without causing more trouble. The right thing to do would be to go next door and apologize, but Rhett had an uncanny feeling he did not want to meet his new neighbor. Avoidance was more his style. That way he wouldn’t feel quite as guilty watching someone he’d never met in person leave because of the camel.

  If Lolly would hurry up and haul her furry backside home, he’d give her yet another lecture about boundaries, for all the good it did, while he escorted her to her pen.

  He picked up the coffee mug and took a step toward his back door when another, louder scream jerked his attention to the house across the pasture. Lolly had her nose pressed against the door again, no doubt giving the woman inside a heart attack.

  With a resigned sigh, he went inside the house, left the coffee cup in the kitchen sink, and rushed out his front door. He took the front steps in two long strides and made it to the end of the sidewalk in time to see Lolly race into the yard, a big grin on her silly face as she spied Rhett.

  “Lolly! What have I told you about scaring the neighbors?” Rhett asked as she trotted over to him and nuzzled his neck. He tried to remain serious, but the mischief twinkling in the camel’s eyes and her amused smile drew out his own. He shook his head and placed a hand on her neck, giving it a loving pat. “Come on, you goof, it’s time for me to go to work and you know that means you need to stay in your pen.”

  Lolly grunted, whether in agreement or protest, Rhett wasn’t sure, but she followed him over to the gate. When he swung it open, she sauntered inside. “Be a good girl, Lol, and I’ll see you tonight. No more visiting the neighbor today. Is that understood?”

  The camel bobbed her head and emitted a soft puff of air that almost sounded like a laugh.

  “I mean it!” Rhett admonished as he shut the gate. He hurried over to the carport and straddled his motorbike. Until it snowed, he planned to keep riding it. It was only a mile to the garage in town where he worked.

  He was proud of the fact he’d been able to purchase the business from old Mr. Reynolds when the man wanted to retire. Rhett had worked for him when he was in high school and again when he returned to care for his uncle. Mr. Reynolds said he’d known all along Rhett would someday come back to Faraday and he couldn’t imagine anyone better suited to take over the business he’d built from nothing back in the late 1950s.

  Rhett kick-started the bike, strapped on his helmet, and roared down the road into town. He waved to Drew Miller as the man walked toward the post office where he worked and then turned on the side street that ran by his garage. He rode around back and removed his helmet.

  Quickly unlocking the back door, he pushed his bike inside then shrugged out of his coat, hanging it on a hook by the door. He breathed in the scent of motor oil and rubber from new tires as he turned on the lights. After plugging in the tools necessary for his trade, he made a pot of coffee and turned up the heat in the waiting area. He took a cup of coffee to the small office and turned on the computer before sinking down into the old wooden desk chair that creaked as he leaned back.

  The phone on the desk jangled and he grabbed it on the second ring. “Faraday Garage.”

  “Hey, man, are we still on for tonight?” a deep voice inquired.

  Glad to hear from his friend, Rhett grinned. “Yep. I’ll run by the store on my way home. Are you all coming over about six?”

  “That’s the plan,” Seth Stafford said. “Anything you want me to bring besides chips?”

  “Are you bringing your grandpa with you?”

  Seth sighed. “No. He’s been rubbing his knee and warning me we are in for a blizzard, so Pops refuses to leave the place. Even the lure of your famous chili and watching last night’s game on your ridiculously big TV screen won’t get him to budge tonight.”

  “His loss,” Rhett said, unable to hide the humor in his voice. Seth’s grandpa was so stubborn and set in his ways, it was a wonder the man didn’t turn into stone. But Sam Stafford was a good man, one who had taken Rhett under his wing and had always been available whenever he needed advice or a few words of wisdom.

  “I know. See you at six.”

  “See you then.” Rhett hung up the phone and thought about his unlikely friendship with Seth. The two of them had met in third grade when Seth’s parents and sister were killed in a tragic accident on the freeway. A semi hit a patch of black ice and slid into their car, knocking it over an embankment and into the ravine below. The couple and their daughter died almost instantly from the impact, but it left their son alone in the world, except for his crusty grandfather who had a ranch near Faraday.

  The first day Seth showed up at school, Rhett had befriended the sad, lost little boy, feeling a kinship to him the other students didn’t understand. From then on, the two of them had been best friends. Even during the years when Rhett lived in Portland, they’d remained close. Seth was closer than a brother to him then and certainly was now, although they didn’t see each other all that often. Seth owned half of the sprawling Stafford Ranch and
carried the bulk of responsibilities now that Sam was getting older and less agile, even though he’d never admit it.

  Rhett was glad Seth still planned to join in their weekly ritual of sharing a meal and watching a recorded football game or a movie. Every Friday evening, four childhood friends met to hang out and relax after a long week of work. In addition to Seth, Drew Miller and his brother, Drake, completed the group. Once in a while, Seth talked Pops into joining them, but for the most part it was just the four of them. With a lack of eligible women in town, it was a rare occurrence when one of them had to miss a Friday night gathering because of a date.

  In fact, Rhett recalled his last real date had been back before the homecoming football game at the community bonfire. He’d agreed to go out with a friend’s cousin who was in town for the weekend. The girl was annoying, a typical blonde with nothing but giggles and air in her head. He’d managed to dump her back on her family the minute she suggested a second date and escaped home unscathed. Unfortunately, Rhett hadn’t felt up to asking anyone else out on the chance they might get any crazy ideas about him being interested in anything outside of an evening of fun.

  He really did need to get a social life beyond his weekly movie or football night with his buddies. Seth, Drew, and Drake were good company, but a date with a smart, beautiful woman would go a long way in taking the edge off the antsy, restless feeling that had settled over him the last few weeks.

  Despite his efforts to shake it, he just couldn’t help feeling as though something was about to happen or that something needed to happen.

  Irritated with himself for dwelling on things over which he had no control at the moment, he yanked on his coveralls and got started repairing the engine he was overhauling for an old pickup a farmer brought in earlier in the week. Rhett cranked up his favorite rock music and lost himself in his work.