Hummingbird Lake

TWO

The marriage ceremony at St. Stephen’s couldn’t have been more lovely, Sage decided. Nic made a gorgeous bride, all ripe and plump and pregnant, and Gabe looked happy and relaxed and finally at peace. She mentioned as much to her friend, Sarah Reese, as they left the church and began the half-mile walk to the healing center on the opposite side of Angel Creek.

“Gabe is happy, he’s crazy in love,” Sarah said, her Liz Taylor–violet eyes gleaming with delight. Her short dark hair crowned an angular face and gave her a sassy look that matched her personality perfectly. Today she wore a yellow sundress and strappy heeled sandals, and she carried a bridesmaid’s bouquet of daisies. “Of course, Celeste would point out that it’s Eternity Springs doing its healing thing.”

Sage twirled her own daisy bouquet as she thought of the conversation with Celeste earlier that morning and nodded in agreement. “I think she has something there.”

Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s a little woo-woo for me. We’re not Shangri-La. There are plenty of miserable, unhappy people in Eternity Springs. I have two words for you: Marlene Lange.”

Fiftysomething and never married, Marlene made her living as a realtor, piano teacher, and choral director for the school. She rarely smiled, regularly offered her caustic opinions when they were neither needed or appreciated, and often took offense over ridiculous, imagined slights.

“Poor Marlene,” Sage said. “She had dreams of singing professionally. Did you know that? After her father had his stroke, she stayed here to help her mom care for him, and she ended up caring for her aging parents until she’d aged herself.”

“And grew bitter and unhappy and mean—thus making my point.”

Sage could have voiced the obvious—that Sarah was walking the same road and she should take care that Eternity didn’t gain a bitter baker along with its bitter realtor—but today wasn’t the day for that. She kept her mouth shut.

Sarah continued, “I think the healing center is a great idea, but if it’s successful it will be because Celeste threw enough money and manpower at it to make it work, not because of some happy-mist cloud that descends upon our valley.”

“You’re right.” Sage nodded, conceding the point. “Nevertheless, I have good feelings about the healing center’s success. I think people who visit will be glad they came, and they’ll spread the word. I believe Celeste’s Angel Plan will put Eternity Springs on the map.”

“We’re already on the map,” Sarah countered. “Only problem is, we’re a speck of dust. A pinpoint. But maybe now that we have an angel dancing on the head of our pin, we’re going to grow to be a real dot. If we become a dot, maybe I can make a living here working only one job instead of two.”

Sarah owned the Trading Post, Eternity’s only grocery store, opened and operated by Sarah’s family since 1894. A single mother of a high school senior and staring college tuition in the face, Sarah had begun baking desserts for the Bristlecone Café about five years ago to supplement her income.

Curious, Sage asked, “So if you had a choice, would you rather quit baking or stop selling groceries?”

“Groceries,” Sarah answered in a heartbeat. “If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d hire a manager for the store, build a commercial kitchen, and bake to my little heart’s content.” Noting Sage’s smile, she asked, “Does that surprise you?”

“Not at all. You are as much an artist with shortening and flour as I am with paint.”

Sarah preened a little bit. “That’s a lovely thing to say. Thank you.”

Both women turned their heads when a red BMW convertible pulled up beside them and stopped. The driver was Sarah’s daughter, Lori. Ali Timberlake’s son, Chase, a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, sat in the passenger seat. The two had begun dating over the past summer when Chase worked at the Double R Ranch outside of town.

“Well, now,” Sarah said, her brows arching. “Does Ali know you’re driving her car, young woman?”

“Yes, of course.” Lori tucked a strand of long dark hair behind her ear and grinned. “Don’t I look good behind this wheel, Mama? I think I need a car like this to take off to college with me next year.”

“And I need Jimmy Choo shoes to wear next time I go mountain climbing, too. Now, where is Ali?”

“My mom is right behind you.” Chase hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “She said she’d rather walk. Good decision, I say. With all the traffic in town today, you walkers are liable to beat us there, anyway.”

Sage glanced back over her shoulder and saw Ali Timberlake approaching. As the convertible pulled away, she and Sarah waited for their friend. A frequent visitor to Eternity Springs, Ali lived in Denver with her husband, Mac, a federal court judge.

“What a great outfit,” Sarah observed, eyeing Ali’s knit sweater jacket and slacks. “Ali always looks so stylish and put together. Perfect hair, perfect makeup. That blond bob of hers is never mussed. She’s pure class. I hate her.”

“Me too.”

“Sage and I decided we hate you,” Sarah said cheerfully as Ali joined them.

“Oh?” Ali asked, nonplussed. “Why is that?”

“You always look so good, you put us to shame.”

At that, the newcomer grinned delightedly. “What a lovely compliment. Thank you for the hate.”

“You’re welcome.” Sarah looped her arm through Ali’s and they continued toward Angel’s Rest.

“I didn’t see you at the church,” Sage said to Ali.

“I was almost late,” Ali explained. “Caitlin’s cross-country team had a meet yesterday that ran long, so I didn’t drive in until this morning.” She grinned a bit sheepishly, then added, “I didn’t have to stay till the bitter end of the race, but since this is her senior year, I didn’t want to miss a minute.”

“I totally understand that,” Sarah said.

For the rest of their walk, the three friends discussed Nic’s wedding and Celeste Blessing’s uncanny ability to have anticipated that Nic would need a wedding gown when she was nine months pregnant. They crossed the footbridge over Angel Creek and joined a growing crowd of visitors, where they mixed and mingled and settled in to enjoy the celebration.

The bells of St. Stephen’s church rang the noon hour as Celeste stepped up to the temporary podium erected at the entrance to her property. Watching her brought a smile to Sage’s face. For this town and its citizens, Celeste had been Santa Claus, a fairy godmother, and Glenda the Good Witch, all wrapped up in a bow. When she gracefully brought her arms out as though she were a dove unfurling her wings to take flight, Sage corrected herself. Celeste Blessing was Eternity Springs’ angel.

“Welcome, friends, neighbors, and special guests,” Celeste declared, her blue eyes sparkling. “God has blessed us with a glorious day, has He not?”

She paused while the crowd clapped and cheered, then continued, “It’s been an exciting year for Eternity Springs as we put our recovery plan into action, and I think the first order of business is to give ourselves a round of applause. Once the decision was made to move forward with the idea of establishing a healing center and spa in our fair town, everyone pitched in to make it a success. Now we have this beautiful facility, a thriving economy, and a growing population. Are we good, or what?”

As the crowd erupted into more cheers and applause, Sage scanned the estate, reflecting on the change a year can make. The centerpiece of the Angel’s Rest property was the mansion previously known as Cavanaugh House, which had been built by Ali’s ancestor in the 1880s. Spruced up by its new coat of paint, new shutters, new roof, and one entire new wing that replaced the section that had burned down almost a year ago, the house gleamed in welcome. New landscaping on the estate included inviting, bubbling pools in the hot springs park area, designed by Gabe Callahan. Recently constructed cottages and dormitories offered appealing accommodations to guests, and a small but efficient staff was in place and ready to see Celeste’s vision fulfilled. Sage was glad to be part of it.

“Now, my fellow citizens of Eternity Springs,” Celeste continued with a twinkle in her eyes. “Before the party gets started, I’d like you to recollect back to that town meeting just about a year ago when this town’s future appeared so bleak. If you’ll recall, I stood before you and said that Eternity Springs didn’t need the state of Colorado to build a prison here to save the town. I believed then and I believe today that in order for our town to thrive, it needs to free itself from the prison of its past and utilize the gifts a generous and loving God has bestowed upon it.

“I hold that Angel’s Rest offers a tool to assist Eternity Springs in doing both. Now, though our journey forward has begun, our winter is not yet behind us. We continue to face the challenge of overcoming our fears, foibles, and failings. I stand here before you today asking each of you to reach inside yourself, take ownership of your personal power, and trust it. Explore the forces of good awaiting your participation. The rebirth of spring is closer than before. Have faith, offer thanks, and believe in Eternity Springs.”

Sage glanced around and smothered a smile at the skepticism and confusion painted on many of townspeople’s faces. Celeste spoke with authority, and in the past eighteen months the people of Eternity Springs had come to respect her and listen to her, even if they didn’t always understand her.

From her position at Sage’s side, Sarah asked, “Does that make you want to run off and paint a picture like her speech did last year?”

Sage laughed. “No. I’ve already indulged my creativity today. Besides, I smell barbecue and I’m ready for lunch.”

At the podium, Celeste continued. “As some of you may know, I commissioned a sign to be created by a longtime seasonal member of our Eternity Springs family, Dr. Colt Rafferty. Colt is a brilliant man, an engineer and former college professor who now serves the citizens of our country as a safety investigator out of Washington, D.C. But at heart, Colt is an artist who creates magnificent carvings from wood, a man whose soul is fed by all the wonder that is found here in Eternity Springs. Colt and his father, Ben, another frequent visitor to our town, have joined us for today’s celebration. Colt, would you step up here and assist me with the unveiling, please?”

Sage watched a tall man dressed in jeans and a blue chambray shirt make his way forward. From her position in the front of the crowd, she noted his long, lean build, wide shoulders, and thick, wavy black hair. When he turned to face the crowd, she saw that he had blue eyes. Striking blue eyes, the color of Hummingbird Lake in summer. His face was a study of sculpted angles and masculine planes that the artist in her itched to sketch. In a tone just shy of miffed, she observed, “So, that’s the great Colt Rafferty, hmm?”

Ali looked at her friend in surprise. “You have a problem with him?”

Sage shrugged. “I’ve never met the man.”

Lori Reese sighed. “Dr. Rafferty is the reason I decided to go to college. I’m hoping all my professors look like him.”

Sarah slung an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and said, “If all your professors look like Colt Rafferty, I’m going to enroll in classes myself.”

Leaning forward, Sarah added to Ali, “Sage has had a stick up her butt about Colt ever since one of his carvings beat one of her paintings for the blue ribbon at the summer arts festival last month.”

“I haven’t had a stick up anything,” Sage fired back. “I simply didn’t think his work belonged in the local artists category since he skipped coming to Eternity Springs for three summers in a row. How can someone be considered local if they’re gone for three years?”

“Local or not, he is one fine-looking man,” Nic observed. Sage watched Colt Rafferty’s large, tanned hands grasp the cord attached to the canvas covering the sign. Celeste signaled for the middle school band student to begin the drumroll she’d arranged. The sound vibrated through Sage, and anticipation swelled within her. Suddenly she felt as if she stood at the edge of the observation point up on Sinner’s Prayer Pass, and when she tangibly felt Celeste’s knowing gaze upon her, she had but one thought in her mind.

Uh-oh.


Colt’s gaze fastened on the redhead near the front of the crowd, a beacon of fiery beauty amidst a sea of attractive blondes. My oh my. The already gorgeous mountain scenery had been upgraded significantly since his last visit to Eternity Springs. Slender but deliciously curved, the woman had flowing auburn hair that made him think of a medieval heroine in an Edmund Blair Leighton painting. Big green eyes, fair skin, a faint dusting of freckles across her nose.

He wondered who she was.

Then Celeste gave him the nod, and he turned his attention to the business at hand, giving the rope a hard yank. The canvas slipped, the sign was revealed, and Celeste waved in a flourish and declared, “Welcome to Angel’s Rest!”

Colt watched the crowd’s reaction with a measure of professional pride as they viewed the bas-relief figure of an angel in repose in front of a bubbling mountain brook, the words Angel’s Rest a cloud in the sky. He saw his dad beam and the redhead’s eyes round with reluctant appreciation. He read her lips as she said, “That is gorgeous work.”

At the podium, Celeste tapped on the microphone to recapture attention, then said, “I want you all to take a close look at the detail and artistry of Colt’s design. It’s a masterpiece, truly. Now, what you don’t know is that Colt donated his work to Angel’s Rest in support of our mission. Isn’t that lovely?”

As Celeste led the crowd in applauding him, Colt shifted his feet, gave a little embarrassed wave, and wished he’d thought to ask that she keep that quiet.

“Without further ado,” Celeste continued, “I invite you all to eat, drink, and be merry and enjoy our grand opening celebration. Lunch is ready to be served, and music and dancing will begin at two on the grassy area around the gazebo. And of course, the hot springs park designed and constructed by our own Gabe Callahan is open and ready for anyone who wants a nice therapeutic soak. Welcome, all of you, to Angel’s Rest. Thank you so much for coming.”

As the crowd near the sign began to disperse, Gabe Callahan called, “Hey, Rafferty. My wife is too busy with girl talk to break away for lunch, but I’m headed for the barbecue line. Do you and your dad want to join me?”

Colt glanced at Ben, who interrupted his conversation with the mayor to say, “You go on. I’m getting a fishing report.”

“I’m there,” Colt replied to Gabe. “It smells wonderful, and I heard a rumor that there’s ice cream from the Taste of Texas Creamery for dessert.”

“Yep. Rocky road.”

“My favorite.”

The two men made male small talk—they discussed the upcoming Denver Broncos game—as they made their way to the food line. Callahan had served as Celeste’s general contractor during the renovation and construction, so Colt had spoken with him on the phone a number of times about the design, delivery, and installation of the Angel’s Rest sign. They’d met in person for the first time today.

“So, when I saw you bright and early this morning you didn’t mention you were on your way to get married to Nic Sullivan. Congratulations. I’ve known Nic since we were kids. She’s a great woman.”

“Thanks,” Gabe replied. “We’re happy. I’m very lucky.”

He and Gabe both looked across the crowd to where Nic, Sarah, the classy blonde, and the stunning redhead stood laughing with Sarah’s daughter and a young man who Colt assumed was Lori’s boyfriend. Nic looked like a fertility goddess, he thought. “When is the baby due?”

“Anytime now,” Gabe said. “And it’s babies. Twins. We’re having twins.”

“That’s exciting.”

“I’m scared to death.”

“I can imagine. Do you know if they’re girls or boys or one of each?”

“No, Nic wanted to be surprised,” Gabe said. “Do you have children, Rafferty?”

Colt could have explained that he’d married right out of college but that his wife had wanted to wait to have kids, which turned out be a blessing because the marriage didn’t last. However, he was a guy, so all he said was, “Nope.”

Then, again because he was a guy, he asked, “Who’s the redhead?”

Gabe’s lips twisted in a slow grin. “Sage Anderson. She’s a good friend of Nic’s. She’s an artist and owns Eternity Springs’ art gallery, Vistas.”

“Oh yeah?” Colt said. Celeste had been pushing him to contact the owner of Vistas about exhibiting some of his carvings. Maybe he’d do that. “What medium?”

“She’s a painter. Her career has really taken off in the last year or so. She has a big show coming up in Texas later this year. She’s great. A really nice lady.”

Hmm. Really? She’d sure shot daggers at him—for no reason at all that he knew of. As he and Callahan reached the front of the barbecue line, Colt filled his plate, then glanced over his shoulder for one more look at the lady.

She stood conversing in a group of a half dozen or so women. Laughing at something Sarah Reese was saying, she looked so gorgeous that she stole his breath away.

On second thought, some of his wood carvings really were pretty good. “Maybe after lunch, you could introduce us? I want to show her my … etchings.”

Gabe snorted a laugh. “Only if I can hang around and see her reaction when you say that to her. Shoot, Celeste didn’t need to pop for a band. Something tells me you and Sage can provide all the entertainment this town needs.”