When Kate turned, there was no sign of Earl Ray.
She moved down the snowy sidewalk as quickly as she could. Glancing in whatever windows weren’t boarded over as she passed, she saw no sign of the older man. He wasn’t in the stores. There was no sign of him anywhere.
At the corner, she looked down the street and caught a glimpse of his red-and-black-checked coat as he turned the corner.
By the time she reached the corner, Earl Ray was entering a small house with a snowy hedge around it. She slowed to catch her breath in this silent world of falling snow. How did the residents of this town not go crazy with the snow getting deeper and deeper by the minute and the already freezing air growing colder day after day, she wondered. It felt as if the snow would never stop falling, as if it would bury the town, bury them all before winter was over.
Kate shivered as she stopped at the shoveled sidewalk that led up to Earl Ray’s door. She had no idea what she was going to say. Like Jon Harper, the man inside this house didn’t know her. Had no reason to trust her.
But that didn’t stop her as she walked up to the door and knocked. It took him a few minutes to answer. She could hear him moving around inside moments before the door opened.
He’d gotten out of his coat and boots and now stood blinking down at her in a gray flannel, plaid shirt, jeans and stocking feet. “Hello,” he said and smiled as he pushed open the storm door. “You look cold. Are you lost?”
She couldn’t help but smile at this friendly face. “Do you have a minute?”
That made him laugh. “Oh my dear, I have nothing but time. Please, come in.” He stepped back to let her enter the house.
The first thing she felt was heat, wonderfully warm heat that rushed to her cheeks. The house had a cozy feel to it, with overstuffed furniture, photographs lining the mantel, books on the end tables and thick rugs on the wood floor. The place had a woman’s touch, and she realized she must have been wrong about Earl Ray not having a wife.
“Here, let me take that,” he said. With numb fingers, she slipped out of her coat and scarf, letting him take them as she kicked off her snowy boots, leaving both the boots and the treats by the door as he ushered her in.
“How about a cup of hot coffee?” he asked. “Come into the kitchen. You can sit right by the stove and warm yourself up.”
Kate did as he suggested, taking a chair next to the heater. She hadn’t realized how cold she was. She felt her fingers and toes begin to sting and then ache as they warmed. She rubbed her hands as the warmth radiating from the heater began to thaw her out.
Earl Ray put a mug of steaming coffee in front of her. “I always keep a pot going this time of year,” he said conversationally as he took a chair across the small table from her. He had keen blue eyes and bushy graying eyebrows. He reminded her a little of a Santa Claus she’d liked at the mall.
“Thank you,” she said, cupping the mug in her hands, letting the steam rise to her cheeks. The coffee smelled good in the inviting kitchen. “Is your wife—”
“She passed some time ago,” he said. “So, what brings you out on a day like this?”
She could feel that earnest gaze on her as he took her measure. “Now that I’m here, I don’t know where to begin.”
He chuckled at that. “I’d suggest the beginning, unless you have a time restraint.”
Collin could have the car back at the motel by now, impatiently waiting for her, probably still angry with her and getting even more so. Or maybe he would just leave. The thought came as a relief. She just hoped he didn’t go down the street looking for her at Jon’s shop.
Earl Ray cleared his voice. She took a sip of her coffee and met the gaze of this stranger sitting across from her. Everything she saw in his open face encouraged her to pour out her heart. She knew how much she needed to talk about this and felt both relief and gratitude. “I lost my husband almost twenty years ago.” She quickly filled him in about how young and poor they’d been, about Danny’s death and how she’d raised her two daughters alone. He glanced at the diamond on her ring finger. “I only recently took off my wedding band. I’d promised Danny I never would.” She had to look away for a moment and gather herself again. Her ring finger still felt naked and odd—even with the heavy diamond ring on it.
“I’ve never believed in my heart that he died that day. There were so many people missing after the explosion. So many bodies that couldn’t be identified.” She looked up at him. “The truth is I now realize that I have never stopped looking for him. A few times, I thought I saw him, but I was wrong.” Earl Ray didn’t seem to be wondering why she was sharing this with him, nor did he rush her along or seem anxious for the story to end.
“I know I’m going to sound off my rocker, but the other day when I met Jon Harper...” She stopped, fearing what his reaction was going to be. “I... I...felt something, and yesterday when I went back...” Earl Ray was waiting patiently. “He’s different. Of course he would have changed in all these years, but when I looked into his eyes...”
“You think Jon is your husband, Danny,” he said simply, matter-of-factly.
She met his kind blue eyes. “I do. I feel it.” She placed her hand over her heart and fought back tears. “I know it’s him.”
“What about your fiancé?” Earl Ray asked.
Kate shook her head, her eyes stinging. “Collin is wonderful. I love him but...”
“Not as much as you still love your first love.”
She nodded. “I can’t help it.”
He smiled then and picked up his coffee to take a sip. “I have the same problem, if that helps. My wife has been gone now for some years, but I can’t seem to move on.”
That explained what she’d seen at the café with Bessie, Kate thought. Clearly the woman was in love with him, and Earl Ray seemed genuinely fond of her. “Do you feel that if you did move on, you would be betraying her?”
He nodded. “I suspect you feel the same. But that isn’t why you followed me to my house today, is it?”
“No. I saw you coming out of Jon’s workshop the other day. You know him.” Earl Ray nodded. “I need to know where he’s been, how he ended up here, if what I believe in my heart could possibly be true.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“Because I’m a stranger to him. There is no recognition in his eyes at all,” she said, her heart breaking as she admitted it. “I’ve always believed that he was hurt badly and walked away from the explosion not knowing who he was. It happened to others. Why not to Danny? But I guess I also believed that once he saw me...”