Reflection Point: An Eternity Springs Novel (7 page)

“Unfortunately, negotiating the bureaucracy of regulations is taking longer than we’d anticipated, so we’ve had to push back our start date again,” Cat said. “However, we still want to do a test run inviting local youth as our guests, and we should have the dates for those sessions soon. We’ll announce sign-ups in the
Eternity Times
.”

“What age group, Cat?” Celeste asked.

“We’ll do a day camp for the little kids—first through third grade. Overnight camp will be two separate sessions:
fourth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth.”

Mayor Townsend asked, “When you say guests, do you mean no fees?”

“That’s right. No fees. The kids who want to go will be our guinea pigs.”

“My grandkids will do back flips. You and Jack are doing a wonderful thing up there on Murphy Mountain.” Jim Brand beamed a smile at Cat, then turned to include Sarah. “Let’s not forget your husband’s part in it, too. The camp wouldn’t be a reality if Cam hadn’t donated the land for it.”

Sarah waved a dismissive hand. “What in the world was he going to do with a whole mountain? He was happy to contribute the land. Besides, it was either sign Jack’s contract or shoot him.”

Savannah cut Sarah a sharp look. Sarah said, “I speak the truth. It was a close call.”

“What is it with you people and guns?”

Sarah laughed and patted Savannah’s arm. “Jack interrupted our honeymoon—at an inopportune time, I might add. I will admit Cam eyed his pistol with more relish than warranted.”

Because Zach was watching Savannah closely, he saw her flinch at Sarah’s touch. Even as he noted the reaction, her lips lifted in a bright, genuine smile.

Zach felt the smile like a punch to the gut. He closed his eyes, swallowed a curse, and sighed. What the hell was the matter with him? Why did he react this way to Savannah Sophia Moore? So she was a babe. So what? She was a babe with a sheet. The worst kind of sheet.

Zach had worked in law enforcement all of his adult life. As a result, he recognized the gray areas in the commission of a crime. He understood extenuating circumstances better than most, primarily because he had witnessed them. Sometimes he had more sympathy for
the criminal than he did for the victim. Sometimes the criminal had a damned good excuse for what he or she did.

There was never a good excuse for what this woman had done.

Savannah Sophia Moore, the sexy Georgia peach, was a drug dealer.

FIVE
 

As the meeting broke up, Savannah’s thoughts were spinning. How had she gotten herself into this mess? Volunteering to help Zach Turner? He didn’t look any happier than she was about the whole thing.

How could she get out of it? Her stomach certainly felt queasy—was it bad enough to make her throw up?

Look at Celeste Blessing and think of Francine Vaughn. That should do the trick
.

It was as if the woman had heard her. Savannah looked up and Celeste was there, standing before her, a wide smile on her face. To Savannah’s distress and despite the fact that they’d never exchanged so much as a word, Celeste reached out and hugged her.

“Thank you so much for stepping up to help Zach with the planning meeting,” Celeste said. “Volunteering is an excellent way to become part of the fabric of the town.”

Oh, jeez. She’s from the South, too. She even sounds like Francine!

Her spine stiff, her hands fisted at her sides, Savannah endured the embrace. After what seemed like ten minutes but was in reality only a few seconds, Celeste stepped back. She held Savannah’s gaze for a long minute.
How weird. A cold, empty place inside her heart suddenly didn’t seem so cold and empty.

“You are going to love it here in Eternity Springs,” Celeste said. “This little valley has a special energy about it, a healing energy that soothes troubled souls.”

Savannah’s chin came up. “My soul isn’t troubled.”

Celeste simply smiled.

The sheriff stepped toward them, a challenge gleaming in his piercing blue eyes. Did he know she was looking for a way to get out of helping him? He leaned down and kissed Celeste on the cheek, then addressed Savannah. “Thanks for offering to help. The SARE meeting begins the day after tomorrow, and I’m really behind the eight ball.”

Too bad he wasn’t in front of the wrecking ball.

Celeste said, “It’s so generous of you to volunteer your time, Savannah.”

“I’m happy to do so,” she lied.

The look in the sheriff’s eyes said she didn’t fool him one bit. “How much time can you give me tomorrow?”

Five minutes? “How much time do you need?”

“Whatever I can get. To be honest, due to my workload of late, I’ve let a lot of things pile up.”

She put an extra tablespoon of sugar in her tone as she asked, “Lots of picnickers to harass?”

“You wouldn’t believe the litterbugs I have to defend the county against,” he replied in a droll tone. “Look, if you want to back out—”

Yes! Except she had more pride than that, and he looked entirely too sure of her as he stood there, all manly and lawly and … gorgeous.
Gorgeous? Have I lost my mind?
“I said I’d help. Where and when?”

One corner of his mouth tilted in a knowing smirk. “Reflection Point meeting center. I’ll be working there all afternoon tomorrow.”

“I have a full morning and a phone appointment at one-thirty. I could probably get there around three.”

“Perfect.”

In some alternate universe, maybe.

Celeste beamed. “Maybe once things settle down for you, Zach, you can return the favor by helping Savannah get her shop ready to open.”

Savannah couldn’t prevent her eyes from going wide, and his glimmered with amusement as he replied, “That’s a great idea, Celeste.”

“I’m glad you think so. Now, I have a million things to catch up on at Angel’s Rest, so I’m going to run. Before I go, Savannah, allow me to say welcome to Eternity Springs. I just know that you’re going to be so happy here.”

Savannah momentarily forgot about the sheriff as she watched her enemy’s twin depart the room with waves and farewells. Celeste and the sheriff. This wasn’t an alternate universe. This was a nightmare.

Damned if the lawman didn’t tip an imaginary hat as he said, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow around three.”

“I’ll be there.” Unless she had a convenient appendectomy or something.

Savannah watched Zach Turner walk away and pause in the hallway outside to speak with the mayor. The formfitting stretch of his shirt across his broad shoulders once again reminded her of Kyle Vaughn. Kyle’s uniform shirt had been blue, not khaki, and it had brought out the blue in his eyes. Blue eyes hauntingly similar to the sheriff’s.

When she dragged her gaze away from him, she saw Sarah watching her, her eyes alight with delight and her lips lifted in a satisfied smile. She dipped her head in the sheriff’s direction. “Man candy for the eyes. He’s not just pretty to look at, Savannah. Zach is a really great guy.”

“Wait a minute.” Savannah held up her index finger. “If you are thinking what I think you are thinking, you can just stop it. I’m not interested.”

Sarah Murphy clasped her hands to her chest, the very picture of innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” Savannah folded her arms. “You are as obvious as a weevil in the cake flour, and I’m telling you to let it go.”

“Weevil in the cake flour? I love it! That’s so southern of you.” She put her arms around Savannah and gave her a quick hug. “I need to run. I’m meeting my husband at the Yellow Kitchen for a late dinner. Have fun tomorrow.”

Savannah sighed. What was it about these Eternity Springs people? They were always touching her. And they were so darned friendly.

Maybe she should have asked permission to move to New York instead of Colorado. She’d come here to start over, to put her past behind her, and build something new and wonderful and exciting … and clean.

And here she was with a county sheriff on her heels and Francine’s twin holding court.

Using one of Grams’ old expressions, she muttered beneath her breath, “Lord, love a duck.”

Savannah still didn’t know exactly what that meant, but at this particular moment it felt like the perfect thing to say.

She slept poorly that night, and spent the morning brooding about the afternoon to come. Yet the hours flew by. After finishing her phone appointment with a supplier, she wasted twenty minutes debating what to wear before finally settling on a sundress and sandals. She touched up her makeup, spending a stupid amount of time over her choice of lipstick color, then gave Inny a cuddle and two dog treats.

Savannah drove toward Hummingbird Lake beneath a dark cloud of dread.

The fact that she did so annoyed her. She had nothing to fear from Sheriff Zach Turner. She’d done nothing wrong—well, not since spreading Grams’ ashes without a permit, anyway. Actually, she was doing everything right—adding to the tax base with her business, being a good citizen by joining the Chamber of Commerce, being friendly to her neighbors when she frankly wasn’t a friendly person. He had no right to harass her. But since when did cops ever care about that?

Once upon a time she’d been friendly and outgoing and oh so naive. Look where that had gotten her. She’d learned her lesson the hard way, so she’d developed a new motto to live by, one adopted from old television reruns: Trust no one.

Maybe she should get the phrase tattooed on her forehead. Under the barrage of seemingly genuine welcomes and offers of friendship since coming to Eternity Springs, she’d let down her guard—and ended up a volunteer. To help the sheriff. With a substance abuse education program.

Oh, the irony.

She wanted to turn her car around, floor the gas pedal, and speed off to … where? Another place where her past would eventually catch up to her?

“I’ll never outrun it,” she said glumly. She’d been a fool to think she could leave the trouble behind. “Once a con, always a con.”

She paused and listened hard, hoping to hear Grams’ chiding voice. But like every other day since her visit to Lover’s Leap, the voice in her head remained stubbornly silent.

Rather than running, she flicked on her turn signal like a good little law-abiding citizen and pulled onto the road leading to Reflection Point.

Zach worked the morning in town but drove out to his home on the lake for lunch. He’d bought the first chunk of property from the out-of-state owners. Then last fall, when the Raffertys decided that Sage’s dreams of a drowning child made lakeside living too stressful for the new mother, they’d dangled precious privacy before Zach by giving him first shot at their home. He’d mortgaged himself to the hilt to buy it, and now he—and the bank—owned all of Reflection Point.

The decision to remodel the buildings on the Reflection Point property into a comfortable house for him and an income-producing property had been sound. As a corporate retreat center, the facility worked great for small meetings, and Zach didn’t have to bother with overnight guests, since Angel’s Rest took care of that end. His time commitment was minimal. Other than keeping fishing supplies stocked and the retreat building clean and in repair, Zach had little to do to ensure that things ran smoothly.

The reward was substantial. Not only was the weight of his mortgage easier to bear, but except for a half dozen or so weekends a year, his beloved privacy remained intact, too.

He’d been glad to offer the center to the SARE program, but he wished he’d asked someone else to be in charge of putting together the planning packets. He needed help, but he figured the odds were fifty-fifty that the Georgia peach would actually show up.

He wanted to see her, to study her like a bug under a microscope and figure out her secrets.

“I need help,” he muttered. The psychological kind.

He grabbed a sandwich at home and spent five relaxing minutes throwing a tennis ball for Ace to fetch. With his dog trailing at his heels, he headed to the meeting
center and tackled the yard work while Ace plopped down to guard the door and supervise his owner’s work.

Zach mowed and ran the Weed Eater and leaf blower and wondered why he didn’t hire a teenager to do this for him. It was stubborn of him, really, to continue to do this himself, but he enjoyed the physical labor. It helped him clear his mind.