Mountain angel

Mountain

What is this?" he asked.

The bigeest favor I'll ever ask of you.

Aelissm called me two days ago. I told you

that she moved back to Northstar but not

why. Adam Winters-" Bill tapped the picture

from the file, -won't leave her alone. We

filed a restraining order against him, and

he's broken it, but he's off the grid. I can't

find him to arrest him

"S0 you want me to Tind him.

Yes and no. There's more to it. The night

Aeli's boyfriend, Brent Ellington died, he tried

to r**e her. Adam heard her scream, came to

her rescue and started to strangle Brent.

Aeli ran out. Brent died a few hours later of a

burst aneurysm, posSibly brought about by

being throttled, but there's no way to prove

that. A neighbor saw Brent stumbling back to

his apartment later that night. She thought

he was drunk, and he was. By that time,

Adam was long gone, so Brent was still alive

after Adam left. The landlord found Brent's

body in the morning when he entered the

apartment for a routine testing of the smoke

alarms. It's a mess.

SOunds like it."

"Anyhow, a copy of the statements and

records of Brent's death are in the back

there, along with the statements Aeli gave to

get the restraining order and what she

dictated to me over the phone the day before

yesterday. Bill paused and took a deep

breath. "Adam has had a thing for her since

they met a couple years ago. At first, she was

flattered, and I thought he would have been a

better match for her. Until this mess

happened, I liked him. I still want to like him

becausel think he's a good man beneath it

all, but something snapped that night. He's

become obsessed with her"

Obsessed how?

"Calling her, writing her letters, and

proclaiming his love for her. A couple times,

she arrived home to find him sitting on her

COuch.

"Sounds like a bit of a creep"

"I hate to say it, but yes. She changed her

number a couple times, and when she

decided she had no desire to finish her

master's degree in Seattle, she moved in with

her parents here in Indianola for a fewN

months, but he didn't get the message

And noW she's in Northstar. How did that

come about?

Her Erandparents called about six months

ago and asked if she was interested in taking

over operations of their inn. Her

Erandmother also works at the local post

office, and the inn is getting to be too much

work. She said yes, and the move has been

good for her because she enjoys the work at

the inn and the blacksmithingE class she

teaches one night a week at the college in

Devyn, and she's been able to unwind. Until

Adam called her two nights ago

"So, how do I fit in to all this?"

This is your vacation. I want you to go to

Montana, take a couple months to relax and

clear your head. And, while you're at it, find

anything you can about Adam Winters and

protect my niece if the need arises

Pat considered Bill's request, then laughed.

Good one, Bill. You almost had me, what with

the file and the story

Bill's eyes hardened. "I wish to God this was

a joke. Ihere isn't much Aeli can't do, but

when she told me Adam had called again, she

was in tears. I don't trust anyone else to do

this, Pat, and even if I did, I'm not kidding

about wanting you to take a break. You need

to get away for a while, take a step back, and

Torget about Sara."

Tt's not that simple, Bill"

"I understand that. I also know that working

yourself half to death hasn't done you a bit of

good. I'm hoping a good, long vacation away

from everything that reminds you of her will

Succeed where distraction has failed.

"I suppose you have it all figured out," Pat

said sharply. He winced. He hadn't mea

that to come out so harshly. You'll stay with Aelissm, of course. She

could probably use a little extra help at the

Bedspread, and it would give you something

to do." Bill held Pat's gaze for a moment. "I

love you both. I hate to see either of you

struggling

How long do you expect me to stay there?"

"As long as necessary, on both counts, even

if I have to pay you out of my own pocket."

Pat sat back in his chair, stunned. This was

one hell of a favor, and he wasn't sure if he

was up to the challenge. He glanced at Bill,

saw the silent plea in the older man's gaze,

and considered it. He very briefly thought

about turning Bill down. but his boss-his

friend-had done a lot for him over the

years.

Do you need a day to think about it?"

Pat shook his head. T'll do it. And ľ'm sure

you're right that I should get away for a

while. Maybe it will help"

Bill scribbled some notes on a piece of paper

and stuffed it in the file. "All right, then. Iť's all

here. We've notified the local law

enforcement about the restraining order, so

if you do find Adam, he can be dealt with

legally. Aaron Hammond lives in the valley

and is a sheriff's deputy, so if you need any

help, call him. I've included his contact

nformation in the file as well as all the

numbers for the Devyn Police Department

and the county sheriff's office. I really hope

you won't need any of it. I keep hoping Adam

will come to his senses and just leave

Aelissm alone.

Mary's return with dinner brought an end to

their head-spinning conversation. Ihey

talked about other things while they ate, but

as Pat listened and talked and laughed with

his friends, his thoughts were focused on

what he might be facing and how he could

best tackle the task. It was.. refreshing.

"I really appreciate this, Pat" Bil said as Pat

was leaving. "You have no idea what peace of

mind I'll have knowing you're there with Aeli"

Pat nodded and tucked the file under his

arm. He leaned down to embrace Mary and

thank her for dinner. As he drove away, he

began to wonder what he'd gotten himself

into. When he got hom., he picked up his

road atlas and glanced at the notes Bill had

scribbled as he studied the map of Montana.

There it was, a tiny dot in the southwest

corner of the state. The nearest town of any

size was Devyn to the sast with a population

that nearly matched its elevation of just over

five thousand feet. Beyond that, the closest

city was Butte, many miles more to the north.

His ayes traveled back to the little dot that

would be his home for the next little while.

"Northstar, here I come," he sighed. Then he

chuckled as he recalled the picture of Bill's

niece with her buck. "Looks like someday is

Just around the corner. Ifl be hice to finally

meet you, Aelissm Davis.

Uncle Bill, L didn't want you to send me a

protector. Thats the last thingI need:

Then you shouldn't have called me"

"YOu're wasting his time. Aeli glanced at her

friend, rolled her eye5, and sighed. "When I

called you the other night, I only wanted to

let you know Adam had called me again.

That's all."

YOu' re not tooling anyone, Aelissm, except

maybe yourself."

"I dont know how Adam got the phone

number here, but he can't find me. Hell, Unk,

you couldn't find this place last summer, and

you've been here before"

YOu thought Adam wouldn't find you when

you moved fo your parents' house, too,

remember?"

"Yes, but-

Humor me, Aelissm.

I don't need someone to watch over me like

I'm a child

"I know you can take care of yourself, Aeli

darling, but Adam is not the same man he

used to be" Her uncle sighed, and she

pictured him sitting in his recliner at home,

massaging his temples. "I chose Pat because

I trust him and because I know he can

protect you. Knowing he's there will ease my

old heart

"old? Ha

Tm serlous.

T know you are. All right, fine. It might be

nlce to have a man around.

Bill laughed. "I know that tone. You're a devil,

you know that?"

"Yep. Anything else?

Yes, actually. Make sure Pat relaxes while

nes there

"Will he be here on vacation or to protect me,

Unk? Because that seems a little

contradictory.

Both. He went through a bad break up a few

years ag0 and hasn't given himself the

chance to get past it, so I'm using one stone

to kill two birds"

A bad break up, huh? You're not playing

matchmaker again, are you?

"No, but it certainly wouldn't break my heart

if the two of you got together"

Uh-huh

Just make sure he gets some rest while he's

there, will you?"

Tll see what I can do. Well, I should probably

get off this thing. I don't want to run up

June's phone bill

"All right. Love you, Aeli Girl"

Love you, too, Unk. G'night"

She set the cordless phone back in its cradle

and glanced at her friend, who sat on the

couch with her scrawny, twelve-year-old

foster son, Luke, curled up beside her. It

amazed Aelissm how much their lives had

changed in the last year. And yet, here they

were, together in Northstar again. Suddenly,

she was very grateful her grandparents had

asked her to start taking over management

of the Bedspread Inn because, until she'd

returned to Northstar six months ago, she

hadn't realized just how much she'd needed

to come here. The utter peacefulness of the

remote valley was such a welcome relief to

the constant pulse of Seattle. Besides, this

was home.

She flopped on June's matching love seat

and exhaled.

I take it Uncle Bill is sending one of his

detectives over? June asked.

Yeah. Patrick O'Neil.

"O'Neil? As in...?"

The son of Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary's

friends from college, yes."

"why do I get the feeling Uncle Bill is

meddling again?"

"Because he probably is. You know Unk"

June glanced at Luke and smiled fondly. "Yes,

I do. When's your bodyguard supposed to get

here?"

"Most likely in the next couple days. I don't

need someone to protect me.

"Maybe you do.

une's tendency for being right was

sometimes very aggravating, Aeli mused, but

it was also nice to be slapped with the truth

now and again. She'd thought that coming

out here, to Northstar, would end her

problems with Adam, and for a pleasant six

months, it had. Then, two days ago, he'd

called her parents' cabin. She'd held the

phone against her ear with a trembling hand,

frightened beyond words at the sound of his

voice. Just leave me alone, she'd finally told

him. Then she'd hung up. Running away

never solved the problem, she thought, only

postponed it.

"It's almost like old times, isn't it?" June

asked. "Back in college when we used to sit

up in your cabin, reading and snacking on

Spaghetti-o's while it snowed."

Aelissm smiled, and some ot the tensIon she

hadn't realized was binding her shoulders

slipped away. "Those were good times"

"Grandma Davis told me about you singing

Christmas carols at the top of your lungs,

Luke said.

While we were out chopping wood," Aeli

remarked. She tried not to look surprised

that he'd spoken. but the boy was usually so

quiet that it was hard not to. "I guess we

were making a bit of a racket"

"T like it up here, the boy said.

June pulled her fingers through the boy's

blond hair. Aelissm wondered, as she often

did, what had possessed June to agree to

Uncle Bill's plea that she take him. Luke was

a good kid-very quiet, well behaved, and

disturbingly tidy-but June wasn't even

twenty-five yet. A little voice in the back of

Aeli's mind retorted rather coldly, What

possessed you to go out with Brent? It

wasn't a question she was willing to

ponder. Chalk it

up to a disastrous lack ofjudgment, she told

herself, and leave it at that.

It's almost like old times, isn't it?" June

asked. "Back in college when we used to sit

up in your cabin, reading and snacking on

Spaghetti-O's while it snowed"

Aelissm smiled, and some of the tension she

hadn't realized was binding her shoulders

slipped away. "Those were good times"

Grandma Davis told me about you singing

Christmas carols at the top of your lungs"

Luke said.