Chapter Two
Angel
“Hello? Do you need help?” A voice cut through the music and the blasting wind, causing Kayde to jump as he opened his eyes. How could he have not heard that truck pull up in front of him? A pair of pale blue eyes stared at him from behind the open window of a silver Ford F150 pickup. Kayde took a step toward a girl sitting in the truck. Is she real? he wondered. Those amazing eyes were set on a porcelain face—smooth, white skin, pink cheeks. Short, blond hair touched with a warm, strawberry color haloed the doll-face and formed soft spikes behind her ears and neck. She looked like an angel.
Maybe she was.
“Uh, yeah. I ran out of gas—” Kayde started to say.
“What? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” the angel interrupted, leaning out the window, allowing the wind to tug at her hair.
Kayde opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped at the girl’s confused expression. Oh! You idiot! A definite dork moment. He pulled the helmet off of his head and stepped forward, catching a reflection of himself in the back window of the extended cab. Why was this girl not screaming, stomping on the gas, and leaving him in her powder? He looked like a text book terrorist! Kayde quickly ripped the ski mask off, allowing the wind to slap snow and ice against his skin. It hurt.
“I ran out of gas. Could I get a ride? I could sit in the back. I’m dressed for the weather.” He didn’t want to freak her out by jumping in cab. She was his only hope of survival.
The angel’s eyes were wide for a moment, most likely with fear. But then she laughed and pulled on some thick blue gloves and ear muffs, their color enhancing her eyes. “You can ride in front where there’s heat. But let’s get your bike in the back, shall we?”
Yep. Definitely an angel. What earthly girl would care about some strange guy’s bike enough to get out in the cold and help him load it in her truck?
As the angel helped Kayde he thought, Okay, one: she showed up out of nowhere just when I needed help--accompanied by strange, sweet music; two: she has perfect, angelic features; three: super strength. The girl couldn’t have been taller than a twelve-year old, but she was able to help Kayde lift the heavy machine into the truck box with little struggle. Once they made certain it was secure, (she had bungees with hooks, naturally) Kayde stood and stared at her in disbelief. The wind and snow had no more power over him as he surveyed this petite miracle.
The angel gazed back at him, amusement shining in her eyes. “What? Do I have icicles hanging from my nostrils?” She giggled, her voice sounding like---oh dear Lord! Like the tinkling of a perfectly tuned music box! Pure beauty.
Kayde shook his head. “Sorry.” His mind was too addled to think of anything else to say, so he jumped down from the back of the truck. The angel followed suit and they climbed into the cab. A wall of heat struck Kayde, causing his ears to sting. It was like a thousand tiny insects were biting his lobes.
“My brother has a dirt bike,” the girl said in explanation as she gestured with her head toward the back of the truck. “But he doesn’t ride much anymore since…” The she said, but her sentence trailed away and sadness washed into her features. She cleared her throat and put the truck in gear. Looking into her rear-view mirror, she clicked her signal light on and pulled onto the highway. Kayde suppressed a snort. The signal was a little over the top, considering no one was within a hundred miles from them. But then again, angels were probably supposed to always follow the rules.
A brilliant smile replaced the angel’s previous sadness. “So, where are you heading? Do you have family nearby? Is there somewhere I can take you?”
The truck moved slowly, its four-wheel-drive plowing through drifts that had formed along the road. Kayde was suddenly thankful he’d run out of gas. He wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to pass through some of those. “A gas station would be great,” he said, attempting to smile. His cheeks flamed with embarrassment. Hopefully, she would think they were just red from the cold.
“You’re not seriously considering riding more today, are you?” Concern caused amazingly cute creases to form between her brows.
The heat was suddenly unbearable inside the cab. Kayde unzipped the top of his coat and cleared his throat. His voice cracked a little when he answered, “No, probably not. Is there a hotel nearby?”
The girl leaned forward to turn the heater fan down. Her movement sent waves of some unseen energy rippling towards Kayde. The music started playing in his head again. He pulled at his collar, trying to cool down.
“The hotel burned down earlier this winter. Some people think it was arson, but others think the cook in the restaurant fell asleep on the job. He’s kind of the town drunk—uh, when he’s not working. Usually. But Mrs. Kline has a bed and breakfast just outside of town. She usually doesn’t have much business during this time of the year. I’m sure she’ll be happy to give you a room. She’s really nice. She let me stay with her after my parents died until my brother could get settled and get us a house and everything,” the girl spoke in a rush.
Kayde nodded, though he’d barely heard anything she’d said—except the part about her parents. He wondered if she felt the way he did over the death of his grandfather. An all too familiar ached squeezed his heart. That ache, combined with the intoxicating music swirling around in his head was overwhelming him. He needed air!
“Are you okay? Oh, I’m so sorry. I should open a window,” the angel said as she pushed the button to lower Kayde’s window. Blessed frozen wind washed into the cab, clearing his senses a little. He resisted the urge to stick his head out the window like a dog. “I should’ve realized how hot you’d get with all that on,” the girl said.
Breathing in slowly, Kayde nodded and then exhaled as slowly. “Thanks,” he managed to whisper. What was the matter with him?
He was just tired. That had to be it. Too long on the road, too much thinking about the very things he was trying not to think about. He focused his attention in tracing one of the snaps on his coat with his thumb to keep his thoughts clear. Neither of them spoke for a several minutes. The girl pulled at a tuft of hair at her neck, twisting the short spike around her finger. Awkward silence filled the cab. Eventually, the shadow of a town formed through the swirling snow ahead of them. A sense of foreboding hit Kayde out of nowhere. He didn’t understand it, so he quickly shrugged it off and focused on the road.
“Almost there,” the girl spoke. “Just in time, too. I think the storm’s getting worse. I hope you didn’t have to be somewhere by a certain time?” she put a questioning sound at the end of the statement and Kayde shook his head. The girl’s radiant smile caused waves of heat to wash over him again. “Good! Maybe we can have lunch or something tomorrow. I mean, since you don’t know anyone in town and you can’t really go anywhere. If you want to, that is. If you don’t that’s okay, too. I don’t want you to feel weird or anything.”
The previously suppressed snort made its way through Kayde’s nostrils. He couldn’t feel any weirder than he already did. The girl’s cheeks flamed and she shifted nervously in her seat.
They still hadn’t reached the shadowy town when she pulled the truck to a stop in front of a large, cottage style house. Stones of various shapes and sizes lined the bottom of the two-story building and smoke swirled into the cold from a stone chimney. Leafless trees mingled with several evergreens as they attempted to shelter the building from the rage of Old Man Winter. Everything was coated with snow and ice. The scene looked like something straight out of one of those paintings Kayde’s mother liked so much.
“Here we are,” the angel said. “Let’s make sure Mrs. Kline has a spot for you before we get your bike down,” she said as she unbuckled her seat belt. Kayde had forgotten to use his. He probably wouldn’t have been able to get it around his coat anyway.
“What happens if she doesn’t have a room?” he asked.
The girl chuckle
d. “It’s not really a busy season. But if she is by some strange phenomenon busy, we’ll figure something out.” She pushed the button to close Kayde’s window, turned off the ignition, and opened her door.
Stepping out into the storm, Kayde followed the girl up to the bed and breakfast. A snow covered sign squeaked on hinges as it swung back and forth over the doorway to a porch at the front of the house. The girl pushed the doorbell button. They waited. And waited. The wind howled. Snow slapped against them. Kayde took an impatient step toward the door, but before he could knock, the door swung open, letting heat wash out into the porch. A tall, slender woman beamed at the angel. Her short, graying hair danced around the top of her head as the wind played with it.
“Rabecca! How nice to see you! What on earth are you doing out in this weather? Come in! Come in!” The woman waved them into a large entry way as Kayde’s heart pounded in his ears. Her name is Rabecca! Why did that suddenly matter?
A curved stairway trailed into the upper level of the house to their right and a large living area opened to the dining room straight ahead from where they stood.
Kayde breathed in the smell of spices, trying to distract himself. Probably a candle. His mother was fond of scented candles. Most of them gave him a headache. This one wasn’t too bad, though.
He spotted a piano against the north wall of the living room. The smells and that piano; it was like being transported back in time. He watched his mother giving incessantly torturous piano lessons to totally tone-deaf kids. He never understood how she could stand it, or how she could continue to be so patient with them.
“Oh, who’s your friend?” Kayde heard the woman ask. Her voice bubbled out of her with a little too much sugar. He turned his attention to her slightly wrinkled, oval face. Her light brown eyes shone curiously at him.
“Mrs. Kline, this is…” Rabecca looked at him blankly, causing the corners of his mouth to curl up. She was beautiful when she was caught off guard.
“I’m Kayde,” he said and extended his hand, but kept his eyes on Rabecca. She looked at her feet as her cheeks flamed. The woman’s unexpectedly strong handshake pulled Kayde’s attention toward her.
“Well, welcome, Kayde. Welcome. It’s a pleasure to meet you, a real pleasure.”
Kayde nodded. Rabecca spoke again, “Kayde was stranded on the road a few miles out of town. Do you have any rooms ready that he could rent for a day or two until the storm blows over?”
“Of course! Of course!” the woman sang. Did she always say everything twice? Two black cats seemed to materialize out of nowhere as Kayde shifted nervously from one foot to the other. They rubbed against Mrs. Kline’s legs and then paused to stare up at him with orange eyes. Kayde swallowed his discomfort as the seconds ticked by; those slit pupils looked like they could see straight into his soul. Rabecca bent down and stroked the cats’ fur, murmuring something soft and comforting to them before she stood up again. Their loud purring filled the room.
“You can stay in the blue room, Kayde,” Mrs. Kline spoke. “It’s a bit more masculine—the others are more flowery.” She smiled and looked down at his and Rabecca’s hands. Her eyebrows rose, lifting her eyes back to their faces. “Don’t you have any luggage, dear?”
“Just a duffle bag. It’s still strapped to my motorcycle,” he turned toward the door.
“Motorcycle? My goodness! Well, I can well imagine how you came to be stranded, then,” Mrs. Kline chuckled. Kayde felt his cheeks heat again. “Rabecca, I hate to make you be in the cold too long, but could you show Kayde to the garage? He can put his bike in there for now. It can keep Harry’s old Indian company.”
Visions of some poor Native American sitting in the cold garage flashed in Kayde’s mind. That couldn’t be what she meant though. Could it? Probably some life-size wood carving, like the ones in the tobacco shops. He was surprised his dad hadn’t made one of those statues musical yet.
Kayde braced for the blast of cold as he and Rabecca made their way back to her truck. After unloading the motorcycle, Rabecca helped him push it to the garage. Someone must’ve shoveled in front of the door there, because no snow drift barred their way.
Rabecca disappeared around the corner of the garage, and seconds later, the automatic door squealed open, revealing Rabecca inside standing next to a hunter green Pontiac Bonneville. Kayde quickly pushed his motorcycle out of the wind. “Over there, I think.” Rabecca pointed toward the back corner of the enormous, immaculate garage. A cover was draped over what looked like another motorcycle.
Kayde’s pulse quickened. Mrs. Kline couldn’t have meant… Could that bike be an Indian? His grandfather had had one of those—it’d been the first motorcycle Kayde had ever ridden. “Is that…does she have an Indian motorcycle?” He put the kickstand down on his own frozen bike and then touched the cover of the other with his chilled fingertips. He wanted to pull it off so he could see the treasure hidden underneath.
“Yeah. Well, it was her husband’s. Henry. He was pretty cool. He died about five years ago. She hasn’t moved it since,” Rabecca said as she came and stood beside Kayde. The music whispered in the back of his mind again. He focused on the motorcycle.
“My grandpa used to have one of these. I wonder if she’d let anyone else ride it.”
“Don’t think so. She was pretty broken up when Henry died. Might bring back too many memories,” Rabecca spoke softly.
“Too bad,” Kayde mumbled before he turned to un-strap his duffle bag from the back of his bike, and then he slung it over his shoulder. “Uh, thanks, Rabecca, for everything.”
Rabecca’s cheeks flushed a flattering pink. “Please, call me Becca. And, you’re welcome.” She smiled at him again, her icy blue eyes shining with contrasting warmth. “Can you find your way back into the house?”
Kayde nodded but found it hard to want to let her go. “Is your offer for lunch tomorrow still good?” What was he doing? He didn’t want to get too close. Something weird was going on with her and that strange music, not to mention that foreboding when he’d seen the town. He needed to be running away from that sort of thing, not towards it.
“Absolutely. Mrs. K has our number. Just give me a call.” She pulled up her thick coat sleeve revealing a silver watch attached to her delicate wrist. “Well, I really have to go. It’ll be getting dark soon, and Chris will start worrying if I don’t show up.” Kayde hoped desperately that Chris was her brother. “See you tomorrow!” She said and waved her gloved hand before vanishing like a dream into the blizzard.
Kayde walked slowly after her, basking in the remnants of her sweet energy while he fought to keep from humming a melody he’d never heard until half an hour ago. Storm or no storm, he had to get away from this town—and, more specifically, he had to get away from Rabecca, or Becca—as soon as possible. He made a mental note to leave first thing in the morning.