Temptation Road Read Free Page A

and at
the edge of the forest she glimpsed the slanted eyes of a bobcat
and from deep in the woods she heard the familiar mewling cry of a
bear.
    *
    Reagan walked up and down the brick-paved
main street when she drove back to town, stopping first at the
grocery store looking for Miss Bess, only to be told that the old
woman was a late sleeper and to stop by after lunch. She wandered
through the drugstore and the tiny used book stall and then a store
selling gardening supplies.
    In a one room shop filled with bear skin rugs
she spoke to man who must have been six feet nine inches tall. His
name was Cyrus and he proudly told Reagan that he was a full-blood
Cherokee Indian, then he turned so she could see his jet-black hair
that hung in a heavy braid all the way to his rattlesnake belt.
    “It’s a dent in destiny, that piece of earth
and the fortuitous house that belongs on it, the good Mary’s
house,” he said when she asked him if he was familiar with the
property she was hoping to own. His voice was low and deep like the
growl of the animals whose hides littered the floor and hung on the
walls all around him. “If you are meant for the house then you are
charmed,” he said as he walked to a wall and ran his hand over the
fur of a large black bear skin. “These bears were not good hearted
creatures; my beliefs would never lead me to destroy an animal
living at peace with the Earth. Take care near the woods and the
lonely places, that’s where they wait.”
    “Curiouser and curiouser!” Reagan
thought as the door closed behind her, its little bell ringing as
she left the rug shop. She felt a lot like Alice who had fallen
through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole and uttered
those very words.
    “Hey there!” Dody called to her from just up
the street, she waved and motioned for Reagan to join her. “Great
heavens whose complexion could possibly look as good yours? Out in
the bright light of day no less, and I bet you don’t have a stitch
of makeup on, either!” she held Reagan at arm’s length to study
her, then hugged her tightly as if they were old friends.
    Reagan let Dody hug her and she lightly
hugged her back, because she didn’t know what else to do and she
was lonely and anyone who said “stitch of makeup” had to be sweet
and harmless.
    “Are you hungry?” Dody asked, already holding
her hand and leading her toward the café/bar at the end of the
street. “My little girl’s in school right now and I don’t expect
nobody at the Inn today, so how about we get us a bite to eat? This
is the only waterin’ hole for miles around and it can get a little
rough at night but at lunch time they serve a good grilled cheese
sandwich and of course fried snake, but really it’s just chicken
nuggets so don’t faint. If we’re lucky Larissa will be working,”
Dody said all in a rush as they scooted into a vinyl covered booth.
There was an old-fashioned jukebox against the back wall and Dody
excused herself and dropped a few coins in it.
    “My blood bleeds love red, my soul is wide
open,” an achingly smooth country voice sang, and Reagan
remembered hearing the Brandon Rhyder song on the radio the day
before. It was called “Love Red” and as it played she had been
wishing for just such a love as she drove away from her past and
into her future.
    “Well here’s my star employee playing the
jukebox in the middle of the day so that I had to get Quint a key
to a room myself,” a tall, good-looking man, one of a pair who’d
just walked through the door, said to Dody. He caught her arm as
she passed by and leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth.
    “Stop it now, Wade! Come meet our star guest
and I do mean star. Hey there, Quint! I didn’t know you’d be around
town this week. Reagan this is my boss Wade Campion and his
friend…” she said as the second man stood still and looked
surprised for a moment when he saw Reagan.
    She too, felt her heart begin to hammer as
she recognized the