A Place To Call Home. Laurie Paige

      “Thanks, I will.”

      After trying Jeremy once more, she located his address on the county map and headed out. It didn’t occur to her until she was well on her way that he might not consider it necessary to go to Idaho. He might prefer to wait until they knew the situation.

      Whatever his decision, she was definitely going home.

      She found his mailbox on the county road, the numbers reflecting in her headlights so they were easy to read. She turned onto the gravel drive.

      In a couple of minutes she came upon the house tucked into a clearing among the pines and cedars. It wasn’t the rustic cabin she’d expected. Instead it looked more like a small, elegant lodge with stones in desert hues of ocher and terra-cotta covering the bottom half and a very soft terra-cotta stucco on the upper part. A window in the gable indicated an attic room under the eaves.

      His SUV was under the attached carport, and a light was on inside. Relieved, she parked and hurried to the door.

      The oak door was open, but a screen door kept out intruders. Hearing footsteps, she leaned close and peered in.

      “Jeremy?” she called upon spotting movement in the dim hall.

      The figure paused. “Zia?”

      “Yes.” Without waiting for an invitation, she opened the screen door and went inside. “I’m so glad you’re home—”

      That’s when it hit her that he’d just come out of the shower. In the soft light of the living room lamp, she caught only an impression of a muscular male body before he disappeared.

      She went totally still for a second. “I’m sorry,” she called out, impatient with the unexpected rise in temperature and heartbeat his naked presence engendered. This was no time for niceties. “I didn’t mean to barge in, but there’s an emergency.”

      He stepped back into view, a towel secured around his lean hips. “What kind of emergency?”

      “My mother is very ill. Jeff is taking her to Boise in an ambulance.”

      “What’s wrong?”

      She told him what she knew.

      He nodded, then brushed the lock of damp hair off his forehead. “That sounds serious,” he said, taking a couple of steps into the room.

      “I’m on my way to the hospital. I thought, if you wanted to go, we could travel together. Mom…” Her throat closed up.

      “Are you packed and ready?”

      She nodded.

      “Give me ten minutes.”

      He disappeared into another room farther down the hall. She sank into a deep leather chair that faced the hearth. Her heart steadied. She exhaled a somewhat shaky breath and gazed around the room. The walls had a plaster finish, Tuscan-style, with pale golden paint glazed with sienna. It was very attractive.

      The kitchen was small and tucked into an alcove behind the right-hand side of the great room. The cabinets were cedar, the appliances new and modern. An island with a cooktop separated it from the living area, which spanned the width of the house. The sofa was rich, brown leather that matched the chair she sat in. Another chair, also a recliner, was smaller and upholstered in a deep terra-cotta and tan chenille.

      A long hassock with a tray on it served as a coffee table. Attractive floor lamps anchored each end of the sofa. A low chest of drawers with two buffet lamps nestled under a side window that framed a view of woods and a creek.

      A round table of oak with six chairs and a breakfront cabinet occupied the other end of the broad living space.

      She wondered who had picked out the furnishings. A woman, she concluded. She couldn’t imagine Jeremy giving much thought to interior design.

      He returned to the living room and tossed a duffel bag on the floor near the door. A shaving kit landed beside it.

      “I need a few more minutes,” he said, going into the kitchen.

      Opening a cedar-lined door, which proved to be the refrigerator, he removed several items. He poured the milk down the drain, ran some leftovers through the disposal and tossed salad greens far out the side door.

      “There, that should do it,” he said with another glance around the neat space.

      “Your home is very nice,” she said, rising.

      He smiled, but it didn’t erase the worried look in his eyes. “Someday I’ll show you the pictures I took before I started the remodel. The place didn’t have a lot going for it.”

      “Did you pick out the furniture?”

      “Yeah, but Krista advised me on colors and all that. I sent her pictures by phone and she okayed the sofa and chairs. The couple who own the furniture store did the layout and talked me into that chest. I think they called it a credenza.”

      “The hassock and tray are very up-to-date.”

      “It’s also great to prop your feet on when the guys are over for beer and pizza night.”

      She managed a laugh.

      He came around the island and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Caileen is tough. She’ll make it.”

      She nodded, unable to speak for a second. “Are you ready?”

      “Yes. I’ll call a couple of my supervisors when we get to town and put them in charge until I get back.”

      “We probably won’t be gone long.” The words sounded false even to her ears.

      “Let’s hit the road.” He waited for her to exit, then turned out the lights and locked up. “We’ll use the SUV.”

      She didn’t argue, but went to her car and got her luggage while he stored his in the back of his vehicle. He added her two cases when she brought them over.

      “Do you want to leave your car here or in town?”

      “Is it okay here?”

      He nodded. “I’ve never had any trouble.”

      “I’ll leave it.”

      After ushering her into the passenger seat, he belted himself in and they left on a journey that would take them most of the night. “Maybe we won’t have any road delays at night,” she said as he turned onto the paved county road.

      “Yeah, that’ll be a real plus.”

      In town, he stopped by the DOT office and called those who needed to know where he was going while she waited in the SUV. When he returned, he had a large insulated container of coffee and two plastic cups, plus two cans of soda. He placed a small wire basket of snacks—peanuts, crackers, chips, two apples—on the center console.

      “This should get us through until breakfast,” he told her, heading west on the highway out of town.

      “It took me several hours to make the trip home for Krista’s wedding,” she murmured, gazing past the sweep of the headlights into the countryside when they were west of town.

      Glancing at his profile, she recalled how handsome, how…how cosmopolitan he’d seemed at the wedding. She’d thought of Jeremy as an earthy sort—well, being a civil engineer, that seemed natural—but she’d discovered another side to him, one that was urbane and at ease in the most elegant surroundings.

      Pulling her gaze back to the countryside, she frowned at the sudden pang that went through her, a piercing moment of longing for something that was missing in her life, that had always been just beyond her grasp. She couldn’t say what it was.

      The moon limned the pavement into a ghostly ribbon. She saw no lights ahead to indicate oncoming traffic. They could have been the only creatures in the world. It was an eerie sensation.

      Jeremy set the