True Believer Part 11

"Without a doubt. Why, just yesterday, in fact, people were particularly impressed with my wardrobe, including you."

She laughed, and in the ensuing silence, she glanced at him. "I'll bet you travel a lot for your job, don't you?" she asked.

"Maybe four or five trips a year, each lasting a couple of weeks."

"Have you ever been in a town like this?"

"No," he said, "not really. Every place I go has its own charms, but I can say with all honesty that I've never been to a place like this. How about you? Other than New York, I mean."

"I've been to UNC, in Chapel Hill, and spent a lot of time in Raleigh. And I've been to Charlotte, too, when I was in high school. Our football team made the state championship my senior year, so pretty much everyone in town made the road trip. Our convoy stretched four miles down the highway. And Washington, D.C., on a field trip when I was little. But I've never been overseas or anything like that."

Even as she spoke, she knew how small her life would seem to him. Jeremy, as if reading her mind, flashed a hint of a smile.

"You'd like Europe. The cathedrals, the gorgeous countryside, the bistros and city squares. The relaxed lifestyle . . . you'd fit right in."

Lexie dipped her eyes. It was a nice thought, but . . .

And that was the thing. The but. but. There was always a There was always a but. but. Life had a nasty tendency to make exotic opportunities few and far between. It simply wasn't a reality for most folks. Like her. It wasn't as if she could take Doris or take off much time from the library. And why on earth was he telling her all this, anyway? To show her that he was more cosmopolitan than she was? Well, I hate to break it to you, she thought, but I already know that. Life had a nasty tendency to make exotic opportunities few and far between. It simply wasn't a reality for most folks. Like her. It wasn't as if she could take Doris or take off much time from the library. And why on earth was he telling her all this, anyway? To show her that he was more cosmopolitan than she was? Well, I hate to break it to you, she thought, but I already know that.

And yet, even as she digested those thoughts, another voice piped in, telling her that he was trying to flatter her. He seemed to be saying that he knew she was different, more worldly, than he'd expected her to be. That she could fit in anywhere.

"I've always wanted to travel," she admitted, sort of hedging the conflicting voices in her head. "It must be nice, having that chance."

"It is, at times. But believe it or not, what I most enjoy is meeting new people. And when I look back on the places I've gone, more often than not I see faces, not things."

"Now you're sounding like a romantic," she said. Oh, he was difficult to resist, this Mr. Jeremy Marsh. First the ladies' man and now the great altruist; well traveled but still grounded; worldly but still cognizant of the things that really mattered. No matter whom he met or where he was, she had no doubt that he had an innate ability to make others-especially women-feel as if he was in kinship with them. Which, of course, led directly back to her first impression of him.

"Maybe I am a romantic," he said, glancing over at her.

"You know what I liked about New York?" she asked, changing the subject.

He watched her expectantly.

"I liked the fact that there was always something happening. There were always people hurrying down the sidewalks and cabs buzzing by, no matter what time it was. There was always someplace to go, something to see, a new restaurant to try. It was exciting, especially to someone who'd grown up here. Like going to Mars, almost."

"Why didn't you stay?"

"I suppose I could have. But it wasn't the place for me. I guess you might say that my reason for going there at all kind of changed. I went to be with someone."

"Ah," Jeremy said. "So you'd followed him up there?"

She nodded. "We met in college. He seemed so . . . I don't know . . . perfect, I guess. He'd grown up in Greensboro, came from a good family, was intelligent. And really handsome, too. Handsome enough to make any woman ignore her best instincts. He looked my way, and the next thing I knew I was following him up to the city. Couldn't help myself."

Jeremy squirmed. "Is that right?"

She smiled inwardly. Men never wanted to hear how handsome other men were, especially if the relationship had been serious.

"Everything was great for a year or so. We were even engaged." She seemed lost in thought before she let out a deep breath. "I took an internship at the NYU library, Avery went to work on Wall Street, and then one day I found him in bed with one of his co-workers. It kind of made me realize that he wasn't the right guy, so I packed up that night and came back here. After that, I never saw him again."

The breeze picked up, sounding almost like a whistle as it rushed up the slopes, and smelling faintly of the earth.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, wanting to change the subject again. "I mean, it's nice visiting with you out here, but if I don't get some nourishment, I tend to get grumpy."

"I'm starved," he said.

They made their way back to the car and divided up the lunch. Jeremy opened the box of crackers on the front seat. Noticing that the view wasn't much, he started the car, maneuvered around the crest, then-angling the car just right-reparked with a view of the town again.

"So you came back here and began working at the library, and . . ."

"That's it," she said. "That's what I've been doing for the last seven years."

He did the math, figuring she was about thirty-one.

"Any other boyfriends since then?" he asked.

With her fruit cup wedged between her legs, she broke off a piece of cheese and put it on a cracker. She wondered if she should answer, then decided, What the h.e.l.l, he's leaving, anyway.

"Oh, sure. There were a few here and there." She told him about the lawyer, the doctor, and-lately-Rodney Hopper. She didn't mention Mr. Renaissance.

"Well . . . good. You sound like you're happy," he said.

"I am," she was quick to agree. "Aren't you?"

"Most of the time. Every now and then, I go nuts, but I think that's normal."

"And that's when you start wearing your pants low?"

"Exactly," he said with a smile. He grabbed a handful of crackers, balanced a couple on his leg, and began stacking some cheese. He glanced up, looking serious. "Would you mind if I asked a personal question? You don't have to answer, of course. I won't take it the wrong way, believe me. I'm just curious."

"You mean, more personal than telling you about my previous boyfriends?"

He gave a sheepish shrug, and she had a sudden vision of what he must have looked like as a small boy: a narrow, unlined face, bangs cut straight, shirt and jeans dirty from playing outside.

"Go ahead," she said. "Ask away."

He focused on the lid of his fruit cup as he spoke, suddenly reluctant to meet her gaze. "When we first got here, you pointed out your grandmother's house. And you said you'd grown up there."

She nodded. She'd wondered when he would ask about that.

"I did," she said.

"Why?"

She looked out the window; habit made her search out the highway that led out of town. When she spotted it, she spoke slowly.

"My parents were coming back from Buxton, out on the Outer Banks. That was where they got married, and they owned a small beach cottage there. It's kind of hard to get to from here, but my mom swore that it was the most beautiful place in the world, so my dad bought a small boat so they wouldn't have to use the ferry to get there. It was their little escape, the two of them sneaking away, you know. There's a beautiful lighthouse that you can see from the porch, and every now and then, I head out there, too, just like they used to, just to get away from it all."

Her lips formed the tiniest of half-smiles before she went on. "But anyway, on their way back that night, my parents were tired. It still takes a couple of hours to get there even without the ferry, and the best guess is that on the way home, my dad fell asleep at the wheel and the car went off the bridge. By the time the police found the car and dredged it out the following morning, they were both dead."

Jeremy was quiet for a long moment. "That's terrible," he finally said. "How old were you?"

"Two. I was staying with Doris that night, and the next day, she headed off to the hospital with my granddad. When they got back, they told me that I'd be living with them from now on. And so I did. But it's strange; I mean, I know what happened, but it's never seemed particularly real. I didn't feel like I was missing anything when I was growing up. To me, my grandparents seemed like everyone else's parents, except that I called them by their first names." She smiled. "That was their idea, by the way. I guess they didn't want me to think of them as grandparents anymore since they were raising me, but they weren't my parents, either."

When she finished, she looked over at him, noticing the way his shoulders seemed to fill out his sweater, and eyeing that dimple again.

"Now it's my turn to ask questions," she said. "I've talked too much, and I know that my life must be boring compared to yours. Not so much about my parents, of course, but living here, I mean."

"No, it's not boring at all. It's interesting. Kind of like . . . reading a new book when you turn the pages and experience something unexpected."

"Nice metaphor."

"I thought you might appreciate that."

"So what about you? What made you want to become a journalist?"

For the next few minutes, he told her about his college years, his plans to become a professor, and the turn of events that had brought him to this point.

"And you said that you have five brothers?"

He nodded. "Five older brothers. I'm the baby of the family."

"For some reason, I just can't see you with brothers."

"Why?"

"You strike me as more the only-child type."

He shook his head. "It's a shame you didn't inherit the psychic abilities of the rest of your family."

She smiled before glancing away. In the distance, red-tailed hawks circled above the town. She put her hand to the window, feeling the cold press of gla.s.s against her skin. "Two hundred forty-seven," she said.

He looked over at her. "Excuse me?"

"That's how many women visited Doris to find out the s.e.x of their babies. Growing up, I'd see them sitting in the kitchen visiting with my grandmother. And it's funny, even now I can remember thinking that they all had this look about them: the sparkle in their eyes, the fresh glow to their skin, and their genuine excitement. There is truth to the old wives' tale that women who are pregnant glow, and I remember thinking that I wanted to look just like them when I grew up. Doris would talk to them for a while to make sure they were sure they wanted to know, and then she'd take their hand and get really quiet all of a sudden. Hardly any of them were even showing, and a few seconds after that, she'd make her p.r.o.nouncement." Lexie let out a soft breath. "She was right every time. Two hundred forty-seven women came by, and she was right two hundred and forty-seven times. Doris kept their names in a book and wrote everything down, including the dates of the visits. You can check it out if you'd like. She still has the book in her kitchen."

Jeremy simply stared at her. Impossible, he thought, a statistical fluke. One that pressed the limits of believability, but a fluke nonetheless. And her notebook, no doubt, would only show the guesses that had been right.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, "but you can check it out with the hospital, too. Or the women. And you can ask anyone you want, to see if she was ever mistaken. But she wasn't. Even the doctors around town will tell you straight up that she had a gift."

"Did you ever think that maybe she knew someone who did the ultrasounds?"

"That wasn't it," she insisted.

"How can you know for sure?"

"Because that's when she stopped. When the technology finally arrived in town. There was no reason for people to come to her anymore, once they could see the picture of the baby themselves. The women visitors began slowing after that, then turned into a trickle. Now it's maybe one or two people a year, usually folks from out in the country who don't have medical insurance. I guess you could say her abilities aren't in too much demand these days."

"And the divining?"

"Same thing," she said. "There isn't much demand around here for someone with her skills. The entire eastern section of the state sits over a vast reservoir. You can sink a well anywhere and find water around here. But when she was growing up in Cobb County, Georgia, farmers would come to the house begging for her help, especially during the droughts. And even though she wasn't more than eight or nine, she'd find the water every time."

"Interesting," Jeremy said.

"I take it you still don't believe it."

He shifted in his seat. "There's an explanation somewhere. There always is."

"You don't believe in magic of any kind?"

"No," he said.

"That's sad," she said. "Because sometimes it's real."

He smiled. "Well, maybe I'll find something that changes my mind while I'm down here."

She smiled, too. "You already have. You're just too stubborn to believe it."

After finishing their makeshift lunch, Jeremy slid the car into gear, and they bounced back down Riker's Hill, the front wheels seemingly drawn to every deep rut. The shocks squeaked and groaned, and by the time they reached the bottom, Jeremy's knuckles were white on the wheel.

They followed the same roads back. Pa.s.sing Cedar Creek Cemetery, Jeremy found his eyes drawn to the top of Riker's Hill; despite the distance, he could pick out the spot where they'd parked.

"Do we have time to see a couple of other places? I'd love to swing by the marina, the paper mill, and maybe the railroad trestle."

"We have time," she said. "As long as we don't stay too long. They're pretty much all in the same area."

Ten minutes later, following her directions, he parked again. They were at the far edge of downtown, a few blocks from Herbs, near the boardwalk that stretched along the riverfront. The Pamlico River was nearly a mile wide and flowed angrily, the currents rippling to form tiny whitecaps as they rushed downstream. On the far side of the river, near the railroad trestle, the paper mill-a huge structure-spewed clouds from the dueling smokestacks. Jeremy stretched as he stepped out of the car, and Lexie crossed her arms. Her cheeks began to redden in the chill.

"Is it getting colder, or is it just my imagination?" she asked.

"It's pretty cold," he agreed. "Seems colder than it was up top, but maybe we just got used to the heater in the car."

Jeremy struggled to catch up to her as she set off for the boardwalk. Lexie finally slowed and then stopped to lean against the railing as Jeremy gazed up at the railroad trestle. Perched high above the river to let large boats pa.s.s, it was crisscrossed with beams, resembling a suspension bridge.

"I didn't know how close you wanted to get," she said. "If we had more time, I would have taken you across the river to the mill, but you probably get a better view from here." She motioned toward the other end of town. "The marina is over there, near the highway. Can you see where all those sailboats are docked?"

Jeremy nodded. For some reason, he'd expected something grander.

"Can big boats dock there?"

"I think so. Some big yachts from New Bern sometimes stop over for a couple of days."

"How about barges?"

"I suppose they could. The river is dredged to allow for some of the logging barges, but they usually stop on the far side. Over there"-she pointed to what seemed to be a small cove-"you can see a couple there now, all loaded up."

He followed her gaze, then turned around, coordinating locations. With Riker's Hill in the distance, the trestle and the factory seemed perfectly aligned. Coincidence? Or completely unimportant? He stared in the direction of the paper mill, trying to figure out whether the tops of the smokestacks were lit at night. He'd have to check on that.

"Do they ship all the logs by barge, or do you know if they use the railroad, too?"