Kaleidoscope Eyes Read online

  “Well then—”Jed glanced around, spotted a driveway on the other side of the road, and pulled in. He jockeyed the car around until they were situated where they could see the driveway—“we’ll just sit here and wait for her to come out.”

  “Sit here. In the car.”

  Jed nodded. “As long as it takes.”

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re a genius, Jed?”

  He eyed his buddy. “No.”

  Andy reached down and pulled the lever to lay the seat back, then crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t think so.”

  October 2—A Clover Day (Green)

  Light.

  It held unimagined power. Like the breath of life from the Creator, it flowed through the windows of Annie’s studio, a stream of warmth caressing the textures, embracing the colors.

  Pieces of stained glass hung in the windows—an array of colors. When the sunlight hit them, it enriched the hues, lifted them free, and carried them from the glass to infuse the room with a shimmering rainbow.

  And what better place to have a rainbow than in her studio, the perfect haven for creativity? Cubbyholes covered one wall, holding different sizes and styles of glass sheets. Her paints, powders, and brushes were hung on Peg-Board on the back wall, just above a light table. In the center of the room were her work tables—one for sketching, one for piecing together the windows. Large drawers held cutters, pliers, and other tools, as well as a variety of lead came, copper foils, acids, and more. Opposite the cubbies were grinders and soldering tools. Filter masks hung from hooks on the wall.

  But what made her studio most effective was its design. Large and open with windows—both plain glass and leaded—on all sides, natural light had free access from every angle. From the first rays of dawn to the last sigh of sunset, light permeated the studio.

  Usually, watching the dance of colors, the blend of light and shadow, was all it took to set Annie’s pencil dancing.

  Here’s hoping, she thought as she balanced her coffee mug in one hand and held the door open for Kodi with the other, today is a usual day. Heaven knew she needed one.

  Annie made her way through the darkness of the studio. She loved this time of day, the twinkling before dawn, when darkness still cloaked the world. Fortunately her night vision was strong, so she could navigate without turning on any lights. Kodi padded behind her, making her way to her dog bed. As Annie eased onto her stool, Kodi pawed her bed into submission, circled twice, then dropped with a deep-chested groan onto the cushion.

  Oh, to be so content, Annie thought with a smile. She cupped her hands around her coffee mug and took a sip of the hot, robust coffee. She could just see her pencils laid out, sheets of white paper before her on the worktable.

  Okay; Lord. I’m ready whenever You are.

  The morning silence enfolded her like the strong, warm arms of an old friend. She lifted her face to it, letting her eyes close and prayers fill her heart. Prayers of praise and worship, of supplication. Asking God to meet her here. To show her the work He had for her. To use her art for His purposes and glory And as she prayed, deep inside the excitement sparked and grew.

  Dawn was coming.

  In mere seconds it would arrive, the first rays turning the darkened room into an almost sacred place as light emerged—tentative at first, then exploding with abandon, pouring through the glass Annie had chosen, the windows she’d formed. And as Annie watched the display, images would spark to life in her mind and break free, traveling through her pencil onto the page. It was in those hushed moments that she had the powerful, humbling sense of God’s hand upon hers, guiding her fingers, whispering encouragement and inspiration as her sketches took shape.

  It was time. Annie knew it as surely as she knew her calling. She opened her eyes, watching the new day scatter color across the floor, coaxing out the rich tones of the wood. Textured and beveled glass caught the growing light, wrestled it, then cast it on the walls, where it flickered like a frustrated fairy.

  The splendor never failed to fuel her imagination.

  Annie set her mug on a coaster, then leaned forward on the stool, took up a pencil, and waited.

  And waited.

  And waited.

  Okay … so it almost never failed.

  “Aargh!” Annie flung the pencil back onto the worktable. It bounced and rolled across the table and dropped over the edge, landing on Kodi’s head.

  Kodi jumped up, barking an alarm, though Annie wasn’t sure if it was at the offending pencil or at her. “I’m sorry, girl.” Annie slid from her stool and paced the studio. “I just wish I knew what was wrong with me!”

  For days now she’d been trying to come up with a concept for Serafina Stowe’s window, but all she had to show for her efforts was a trash can full of wadded-up sketches. That, and an ever increasing frustration.

  She’d thought she had a good idea that day with the flowers. Was so sure she was on the right track. But try as she might, the images wouldn’t flow Something was missing. What, she didn’t know—but it was something important. Something she had to figure out if she was going to fulfill Cletus’s wish.

  Why had she ever agreed to do this? How was a window—stained glass or otherwise—supposed to help people see God in a new way?

  She turned and almost tripped over Kodi. She opened her mouth to yell at the dog, to tell her to get back on her bed, then stopped. It wasn’t Kodi’s fault she was in this mess. She had no one to blame but herself.

  Well, herself and Kyla.

  Come to think of it, she got her into this mess. She should call Kyla and tell her to do the window.

  Annie squatted beside Kodi, and the shepherd scooted as close as she could, laying her massive head on Annie’s chest, her nose just touching Annie’s chin. Annie scratched the dog’s ears. “‘Annie, you’re supposed to do this,’” she mimicked, “‘I just know it.’” She took hold of Kodi’s face and looked into her eyes. “Why didn’t you stop me, girl? Make me tell my sister to take a leap?”

  “Aroow-roo-row!”

  Annie laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. You weren’t there.” She patted the dog’s head, then stood. “That’ll teach me to leave you home, huh?”

  “Arrroww!”

  “Well, how ’bout I make up for it by taking you for a walk? Maybe go to the doggy park and throw Frisbees?”

  Kodi’s big ears perked and she circled Annie, tossing her head back and forth and wagging her tail.

  Annie headed for the door. At least she’d come up with one good idea today. That was something.

  Not much, mind you. But something.

  Jed and Andy had been waiting for about an hour when Jed made a discovery.

  Car windows do not make good pillows.

  He shifted for the twentieth time, trying to find a position in the driver’s seat that didn’t kill his neck.

  No such luck.

  He stretched his legs to the side but only succeeded in kicking Andy.

  “Man, would you knock it off? I’m trying to catch some z’s here.”

  Jed sat up. “Sorry. I just can’t get comfortable.”

  “Yeah, well seeing as this was your genius idea, I’m not feeling too sorry for you.”

  Jed rubbed the weariness from his eyes.

  “Sun’s comin’ up.” Andy’s comment was swallowed in a yawn that stretched his mouth wide.

  “About time. Here’s hoping she’s a morning person.”

  They fell silent then, watching the sunrise color the sky. Andy leaned forward, resting his elbows on the dashboard and peering out the windshield.

  “Now that’s some kind of artwork.”

  “What?” Jed craned his neck.

  “That, you doof. The sunrise. One second it’s pitch-black out there, then wham! Color everywhere.” Andy leaned back, stretching his arms above his head. “Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it?”

  Jed turned his head away “Don’t start.”

  “I’m just sayin’, something like that doesn
’t just happen.”

  Flicking the door lock up, Jed shoved the door open and stepped out into the cool morning air.

  “You know—”

  Jed shot a glare over the car at Andy, who’d gotten out on his side and stood there, arms folded on top of the car as he studied Jed.

  “—I’ve taken you for a lot of things, Curry Reckless. Crazy Talented. Determined. But there’s one thing I’ve never taken you for. Until now.”

  “And that is?”

  Andy’s arms slid off the car. “A coward.”

  Jed’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  “Face it, pal. Ever since Ken was killed, you’ve been on the run.”

  “On the run? From who?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. At first I thought it was God, but you’ve been avoiding Him for as long as I’ve known you.”

  “Andy.”

  Apparently he didn’t catch the low warning in Jed’s tone. Either that, or he just didn’t care.

  “So now I’m wondering if what you’re really running from is yourself. What is it inside that pushes you so hard?”

  What was pushing Jed now was Andy. His words. They were hitting him a lot harder than he liked. He turned away, falling back on the only defense he had at hand. “‘You cram these words into mine ears against the stomach of my sense.’”

  “Nuh-uh. Shakespeare isn’t gonna get you out of th—”

  The sound of metal on metal caught them both by surprise, and they spun to look across the road. The gate across Annie Justice’s driveway was opening.

  “Quick! Get in!”

  Andy scrambled around the car and jumped inside just as Jed turned the key and revved the engine. As they watched, a dark blue Jeep rolled through the gate. Though Jed couldn’t see the driver’s features, he was sure it was a woman. And that a huge dog was sitting next to her, in the passenger’s seat.

  Annie Justice and Kodi. It had to be.

  The Jeep turned onto Old Stage Road and headed toward town. Jed waited a moment, then put the car in gear, following at a safe distance.

  Andy finally broke the silence. “Look, man, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to push.”

  Jed shrugged. “Let’s just focus on the job, Andy” His friend nodded, and they fell into a strained silence. But as Jed drove, careful to keep Annie’s vehicle in view, he knew the conversation wasn’t over.

  It never was.

  No matter how much Jed wanted it to be.

  NINETEEN

  “Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony paths

  He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us

  out on any journey for which He does not equip us well.”

  ALEXANDER MACLAREN

  “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you.”

  ISAIAH 22:17, NIV

  OCTOBER 2

  8:00 a.m.

  “Wow.”

  Andy’s hushed exclamation pretty well summed it up. Jed had known from the picture of Annie in the paper that she was an attractive woman, in a cute and spunky kind of way.

  But the real thing was far more impressive than he’d ever imagined. More … alluring.

  Andy let go of the branch he’d been holding, and it snapped back to swat Jed in the face.

  “Hey! Watch it!”

  “Sorry.”

  Funny, Andy didn’t sound sorry. He just sounded irritated.

  “I’m not used to hiding in bushes and spying on people.”

  They’d followed Annie to a Dairy Queen. When she pulled into the parking lot, Andy had looked from the fast-food joint to Jed. “What? She gonna buy the dog a burger?”

  They pulled to the side of the street, watching as Annie parked and got out of the vehicle. She clipped a leash on Kodi and hefted a backpack, and the two of them turned and headed right for Jed and Andy’s car.

  “Duck!”

  The two men slumped down, but they needn’t have worried. Annie and Kodi walked past their car, heading for a bridge that would take them over a large creek.

  Andy punched Jed’s arm. “Park, before we lose her!”

  Jed pulled into a parking spot, then they hopped out and hurried after their quarry Fortunately, Annie’s destination was just on the other side of the bridge: a large, fenced-in dog park. Once inside the enclosure, she set the backpack on a picnic table and pulled out a number of Frisbees.

  Jed and Andy strolled along the path, but as soon as Annie turned her back to them to throw the Frisbee, they ducked into a stand of tall evergreens.

  “I feel like an idiot!” Andy hissed.

  “You look like one too.” Jed pulled a piece of tree out of his friend’s hair and held it out for him to see.

  Andy snatched it and flicked it over his shoulder. “I’ve had enough of this. Either you get out there, or I will.”

  “Fine. Just wait until she won’t see us—” Jed almost swallowed the rest of the sentence when something smacked the trees just to the left of them. He saw a Frisbee stuck in the branches not five feet away. A quick look toward the dog park revealed that Annie was heading for the gate, coming to retrieve the toy.

  “Go get it!” Andy shoved him.

  He shoved back. “What?”

  “The Frisbee, you nitwit! Get it and give it to her!”

  Jed considered telling Andy to take a leap, then decided it was time to do what he’d come here to do.

  Meet Annie Justice.

  “Arroww-roww!”

  Annie looked down at Kodi. “Hey, I never said I was good at throwing Frisbees.”

  “Rowww!”

  She nudged the dog with her hip, slipping past her out the gate of the dog park. One of these days she would actually learn how to throw a Frisbee. She ended up chasing the silly things more than Kodi did. “Now where did that thing go?”

  She was pretty sure it flew over the fence somewhere toward the middle. She started toward the trees, only to be met by a tall stranger walking toward her. She glanced around them, startled. What was someone doing out here this early? If he’d been dressed for running, that’d be different. But it was as though he just appeared out of nowhere.

  Her steps faltered as he drew closer. She studied the trees to the right of them lining the bike path, judging how far she was from Kodi and the gate. Then she looked back at the man approaching her.

  And frowned.

  Odd.

  He looked familiar.

  “Mornin’.” He held out the Frisbee as he reached her. “This belongs to you, I believe?”

  Annie studied his features. Had she met him before? If so, she couldn’t recall where. But those eyes, the way his smile lit his face …

  She shook off the sensation and managed a smile. “Actually it belongs to the monster.” She nodded toward Kodi, who was up on her hind legs, front paws on the fence, watching them with that puckered, half-worried expression she got when she wasn’t sure what was happening.

  Annie knew how the dog felt.

  The man’s chuckle, a low rumble of sound, was rich and appealing. Annie looked at him again. She had seen him before; she was sure of it. But where?

  “Looks like she’s afraid you’re going to leave her there.”

  “Fat chance. If she saw me leaving without her, she’d be up and over that fence.” Annie took the Frisbee from him, staring at it as her mind scrambled to place him. Compelling number nine eyes—the color of Belgian chocolate—with just a hint of gold flecks. His smile was open and relaxed, as was his stance.

  Maybe he was just a nice guy out for a walk.

  “Well, she’s a beauty. And she’s lucky to have an owner who loves her as much as you do.”

  A really nice guy.

  She held up the Frisbee. “Thanks, again. I’m afraid I’m pretty awful at throwing these things.”

  The man glanced back at the trees, his mouth quirked in a crooked grin. “I noticed.”

  There was that smile again. Annie liked the way his eyes crinkle
d at the edges when he smiled. There was something … comfortable about him.

  “Tell you what—”

  His voice startled her from her thoughts, and warmth filled her cheeks. “Hmm?”

  “I’ll make you a trade.”

  Careful Annie. He may seem familiar, but he’s still a stranger. She shuffled back a step. “A trade?”

  “You let me pet your ‘monster’ over there, and I’ll teach you how to throw the Frisbee.”

  She should say no; she knew she should. It wasn’t smart to give an opening to some guy she didn’t know—no matter how familiar he seemed. No, she needed to just give him the ol’ “Thanks, but no thanks” and walk away

  That decided, Annie opened her mouth. “Sure. Sounds good.”

  What? What was she saying?

  “Okay then. Lead on.”

  She looked at the man. “Right.” Nodded. “Okay. Good.”

  Stop rambling, Annie. You sound like an idiot. Just turn and start walking.

  She did as her brain bid, and the man fell in step beside her.

  “By the way—” he held a hand out to her—“I’m Jed.”

  Jed. J. A deep raspberry halo shimmered into focus around him. She took his hand, intending to drop it as quickly as she could. But her hand fit into his so well and there was such warmth and strength in that grip that she held on for a heartbeat.

  Then two.

  Her eyes widened. Oh … my gosh …

  The knight. He was the knight. From her dream. Not exactly, of course. But his features, that smile, those eyes … even his color. They were all so similar that Annie almost couldn’t breathe.

  His gaze dropped to their joined hands, then traveled back up to her face. “And you are?”

  “Oh!” She let go of his hand, then turned to unlatch the gate into the dog park, frantic to hold on to something solid.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  “Kodi. No, I mean, that’s her name. The monster, that is.” She puffed out a breath. “I’m Annie.” Pulling the gate open wide, she waited as he followed her in, then entered the park. Kodi was right there to greet her.

  “Kodi, huh?”

  Normally, Annie would have made sure she stayed between Kodi and a stranger, but this time she found herself stepping back. Why?