Kaleidoscope Eyes Read online

  Annie smiled back. “Yes, Bertha. I like her very much.”

  Kodi turned her head to give Bertha a quick swipe of her tongue, then stood and nudged at the tennis ball hanging in a net bag from Annie’s belt. The payoff. In the dog’s mind, the search was always a game. And the payoff for finding the subject? A dog’s favorite thing: play!

  Annie slipped the ball free from the bag and handed it to Bertha. “How would you like to throw out the first pitch?”

  Bertha clapped her hands, then took the tennis ball and threw it. Barking out her joy, Kodi bounded after it.

  As Bertha and Kodi played, Annie pulled her radio free and keyed the mic. Dan must have been waiting because his response was immediate.

  “You found her.”

  What beautiful words, spoken with such confidence. But then, her brother knew they weren’t out here on their own. “We found her. And she’s fine. A little disoriented, but fine.”

  She gave Dan the coordinates from her GPS, then knelt beside Bertha and checked her out. The old woman was weak from hunger and dehydration, but other than that she was no worse for the wear.

  God must have held the dear lady in His pocket.

  Annie gave Bertha water, and they settled in to wait for the cavalry.

  Two hours later, Bertha was safely ensconced back at the adult home. Much to Annie’s dismay, reporters were waiting for them when they emerged from the ravine. Even a few TV cameras. She shot a look at her brother, but he denied culpability.

  “I didn’t call ’em. I know better.”

  Indeed he did. He was well acquainted with his younger sister’s dislike for the spotlight. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding the hordes as she and Kodi and Dan walked outside. And since she was a member of the K-9 SAR unit, she had to behave.

  So, one hand on her dog’s collar, Annie stood next to Dan, listening as he answered a barrage of questions. He knew she wasn’t allowed to deal with media; that was his responsibility. But Annie couldn’t escape the flashing cameras.

  She endured it as long as she could, then looked at her watch. “We have to go, Dan.”

  “Sheriff?”

  Dan turned to look at Agatha, and she signaled him inside the house, then held a hand up to Annie. “Would you please wait just a moment?”

  Annie nodded, fidgeting as Dan went back inside. When he came out Bertha was with him, leaning on his arm. He shrugged. “She wanted to say good-bye to her wolf.”

  When Dan and Bertha reached Annie, the old woman patted Dan’s arm, and he helped her lean over to hug Kodi.

  Bertha looked at Annie, then reached out to wrap her soft, wrinkled fingers around Annie’s hand. “Will you bring my wolf to see me again?”

  Annie squeezed her hand. “Of course.”

  Dan led Bertha away, and Annie slipped Kodi’s shabrack off her, opening the Jeep door. Kodi jumped in, circled twice on the seat, then settled down, uttering a contented groan. Annie put a hand on Kodi’s head, loving the way her colors blended with Kodi’s—marigold and pink, shifting and mixing to create a combined shade of warm peach.

  “You done good, girl.” She touched her forehead to Kodi’s. “I’ll bet you liked being a wolf, huh?”

  “Arrooow-roow-rooo!”

  Annie chuckled. Not exactly a wolf howl, but that was okay. It was the sound of pure contentment. And that was music to Annie’s ears.

  She glanced around at the crisp Oregon morning. It was going to be a beautiful day. She’d much rather spend it outside.

  Kodi lifted one of her paws to bat at Annie’s arm, and Annie sighed. “I know, I know. I promised Killian I’d be there.”

  She shut the passenger door and climbed into the driver’s seat, then glanced at Kodi. “You can’t blame a girl for just thinking about ducking out, can you?”

  The dog’s ears perked and she tilted her head, eyes wide and focused. Annie got the message.

  Kodi wouldn’t blame her, but Killian certainly would. No escaping it.

  Time to face her fears.

  EIGHT

  “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us;

  we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

  C. S. LEWIS

  “Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God ….

  For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”

  JEREMIAH 42:6

  SEPTEMBER 8

  3:30 p.m.

  You can do this.

  Annie peered through the branches of a potted ficus tree almost as tall as her at the people milling about Killian’s art gallery. This was her showing, for heaven’s sake. She should be out there. Mixing it up with the crowd. And she would be. In just a minute.

  Or two.

  Or twenty …

  Lord, Kylie said You’d send my knight when I needed him, right? Well, now would be a good time. Really Couldn’t you just send him along to carry me away from all of this … this …

  “Now this is what I call a party.”

  Annie drew in a gulp of oxygen before answering her older brother. “Funny, I was just thinking torture was a better descriptor.”

  He joined Annie in leaning against the wall, not looking at her but fully aware of what she was feeling. He’d talked her through being in crowds ever since they were kids.

  “Too many people for your taste, huh, sis?”

  “Where did they all come from?”

  He slid his arm around her shoulders. “All over the place. You’re quite the sensation, or didn’t you know?”

  She wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad.

  “So … how are you doing?”

  Annie faced Dan. “Other than the obvious, I’m fine. Why?”

  “I just wanted to be sure you wouldn’t … you know, worry about the e-mails.”

  Ah yes, the e-mails. Annie turned back to the crowd, even more uneasy than before. “Any more show up?”

  “Not a one.”

  So why didn’t he sound happy about that?

  “Any luck finding out who sent them?”

  “Not a bit. I’m hoping my buddy from the cybercrime unit will be able to figure something out soon.” He leaned over and nudged her with his elbow. “Annie?”

  She sighed. “Yes, I’m being careful.”

  “Locking the gate to your property? Securing the house at night?”

  “Filling the moat with alligators and piranhas.”

  At his pointed silence, she turned to meet his gaze—and hesitated. Her brother actually looked worried. “Dan, just this morning we talked about all this. I know you think I forget things, but I promise. I’m being careful.”

  “Where is the artist? I thought we were going to get a chance to talk with her?”

  At the stringent voice right in front of them, Annie peeked around the leaves of the ficus and saw a well-dressed woman, crystal glass of iced tea in hand, scanning the room. Just as she was about to turn Annie’s way, Ryan Evans stepped in, taking the woman’s arm and turning her so her back was to Annie’s hiding place. He caught Annie’s eyes for a moment, then focused on the woman.

  “Miss Justice will be available soon, I assure you.”

  “Well! I should certainly hope so. I’ve purchased one of her pieces—not an inexpensive one—and I should think that entitles me to speak with her.” She snatched her arm away from Ryan. “Not the hired help.”

  Despite the woman’s increasingly rude demeanor, Ryan’s tone stayed calm and unruffled. “Of course. But I wonder—” he leaned in close to the woman—“have you seen the room with Miss Justice’s more … exclusive works?”

  Dan and Annie exchanged a glance.

  “More exclusive works?”

  Annie shrugged. She didn’t know what Ryan was talking about. But it made an impact on the overbearing woman. She immediately lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “No. Where is it?”

  “Just come with me. I’ll show you.”

  Annie released a b
reath as Ryan led the woman away.

  “You gotta admit it: The guy’s good at what he does.”

  “Definitely.”

  Within minutes Ryan was on his way back across the room, heading for Annie and Dan. She touched his arm when he joined them. “Thanks for that, Ryan.”

  “No reason you should have to deal with some pushy woman who’ fancies herself an art expert.” He ducked past the low-hanging leaves of the ficus. “Irritating creature.”

  Annie studied the man beside her. Ageless. That’s the word that came to mind when she first met Ryan, and it still applied. With his smooth features and lean frame, he could be anywhere from twenty to forty. True, his short cropped hair had silvered at the temples, but rather than age him, it just gave him a distinctive air.

  Killian had hired Ryan as his assistant a little over three years ago. The two not only shared a similar artistic temperament, but they looked enough alike to be brothers. They even wore the same kind of glasses, much to Annie’s amusement. But where Killian loved the spotlight, Ryan was far more comfortable backstage. Which made him more understanding of Annie’s distaste for crowds.

  He glanced at her. “Does Killian know you’re hiding back here?”

  “No. I’ve been careful not to let him see me.”

  Ryan lifted one lean hand to brush at the ficus branches. “Good hiding spot.” His gaze drifted to Dan. “But I’m afraid it’s not big enough to hide your brother as well as you. And if Killian sees him here—”

  He didn’t need to finish. If Killian saw Dan, he’d know Annie was hiding out there as well.

  Dan held up his hands. “Say no more. I’ve been wanting to visit that buffet since I arrived.”

  Annie laughed. “You’d better hop to it before Jayce eats it all.”

  Dan turned, eyes wide. “He’s there already? We just got here!”

  “Are you kidding? Your son has the most effective food radar I’ve ever seen. Now go, you big oaf.”

  She didn’t have to tell him twice—well actually she did—but she didn’t have to tell him thrice.

  “I’d probably better get back to our guests.” Ryan studied the throngs spilling from this room into the next. “I’m guessing we’ve had close to twice the attendance Killian anticipated.” He grinned. “Should make him happy”

  “It should make him ecstatic, but you know Killian.”

  Ryan’s grin faded a fraction. “Yes, I know Killian. He’s not exactly easy to please.”

  Annie tipped her head. “Yes, well, if he neglects to say anything, I want you to know I appreciate all you did for this showing. It’s your advertising and promotion ideas that sparked people’s interest.”

  He looked at the crowds again. “I imagine your beautiful art had something to do with it too.”

  She shrugged at his wry tone. “It’s just a window, Ryan. I mean, it’s not like I cured cancer or anything.”

  But despite her protestations, she was glad. Glad all these people were here. For her work. For her.

  And that irritated her to no end.

  “Face it, Annie. You’re good at what you do—” his gaze drifted to the large stained glass window beyond them—“make that great at what you do. At finding people like you did this morning—”

  “Kodi finds people. I’m just along for the ride.”

  He ignored her. “And at your art. So it’s not a cure for cancer. It’s still beautiful. And people appreciate that.”

  She supposed he was right.

  “Well, back to work.” He glanced around the ficus. “I don’t see Killian, so you should be safe here a while longer.” He patted her arm. “Just relax and bask in the moment, okay?”

  Annie watched him move away, then she caught sight of Dan from across the room. In one hand he held a large plate heaped with goodies, in the other a punch glass. When he spotted her watching him, he grinned and held up his punch, the crystal glass looking miniature in his massive paw as he toasted her.

  Jayce, who stood beside Dan, reached under his raised arm and snatched something off Dan’s plate. Dan’s responding yelp made Annie laugh. She loved watching those two together.

  “They’ve come a long way, eh?”

  The words were accompanied by the gentle pressure of a shoulder against hers. Annie leaned back, slanting a look at the man beside her. She should’ve known she couldn’t hide from him much longer.

  “Hey, Killie.”

  “Hey there.” He linked his arm in hers, tilting his head. “Explain to me, will you, why my star artist is hiding behind a potted plant at her own showing?” His red brows climbed up from behind those round glasses. “Her very successful showing, I might add.”

  Annie flicked a finger at the earpiece of his glasses, then tugged at his short, curly hair. “Honestly, Killian, why do you wear those things? You know you don’t need them.”

  He waggled a finger at her. “Ah, ah, no you don’t. I won’t be distracted.”

  Annie knew that wasn’t true. In fact, she was counting on it. Sure enough, he reached up to adjust the glasses.

  “Besides, Ryan says they make me look … academic. Scholarly even.”

  She leaned her head close to his. “Ryan’s just trying to get on your good side.”

  “Pity I haven’t got one, isn’t it?” His sardonic tone was a perfect match for his expression. “Well, I’d best get back to your adoring fans. I mean, one of us has to.”

  “You do have Ryan out there, you know. And he’s better than four of me.”

  “He’s better than four of most anyone. Don’t know what I did before I hired him.”

  Annie’s lips twitched. “Good thing you were smart enough to do so.”

  “Indeed. Just don’t tell him that. He’s not going to be happy until I make him a partner in my gallery.”

  “He has worked hard, Killian.”

  “Three years of hard work does not a partner make. I built this place, not Ryan. It’s my reputation, not his, that draws people here. When he’s survived ten years in this business, then I’ll think about it.” He delivered a peck on her cheek and headed for the crowd.

  Annie settled back against the wall, watching him go. Poor Ryan. Did he have any idea just how far away that partnership really was? She doubted it. Killian might be arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t take a chance on losing Ryan to someone who’d actually give him his due.

  Nice thoughts about your friend, Annie.

  She shrugged. Hey, she loved Killian. But she didn’t have any illusions about him.

  Her glance drifted back to her brother, and she saw that Shelby, his wife, had joined him and Jayce at the buffet table. Annie’s heart smiled as she watched her brother and his family Their colors were so different—marigold for Dan, raspberry for Jayce, and emerald green for Shelby—and yet they fit together so well. As Annie watched them now, the colors shimmered and blended, creating a warm, harmonious rainbow outline. No doubt about it, those three belonged together.

  Annie could hardly believe it had been nearly a year since Jayce came to live with Dan. The teen had been so good for her brother, helping him get through the deaths of his son and daughter, Aaron and Shannon. And Dan had been great for Jayce, helping the boy overcome a troubled past to blossom into a really great kid.

  As for Shelby … well, she just kept those two in line and had a blast doing it.

  Three women moved past Annie’s hiding place, and she caught bits and pieces of their conversation—words like beautiful creative, genius … Words they were using to describe her.

  No, not me. My window.

  She’d known the floor-to-ceiling stained glass window she’d created for the new Central Point city library was something special. Even now, as she studied the way the sunlight played in the rich colors and varied styles of glass she’d chosen, she could hardly believe she’d made the window.

  A wealthy businessman in the valley had commissioned her to do the piece for the library. He had lived on the Oregon coast m
ost of his life, and when he ’talked with Annie about the window, he told her he had only one request.

  “Can you put something in it … I don’t know, a scene or something, that makes me feel like I’m back on the beach, watching the waves?”

  He sounded so hopeful, so wistful, that Annie couldn’t refuse. Of course, she hadn’t been at all sure she could pull it off. She’d spent days—weeks—sketching, matching colors and textures of glass, leaning back and letting words run through her mind. As they did, their colors shifted and blended, showing her what belonged in the piece.

  Ocean … the snowy white of the o flowed through the rest of the letters.

  Beach … b’s deep red tones warmed everything around it.

  The rust of waves, the deep blue of tide, the green of sand, the yellow of gulls. Slowly but surely they coalesced, creating a sense in Annie’s mind of the colors and images she should use.

  The window was only half finished when Killian came to her studio to see how it was going. He’d walked in and stood there, watching her work. She was so immersed in painting gold accents on one of the pieces of glass that she hadn’t noticed him at first. Not until he started clapping. Then she jumped and spun—and found him staring at the window, tears in his eyes.

  “It’s stunning—” His voice cracked, and he drew a deep breath.

  She turned back to the window, its pieces laid out on the table before her like a giant puzzle, and let his words wash over her. The scene was a young boy sitting on the beach, the ocean spread out in front of him, a book in his lap. And above him, as though being brought to life in his imagination, were characters and scenes from well-known books.

  “It really is, Annie.” Killian lay one hand on the window “It’s the best work you’ve ever done.”

  She’d thought so too but had been afraid to say so out loud.

  Annie had discovered stained glass in high school—and immediately knew she’d come home. Her stained glass art was one of the few places her synesthesia really fit. She never felt funny about it in her work—in fact, it helped her. Seeing colors the way she did, in letters and numbers, when music was playing, enabled her to create windows with added depth and dimension. She spent several years as an apprentice to an established artist, then took the plunge and branched out on her own.