The Rifters by M. Pax

Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

Her thirty-ninth move, and Daelin knew it wouldn’t be her last. In the doorway of Charming’s cottage, she clutched the handles of her suitcases. The tiny house basically had one room with a converted sunroom for more space, a bathroom, and a ladder leading up to a bedroom loft.

Setting her bags down then hauling the others in from the porch, Daelin could now claim to be an official resident of Settler. She shut the door against the chill and stepped farther inside.

The house smelled like her sister and Oregon: fresh dug soil, pine, cedar, sage, and hyacinth. A battered side table had traveled here from their childhood, one they had converted to a dollhouse until they outgrew dolls. Later they played hours and hours of card games on it with their baby brother. Charming insisted it go wherever she did. It was the only piece of furniture that had remained a constant in their young lives.

The essence of Charming surrounded Daelin, a bond, familiarity, the one thing she had hoped most to find in Settler. “Charming?” The expectation of finding her grew stronger, beckoning Daelin to the middle of the main room. Only the gentle rustling of the wind tapping tree branches against the windows answered. She had never experienced such utter silence, except when begging her mother not to move again.

Shabby chic described much of the cottage’s furnishings. Old, worn, welcoming. She envied Charming for having this bit of stability, running her hand across the timeworn red of a wicker chaise lounge. It had soft floral cushions and a chenille quilt she could curl up in with her sister later. Under its comfort, they’d catch up on their lives, chatting and laughing until dawn. Such had been their habit when meeting as adults.

A door off the kitchen led to an attached garage that could fit a compact car if it hadn’t been outfitted as a workshop. Fossils and tools covered the surfaces along with bits of wire, crystal, and circuitry. The soldering iron still smoked. Daelin went and unplugged it, brushing her fingers over the chips of rock and wire. What had Charming been doing? What did wires and circuits have to do with fossil hunting? A glance out the window showed a Jeep parked behind the garage. What kind of rush would have had her leaving it behind?

Daelin chewed her lower lip and searched the house for a note. Not one message anywhere, and she had no idea what to think other than either Charming or Earl had lied. Why?

She checked her watch. He’d be here in forty-five minutes. She didn’t know where to put her things and hoped Charming would be here when she returned from Bend. She hated living out of suitcases, and her little sister knew it.

In the bathroom, she made room for her toiletries and did a quick wash to rid herself of the road. Out of her luggage, she took a pair of jeans, her favorite purple sweater, socks, and sneakers. She put them on and her trench coat. The business coat didn’t fit with Settler, but she had nothing else.

Finding a pad and pen on Charming’s writing desk in the sunroom, Daelin jotted a quick note. Earl took me to Bend to return the rental car. Be back by sundown. Two steps later and Daelin was in the kitchen. A quaint little island divided it from the seating area.

The 1950s aqua refrigerator had a few magnets stuck on it — clear buttons with photos of dinosaur bones in their centers. One held a recent image of Earl and Charming out on one of Settler’s two lakes, laughing, their arms around each other. Daelin froze, staring at it. There was no mistaking he held Charming on a pedestal, and she blossomed under his attention. Her sister had never mentioned him as a boyfriend, or any boyfriend.