Mountain Sanctuary by Lenora Worth

so afraid things will get out of control, that I’ll get so caught up in this I’ll neglect Kyle and Daddy.”
    “You seem like a sensible woman. I don’t see you abandoning your family—” He stopped, realization dawning in his dense head at about the time he saw that solid fear cresting in her eyes. “Your mother, right? You’re holding back because you don’t want to be like your mother?”
    Stella dropped her brush and headed for the door. “This was a bad idea.”
    He snagged her with a hand on her wrist. “Don’t think that. Why is doing something you love and you’re good at a bad idea?”
    She let out a long sigh. “I just feel so scattered, so disoriented. You know, kind of off-kilter. I feel as if I’m trespassing on my mother’s memories. Or stomping right across them.”
    Adam certainly knew that feeling. Holding her hand, he looked down at her long, dainty fingers. “I felt like that after the hurricane hit New Orleans. My world had shifted and turned upside down. Everything and everybody seemed crazy. I had this big hole inside my soul. I’m not so sure I’ll ever fill it again.”
    She looked at him, understanding in her eyes. “Did you love being a policeman?”
    “I did, a lot. I miss it now. But I saw too much pain and suffering. People dying, women being abused, children lost on the streets. It’s like that everywhere, but this was my town, my home. I tried to stay. I did stay for these past couple of years after everything started settling down. But it might not ever be the same. And one night, after we got a call for a drug-related shooting, I guess the body count finally got to me. Then, like I said, I had this personal stuff to deal with. I got in trouble with the department, so a week later I resigned, then I left and started driving.”
    Looking surprised, she shifted her head, her hair falling down around her shoulders. “You mean, you really did just drive until you got to Hot Springs?”
    “Yep. Until I saw your sign.”
    She gave him one of her shy smiles. “Our slightly crooked sign, you mean?”
    “It’s not crooked anymore. I fixed it.”
    “So your cooking and mending and fixing, it’s not just about needing a job. You needed to keep busy, right?”
    “Right.” He smiled then, glad she was finally getting it. “I’m not trying to take over your home, Stella. I like working around here. It’s nice, calm, peaceful work. And it makes me feel good. You and Kyle and Papa, you make me feel good.”
    Wrong words. She pulled her hand away from his. “I’d better get back inside.”
    “What about your work?”
    “I can’t work tonight. I’ll get started soon.”
    “I interrupted you.”
    “No, you didn’t. I don’t think I wanted to paint. I just wanted to visit. Does that make sense?”
    He saw the longing in her eyes. “So you’re just gonna stand in the shadows, visiting your dreams?”
    “For now. Just for a little while.”
    “I’d hate to think you’ll look up one day and see that a little while has turned into a long, long time.”
    She tossed her hair back, a sure sign that he needed to change the subject. “What kind of dreams do you have?”
    Adam didn’t know the answer to that question, or maybe he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. Because right now his dreams included watching a pretty redhead paint china. He tried to form the words, then shrugged. “I guess I’m just content to see where life takes me.”
    “I wish I could let go and be content with that notion.”
    He tried again. “You can. Come to church with me—just to get a little respite and some peace of mind.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t need to be in a church to converse with God.”
    “True, but it’s a good place to get away from other people’s questions and expectations.”
    “I see it as the other way around. I’d be exposed to people’s questions and expectations. I’d have to open up my soul to a roomful of strangers.”
    “They won’t be