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“That is not something we encourage.”
“But you don’t discourage it?”
She didn’t answer as her gaze swept toward the gardener. “Reyes, have you seen Ginger?”
Ty didn’t miss how the man’s cheeks, though already red from the sun reflecting off the water, turned brighter.
“Was I not supposed to remove the ladder?” Reyes asked in response.
Norma Rose was good at hiding her reactions, Ty noted—almost as good as him. She barely blinked before asking, “When did you remove it?”
“This morning, just like she asked,” Reyes answered.
Ty glanced at Norma Rose, but let her continue her questioning. She liked being in charge, and he needed to let that happen whenever he could. Let her think she was running the show.
“From her window?” Norma Rose asked.
Reyes nodded. “Yes. Yesterday she said she needed to wash her window and asked me to set it up and remove her screen. I offered to wash the window for her, but she said there was a long streak across it that only appeared when the sun was setting. She wanted to wait until then to wash it, and told me I could replace the screen and put the ladder back this morning, if she hadn’t already done so. Since it was still there, I put it away.” Reyes stomped the weeds from his bare feet. “I’ll go put it back. Do you want me to wash the window, too?”
“No,” Norma Rose said. “Have you seen her today?”
Reyes shook his head, but concern filled his eyes. “Walter asked me that earlier. Is something wrong?”
“No,” Ty interjected, before Norma Rose could speak.
“I just need her help,” Norma Rose said, tossing Ty a quick sideways glance. “I’ll find her. Thank you. How bad are the weeds?”
“Not too bad,” Reyes said. “A couple more sweeps and they’ll all be gone until next year.”
Turning her blue eyes toward Ty, she said, “We don’t disturb the weed beds near the docks. The fish like them, as do the guests who come here to fish.”
Ty caught on to her attempt to make this look like she was giving him a tour, and nodded. “Do the cabins come with boathouses and boats?”
She grinned and gave Reyes a nod before turning around. “They can be rented separately.”
“I see,” he said. “Splendid.”
Chapter Seven
Greatly relieved Ginger hadn’t been kidnapped, Norma Rose teetered between anger at her youngest sister and something she couldn’t quite describe. It had something to do with Ty. She couldn’t say she was convinced he was a private investigator. But he certainly could be. He’d clearly discovered clues to indicate Ginger had run away, but there was still more to him. She could feel it.
She could feel him, too, in their silent communication. She hadn’t had to explain anything to him, he’d just started going along with her ploy to stop Reyes thinking anything was wrong.
“Yes, it is,” she answered. “Quite splendid.”
Ty looked at her, and it happened again, that silent communication. He started laughing. She glanced over, and after noting that Reyes was far enough away that he couldn’t hear, she giggled.
“You said it first.”
“I know,” he answered dryly.
“I do think the resort is splendid.”
“I know that, too.”
He gestured toward the grass and they started walking. They weren’t touching and she had gloves on, so why could she still feel the warmth of his hands when he’d squeezed her fingers upstairs? And what on earth were the flutters in her stomach?
They stopped at the edge of the grass, where Ty took her elbow, helping her hold her balance while she slid on her shoes. When he let her go to step into his shoes, she took a deep breath.
All this...this silliness going on inside her, must be nerves. She’d never had a sister run away before, and, as things stood, she needed Ty’s help. Ginger still had to be found. Her father wasn’t in any state to help, and there was no one else. She certainly didn’t want her other sisters learning about this. Next thing she knew, both Josie and Twyla would be attempting the same thing.
“So,” Ty said, nodding toward the resort. “Where would your sister run away to?”
Where moments ago warmth flowed, a chill now shot through her veins. “Hollywood,” she whispered.
“What?”
She took a deep breath in order to say it again, loud enough for him to hear. “Hollywood. Ginger is obsessed with it. She’s always reading magazines, going to picture shows.”
He started walking. “What time does the passenger train stop at the Bald Eagle Depot?”
Norma Rose skipped to catch up with him. “Two in the afternoon.”
He cursed under his breath, but she heard it, and increased her speed, walking on her tiptoes to keep her heels from sinking.
“That only gives us about fifteen minutes,” he said.
“It’s only a five-minute drive.” If they took the well-used shortcut through the woods, but she couldn’t show him that route. “Ten at the most.”
With a wave toward the trees lining the edge of the yard, he said, “My truck’s at Dave’s.”
“I can—”
He pulled a set of keys out of one pocket.
“You can drive,” she agreed, remembering the keys she’d had Walter collect. Norma Rose pulled off her shoes to run. The toes of her stockings were already full of sand. A hole would be a relief. Ty arrived at his Model T first and she shot through the door he held open.
The engine caught and puttered to life, and Norma Rose slapped one hand on the dashboard, the other on the top of the windowless door, as Ty shifted the truck into Reverse. She bit the tip of her tongue. It wouldn’t take much longer to take the road and though she wanted to find Ginger, she just couldn’t give away the secret trails or passageways. Rocks flew as the vehicle shot backward, and again as he shifted gear, propelling Norma Rose forward along with the truck.
A solid arm stretched in front of her, pressing her back against the seat. “Hold on.”
“I am,” she insisted.
He drew back his hand and maneuvered the vehicle down the lane and across the parking lot. “Keep your arms inside,” he said, hitting the road like a bootlegger on the lam.
Half-expecting to see coppers chasing them if she looked behind, and excited by the inner thrill that thought caused, she said, “I know better than that.”
“Uncle Dave’s arm?”
“You certainly have done your research,” she said, holding on tightly as they swung around a wide curve. She had no desire to argue or worry about how he’d discovered so much about her family. The minutes were ticking by, and this was about the greatest adventure she’d ever been on.
“I don’t understand how she could have snuck out,” Norma Rose said, trying to keep her focus on Ginger. “Not without one of the men seeing her.”
“I don’t, either,” he said. “The resort is well guarded. Could she have convinced one of them to lie for her?”
“You met them,” she pointed out. “What do you think?”
“No,” he answered. “And by now they will have learned of the ladder, considering Walter had already spoken to Reyes.”
She nodded, almost feeling sorry for the night watchmen. Her father was not going to be happy to learn a ladder had been leaning against the house all night and no one had questioned it.
“What about the White Bear Lake Depot?” Ty asked. “What times do passenger trains go through it?”
“Several times a day, but they only run north and south. The only passenger trains heading east and west go through Bald Eagle, and that’s once a day, at two o’clock,” she answered, watching the trees whip past and holding on tighter as the rough road had her bouncing in her seat. “White Bear Lake folks didn’t like it when the depot was built out here, but there were already so many trains coming out of the cities, and going back in, the railroad claimed an east-west track would be too much. Freight trains roll through several times a day, but only a few actually stop at the Bald Eagle Depot.”
“Hold on,” he said, gunning the truck onto the main road.
“I haven’t let go,” she assured him.
He grinned, and she had a hard time tugging her gaze away from his profile.
Less than a mile later, Ty pointed. “Passengers,” he said excitedly. “The train hasn’t arrived yet.”
Norma Rose gained control of her eyes. “Park over there, by the trees, and I’ll go ask Peter if he’s seen Ginger.”
Ty swung into a narrow spot between two other cars and cut the engine. “Be careful—”
“Of what I say,” she finished, knowing what he was thinking. Throwing open the door, she added, “I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night.”
Norma Rose flinched, not exactly sure where that quip had come from. Always having to be the serious one didn’t allow her opportunities to spout off such remarks. A moment later, another rarity took place. Her insides blossomed at how Ty chuckled. She didn’t let herself laugh, but did give in to a grin.
He met her at the back of the truck, and rested a hand in the small of her back as they hurried toward the depot. Scanning the few people sitting in the afternoon sun, she nodded greetings at two familiar faces. Jane Lundstrom and Carl Vetsch both had family in central Minnesota and traveled to see them regularly. Their curious gazes went to Ty, and Norma Rose found herself standing taller, walking straighter. Folks were prone to gossip, and it wouldn’t take long to get around that she’d been seen out with a man.
