A Fatality in Spain, page 19
Then he looked at Diana. “One ticket or two?”
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
The road was comprised of rolling countryside and farmsteads, and a rather even elevation. Not too tough a walk, though it was about twenty kilometers. Easier, in fact, than she’d expected. Diana patted her leg, just imagining what this kind of walking would do for her glutes, as she took a shortcut through sun-drenched farmland.
She broke through a field of sunflowers and made it into the village of Puente la Reina at around dinnertime. She wasn’t hungry, though; she’d been snacking on some ripe grapes she’d picked along the walk, the entire time, which had helped to quench her thirst.
Oh, yes. This is the life. Beautiful scenery. Beautiful day. Only my own thoughts to keep me company. Could anything be better?
She grabbed a blade of long grass from the side of the road and, just like Rachel Hawkins had done before her, began to braid it.
It’s so quiet. So peaceful. This is my road, and my road alone. I’m so glad I get to experience it with my favorite person. Myself! she thought, flicking away the braided grass and pulling out her guidebook. As she did, the gorgeous medieval stone bridge came into view.
She looked up from her guidebook and smiled as she crossed the narrow pilgrim’s bridge, Bridge of the Queen, as the city was named for, over the still water. The sun was beginning to slip in the sky, so when she turned around to see how far she’d come, she saw a long shadow of herself, helplessly alone, on the path behind her.
Nope, Diana. Don’t think that. You made the right choice. This is the path of your dreams.
She’d seen no one on the trip, so she’d mostly been in her head, wondering, again and again, if she’d made the right choice by leaving Sean behind.
Of course you made the right choice. You said you’d do one thing each day that scared you. And this is scary. But totally right. The path has your name on it, after all!
As she walked, though, her skin prickled, and her mind whirled with doubts. She thought about what he’d said to her. He’d kissed her lightly and said, “Well, if this is where we part, I hope to see you again. May you be held in the palm of His hand.”
Now, as she clutched the Gaelic coin in her hand, she wondered why she hadn’t tossed it to make the decision. After all, it hadn’t led her astray before.
Standing at a corner, she decided to, after the fact. She tossed it up in the air, caught it, slapped it against her hand, and whispered, “Heads, I’m on the right path.”
It was tails.
“Best two out of three,” she said, tossing it again.
Again, tails.
“Traitor.”
It glinted in the sunlight, mocking her.
Groaning, she shoved the coin in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She was hoping for a text from Sean, saying he couldn’t live without her and was following her on the trail, but she knew that was fantasy. His family came first, and she wouldn’t have liked him so much if it didn’t. Instead, she had a message from Lily: Where are you now?
She texted back: Just taking a solo hike. Leaving Pamplona now.
A moment later, Lily came back with: Mom, that’s dangerous! You don’t know who else can be on that trail! You shouldn’t do that alone.
Everyone was so worried about her, but she’d made it just fine, on her own. And she would, in the future. Of course, before, she’d been alone because she was forced to be.
Now, she was alone by choice.
Or did she choose that?
Pocketing her phone, she continued on through the village, admiring the narrow cobblestone paths and gothic Roman walls, churches and buildings. There, she came to a church. La Iglesia de Santiago.
No, it wasn’t the famous Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela that Sean had wanted to see, but it did have her name on it. And it was pretty, in a Romanesque style, with an intricately carved portal. She climbed the steps and tugged on the massive wooden door. It opened.
Inside, she passed through the narthex and peered into the main area of the church. She peeked into the church, at the high vaulted ceilings, the triforium and clerestory windows, the gilded apse. One thing she’d learned from her architecture classes was that these churches didn’t have many windows, so it was dark, but beautiful, nonetheless.
And yet, though it had her name on it, it gave her very little satisfaction. So she had to wonder, if the same would be true when she reached her destination’s end? That cathedral was something Sean wanted to see, but, she realized, if she was going to see it for the first time, she wanted to see it with him.
Stop it, she told herself as she stepped out of the church. You will see him again. It was never about the cathedral of St. James. It was about what you’d find on the journey. That’s what you care about. Filling up your itinerary with all your adventures.
She crossed the street to the hostel she was planning to stay at and stood outside it. The place was austere, no frills, like all of the hostels on the route. Still, it couldn’t be much worse than the place she stayed at in Pamplona. And yet . . . that had been fun, regardless.
Don’t think about it, Diana.
Reminding herself there was plenty of adventure to be had, up ahead, she squared her shoulders. She’d get a room and then go out for a bite to eat. Maybe she’d even meet some other people taking the journey, too, and make some friends. Yes, that would be great.
But the second she stepped inside the lobby and looked at all the other travelers, who all seemed to be in groups of two or more, her stomach sank. There were a few elderly couples, too, milling about the lobby.
How lucky they are to be able to experience this all, together, Diana thought. Sure, it might be my journey, and only I can take it, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to take it with someone who I have fun with.
And being in that crate-filled, musty old flat with Sean, even though he was quite the snorer, had been one of the best times she’d had.
Going out to eat with him and sampling all the foods she’d never thought she’d try was fun.
Running with the Bulls? As scary as the prospect was, that had been fun, too.
She’d done a lot of things she never imagined she’d do, since taking off from JFK six weeks prior. But the reality of it was, Sean had pushed her even further out of her comfort zone. He didn’t think she was too old for any of it, and around him, she felt younger. He’d given her the courage to make this trip absolutely extraordinary. That’s why, when she looked back, she had to admit, Pamplona had been her favorite stop on the trip, so far. He’d made it that way.
He was right. Something about it did feel right, between them.
And she didn’t want it to end, either. Sure, he said he hoped he’d see her again, but Stephane had said that same thing, too. Now, here she was, still filled with regrets over something that had happened decades ago. Even now, the weight of it tugged at her, making her feel sick.
She didn’t want that to happen again.
She couldn’t let it happen again.
And it wasn’t too late. For anything. New experiences, a new romance, new possibilities . . . it was all still there, waiting for her. She just had to know when to jump and grab ahold of it.
“¿Necesita ayuda?” the smiling clerk behind the desk said.
She shook her head and took a step backwards, toward the door. “I think I am in the wrong place.”
When she escaped out into the hot summer’s day, she knew she was in the wrong place. And she knew just what to do about it.
She grabbed her phone and placed the call. “Hello, do you have a flight leaving tonight from Pamplona, for Dublin? I’d like one ticket, please.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Diana managed to hail a cab to take her back to Pamplona. As the taxi pulled through the narrow streets, she drummed her hands on her thighs anxiously. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.
When she’d left Sean, outside the market, he’d told her that he was going to spend time catching up with Enrique before heading off to the airport. So she had the taxi drop her off at the market.
She paid and jumped out, almost before the cab had come to a complete stop. Navigating around shoppers, she rushed to the front counter, looking for Sean. She saw Enrique working the register, but Sean was nowhere to be found. Had he left?
Enrique’s eyes lit up when he saw her. He stopped mid-transaction and came over to her. “Diana! I am so happy! You came back!”
She nodded. “Where is Sean?”
“He will be happy you came back, too. He said he felt terrible to let you go.”
Diana smiled. “But where is he?”
His brow wrinkled. “He took a taxi to the airport a half-hour ago. Flight leaves soon, yes?”
“Oh, no!” she said, turning toward the storefront window just in time to see the yellow taxi, speeding away. She covered her mouth with her hands. “I should’ve gone directly to the airport. How far away is it? Will I even have time to get there?”
“Not far,” he said, snapping his fingers at the boy stocking the shelves nearby. He said something in Spanish to the boy, who nodded. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “Come. I drive you. You have plane ticket?”
“You will? That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed, following him outside to a tiny blue sportscar.
He took her backpack and threw it into the back seat, and she climbed into the front passenger seat. He pulled away from the curb so fast, she barely had time to buckle her seatbelt. As he cruised down the street, going airborne over a dip, he said, “Sean will be happy. So happy. All he did was talk about you.”
“Really?” she smiled, even as her heart sped up. If she missed the airplane, after this, she’d be so angry with herself . . . she’d probably want to do nothing more than turn around and take a plane back to the States.
“Oh, yes. Sean is my very good friend. I would like to see him happy. After his poor wife . . . he deserves to be happy.”
“He is a very special man,” she agreed.
When he pulled up at the airport, her nerves were wound tight. She jumped out of the cab and Enrique helped her with her bag, then gave her a hug. He said, “And don’t forget—”
“I know, I know. It’s my road alone . . .”
He shook his head. “I was going to say this—your feet have a way of taking you where your heart is.”
“Yes,” she said, throwing her heavy backpack over her shoulder. “Thank you. I won’t forget that.”
“Good! Te deseo que tengas un buen viaje. ¡Nos vemos pronto! Safe travels!”
Waving to him, she rushed into the airport, hoping security wasn’t too busy. Luckily, she made it through in record time, then raced to the gate. Skidding to a stop when it came into view, she breathed a sigh of relief. The plane was still boarding, and there were a few people still lined up, waiting to go into the plane. No Sean, though. Maybe he was already on the plane.
Breathless, she approached the flight attendant, who scanned the ticket on her phone. “Gracias.”
When she got halfway down the ramp, a new worry gripped her: What if Sean didn’t want her there? What if he’d changed his mind? What if he’d befriended some other woman while waiting to board the plane?
She checked her ticket. 14 B. She swallowed and held her breath when she entered the plan and turned toward the rows of people, already seated. The flight was packed, it seemed, not an empty seat to be found.
Scanning the faces of the people already seated, her eyes caught on the one familiar person on the plane. He was sitting at a window seat, staring out the window, a few rows back from her own seat.
Her heart skipped a beat as she approached. She leaned into the person sitting next to him and said, “Would you mind if we switch seats? I’m just two ahead, right there.”
The man nodded. “Of course.”
As the man stood up and began to shuffle into the aisle in the limited space, someone helped Diana put her backpack in the overhead compartment. When she finished stuffing it up there, she looked down at Sean to find him smiling at her.
“Ah, love, so you couldn’t keep away, huh?”
“That’s right,” she said, sliding into the seat and sitting beside him.
“Well, I’m delighted, to say the least,” he said, putting a hand on her knee and giving her a gentle squeeze. “Why did you give up the Way of St. James? I feel terrible.”
“I didn’t give it up!” she said, smiling to show him just how happy she was over the choice. She wasn’t sad, not at all. “I just thought it wasn’t the right time. I feel like it’d be a lot more fun if I did it with someone else. Someone who could tell me all about the cathedral when I got there.”
“Well, that would be me,” he said with a chuckle. “You’ll have to put it on that itinerary of yours, then. You still have it, right?”
She pulled it out and looked at what she had written there: On this trip, you must do something that scares you at least once a day.
Then she crossed it out and wrote: Just let your feet take you where your heart is.
She went to put her phone on Airplane mode and saw a text from Lily: Mom, that’s dangerous! You don’t know who else can be on that trail! You shouldn’t do that alone.
She wrote back: Change in plans. I’m not hiking anymore. I’m on a plane, as we speak.
Lily replied with: Ok? So what’s next on your itinerary?
She looked down at the little booklet and smiled. Then she reached down and tore the thing in two. After all, who cared? There was no place she had to be. Nothing she had to do. The only thing she had to do was be kind to others, follow her happiness, and let everything else work itself out on its own.
And right then, at that moment, she was so happy.
Grinning, Sean took her hand, and kissed her knuckles.
It wasn’t her feet taking there, but a plane. But it was all the same. She was leading with her heart. And she couldn’t wait to find out where it was going to take her next.
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Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising four books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).
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