Spring into Murder (Alaska Cozy Mystery Book 5) Page 15

Amanda grinned at Conrad. “I think I'll catch up to Andrew. You guys don't lag behind too long.”

  Conrad watched Amanda hike off into the woods, leaving him standing alone with Sarah. “Amanda wants us to get married,” he sighed.

  Sarah held her breath, almost afraid to hear him speak those words out loud. “That woman is my best friend,” Sarah said instead as she looked at the cabin. She found it hard to look him in the eyes just then. “She may fuss about her husband, but they share a special love.” Sarah gathered her courage and looked up into Conrad’s eyes. “A love...I miss at times.” She waited a moment, searching a face that she had come to know so well. “Being divorced is hard,” she finished in a soft voice.

  “Being a widower is hard, too,” Conrad confessed. He gazed into her eyes for a moment more. “Love is hard, Sarah. Life is hard. People are hard.” Conrad shook his head and looked up into a gentle blue sky. “But somehow, we make it through each day by the seat of our pants.”

  “By God's mercy,” Sarah corrected Conrad.

  Conrad nodded. “By God's grace and infinite mercy,” he agreed and then focused his eyes on Sarah. “I think we'll be okay, you and me. We're tough and we can handle our share of bad guys. And who knows,” Conrad softly brushed Sarah's bangs out of her eyes, “maybe in time, two broken hearts might find love again.”

  Sarah smiled into Conrad's eyes. “Maybe,” she agreed. In the dwindling light of day, there was nowhere else she wanted to be than by Conrad’s side. “We better start walking. It'll be dark by the time we get back to the trail.”

  Conrad nodded his head and started walking away from the cabin. As he did, he saw Sarah turn her head and look back. “What is it?” he asked.

  Sarah stared at the cabin one last time. “Love never dies,” she said in a sweet voice. “Even though there's so much hate in the world, I can see that way out here in the Alaskan wilderness, love never dies.”

  “Tell that to my husband and his bloody bell,” Amanda called out from the woods. Sarah and Conrad looked at each other and shared the genuine laughter of friendship – and maybe something more. They turned and walked into the woods to start the long trek back to the old Snow Bear Trail. As they hiked off through the evergreens, a tender fawn walked over to William Archie Hopski's grave and sniffed the single red rose Amanda had carried and laid there. And then the deer laid down, innocent and pure.