Above the Bridge by Deborah Garner

apology while bending down to pick up the spilled books.  Two more hands reached down to help, accompanied by a light laugh.  To her surprise, she looked up to see Jake.
    “Oh my, gosh,” Paige stammered, more shocked and surprised to see Jake than she was apologetic for the collision.  “I’m so sorry.”  She scrambled to grab a few more books from the floor and noticed they had titles about Jackson Hole.  Some appeared to be history, others maps and trail information.  She heard the light laugh again and straightened up to face Jake straight on.
    “I really am sorry,” Paige repeated, glancing at the books in her hands before looking up.  “It looks like you’re doing some research on this area.  Local books?”  She watched for a reaction.
    “Jake Norris,” he said, shifting the books he was holding to one arm and extending his right hand toward Paige.
    “Paige Mackenzie,” she countered.  She met his hand with her own, feeling a sudden, unexpected shiver at the touch of his skin against hers.
    “These books?” Jake said lightly.  “No particular reason for them.  I just enjoy reading.”  Still, he clung tightly to the books in his arms. 
    Paige noticed the edge of the envelope sticking out of the pocket of his flannel shirt.  In fact, she noticed the shirt itself, a light blue with gray and white lines in the design.  She also noticed his jeans, his rugged skin and the tilt of his mouth, still posed in a slight smile.  And she noticed his eyes, a blue-gray that matched perfectly with the shirt.  And then she noticed that he was noticing her notice.  She abruptly regained her composure, apologizing once more for not watching where she was going.  With a thin grasp of dignity, she quickly added that it was nice meeting him.  Turning to leave, she could feel his eyes and smile lingering on her back as she walked away.
    Feeling oddly unsettled, she stopped to pick up a few more grocery items for the fridge that Dan had been kind enough to provide.  With another stop, she added a few utensils and some small pads of paper for taking quick notes.  From there she drove into the center of town, making the usual left turn required to head north.  The gray clouds had lightened considerably and there was still plenty of daylight left.  Impulsively, she pulled the car over in front of the town square.
    Paige walked slowly around the perimeter of the park and then crossed diagonally along one of the slatted wood walkways that crisscrossed the square. Clusters of violet primrose and bright yellow dahlia surrounded a tall statue in the center, a memorial to war heroes.  She headed toward the bench where she had seen Jake’s animated conversation with the other man earlier that morning.  Sitting down, she took a slow look around the square.  She ran through the scene in her memory, knowing she had been watching from too far away to be sure of any details.  But it had been clear that Jake had seemed especially agitated and the man he met hadn’t been any less upset. The exchange of the envelope had been done quickly and discreetly, but not before an argument of some sort.  After that there had been little or no conversation.  Jake had merely tucked the envelope away quickly and walked off toward the Blue Sky Café.
     Again Paige ran through the encounter in her mind, wondering what the envelope contained.  It had to be important, both because of the way the interchange happened and because of Jake’s hasty exit from the café after reading the envelope’s contents.  Her instinct told her she was onto something and should follow through with it.  After all, Susan had encouraged her to pay attention to the local people, to try to get information that was not readily available to anyone who simply passed through town for a day.  Whatever was going on with Jake and the other man, it was definitely something outside of ordinary town activity. She was determined