Sierra suspected Neely but said nothing. And she had not heard from her.

    Labor Day weekend was a madhouse of campers, hikers, boaters. The camps across the lake were filled with people, as well. Sully said they would continue to do a decent business through September but not seven days a week and not in numbers like the holiday weekend.

    The leaves had barely started to turn and wouldn’t come into their full glory for another month. The air was taking on a crispness and Sully’s fall melons and pumpkins were just about ready. The long-distance hikers had come and gone because the higher elevations of the Continental Divide Trail were starting to get cold and there would be snow on the mountains before October.

    The camps across the lake would close in November for winter. Sully stayed open but they would only see a few RVs and occasionally rent the cabins. He said it was extremely rare to see any tents. Cross-country skiers and ice sailing skaters would be evident with the snowfall and freezing of the lake but maintenance on the grounds would be greatly reduced. That caused Sierra to think she probably should scout around for a real job, something full-time with benefits, something with potential.

    In early September an RV towing a Jeep came into the park. The RV was outdated and the black Jeep, new. Checking in for a week were Clyde and Priscilla Snowdon, originally from England. He was a professor of history from the Midwest and she was a high school drama teacher who loved photography. Priscilla hoped to get in some hiking and photographs of early fall in the mountains. They had taken a semester off to do some traveling, and with the RV they could stay in each place they visited for a week or more, really get to know their adopted country. Two days later, a couple of archery hunters arrived with a toy hauler that carried a couple of ATVs, perfect for getting around the back roads. Pete and Lucas from Phoenix. And then the next day, being Friday, the camp began to welcome some new weekenders.

    For the next several days, Sierra noticed their British campers and archery hunters making the most of the area—the ATVs on the back roads, walking along trails, in town, checking out the shops and the local tavern.

    The following week Cal called Sierra and asked if she could come to the barn, he had something to talk to her about. When she told him Connie was at the Crossing, Cal said, “Bring him. I want to talk to him, too.”

    When they got to Cal and Maggie’s it appeared they were ready to lay carpet and the interior of the barn was looking fantastic. There was a large roll of foam padding and a larger roll of carpet.

    “You’re almost finished!” she said excitedly.

    “Very close with some detail work left that I’ll probably keep seeing for months, but once the carpet is in the new living room and dining room, furniture and the bar stools can be delivered. I have a couple of walls to paint and paper to hang in the nursery. Maggie!” he called.

    She popped out on the landing at the top of the stairs. “Hi,” she said. “Want to see the master and the nursery?”

    “Sure,” Sierra said. “You’re sleeping upstairs now?”

    “Wait a minute, I wanted to talk to you about something, then you can have the grand tour. Dakota called. He’s deploying again—in two weeks.”

    “How long has he known?” Sierra asked. “I mean, it doesn’t surprise me, but he could’ve given us some notice.”

    “I take it it’s very short notice. Maggie’s headed to Denver on Wednesday morning, home Friday late afternoon so I’m going to pack a bag and shoot down to Fort Hood to see him before he goes. I’m going to make it a real quick trip—I want to be back here when Maggie gets back. If she weren’t working this week, I wouldn’t be leaving but she’ll be in Denver with her obstetrician. No safer place for Maggie these days.”

    “My last week until after the baby,” she said, giving her big belly an affectionate rub. “I’d work up till the end but my OB doesn’t like that idea. I think it’s as much the two-hour drive as the working that’s bugging her. But—Jaycee is a mother herself and she said I’ll thank her someday for insisting I take a month before the baby comes to rest and get ready. So, I’ll have a month before my due date. Any more than that and I might go stir-crazy.”

    “Do you want to go with me to Texas?” Cal asked Sierra.

    “I’d kind of like to, but it’s too short notice for me. I’m scheduled to work. I know it’s not much of a job but someone has to do it. And Sully has hunters and leaf peepers around—I should spend time there.”

    Cal looked at Connie. “I probably don’t have to ask but will you look out for her?”

    He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “You don’t have to ask. I’m working one twenty-four-hour shift this week and Sierra promises to sleep in Sully’s house while I’m not around. They both have baseball bats now, you know.”

    “I heard,” Cal said. “I’m leaving tomorrow. Just a couple of days.”

    “Be sure to ask him how is best to communicate,” Sierra said. “I’ll write or Skype him every day while he’s deployed. Ask him if he knows how long this deployment is. And tell him I’m sorry—a good sister would go see him.”

    “Don’t kick yourself,” Cal said. “Chances are he told me so late so he wouldn’t have to be bothered with coming out here before he leaves. Or, God forbid, Iowa.”

    “He won’t see them, then?”

    “I don’t think he’s seen Jed and Marissa in a few years. I’ll be back on Friday. I think Tom and Jackson are going to try to get the rest of the carpet in while I’m gone.”

    Sierra let Maggie lead her around the upstairs—they’d moved into the master bedroom and the baby’s room was right next door. Maggie had a big box of letters and pictures for the walls, plus a crib yet to be assembled. There was a dresser-changing table and the closet was outfitted with shelves. And there was an adorable wooden pink rocking horse. “I couldn’t resist,” she said.