The white clapboard farmhouse, barn and sprinkling of out-buildings were a welcome sight. Now that he could see his home Gideon finally started to relax causing exhaustion to creep over him like quicksand. Most of it was from worry about whether he’d made the right decision to move the unconscious woman from the ditch last night, the rest of it from the fact he hadn’t slept in twenty four hours.

Elvis sat next to him on the buggy seat droopy eyed. Before he could attempt to get some rest himself Gideon would get Mae into her stall and feed her the molasses grain she’d missed out on last night. Then he’d head up to bed.

Mae was happily chewing her oats when he left the barn. Elvis had hopped down and disappeared to one of his favorite sleeping spots as soon as Mae and the buggy had come to a full standstill. A couple hours of sleep and Elvis would be up chasing down every fresh scent left in the farmyard and surrounding fields the night before.

The old screen door clapped shut behind Gideon as he entered the kitchen. Although he lived alone he didn’t live like a bachelor. Gideon was a minimalist at heart. He liked to keep his living space neat and orderly. Nothing extraneous was ever left lying about. That’s why the paper on the antique kitchen table caught his eye right away. He walked over, slid into a high-backed, cattail kitchen chair and unfolded the sheet of paper.

“Gideon, By time I arrived here Ava was awake.”

So her name is Ava thought Gideon. A hint of a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

“Apparently she was up and trying to move about even before I showed up. She mentioned a throbbing headache.”

I was right to be worried about a concussion thought Gideon feeling anxious again!

“No breaks or sprains but plenty of scrapes and bruises. All in all I think she‘s alright. She might have a mild concussion at worse but I’m not totally convinced of it. But I’ll be keeping an eye on her.”

Could this mean she’s staying in the area for awhile, wondered Gideon?

“I’m driving her back to The Red Delicious. She checked in there last night and then went out for a run. You were right about those kids running her off the road. Anne Pine”

Well then everything is taken care of thought Gideon. The woman’s name is Ava. She’s probably a tourist vacationing. No serious harm done  but if he knew Josiah he’d be giving a sermon directed straight at those teenage boys next church Sunday. Gideon was in full agreement. Those antics were putting their own safety and other’s in jeopardy.

He heaved himself out of the chair. Gideon’s body felt heavy. The exhaustion had grown heavier now that relief was mixing in with it. As he wearily climbed the stairs up to his second floor bedroom he thought of carrying the unconscious Ava up those same steps just hours before. Now she was awake. She had walked down these steps on her own and out of his house.

Gideon wondered what Ava was like in movement - what she sounded like when she spoke. He tried recalling her voice from last night, mostly mumbling. For an instant a spark of jealousy shot out of him aimed straight at Anne Pine. It was Anne Pine who was talking with Ava right now - not him. Anne Pine who has seen her walk, move through this house - not him.

He shook his head. Gideon was sure he was thinking these crazy thoughts because he was so awful tired. He rubbed the back of his neck to help relax the muscles.

Gideon stopped at the first door in the upstairs hallway pushing it open. It was the spare bedroom. Why didn’t I put her in this room last night?  He convinced himself he had laid her in his own bed because it was larger. That it would be more comfortable for her.

Gideon walked on to his  bedroom and stood in the doorway. It was as neat and austere as the rest of his house. The bed had been made. Not one sign that a stranger had lain in it hours before. He started unbuttoning his white Sunday shirt. That’s when he noticed the closet door ajar. Gideon froze. His closet door was always shut tight. In fact recently he’d been actively looking for a skeleton key that worked in the lock  to insure it remained shut.

He walked over and opened the door to check the inside of the closet. Everything looked as he had left it. It was when he was turning back into the room that he saw it! His leather jacket was lying on the closet floor no longer draped over his guitar in order to hide it.

He remembered Anne Pine’s note downstairs, “Ava was awake and moving around before I got here.” Gideon bristled. He hoped this English woman was not from around here. She could  easily undo what he’d worked so hard for here in the District.

He closed the door tight vowing to himself he’d find a key for the lock by the end of the day. He couldn’t take anymore chances. Especially now that Josiah and Mary and the kids were dropping in more and more often.

Walking to the bed he pulled back the covers and collapsed fully dressed onto it. He suspected Josiah would be over sometime this morning to make sure Anne Pine had taken proper care of the business with the English woman.

As Gideon lay there with his mind racing and his body too tired to sleep he caught the note of perfume on his pillowcase. Pulling the pillow tight to his face, Gideon breathed in deeply.