One of the best memories she had of her parents was a seemingly mundane moment, as the best memories so often are. Her mother had bought a DIY kitchen island, with two drawers in the middle and shelves on one end. It had needed some assembly, which had of course turned into an all-night project.
Jacqui remembered her father putting on music and spreading out all the pieces and instructions in the middle of the living room floor. Her mother had brought out two glasses of wine and they’d sat in the middle of the floor and figured out the instructions together. They’d laughed when he’d installed one of the drawers upside down, and then when she’d done the same thing with the shelves.
What stood out to Jacqui, even all these years later, was that her parents worked together. They were partners; they relied on each other.
That kind of relationship was what she’d always wanted, and Jacqui knew that this trip would show that she had that kind of relationship with Khizar, even if they still had details to work out.
When they got to the airport, the pilot was waiting with the jet ready to go. According to the coordinates etched on the fake diamond, they needed to go to Alabama, a two-hour flight. The pilot had filed a flight plan to get them to the closest airport, and Khizar had arranged to rent a car from there.
They looked over a map while they ate breakfast, and Khizar tapped a spot of green with his index finger.
“The coordinates put us here, in the Talladega National Forest. Looks like it’s a forty-minute drive from the airport.”
Jacqui nodded. “We’ll want to stop and get a good GPS from an outdoors store.”
“Good idea.”
Jacqui had been planning to bring up a discussion of what their married life might look like, but before she knew it, the plane was descending and they were in Alabama. That was okay, though. They’d have the flight back, and plenty of time after they found whatever William Bauer had left for her.
Khizar picked up the four-wheel drive SUV from the rental counter, and they stopped at the first outdoors shop they saw to buy a handheld GPS to help them when they got into the forest.
It was a gorgeous drive, winding through hills and wooded areas. They stopped at a scenic overlook to get their bearings, and then drove to a parking lot at a trailhead.
The parking lot only had one other car parked there. Jacqui wasn’t all that surprised they were almost the only people in that location; it was a weekday morning, and not summer yet. They’d seen a few other cars driving around, but it was mostly quiet on the road.
There was a stream running next to the trail, which led up a gentle hillside. Khizar picked up the GPS and Jacqui grabbed the backpack she’d bought at the same time. She’d gotten a small first aid kit and a couple of bottles of water, just in case.
They walked along the paved trail, pointing out birds and the occasional rabbit.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Khizar said, his tone reverent.
Jacqui agreed. “I’m guessing this kind of forest isn’t what you’re used to back home.”
Khizar shook his head.
“Not quite like this, though there are mountains along the northern border of Nudushan. Though, to be fair, hiking was never my favorite thing to do.”
“My adopted parents used to take me hiking when I was a kid. My dad is kind of an outdoorsy guy, and he tried to teach me things like how to start a fire and set up a tent.”
Khizar looked at her, interested. “And did you enjoy those things?”
“Nope.” Jacqui smiled at him. “I tried to, because it made my new dad happy. But I think he figured out pretty quickly that the outdoors life wasn’t for me.”
They rounded a bend in the trail and stopped at a clearing in the trees. The spot was on a natural terrace in the hillside and looked out over a valley. The same stream they had seen at the parking lot ran through the valley, though they were too far up the hill to hear it.
The breeze whispered through the tree leaves. Jacqui thought it was one of the most peaceful spots she’d ever been in. Tucked to one side of the clearing with the best view into the valley was a bench.
It looked a little out of place on the trail. A black wrought-iron structure held up long boards of dark wood that formed the seat and back of the bench.