Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [71]
He turned off Highway 32 onto Highway 60 and headed into Pie Town. He was glad he was almost home. He slowed down as he drove through the center of town, checking out all the storefronts and buildings. His was the only vehicle on the road. As he headed across to the other side of town, he looked at all the houses, naming the occupants to himself, and then dropped his speed again when he drove past Francine’s house. He noticed a light on in the backroom and wondered if she stayed up that late every night. He wondered about the waitress, wondered if what he heard was true, that she was interested in seeing him.
Bernie had been in love only one time, and when he was rejected by Coleen Winters back when they were in high school, he had never made an attempt at love again. He threw himself into his work on the ranch, taking over when his parents died, and filled his days with managing the farm, repairing old fences, and tending to the cattle. He was lonesome only at suppertime, when he fancied the thought of a wife sitting near him, a few children around the table. But once he had put a television in the kitchen and started eating his dinner to the evening news, he found he actually preferred to live alone.
As he watched Francine’s house grow smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror, he figured it was best to leave things as they were. He was too old, he told himself, to think about finding love. He had made a good life for himself, built up a nice bank account, and taken good care of his family’s place. He had managed a solitary life this long, and he thought there was no reason to end what he had worked so hard to maintain. Besides, he enjoyed the friendship with Francine and thought sharing meals with her at the diner was probably as good a relationship as he could have.
He kept watching his mirror until he took the turn out of town that went past the Joyners’ old place, with its row of dilapidated barns, the road that would finally lead him out beyond the Catholic church and home. He was yawning, blinking hard, and was just about to make the curve near the church when he thought he got a glimpse of a young woman, the same young woman he had met in the parking lot of the diner when the priest arrived and the same one who had filled in for Francine while she was visiting friends in Phoenix. He could see it was her, heading in the opposite direction, walking off of the road, in the fields, and moving in the direction of Pie Town.
Bernie stopped the truck and stuck his head out the window. He was going to yell out to her, offer her a ride back home since he certainly didn’t think it was safe for her to be out there by herself, when something else caught his eye. He turned back to look out the windshield and suddenly noticed smoke, a plume hanging above the road a few hundred yards away. He put the car back in gear and inched around the curve to see where the smoke was coming from.
“Jesus Christ,” he said, stopping again in the middle of the road. “The church is on fire!”
Bernie pulled his cell phone out of his front pocket, punched in 911, and let them know where he was and what was happening, and then he called Roger to make sure the sheriff was aware of the fire. When he hung up from his calls, he suddenly remembered what had captured his attention before he had seen the burning church. He turned back around to search for the girl. He looked across the fields and down the road for Trina. He even put the truck in reverse and backed around the curve, looking everywhere, but could not find her. Suddenly, Bernie thought of Father George. He put the engine back in drive and headed toward the burning building. He stopped in front of the church, jumped out of his truck, and ran toward the rectory, hoping that the priest was in his bed and had not ventured into the sanctuary for some late night prayer.
Part IV
Chapter Twenty-seven
The boy has moved closer to me. He sees me in a new way