Mel inhaled deeply and tried to quiet her pounding heart. These people knew where Ryne was and there really was some form of mystery surrounding the man and his photograph. Not for the first time, she wished she could have seen the picture in question, but the lawyer who had hired her said his client didn’t allow casual viewings. She decided it must be something pretty special to warrant all the money that was being spent just to find the photographer.
After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Mel saw that the line consisted of only Elise and Kane. Edging closer, she buried her head in a brochure and eavesdropped some more.
“Good afternoon, I’d like to mail this to Ryne Taylor in Stump River, Ontario, Canada. How much will that cost?” Mel hazarded a peek and saw Elise place a package wrapped in brown paper on the ledge. As the postal worker weighed the package, the girl smiled up at her husband. “Do you think Ryne will like the sweater I bought for his birthday?”
“He’d adore a potato sack if you sent it to him.” Kane sounded a bit disgruntled and Elise laughed.
“Kane, I can’t believe you’re still jealous of him. You must know there’s nothing between us. I’m having your child and I love you.”
He bent over and kissed her cheek. “I know and I love you, too. It’s never been a question of your affections. It’s Ryne’s interest in you that bothers me.”
“He was just joking, Kane.”
“Possibly, but like I always said, once he gets his own mate...”
The conversation stopped as the postal worker announced the cost of mailing the parcel. Kane paid for the postage and the package was set to the side, being too large to fit in a regular mail slot. Mel watched them leave while tugging at her ear to try and fix her hearing. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn Kane had used the word ‘mate.’
Shaking her head to clear it of the questions floating about in her active imagination, Mel approached the counter and smiled at the frazzled woman behind the counter. “Hi! I was wondering if you could help me...” She paused as her gaze fell upon the package that sat only a foot away, awaiting mailing. It had Ryne’s address printed neatly on the front in large block letters. Cha-ching! Jackpot! Okay, now she just had to distract the woman in order to get a good look at the label.
“Yes? You were wondering...?” The worker raised her brows, prompting Mel to continue.
“Oh, sorry. Yes...um...I was wondering if...anyone had turned in my car keys. I dropped them here yesterday.”
“I wasn’t working yesterday, but I'll just go check out back.” The postal employee gave her a distracted smile and turned away. Mel leaned forward, craning her neck in order to see the address on the package clearly. RR#1, Stump River, Ontario, Canada. Stump River? What kind of a name was that? And Canada? Good lord! Hearing the postal worker returning, Mel quickly finished memorizing the address and was leaning casually against the counter by time the woman returned.
“Sorry. There were no keys turned in yesterday. Are you sure you lost them here?”
“Well, it could have been on the street, but with all this snow...” Mel shrugged. “That’s okay. I have a spare set.”
The woman eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I’m just passing through. Thanks for your help, though.” Mel started to walk away in case the woman began asking more questions. She wanted to get that address written down before she forgot it. Too bad it wasn’t more specific. A rural route, or RR address, could cover a lot of territory, but at least now she had some idea of where to look.
As she walked back to the Grey Goose, she began to plan her strategy. First she’d call Mr. Aldrich with an update. Then, she’d leave for home early the next morning. It would probably take her about a week to research Stump River, Ontario and look for any record of Ryne Taylor in Canada. Her previous search had focused on the United States since she’d never imagined the man would actually leave the country. It seemed sort of drastic. What possible reason could he have for heading so far north? Was he hiding something or was he hiding from someone?
Mel felt a little burst of excitement inside of her. Thus far, this assignment had only been appealing because of its monetary rewards. Researching an artist just hadn’t seemed that interesting. But now that an actual mystery might be involved, it was much more exciting. She wondered what Taylor might look like. If the fates were with her, he’d turn out to be attractive, like Elise’s husband. She snorted derisively. Dream on, girl. Guys like that didn’t grow on trees. Knowing her luck, this photographer would be seventy years old, balding, and pot-bellied.