Chapter 7

Mysti had brought Sam a change of clothes and she now waited for the final word from Doc Todd to release her. She was on the third floor and had a great view of the park. The river rose with the melting snow on Saturday. The PE crew worked most of the morning around the bridge, getting different angles of the rushing, ice-laden water. More of the “B” footage they called it.

She stared out the window. Paul hadn’t explained what he meant yesterday when he said, “What if I told you that might not be so?” But it gave Sam a flicker of hope that he might be able to stay around long enough for Grandpa Harold’s vision to come true.

Would she be left alone with their daughter? Like Vi, a single mom. Or was the vision truly her future? Why would Grandpa Harold show her such a thing, if she couldn’t possibly have a life-long future with this man? He lived in Denver and ran a successful company from there.

She had no intention of ever moving from Gladstone, uh, Phantom Horse.

She considered that. Uncle Hal changed the town’s name to Phantom Horse in September. Legally and forever. She needed to get used to calling it that. No matter how embarrassing it was.

Would she leave Phantom Horse? To be with Paul? The Denver school districts were always needing teachers. She could get a job. But that wasn’t the point. She loved her life here. Her family and her best friends were here. She didn’t want to move away from everything she had here.

But if Paul was her destiny. The thought saddened her even more.

“What’s that you’re watching?” she finally asked. Paul had been pretty quiet all morning, too. Mostly he stared at an iPad he held in his lap. Their process was fascinating and intricate. How they spliced it all together into one continuous show amazed Samantha. She could see why he loved his work.

If only he could love her as much. If only she could love him enough to walk away from everything she held so dear here, so she could be with him. But the vision was of them walking across Phantom Horse Bridge, not in Denver. Why did Grandpa Harold do this to her? She held back tears and watched the TV crew work outside her hospital window.

He glanced up as if he were deep in thought. “Hmm? It’s some pictures your Chief of Police took when Lucas Hart was here in August. Apparently, a lady fell into a ravine and the Phantom was spotted where she lay. I’m comparing it to some video surveillance we set up to run all night.”

“Yeah, that was Glenna Shumacher, soon to be my cousin-in-law. The way you’re staring at that pad, I think maybe you’ve caught some good stuff?”

“Actually, Chief Gibson caught the best shot of an apparition we’ve ever seen. We were hoping to recapture it. But apparently, we haven’t had anything tragic enough to bring your Grandpa Harold out of hiding.”

Sam swallowed. “Oh, that’s not true.” She breathed the words.

Paul suddenly looked up as if he had said something insulting. “Except your accident, of course.” He stared at her a moment. “You didn’t see anything? When you had your accident? Did you?”

Sam pursed her lips. Paul jumped to his feet. “You did! That’s what you were telling Mysti yesterday.”

She shook her head. But he wasn’t fooled.

“You saw something! Sam, what did you see? No! Wait. Let me record your answer. Just wait.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Yeah, Tyler, grab a camcorder and get over here to Samantha Gladstone’s room ... Yes, in the hospital ... No, I just want to record an interview with her ... Never mind that for now. Get over here stat! And bring Kayla!”

Paul panted. He was so excited, his eyes sparkled. “Don’t say anything. Just relax and think about what you saw. I don’t want to miss a single element of your initial recall.” His smile dimpled his cheeks. She had no idea he had dimples. It was even more charming on him with his nicely trimmed beard. When had he seen a barber? Did Carl Schumacher cut the crew’s hair while they were in Glad—Phantom Horse?

Her heart slammed against her breastbone. She couldn’t tell Paul what Grandpa Harold showed her. She’d die of embarrassment. Besides, what if he thought she made the whole thing up, as a trick to get him to stay where he obviously didn’t want to be. Denver was his home town. It was his headquarters of operations for his API business. How could she tell her story but leave out that detail? She bit her lip. Her eyes roved over the unmade bed. She had to think of something, and fast. Tyler Adcock was on his way to her room.

Just then, her cell phone rang. “Hi Vi.”

“Oh, Sam. Are you still in the hospital? I’m so sorry, I forgot! Just—just let me ... I’ll call Leanne. Never mind. Don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine. You just concentrate on getting well.” Vi hung up.

Sam stared at her phone. What was that about? At that moment Tyler Adcock walked in her room with Kayla in tow.

Vi’s phone call. The reality of Tyler’s presence in her hospital room. Something was wrong, Vi sounded scared. “What did you do to Vi?” Sam spat.

Tyler looked at Paul and then at Sam. “I-that’s none of your business, actually.”

“If you’re hurt Vi, it’s every bit my business!” Sam leaned against the window sill. Her knees suddenly felt weak.

Paul rushed to her side. “Here, sit down. You look like you’re about to collapse.” He turned to Tyler. “Look I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re obviously upsetting her. Just-just give me the camcorder and go back to the bridge.”

Tyler squinted hard at Sam, handed Paul the camera, and left the room. Sam’s hands trembled. Was it Tyler entering her room or the possibility of telling Paul about her encounter with Grandpa Harold? Either way, she felt dizzy and weak.

Kayla looked concerned, but she held her notebook close to her chest and that fat pink pen she held in her fist. She had become famous for it in Phantom Horse, Colorado. That thought warmed Sam’s heart and she smiled at the girl.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Paul looked deep into her eyes. That wasn’t helping. She nodded.

Paul gave Kayla a brief intro into what they were going to record. She nodded and he lifted the camera to his shoulder. The red light came on and Paul adjusted the lens. “Okay whenever you’re ready.”

Sam frowned and stared at the camera as if it were the ghost she feared the most.

He peeked from around the viewfinder. “Just ignore the camera.”

She nodded and turned her gaze on Kayla. The girl smiled compassionately. “Miss Gladstone, I’m so sorry about your accident. It must have been horrible. I can’t imagine spinning off the road like that.”

Sam smiled. “Seriously, I thought we were past this. Call me Sam.” Kayla’s empathy as an interviewer made her likable and Sam appreciated the ease at which Kayla put her interviewees before she asked them to bare their soul. “It completely caught me by surprise.”