Wisdom Spring by Andrew Cunningham Read Free Book Online

you’re meant to chill out for a while.”
    “I’m not so sure.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “That Voice has been guiding me toward something. I don’t know what yet, but something. To just lead me someplace to hide out doesn’t feel right. Maybe there’s another reason I was supposed to meet you.”
    “You mean you think Homer might be hiding a clue?”
    “Honestly, I don’t know. But it seems to make sense. Also, it said ‘it all starts in Homer,’ not ‘hide in Homer.’ That sounds pretty significant.”
    “You’re right, it does.”
    I decided right then that I was either all in or all out, and I knew the answer to that. The Homer thing had rattled me. Not only had I not said a word to her about Homer, I had nothing on me or in my luggage about it. It wasn’t even in my brother’s information on my phone. Only his cell phone number, and that wasn’t a Homer exchange. There was absolutely no way she could have known. Add that to all the other little oddities and I had to believe it was happening. She really was hearing a voice.
    “We have a couple of hours ‘til check-out,” I said, looking at my watch. “Will that give you enough time to color your hair?”
    “Yeah,” she answered, looking at the bottle. “This is a pretty simple process.”
    “Okay, then tell me what you need for clothes and whatever. I’ll go find a Wal-Mart—this is the southwest, there’s gotta be a Wal-Mart—and I’ll pick it up for you.”
    “I feel really guilty. You’re buying everything for me and you don’t even know me. I can’t even contribute.”
    “Jess, look, this is something I can do, and something I want to do. Don’t worry about it. So tell me what you need.”
    We made a list. Jeans, blouses, underwear, hair brush, toiletries, sneakers, and much more. I didn’t know how I was going to possibly get it done in two hours, but Jess pointed out the Wal-Mart from her view at the window, so luckily I wouldn’t have to waste any time looking for it. Once we were done, Jess headed to the bathroom with the hair color and I grabbed a few hundred dollars—I felt more comfortable paying cash—and went out the door, not looking forward to my shopping spree.
    In fact, it wasn’t bad at all. I accomplished it in a little more than an hour. I had her sizes written down and grabbed what seemed appropriate. I figured we could fine-tune her wardrobe later. I headed over to the sports department and bought two boxes of .40-caliber ammunition. I really couldn’t imagine needing another 200 rounds of ammo, but I also had no idea what I was getting myself into. And being in a state where buying bullets was as easy as buying potato chips, I figured better safe than sorry.
    I arrived back at the hotel a few minutes before eleven. I knocked on the door to warn her that I was back, then used my key card to enter. I was greeted by a dark brunette.
    “What do you think?” she asked.
    Over the last twenty-four hours, I had become quite attracted to Jess, so blonde or brunette, it didn’t matter to me. As far as I was concerned, she was spectacular. I didn’t put it quite that way, though.
    “Looks great,” was my safe response. “So what’s your natural color?”
    “Beats me. I can’t remember that far back,” she answered with a laugh. “No, actually, believe it or not, it’s blonde. Those stereotypes of ‘dumb blondes’ are real. Not the dumb part, but the label. People do look at you as if you’re stupid. When I turned twenty, I started coloring my hair to escape everything about being a blonde. I wasn’t very confident back then. I know who I am now, so I stay my natural color most of the time, unless I get a whim to change it. I haven’t been this color in a few years, so nobody really knows me like this. I thought about cutting my hair, but it’s actually longer now than normal—I missed my last appointment—so I figure I’m better off letting it grow.”
    “Well, hopefully I didn’t do too