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sections. My nail caught an edge, and I delicately pulled it from the drawer bottom. A picture fell out.
    It was a photograph of my parents and I at the Helena Cathedral. I fought to keep the tears at bay.
    We were at a Christmas Mass in Montana. I remembered it well, because it was such an exquisite cathedral, with majestic twin spires rising from the foundation. I could still picture the stained glass windows sparkling from the light reflecting off them. The marble statues adorning the room. The white marble altar. The scent of incense in the air combined with the carved oak pews, and the music meandering through the halls from the organ.
    I pressed the photo to my chest. What I wouldn’t have done to have a hug from my parents right now.
    My daydream ended quickly as I realized the oddity of having a picture hidden in a drawer. Why had it been left there?
    The picture dropped from my fingers and fell to the floor. I stared.
    A note was on the back.
    The note read: The key to your future is hidden in the past. Don’t let what is stained deceive you. Music is your guide. GA
    GA…my parents’ initials. What were they trying to tell me?
    I read through the note once more. The key to my future is hidden in the past. Don’t let what is stained deceive you. Music is your guide.
    My mind whirled around the possibilities. What did these have in common?
    I pressed my fingers to my head and plopped down into the couch. I hated riddles, had no patience for them whatsoever…but one thing was obvious. I was meant to find this note. Somehow, I just had to figure out what it meant.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    Colt arrived before I was ready for him. I had spent so much time on the photograph and note that the afternoon had flown by. I was hesitant telling him about my recent discovery. I didn’t know what my parents had hidden from me. I also got the impression he didn’t want me to go far from home. And if this was where I thought the mystery was leading me, I was going to be traveling to Montana researching a safety deposit box.
    Colt glanced at the mess on the floor by the desk in the living room. “Doing some spring cleaning, Cheyenne?” he asked.
    “ Sorta. The drawer was stuck, and when I pulled it out, all the papers scattered to the floor. I was trying to put them away and got sidetracked.” It wasn’t the complete truth, but close enough.
    “ I see,” he replied as he bent down to help me pick everything up. Sliding the drawer back in its place, he tested it to make sure it would operate smoothly. He glanced at me, as if I was hiding something, but said nothing.
    “ Are you hungry? I could make you some dinner,” I offered, trying to change the subject. I stuffed the remaining items in the drawer and closed it. He had taken a step back to get out of my way, and was staring down at me.
    “ I’m good. Have you eaten yet?” he replied casually.
    “ No, but I’m not hungry at the moment.” I quickly needed to think of a diversion. “Thank you, by the way, for helping me with the yard this morning.”
    “ You’re welcome, but you already thanked me a couple of times.”
    “ Oh,” I replied and turned towards the couch, knocking over the pile of DVDs that were sitting near the TV. Dang! If he didn’t suspect I was hiding something before, he would know now for sure from my clumsy behavior. He could always tell something was going on. “You want to watch a movie?” I asked, as I began rummaging through the movie pile.
    “ Sure,” his deep voice made my nervousness even more pronounced, as he dropped into the couch and waited. He knew me too well; he didn’t buy what I was telling him. I put a movie in and sat in the chair, as far away from him as I could get. I don’t know what we watched. I was trying to keep my distance, trying to come up with a way not to tell him. I began twisting my ring with my thumb as I thought it out.
    The movie ended too soon for my liking, and Colt bided