by R A Wallace
“He did, actually, but Peter is maintaining that the accident was really an accident. He went to Colin’s house to force the issue. Something happened, the jack was kicked, and the accident occurred.”
Brad came back in with a cup of coffee but without a baby. “I put her down in the crib.” He set his coffee down and reached toward Megan. “I’ll take this one and you two can get your own coffee.”
Erica got up and followed Megan into the kitchen. Megan continued her story as they got their coffee.
“There is some question about whether or not Colin was actually married to all three women, you know, by someone who could really do that.”
Erica set the pot back in the coffee maker after pouring two mugs and turned to Megan. “How so?”
“Apparently, Alaina and Nicole were comparing notes and discovered that the same man married them. After digging around, they found out that he couldn’t legally marry people anyway. They’re having someone look into it.”
“That means the guy had to be in on it somehow. He had some knowledge that what he was doing was wrong.” Erica blew on her coffee before taking a sip. “But I’m still trying to figure out how they all handled taxes. How did they file?”
“That was actually one of my first questions. Alaina and Nicole told me that Colin handled all of that for them. They were so happy about that, they never paid any attention to it all. Just recently, they dug out copies of the paperwork for those years. Colin listed Alaina and Nicole as single. He filed jointly with Hilary.”
Erica shook her head. It was a wonder more people hadn’t found out about Colin’s multiple lives before his death. It never ceased to amaze her how complicated life can get. She hoped for their sake that the three women would be able to move forward with their lives now and enjoy happier times.
They were returning to the living room when the doorbell rang. Megan continued to the living room to join Brad, but Erica answered the door. She returned a moment later with her parents behind her.
Megan stood when they entered. “Oh, I didn’t know you were coming. I was just about to leave.”
“No, you weren’t,” Erica said as she pointed at her. She turned to her parents. “I told you that I didn’t want to do this anymore.”
“We don’t either,” Veronica said to her daughter. Then she turned to Megan. “We want to apologize.”
Megan glanced quickly at Erica. She looked as confused as Megan felt.
“We’ve been fools,” Drew Bennet said. “Your parents helped us to see that.”
“About time,” Erica muttered.
“And not just about Megan,” Veronica said, focusing again on Erica. “We’ve been the worst parents possible. We’re sorry about that too. We promise that if you give us another chance, we’ll try to be better.”
Erica was speechless.
“We can’t promise we’ll get it right every time, but we’ll try,” Drew added. “If you’ll let us. We want to be a part of your life.”
Brad looked over at Erica. He could tell she wanted to believe her parents. She just wasn’t sure if she could.
“Do you want to see the babies?” Brad asked them. “They’re sleeping right now, but you can peek in on them.”
Her parents gave her a beseeching look. Erica nodded her agreement. It wouldn’t hurt for them to see the babies. But she chose to remain in the living room with Megan.
Veronica and Drew entered the room quietly and watched the twins sleep.
“Which is which?” Drew whispered.
“The one on the left is Madelaine. The one on the right is Mason,” Brad whispered back.
***
Cy Douglass kept himself busy in the barn while he waited. It didn’t take long. As Megan had predicted, his trespasser was unable to stay away for any length of time. He heard the vehicle and waited until he knew the driver would be out of the car and walking toward the barn. Then he opened the door of the barn and stepped out.
He had hoped that doing so would be the least frightening for the young woman he faced now. He certainly hadn’t wanted to remain hidden in the barn only to leap out at her when she entered. Still, Holly gave a cry of alarm when she saw him.
“Sorry. I was trying not to scare you too much,” Cy said as he watched the young woman freeze in place.
Holly stared at the older man for a moment before finding her voice. “I wasn’t trying to steal anything.”
Cy chuckled. “I know that.”
“How did you know I was coming?”
“I figured someone was spending time with the mother cat when she stopped being quite so scared of me. She still runs and hides, and I can’t figure out how Casey managed to catch her to get her here. But she seems a little more used to humans. At least now she’ll peer out at me from her hiding place without hissing. She seems to like it here, probably because it’s a lot warmer than living in an alley, and we’ve been keeping her well-fed. Casey tells me that he has good homes for most of the kittens already.” Cy saw the uncertainty in Holly’s eyes. “Maybe we could work out some kind of schedule.”
Holly was confused. “Schedule?”
Cy nodded. “For visitation. It’ll be a while before the kittens can leave the mother.”
“You’re going to let me keep visiting them?” She’d grown very fond of the young mother cat and her kittens, even though the mother still refused to let Holly anywhere near her.
“Well, I’ve been spending so much time at the Swindell farm, I haven’t been here as much. You could maybe help me keep an eye on the place.”
The offer was way more than anything she would have hoped for and she still wasn’t certain she believed it. She managed a tentative smile. “Sure. I can do that.”
Cy thought about Megan’s suggestion as he watched Holly walk toward the barn. He hadn’t been spending much time here himself, but he didn’t know if Megan’s idea was going to work either. There was only one way to find out.
“How do you feel about cows?” Cy asked as he followed Holly to the barn.
Megan’s Recipes
Baked Rice Pudding
Rice, 3 cups cooked
Milk, 4 cups
sugar, 1/2 cup
nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon
butter, 1 tablespoon
2/3 cup raisins
Combine ingredients in a greased baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally as a brown crust forms. Do not stir during the last half hour. Makes 6 servings.
Cranberry Relish
2 medium oranges
1 pound fresh cranberries (uncooked)
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Peel the oranges but keep one of the peels. Remove as much white membrane from peel as possible. Grind the two oranges, one orange peel, and the fresh cranberries. Stir in sugar and chopped nuts. Chill. Tastes better if you make it at least one day in advance. Relish can be made using a food processor, but the texture is better if an old-fashioned grinder is used with a coarse blade.
Books by R. A. Wallace
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Indigo Investigations Cozy Mystery Series
Callie Indigo heads the private detective agency Indigo Investigations. When she isn't working a legitimate case, she's often talked into helping out friends and family. Her life becomes even more complicated with the appearance of Greyson Divine, who teams up with Callie to solve cases. This cozy mystery series includes a female sleuth, friends, and family.
Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery Series
Megan is the main character in the series but interacts with a wide range of other characters in the fictional town of Teaberry. A difficult first marriage ended in the accidental death of her husband. She supports herself with her bed and breakfast, produce from her farm, and her tech skills as a web developer. Over time, she discovers that the love of her life was in front of her all along. Main characters in the series are multigenerati
onal.
