by Gina LaManna
I interrupted Matt with a gigantic gasp of my own. “Oh, my gosh!” I blurted. “You can actually see the greenhouse!”
Matt’s grin grew brighter. “So, you like it?”
“What’s not to like?” I said. “This is great!”
Matt didn’t let go of my hand as he began to pull me around the pile of dried leaves and knotted branches that wrapped around Gran’s old greenhouse. We paused as I stared up at it, taking in the sight that used to be so familiar. These days, it looked more like a pile of junk than my grandmother’s thriving old garden center.
“I found something I thought you’d love,” he said softly. “It doesn’t look like much now, but I can fix it right up.”
I blinked, then turned my attention from the exterior of the greenhouse to face Matt. He let go of my hand and disappeared around the corner, gesturing for me to stay put. I waited, studying the vines that were brown and brittle, hanging over the edges of the structure.
I hadn’t stepped foot in this direction since I’d arrived home. I hadn’t done much of anything except peer out at my yard from the windows. Between the state of disrepair of the greenhouse, the piles of snow that would’ve made it impossible to get inside, and the idea that there were probably lots of bugs and spiders hiding out in the leaves, I’d been content to wait for spring and hope that the greenhouse would magically transform itself like Cinderella’s pumpkin.
The transformation hadn’t magically occurred. However, if Matt kept appearing unannounced to work his own magic on the greenhouse, it might just happen. Matt was like my fairy godmother—except he was a man, and he was strong and handsome, and he wasn’t actually magical. So maybe that wasn’t the best analogy, I amended as Matt returned from wherever he’d gone.
He’d obviously fetched something and was holding it behind his back. “Close your eyes.”
I did as he instructed. Matt took my hands and pressed something into them. It was heavy, wooden. I didn’t dare run my fingers along the edges for fear of splinters.
“Okay, open,” he said.
I opened my eyes and found a plank of dark wood in my hands. On one side, the name Green’s had been hand-carved, then painted in jungle green. For as long as I could remember, it’d hung in the doorway to the greenhouse and was the only signage declaring Gran had an actual shop.
“My grandpa made this for Gran,” I said, running a thumb over the lettering. “Even before she had a greenhouse.”
Matt waited quietly while I studied the sign.
“She’d always loved gardening, so my gramps made this for her to hang over her veggie patch,” I said. “She’s had this for as long as I can remember.”
“I can touch it up,” Matt said. “If you’d like. Some of the paint is peeling, and—”
“No,” I said, then realized it came out sharper than I’d intended. Looking up at Matt, I pressed the wooden plank to my chest. “I mean, it’s perfect just how it is. Thank you so much, Matt. This means everything to me.”
“It’s nothing,” he said. “I just found it beneath a pile of tools. Must have blown off one of these winters.”
I pushed the board away from my chest and studied the letters. “She’d love to know this will be re-hung someday.”
“She’d love to know her granddaughter has returned home to take care of her beloved greenhouse,” Matt said with a soft smile. “She loved you, and she loved this place. Having you here would mean everything to her.”
I gulped down a swallow and nodded. “I’m... uh, I’m going to pop this inside for safekeeping. Once I get the greenhouse up and running again, we can hang it.”
“We’ll have a little party to kick things off,” Matt said. “It’ll be nice. Invite all the old regulars of Green’s. They’d love it, and it’d kickstart the word about your new business venture. If, of course, you’re planning on keeping it a shop and not a personal nursery.”
“I haven’t decided yet. I don’t exactly have a green thumb.”
“You’re descended from your Gran, aren’t you?” Matt crooked an eyebrow. “I’m sure you’ve got some green thumb in you. All it will take is a little bit of time, learning, patience. This place will be crawling with flowers and fruits in no time.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” I said. “But I don’t know. I have a lot on my plate, so we’ll have to see.”
“I understand. No pressure.”
“Speaking of appreciation,” I said, “why are you doing this for me? I mean, I am so grateful, but you have enough to worry about for yourself at the moment.”
Matt’s smile faded somewhat. “June told me what you’re doing for me—asking around, looking into Shania’s death. She also told me that she promised to get you the help you needed to restore the greenhouse. I’m just getting a leg up on the process.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t done anything yet,” I said. “I haven’t found Shania’s killer. You’re still not living at home. I haven’t held up my end of the bargain.”
Matt shrugged. “You believe in me. That, to me, is enough. I think June would agree.”
I stared down at my feet. “Well, thank you. It looks so much better already.”
“Jenna, is everything okay?”
“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s just a lot. I don’t like owing favors, and I owe a lot of favors currently.”
“I don’t know about your other favors,” Matt said, his eyes trailing over to my car as if he knew exactly what I meant, “but you don’t owe me a thing. I’m here because I want to be. Also, it’s a great distraction.”
“Distraction?”
“My mind is running a hundred miles an hour. Why would someone want to frame me for murder?” Matt mumbled. “Not only that, I’ve been asked to take a “break” from the fire department.”
“What? That’s insane! You haven’t done anything. There is literally not a shred of evidence against you.”
“No, but as you know, perception matters in small towns,” Matt said. “People have been complaining about me showing up to calls. It’s not that the guys at the station don’t believe me, but I’m making life difficult for them. I volunteered to step down the second it was mentioned. But that leaves me with a whole lot of nothing to fill my days.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “That’s completely unfair.”
Matt shrugged. “It’s good timing. The sun is out, it’s spring. I’ve been dying to get to work in the yard, and this is as good of an excuse as any to get me out of the house and done wallowing.”
“Matt...” I struggled to keep my voice even as I faced him. I ground the toe of my new boots into the dirt as I wondered how I could possibly broach the questions I needed to ask. “I thought maybe we could talk for a minute.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I feel awful bringing it up now. Especially after all this.”
“Jenna, I did this because we’re friends. I want to see you succeed in bringing Green’s back to life. So does this town. Like I said, you don’t owe me anything. The case is something else entirely; I just appreciate you looking out for me.”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh.” Matt studied me more carefully, his expression changing as he looked into my eyes. “I see. What did you find?”
“I haven’t found anything yet, per se. But someone did have some... accusations about you. I don’t know how to say it.”
Matt cleared his throat. His face went stony, and he leaned against a cleared edge of the greenhouse as if for support. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s okay to tell me, Jenna. I knew unpleasant things would come up—they always do when one is in the spotlight. I’m sure you know how that goes, both from Blueberry Lake and from Hollywood.”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s true. I just hate to be the bearer of bad news.”
“What is it?”
Matt’s voice had taken on a level of tension I hadn’t heard since the day I’d found him standing over Shania’s body.
It seemed such a shame to ruin such a positive moment with a negative one, but I’d made a promise—to myself, to Cooper, to Matt. I wanted to find Shania’s killer. I just hadn’t imagined it would be so hard.
“I talked to Chris Tucker.”
“You can stop right there,” Matt said, exhaling in a huge breath of relief. “I wish you’d just said that right from the start. He’s a lying sack of... well, I won’t speak ill of Shania’s significant other, but I wouldn’t trust Chris as far as I can throw him.”
“I understand,” I said. “I’m not saying I believe everything he said, or even most of it. But he did have one interesting piece of information, and I’m not sure what to make of it, to be honest.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Hit me with it.”
“He has her phone.”
“Shania’s phone?”
I carefully watched Matt as I nodded. He no longer rolled his eyes, nor did he have a scowl on his face. He carefully guarded all emotional reactions.
“I see,” he said. “I hadn’t realized...”
“She left it at home that morning, and I guess the police didn’t think to ask him about it,” I said, shoving a stray lock of hair out of my eyes. “Matt, I’m going to pick up that phone tonight. What do you think I’ll find on it?”
“I don’t think you should be talking with Chris, let alone visiting him alone. There’s still a murderer out there, Jenna. Chris isn’t trustworthy.”
“This isn’t really about Chris. What if he turns the phone in to the police? What is Cooper going to find?”
Matt’s lips went into a thin line. “I thought you trusted me.”
“I do, Matt. I’m not trying to pry—” I stopped. “Well, I am prying. But that’s what I have to do in order to get to the bottom of this. I don’t think you had anything to do with Shania’s murder. You know that. But I can’t make sense of why you’d lie to me about being in contact with Shania.”
Matt scratched at his chin. “I think it’s about time I take off for the day. Nothing good will come from this conversation.”
“If there’s an innocent explanation, then why won’t you tell me?” I asked. “Is it true, what Chris said? Were you keeping in touch with Shania?”
“What does it matter to you? We’re not dating, remember?”
“This isn’t about our personal lives. I’m trying to help clear your name of murder. But if you’re lying to me—”
“It’s not what you think, Jenna. And if you truly believed me, you wouldn’t be listening to Chris Tucker. The man’s hated me from day one.”
“Why does he hate you?”
“Because Shania wasn’t over me!” Matt blurted, running a hand through his hair. “Yes, I broke up with her, and apparently, it came as more of a surprise than I thought it would. We’d been arguing for months.”
“People are saying that you broke up with her on the day you were supposed to go ring shopping.”
“We?” Matt gave a pithy laugh. “She set up a ton of appointments and drove me to one as a ‘surprise’. The only talk we’d had about marriage prior to that had been the mention of some distant, far-in-the-future type of thing.”
“You hadn’t promised her to go ring shopping?”
“No. I’d told her I wasn’t looking for an engagement for another year at least. I wanted to pay off my house, get a few extra certifications for my career, save up a little more and get myself settled before I brought someone else into my life.”
“So, when she brought you to a ring shop—”
“She cut me off at the knees. I didn’t get a say in it,” Matt said. “After the first shop, I told her we needed to talk. I’m not happy I broke up with her on that specific day, but that’s when I realized—without a doubt—that we weren’t on the same page. It wasn’t fair to her to pretend I was ready when I wasn’t. She wanted it more than I did.”
“I see.”
“It’s not the same as what you went through, Jenna,” Matt said. “What he did to you wasn’t right. And I’m not proud of hurting Shania, but what’s worse? Dragging out a doomed relationship or allowing her to start moving on so she could find real love?”
“Do you think her true love was Chris Tucker?”
Matt snorted. “If you haven’t guessed, I don’t think much of Chris. Shania was a nice woman. She deserved better.”
“But if he was ready for marriage...”
“That’s the thing,” Matt said. “I stayed out of their relationship. It was no longer my situation to worry about, so I didn’t. Shania tried to keep in contact with me for a while, but eventually, it dropped off.”
“And you didn’t try to contact her?”
“No. I didn’t initiate anything.”
I frowned. “You didn’t initiate anything? What does that mean?”
“Exactly what I said,” Matt said. “I didn’t initiate contact with Shania.”
“Did she try to contact you?”
“She did.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police this?”
“I figured they’d go through her phone,” Matt said. “If they had more questions, they could ask.”
“Chris said that Shania was supposed to meet you at your place on the day she died.”
Matt looked to the sky. “And he knows that because...”
“He snooped through her phone.”
Matt exhaled a sharp breath. “I told her it was a bad idea.”
“What was a bad idea?”
“She wanted to come over that day.”
“Shania was supposed to meet you—at your place—on the day she died?” I asked. “Matt! Why didn’t you tell the cops this? I think it’s pretty important, don’t you?”
“She wasn’t supposed to come here,” Matt snapped. “I told her it was a bad idea.”
I gave a shake of my head. “Why did she want to see you?”
“It’s not what you think. It wasn’t romantic. Despite Chris’s flaws, I respected his and Shania’s relationship. I never would have interfered.”
“Was Shania trying to...” It was harder to voice than I wanted to admit. “Did she want to rekindle things?”
“No. She was a loyal woman. She wouldn’t have gone behind Chris’s back. We both knew it.”
“Then why did she want to meet with you?”
“Business,” Matt said. “I swore to her I wouldn’t say a word to anyone. That’s why I haven’t—not yet, at least. Nobody’s asked, and I am a man of my word.”
“This could help you,” I said. “It’s important information. What if someone else knew that she was supposed to be meeting you at your place?”
“Someone did,” Matt said pointedly. “Chris. That’s why I told Shania I wouldn’t meet with her. I know enough about Chris to know he’s a jealous sort of guy. I’m not surprised he has her phone, or that he’s been looking through it. Nor would I be surprised to find out that he talked mostly about me during your chat with him. Am I right?”
I winced. “There was a little bit of him talking about Shania’s friend.”
“Let me guess. He doesn’t like Amy, either.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He doesn’t like anyone who gets close to Shania. Early on, Shania and I tried to be friends after I broke up with her.”
“Well, that never works.”
“We learned that the hard way,” Matt said. “But it’s not like we had much of a chance.”
“Chris?” I guessed.
He nodded. “He started doing creepy things... pulling up to my house at all hours of the night and just sitting outside.”
“Did you tell Shania?”
“Some of it,” Matt said. “She knew he was possessive. She didn’t love it, but according to her, he never pushed the limits on it. Just acted jealous when my name came up.”
“I didn’t know.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking into Matt’s face and seeing a harder expressio
n there than usual. It wasn’t that he appeared angry, just done. A sort of bone-tired exhaustion. “But I had to ask.”
Matt just studied me. Eventually, he gave a nod. “Okay.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I followed Matt, tucking Gran’s old sign under my arm as he headed toward the front yard. “Why are you upset with me?”
“I’m not upset with you.”
“Sure feels like it.”
“Did you talk to Cooper about the case?”
“He’s the police.”
“Right.” Matt reached the driveway.
He spun around and waited while I hurried over. I scraped the bottom of my new boots on the pavement to clear off the mud.
“I was with you when we talked to Cooper the first time,” I said. “And yes, I’ve talked to him a little bit since. What about it?”
“Is he asking you to look into me?”
“What? No. Why do you think that?”
“You started off believing in me. At least, that’s what I thought. That’s what it sounded like,” Matt said. “Now it sounds like you have some doubts.”
I crossed my arms as best as I could around the sign. “I’m not saying I have doubts, but I’m doing my best to find out what’s really happening around here. And if a witness tells me something, I have to follow up on it.”
“You’re not a cop, Jenna! That’s Cooper’s job.”
“I know! I thought you wanted me to help.”
“You’re going to get yourself hurt.” Matt dragged a hand through his hair. “Someone out there wanted Shania dead. That’s the fact I’m focused on. I know it wasn’t me, and whether you do or not—that’s your call to make. Either way, I know that someone out there is probably willing to kill again to keep the truth from coming out.”
“I know it wasn’t you, Matt. I didn’t doubt that.”
“Okay,” he said, but he didn’t sound entirely convinced. “I don’t want you going over to Chris’s alone. He’s not a reasonable guy.”
“I don’t really like being told what to do, especially when I’m trying to help you.”
“I don’t want your help if it’s going to get you killed!”
We stared at one another for a long moment in a sort of standoff. It was an odd experience—I was worried about Matt, and he was worried about me. I wasn’t angry at him, and he didn’t seem mad at me. But we weren’t quite seeing eye-to-eye.
