“Maybe if Gage saw the note, he’d have hope.”
“No. Until there’s real a real chance of clearing his name, I’m not telling him anything.” Tears started in Mia eyes. “I failed my brother seven and a half years ago, but I won’t fail him now. I should have taken the blame.”
“No one should accept blame that doesn’t belong to them. Besides, you had your husband and Dylan to think about.” Since Dylan was in the first grade, that meant Mia had been expecting him about the time of the murder, or shortly after.
Mia ran her fingers under an eye to catch the moisture, glancing to make sure Gage and Dylan were still occupied. “It wasn’t because of them that I didn’t do it. It was the shock of everything that happened then. I—I lost myself for a bit. I’m stronger now, but the note frightens me.”
“So is the note the real reason you wanted Gage to come here now?”
“Yes. I mean, of course I’d want to meet you anyway, but I was glad to have the excuse. I also hoped you might have some ideas about the murder since you can look at it with fresh eyes. You have as much stake in his future as I do.”
I swallowed hard, loath to reply. I had no business delving into Gage’s life, not in this way, but I didn’t want to let Mia down either.
“We’ll stay,” I said. “At least until your husband comes home.” I wasn’t exactly excited about running off to Lily’s where I’d have to explain that my marriage was fake and over with before she even met the groom she’d raved about. Besides, staying here would probably go a long way toward convincing my grandfather’s attorney that my marriage was everything I claimed. “But we should talk to the police as soon as possible, so they can start looking for whoever put that note in your mailbox.”
“We can go before dinner. I know one of the officers from school. Maybe he’ll have time to talk to us.” There was a relief in her voice that came clearly through the fear, and I knew insisting on going to the police was the right thing to do. I had to admit that I hoped Mia was right, that Gage really was innocent.
“Mommy, is something wrong?” Carrying a chicken, Dylan was coming toward us. I turned to see him, and that made Mia become aware of his approach. He signed something.
“No,” Mia said aloud, signing at the same time. “Nothing is wrong. I am so happy to meet your new aunt. Come, meet her yourself. Her name is Tessa. She and your uncle are married.”
Dylan stared at me, more in consternation than anything. “Married?”
I smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Dylan.” I held out my hand, and he shook it solemnly. “Those are way cool chickens you have. Do you think they’ll let me pet them? I’ve never touched a chicken before.”
Dylan was all too eager to show me. I was holding a big white one when Gage finally emerged from the chicken coop, stooping to clear the door.
“Uncle Gage, how come you didn’t tell me you were getting married?” Dylan called to him.
“I didn’t know it myself.” Gage’s eyes met mine. Big circles of wetness stained his T-shirt, and his hair was matted with sweat. My stomach flip-flopped.
When a guy in desperate need of a bath made my stomach react like that, I was in trouble. I’d have to put some figurative space between us.
“Do you kiss her and everything?” Dylan asked.
“Sure. Why not?”
Dylan made a face. “Ooh, gross.” Yet he giggled and watched us expectantly.
My stomach started to churn.
Gage reached for me, but as much as I secretly wanted to kiss him one more time to prove to myself that last night’s amazing kiss had been a fluke, he was covered in straw and chicken manure.
“Yuck! You need a bath!”
“Oh, come on. Just one little kiss. It’s our honeymoon, after all.” He chased me to the gate, which I opened hurriedly and dived through.
Mia stood watching us, her face all smiles again. She signed at him and spoke at the same time. “You do kind of stink. Go take a shower, or your wife might change her mind about marrying you.”
Gage sobered almost instantly, and I felt a little sad when the light-heartedness vanished from his eyes. “She won’t change her mind,” he said.
Why did the words make me feel so terrible? He was an ex-con, for crying out loud, and I was paying him for his help. That’s all there was between us.
We exchanged a look that did something funny to my chest, and I turned away so he couldn’t see. Shrugging, he ran to the back steps and disappeared into the house. Mia watched me with a satisfaction that left me more confused.
“Thank you for staying,” she said before turning to shut the gate that Dylan had left slightly ajar.
I waited until she turned back around before speaking. “I haven’t told Gage about staying, yet. He might not agree.”
“He’ll be fine with it.” She looked around for Dylan, who seemed to be heading around to the side of the house. She clapped her hands, and he stopped and began signing, making me wish I understood the language.
Mia shook her head, and he followed Gage inside the house, looking annoyed.
“What?” I asked Mia.
“He wanted to get the mail, and I can’t let him do that. There might be another note.”
“Oh.” I shivered, though the day was still entirely too warm.
Eyes seemed to be watching us from behind the trees. Watching and waiting.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When I emerged from my turn in the guest bath, I was fully dressed and my hair nearly dry. Fortunately, I had brought hair gel, so I managed to coax a bit of body from the roots, but the orange heap was pretty much a straggly mess. I had a few waves, but none of the lovely curls I’d seen on some strawberry blondes. I would give a lot for the curling iron Avery had used on me yesterday.
From habit, I checked my phone and saw that Lily had called five more times. Didn’t she understand the word honeymoon? I clicked to read the text she’d also left: Call me. Terrible news. I’m so scared for you.
Great. Obviously, Julian had been busy sharing Gage’s name with my family. With nothing to do but surf the Internet while she was on bed rest, Lily would know more about the murder than I did. I’d been waiting for the opportunity to research it myself, and obviously I needed to get on it before I called Lily back.
I opened my laptop on the dresser where I’d left it and turned it on. What would I say if Gage walked in? Well, it wasn’t as though I had to show him what I was doing. Still, I walked over and locked the door.
In the end it didn’t matter because Mia’s Internet was protected with a password. I tried the names of their family in different combinations, but without luck. Sighing, I shut the laptop and went to find Mia.
In the kitchen, Gage was seated at a small counter where Mia’s computer was located. I could see he was checking e-mail. Mia and Dylan were nowhere to be seen, but the beautiful smell of roasting meat and onions wafted from the oven. My mouth watered. It would definitely be a miracle if I didn’t gain ten pounds on this excursion.
Gage looked up as I entered. “So, Mia tells me we’re staying a few days?”
“She’s nervous without her husband here.”
“And you care why?”
I glowered at him. “Look, if you don’t want to stay, don’t. She’s your sister. I can leave tomorrow. You can stay or leave—whatever you want. It was your idea to come here, not mine.”
“Sorry.” He stood and walked over to me. The smell of chickens had been replaced by something spicy that made me want to step closer. “I guess I just don’t understand what set her off. It’s been six months since she’s wanted anyone to stay here while Aiden is out of town. I thought she was past that.”
My anger lessened a bit at the apology, but his closeness was doing odd things to my heart. I eased away slightly. “Why did she need someone to stay?”
He frowned. “Something happened to her after high school, and it made her really scared—so scared she was almost paralyzed with it. Her deafness onl
y complicates matters, though we’ve done everything we can to make her feel more secure. We put in an alarm that activates bright lights in her room, we’ve put in a phone she can type words into so she can easily call anyone, even if she’s too upset to make herself understood. The person’s verbal response appears on the screen as well.” He took a single step that brought him closer to me again.
“She’s still afraid.” I knew it must be somehow connected with the murder or whatever Skeet had done to Mia the week before the killing, but even now Gage obviously didn’t want to let me in on what exactly had happened.
“I thought it was behind her. She’s been helping out some deaf kids who were abused. People from Sarah’s House called her in to translate for the counselors, and she’s been volunteering a lot there. It helped her recover. Aiden and I have been hopeful.” There was a bleakness in his voice that told me the situation with Mia was worse than anyone was saying, which explained why he hadn’t put her off when she’d begged to meet me.
“Sounds like Aiden needs a new job that’ll let him stay home more.” I went to the cupboard, trying to guess which ones held glasses. I was feeling much in need of a cold drink of water. With lots of ice.
“He’s lucky to have any sales rep job in this economy, and unfortunately, that means traveling. She used to go with him a lot when Dylan was younger, but he’s in school now. Is there some reason you keep walking away from me?” He dropped his head and sniffed his shirt. “I don’t still smell, do I?”
“I need a drink, that’s all. Where are the cups?” He pointed, and I filled one with ice and water from the dispenser on the fridge. “We can stay. Not a big deal.”
He was coming toward me again, and my pulse started racing. I was saved by Mia sweeping into the room. “Oh, good, you’re all ready. Gage, will you keep an eye on Dylan and what’s in the oven? Tessa and I need to go somewhere.”
“Uh, sure.” He looked rather nonplused. “I guess.”
“Sorry to steal her away, but we need to . . .” Mia trailed off, looking at me helplessly.
“I need to get a few things at the store,” I said. “Womanly things. We went off so fast. I didn’t plan well.” I’d still rather tell Gage about the note and our plan to take it to the police, but that was for Mia to decide.
Mia bobbed her head. “You know, nightgowns, nylons, makeup, fingernail pol—”
“I get it.” He signed as he spoke, as though anxious for her not to say anything more personal. “I have work to do, anyway. I hadn’t planned to take off, and there’s a report I need to file.”
I grinned. I knew geologists had to do reports.
“You can have a proper honeymoon later,” Mia said. “Aiden will be home on Monday at the latest.”
Gage’s face softened at her eagerness. “Actually, that’s probably for the best. I just got an e-mail from my boss, and I really should go on site for a bit tomorrow morning to take samples that I was supposed to have completed yesterday.”
“Good. Then it’s settled.” She turned and opened the oven to baste her roast.
“Samples?” I asked.
Gage carefully turned his back to Mia. “I work for a mining company. I thought you knew. I’m in the field a lot, taking soil samples and the like. They’re going to open a new mine outside Flagstaff, and I need to recheck the soil to see if the mineral levels are where they should be before we sign the contracts.” He smiled. “Want to come? It’s interesting.”
“Okay.” I’d have nothing else to do tomorrow—the day I was to have become Mrs. Julian Willis. I crossed my hands over my stomach.
Despite my attempt to mask my feelings, something must have shown in my face, because Gage put a hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” The gentleness in his voice made me want to give in to my tears.
I shook my head. “How I can still care for him when he so obviously doesn’t feel the same—it’s stupid.”
“Happens more than you think. It’s not easy.”
I wondered if he was talking about Bailey, but if she’d ever given him reason to worry, it all seemed in the past now. Should I tell him she was completely crazy for him, even though I personally thought the woman had all the appeal of a grub?
Yes, but not now. Not with Mia watching us. Not when my heart was leaping about in my chest. From stress, of course. It wasn’t every day I lost a fiancé and married a near stranger with a questionable past.
“Kiss her and let us go,” Mia teased.
Gage looked over at her, surprise on his face, as though he’d forgotten she was there. “Oh, yeah.” He bent toward me swiftly and planted a fast peck on my cheek.
“Lame.” Mia rolled her eyes. “If Aiden kissed me that way, I’d kick him out.” She grabbed hold of my arm. “Tessa, maybe a little time away will make him less shy.”
I’d never thought of Gage as shy, but he did seem to have a little color in his face at the moment. I laughed and winked at him. “See you later, sweetheart. Don’t miss me too much.”
“I always miss you,” he countered. “Need any money?”
Likely a clear reminder of our deal and what I owed him. Aware of Mia’s gaze, I choked back a retort and held out my hand sweetly. “Sure. You never know what wonders I’ll find.”
To his credit, he didn’t hesitate to draw out his wallet and place a fifty-dollar bill in my hand. “Is that enough?”
I stared at it, feeling suddenly awkward. I didn’t want his money—he was the employee here. But I couldn’t give it back with Mia watching, so I crumpled the bill and shoved it into the pocket of my black pants. “Perfect.”
He gave me a mocking grin. “Have fun.” He bent down and kissed me again, this time putting his arms around me and drawing me close. I tried to resist, but my muscles refused to obey, as if they had a mind of their own. His lips touched mine softly and then more firmly. Blood rushed through my veins, and fire tingled on my back and shoulder where his hands touched me.
When we broke away, the one thing I knew was that last night hadn’t been a fluke. Either he was better at kissing than any man I’d ever kissed, or I was far more attracted to him than I was willing to admit.
Neither thought gave me much comfort.
“That’s more like it.” Mia gave us a thumbs-up like a judge revealing her rating. “Dylan’s in his bedroom. He’ll need help with his math.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. I stumbled after her like a sleepwalker.
Gage didn’t move from where I left him, his veiled eyes digging into me as we went out the door.
Ha! I thought. I might be attracted to him, but at least it wasn’t all one way. If questioned by the attorney, he could truthfully admit to feeling attraction for me. Maybe letting him help me hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. Well, besides that little issue of murder, and with Mia proclaiming his innocence, that had become almost easy to overlook.
Before the door closed behind us, I saw a flash of something cross Gage’s face that chilled me to the bone.
Fury. Loathing.
I didn’t know who it was directed toward. Was he angry at me? Or the situation? I put my hand in my pocket and clutched the crumpled bill.
Mia was climbing into a small red car. I blinked a little in surprise before hurrying around to the passenger side. “You can drive?” I asked. She didn’t reply so I touched her arm to get her attention and repeated the question.
She laughed. “Of course I drive. Believe me, I notice a lot more than you people who hear.” She backed down the drive and onto the road, turning the car with obvious skill.
Okay, so I guess it was a dumb question. I mean, I didn’t remember anything about hearing on the driving test, and there were all those mirrors to see any flashing ambulance and police lights. Mia probably did notice more than most hearing people.
“Sorry,” I said, but she didn’t respond. Her attention was on the road, not on my lips, and rightly so. I’d taken my hearing for granted all my life, and being with Mia was eye-opening
.
We drove in silence to the police station. My hands itched to turn on the radio, but I managed to control them. Maybe if I had experienced more silence in my life, I wouldn’t be here in Kingman, attracted beyond all reason to an ex-con whom I knew so little about. Of course, it didn’t help that he looked the way he did and that Julian had broken my heart.
Julian. I wondered if he’d written me off, or if he was holding a powwow with my parents on how to get me back. The girlish part of me wanted him to ride in on his white horse and prove his innocence, but the woman in me knew he had never been truthful and wouldn’t start now. Letting the music blot out these thoughts would have been a lot more comforting than having to rehash them.
Mia touched my hand, and I realized she’d been saying something. I broke from my reverie and saw we were already at the police station. I climbed out, and she pushed a button on her key chain to lock the door. The lights went on and off to signal her success. Nice, since she wouldn’t have heard a beep.
I noticed she’d removed her apron and changed from her jeans and T-shirt to a tan pantsuit that did little for her pale skin. She was still lovely but blended into the scenery more, like a woman trying to hide. Maybe she was.
“I need to talk to Ridge Harrison, please,” she told the lady at the desk in a forced but fairly clear voice.
“I’ll see if I can find him.” The lady was turning away as she spoke, reaching for her phone, so Mia couldn’t have read her lips.
“She’s seeing if she can find him,” I told Mia, making sure she was watching my lips.
Mia looked back at the lady. “He knows I’m coming. I called him.”
“Okay.” The woman looked between us several times before saying rather loudly, “What’s your name?”
“Mia Reed.”
“Have a seat. I’ll let him know you’re here.”
I turned away, unable to stop the laughter.
“What?” Mia said, signing something at the same time, probably forgetting I didn’t understand sign.
Tell Me No Lies Page 9
