Primrose Lane

by Debbie Mason

  “Right, I remember Ava saying something about that now.” Dana chewed on her bottom lip while glancing at his leg, then lifted a shoulder. “It’s not like…I’ll be in the shower, and you’ll be dressed. You will be dressed, won’t you?”

  He looked down at his wet jeans and kept his gaze there.

  “Oh my gosh, your jeans. I completely forgot. You have to get out of them now.”

  “You want me to strip right here, right this minute?”

  She nodded. “I’ll look for a garbage bag. You better have your shower first. You don’t want to contaminate Griffin and Ava’s bed with monkshood.”

  As Finn soon learned, the woman’s willowy frame and delicate features hid an iron will. She was a force of nature. She wouldn’t let up until he’d handed over his jeans, showered for ten minutes longer than he thought was necessary, changed into his brother’s T-shirt and sweatpants, propped his leg on two pillows, and then shoved a best-selling psychological thriller in his hands, all in under twenty minutes.

  Miller lay at the end of the bed snoring while Finn stared unseeing at the page, listening to the water running in the shower. He rubbed his eyes and tried to refocus on the book. Maybe there was something with this monkshood thing after all. There had to be a logical explanation for him being unable to get an image of Dana in the shower out of his head.

  Her cell phone rang. It was on the nightstand within easy reach. It rang again. He glanced from the phone to the closed bathroom door. He remembered the haunted look on her face, the panic attack when she saw the number on the screen. She was lying. Whoever had been on the other end terrified her.

  Finn didn’t want to invade Dana’s privacy, but for her sake, he needed to know what she was dealing with. Because whether she’d admit it or not, she needed his help. On the third ring, he picked up the phone.

  Chapter Four

  Finn disconnected from Stanley Morton and stared at the phone in his hand, trying to come to terms with what he’d just learned. Dana Templeton was actually Olivia Davenport.

  The door to the bathroom opened, and he turned his head to see her standing inside the door frame enveloped in a cloud of steam. She no longer looked like the woman he thought he knew, or sort of knew, because he’d had no real interest in getting to know her.

  Thick, honey-blond hair fell softly to her narrow shoulders, framing her flawless, oval face; her pretty, pink mouth; and her big, whiskey-colored eyes. Her fine-boned hand clutched the terry-cloth bathrobe to her throat. An oversized plain white robe shouldn’t be sexy, but it was. Maybe because her skin was damp and flushed and her feet were bare.

  He returned his gaze to her face. The woman he’d once thought gave off a cold and superior vibe looked warm and vulnerable.

  He almost laughed at the thought. From the first time he’d laid eyes on her, he’d written Dana Templeton off as a snob, someone like his ex, Amber, who thought the world revolved around her and had no interest in how the other half lived. And now that he knew who Dana really was…Yeah, the irony didn’t escape him.

  Because this was a woman who, with a simple phone call, had one of the leading oncologists in the country drop what he was doing to take over the care of Griffin’s ex-wife, Lexi. A woman who Finn also knew had a hospital wing named after the son she’d lost to leukemia two years before. She hadn’t needed her late father’s or husband’s money to pay for it. Socialite Olivia Davenport was a wealthy woman in her own right.

  At the sound of a muffled gasp, he refocused on her face. She stared at the phone in his hand with her fingers pressed to her mouth.

  “I can explain.” He wasn’t sure if there was any explanation that made up for him invading her privacy. But he’d known that going in. If he could alleviate even a small measure of the fear he’d seen on her face earlier, he’d be fine with her never speaking to him again.

  “You answered my phone?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

  “Yeah, it was Sophie. She wanted to make sure you were okay and to let you know you didn’t have to worry about the kids’ craft session. It’s handled. I told her about the other glove too. They’ll search for it and handle it with care.” But he hadn’t left it at that. He’d scrolled down and hit redial on the number below Sophie’s.

  As though the tension stringing her muscles tight released all at once, Olivia lost the pinched look on her face and practically sagged against the door frame. For a minute, Finn considered not telling her he’d uncovered her secret. But that was the whole point of picking up the phone, wasn’t it? The only way he could help her was letting her know that he knew the truth. She didn’t have to hide it from him. Maybe then she’d open up and tell him why she was living a lie.

  He returned the phone to the nightstand while easing his legs over the side of the bed to sit up. “There’s something else I have to tell—” Finn broke off when Miller lifted his head and looked toward the open bedroom door with his ears perked.

  “Why is Miller—” Olivia began, only to have the sound of a woman’s voice calling out Finn’s name stop her cold. Her eyes went wide. “Please tell me Chase has an older woman working for him who sounds like your grandmother.”

  “I wish,” Finn muttered, looking at Olivia and the rumpled bed through his grandmother’s matchmaking eyes. Yeah, this was definitely not something he wanted her to see. Not after her comments of this morning. “Olivia, go lock yourself in the bathroom and don’t make a sound.” He turned to head his grandmother off in the kitchen and realized Olivia hadn’t moved. “Look, unless you want Kitty to…” He frowned. Why was she looking at him like he’d just told her to lose the robe and to jump into…

  “You know who I am,” she said, a stricken look on her face.

  He couldn’t figure out what he’d said or done to give himself away and then realized he’d called her by her real name. “Okay, I know you’re upset, but believe me, the last thing you want is for Grams to find us like this. I promise, we’ll talk once she’s gone, but right now, you have to get in the—”

  He heard the creak of the floorboards. Kitty was coming their way, and Olivia still hadn’t moved. And he needed her to move because his grandmother was relentless. If Kitty thought her matchmaking plans had even the slightest chance of succeeding, they wouldn’t know a moment’s peace. If she caught them now, she’d have the church booked.

  Given that Olivia had stubbornly refused to listen to any of his earlier suggestions, he thought he’d better take matters into his own hands. Sliding across the floor in his socks, he closed the door as quietly as possible and checked for a lock. There wasn’t one.

  “Finn, Dana, where are you?”

  Hearing Gram’s voice just down the hall seemed to snap Olivia out of her state of shock, and her gaze shot to the door. “She can’t find us like this. Hurry,” she said. But as she bent down to scoop his clothes off the floor, she froze with her hands out.

  “Seriously, they’re not contaminated by the monkshood leaf.” No sooner had he shoved the pile of clothes under the bed than Olivia grabbed him by the hand and dragged him inside the closet…with her.

  He shook his head. “No, this isn’t going to work. You still have time to make it to the bathroom if you run. Go.”

  He backed against the wall, hoping she’d take the hint because it would be a very bad idea if she stayed. He was doing his best to ignore the way the robe gaped in intriguing places and how great she smelled and looked. Ignoring her in the close confines of the closet would be next to impossible. Despite it being a double door closet, there wasn’t enough room for the two of them. His brother apparently thought it was a good place to store not only his clothes but also his hand weights. And Ava had a crapload of shoes.

  Big surprise, Olivia ignored his suggestion. Patting her thigh, she whispered, “Miller, come here, boy.”

  Okay, so that was a good idea. When Miller reached the closet, Finn fit his fingers under the dog’s collar to stop him from ramming his way inside. “I’ve got hi
m. Now go before Grams—”

  Olivia motioned for him to get Miller inside. At the creak of the floorboards right outside the bedroom door, he didn’t have much choice. He lifted Miller into his arms, shuffling past Olivia. She smelled like strawberries, and he could feel the press of her warm body against his back. Which may have been the reason why he tripped over a hand weight and nearly broke his ankle. The one with the pins in it. Stifling a pithy curse, he slid Ava’s shoes over with the side of his left foot and put Miller down.

  Olivia winced in sympathy and then closed the closet just as his grandmother knocked on the bedroom door. “Finn, Dana, are you two in here?”

  Finn could have sworn he heard gleeful anticipation in her voice.

  Miller whined and headbutted the closet door.

  Finn made a gun with his finger and whispered, “Miller, bang.”

  The dog dropped on top of Ava’s shoes and played dead. Finn kept his gun finger trained on Miller while trying to keep the weight off his right foot.

  Olivia, obviously trying to be helpful, wrapped her arms around his waist. She went up on her toes, her warm breath caressing his ear as she whispered, “Lean on me.”

  The bedroom door opened. “Finn, dear, where are you?” Through the slats, he watched his grandmother look around the room. He hoped she’d just leave, but instead she walked to the bed and smoothed the rumpled navy comforter. “I must have misunderstood Sophie,” she murmured to herself while fluffing the pillows.

  There was an audible hitch in Olivia’s breath, and her fingernails dug into his stomach. He swallowed an aggravated ow and frowned down at her, mouthing, What’s wrong?

  She mouthed, My phone.

  Kitty didn’t pick it up. Instead, she went to snoop in the bathroom and seconds later came out carrying Olivia’s clothes. “The lantern room,” she said, and trotted off.

  “She took my clothes,” Olivia whispered.

  “They’re wet anyway. You can borrow something of Ava’s,” he whispered back, cocking his head to audibly follow his grandmother’s progress. It sounded like she was in the kitchen. “If we hurry, we can probably get out of here before she makes it back down from the lantern room. And so we’re on the same page, tell her you fell in the tide pool chasing Miller, and I gave you the key to use the shower here, but I went straight home. Right away. No contact. No conversation. You might even want to tell her I was a jerk.”

  She looked up at him in a way that said it wouldn’t be a lie and then made a gun with her fingers. “Miller, bang.”

  Finn bowed his head and closed his eyes. It looked like they wouldn’t be leaving the lighthouse until he came clean. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have redialed the call before Sophie’s, but I was worried about you.”

  He went to open the closet door, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Did you say anything to Stanley? Did you tell him where I was?”

  “No, I asked why he was calling the number. He gave me his name, explained he was a lawyer looking for Olivia Davenport. I told him he had the wrong number.” Even though Finn had recognized the name right away.

  It wasn’t likely he’d forget the name of the woman Lexi and his family credited with saving her life. Being a former military cop, his ex-sister-in-law had done some digging and shared what she’d learned with Finn. He’d Googled Olivia too. What could he say? He’d been bored.

  But she hadn’t left much of a footprint. Olivia wasn’t on social media, and in the few pictures he’d found of her, she’d been wearing hats and overlarge sunglasses. Knowing what he did now, there was obviously a resemblance to the woman they knew as Dana but not enough to ring any bells. Maybe because the last time she’d been photographed in public had been years before. She was obviously a woman who didn’t like attention from the media and had the financial means to ensure no one got too close.

  “Did he say anything else?” Olivia asked, looking more relaxed than seconds ago.

  “No, I told him the phone belonged to Dana Templeton, and that was it. He thanked me and hung up.”

  She hugged herself and looked away.

  “Did I say something wrong?” It was bad enough he’d invaded her privacy; he didn’t want to do anything that put her in jeopardy. “It’s a fake name, isn’t it?”

  “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision the night I checked in at the manor. I hadn’t intended to disappear. It’s my maternal grandmother’s maiden name. Stanley would have recognized it. Or he will once he has time to think about it.”

  “What are you running from, Olivia? Tell me and maybe I can help.”

  “My life, the expectations, the memories. Learning that my husband died in a plane crash and…” Her gaze flicked away from his, and she lifted a shoulder. “I had barely recovered from losing my son. I had to get away. I couldn’t stay in Boston.”

  The muscles in his chest twisted and tightened. It felt like the closet was closing in on him. He wanted her to stop talking. It hit too close to home. She could be describing how he’d felt the day they’d buried his mother and sister. In October, it would be eight years since the accident. Sometimes it felt like yesterday. Sometimes it felt like a lifetime ago.

  “I didn’t plan to stay in Harmony Harbor either.” A faint smile touched her lips. “But Colleen and Kitty were hard to resist. They made me feel like part of the family, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

  It was as if Olivia’s mention of Kitty reminded Miller that Grams was still around and he barked—loudly. “Miller, bang,” Finn and Olivia said at almost the same time with pretty much the same amount of panic in their voices.

  Miller barked at them. Even louder this time. Probably to make his point that he hadn’t been paid the going rate for his acting. He usually got a treat for doing his dead-dog routine.

  “No way Grams didn’t hear him. You get dressed and tell her you never saw me today, and Miller was wandering around on his own.”

  Finn put his hand out to open the closet, which proved unnecessary because Miller decided he’d waited long enough and leaped against the doors like Superdog. One of the closet doors fell off the hinges and crashed to the floor, right at the feet of his frowning grandmother.

  Colleen Gallagher had always known Olivia’s secrets would come to light. Too many people were privy to them. But she was the only one who knew about Olivia’s deepest, darkest secret. And just like everyone else’s in town, Colleen had written them in her book, The Secret Keeper of Harmony Harbor.

  Late yesterday afternoon, Olivia had informed everyone of her true identity, but Dana, as they knew her then, had been a guest at the manor for a little more than ten days when Colleen saw signs that caused her concern. Despite the short time Olivia had been staying with them, Colleen had grown fond of the young woman. Not only had she sensed that Olivia, like her, knew the pain of loss, but they’d also discovered they shared a passion for flowers and books, and the manor too. When Olivia had heard about Kitty’s plan to auction off Mistletoe Cottage, she’d offered to decorate it for the brochure. It was at the cottage that Olivia confided what had happened one May night two years past.

  The family didn’t realize the sacrifice Olivia had made by contacting her old friend to take on Lexi’s case. It pretty much guaranteed that her past would come back to haunt her. But Colleen knew Olivia well enough to know she’d consider the sacrifice worthwhile. Lexi was doing well, and that would be all that mattered to Olivia. She was a good friend to the Gallaghers.

  Now it was Olivia who needed their support. It was two years ago today that she’d buried her son. But whether Olivia would admit that she needed their comfort, or take it if it was offered, was a different story. The girl was private and stoic. Traits Colleen had once admired but had come to believe that, like anything, could be harmful when taken too far.

  Colleen walked through the guest bedroom door on the second floor of the manor and spotted Olivia standing at the green marble sink in the bathroom. Colleen was surprised to see her wearing a ros
e pink knitted skirt and jacket with a pair of nude high heels. She obviously intended to work the Mother’s Day brunch after learning they were short-staffed. If Colleen were here, she’d put a stop to it.

  Well, she was here, just not here, here. She’d been dead—or undead as the case may be—close to seven months now. Perhaps “passing” would be a more accurate term because she seemed to be betwixt and between. She’d seen the light all right, only she’d been lollygagging, worrying about the ones she was leaving behind, and therefore missed the magic carpet ride to heaven.

  Over the past several months, she’d come to believe it was for the best that she had. The good Lord still had plans for her it seemed. Plus, she had a few of her own. She’d gotten the ball rolling in her will. She’d left the five-thousand-acre estate to her great-grandchildren. In order to bring them closer together, the estate would be held in trust until they unanimously agreed to keep it or sell it.

  To date, only three of her great-grandsons had signed on to the Save Greystone Team. It wouldn’t be easy, but then nothing worthwhile ever was. Colleen was determined to protect the Gallaghers’ legacy and see all her great-grandchildren happily married and living in Harmony Harbor where they belonged.

  So far, she’d married off two great-grandsons to their true loves. She was canny like that. She had a gift, she did. Now it was time to move on to her next couple. Olivia didn’t know it yet, but she was one half of that couple. Finn was the other.

  They were the perfect match. Colleen had seen signs, even as late as yesterday afternoon when they returned from the lighthouse with Kitty, that the couple might disagree with her. She supposed she could understand why. In some ways, they were complete opposites. And both held long-standing prejudices that might initially cause them problems.

  But Colleen saw beyond their bumpy beginning to the wonderful union it could be. Olivia would be as good for Finn as he would be for her. She’d steady him, ground and support him, force him to confront his grief. In turn, Finn would force Olivia to face hers. He’d validate the choices she’d made and help her to find happiness and live again. They’d bring out the best in each other.