Hearts On Fire

by Childs, Penny

  “Katy,” Julie said. She wrinkled her nose as though she smelled something bad. “Well, she sure isn’t here.”

  “I didn’t figure she was. But I was hoping someone here had seen her. Maybe Josh. Or you?”

  Julie stepped back. “Where are my manners? Come in out of the cold and we can talk for a minute.” When Lizzie was in and she had the door shut she asked, “Would you like some coffee? I just made some so the boys can warm up when they get back to the house.”

  “No, I think I’ve had enough for the day. The stuff at the police station is triple strength, I think. Besides, I won’t take up much of your time.” She and Julie, though they knew each other because they’d lived in the same town and gone to the same school had never really been close. They were nearly ten years apart in age, for one thing. The other… money and their stations in life.

  “The police station?” Julie asked, her eyes widening a little.

  “I stopped there to report Katy missing.”

  Julie pursed her lips and stared out the window for a moment. “Missing?”

  “She was supposed to come visit me in Seattle. She never showed up and I can’t seem to find her here either.”

  “Maybe she took off for somewhere warmer,” she suggested just like everyone else. “She had a habit of just taking off unannounced sometimes. Well, actually, most times.”

  “Not this time,” Lizzie said with a certainty which was beginning to wane. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe her flakey sister had run off.

  “What makes you think so?”

  “I… She was very excited about something. Aside from that she doesn’t work. She doesn’t have money, so where could she have gone?”

  Julie stared out the window again.

  “Do you know something?”

  “Oh. No, of course not. I just know your sister always had a way of finding money when she needed it. I’m sure if she really wanted to she would have gotten enough to go somewhere. Or, she would have found someone to take her where she wanted to go. I always thought she could be rather clever when she put her mind to it. Unfortunately when she put her mind to being clever it was usually getting her up to no good.”

  Lizzie couldn’t argue that one. She’d been on the receiving end of the no good sometimes. “You haven’t spoken to her recently then? Seen her?”

  “No,” she answered slowly. “Katy and I don’t exactly run in the same circles. She minds her business and I mind mine.” She sighed a little. “I don’t even live here anymore. Ken and I…” Now her voice hitched. “Ken and I lived in Hotchkins so he could be closer to his work. I only visited mother on weekends and such.”

  Lizzie saw the fresh pain and kicked herself in the ass for not addressing the reason for it sooner. “Oh, Julie, I’m so sorry for your loss. I heard about your husband from Brian.”

  She blinked at her and swiped at tears. “Yes, Brian would have known. His mother is a member of the church.” Because she wanted a change of subject she asked, “How is Brian?”

  “He’s well. He started his own practice a few years ago. I recently joined him and a few other doctors in it.”

  “I always knew he’d do well for himself. You’re still friends with him, even after the divorce?”

  The divorce was a hard thing to explain to most people. Because there really had never been a marriage to begin with. Instead of addressing it she just said, “We started out as friends and we still are.”

  “And you have a son? What’s his name again?” She tapped a fingernail to her lower lip. “I met him last time Brian brought him down to visit his parents.”

  Lizzie startled at that bit of information. Brian damn well knew the fucking rules. And he’d not only broken one, he’d neglected to tell her! “Sean,” she nearly whispered. “His name is Sean.”

  “Right! I only saw him for a minute. Cute kid.” Completely dropping the subject, she said, “If you hang around for a little bit you can see Josh and JD. Maybe they know something about Katy that I don’t.”

  “Maybe later.” The last thing she needed right now was to face JD.

  “I think Josh plows her driveway for her and has helped her with some of the repairs around the place.”

  That explained the plowed drive this morning. It also stopped her in her tracks. Katy had teased her a couple times about her hot handyman. She’d eluded to some very intimate moments. At the time Lizzie had just thought her little sister had been baiting her into blushing. Now she wondered. Josh and Katy? She frowned. No way. “I’ll have to make it later. I have a whole list of calls to make and some juggling to do if I’m going to be sticking around for a while longer. Aside from that when I ran into Matt today he asked me out to dinner tonight.”

  Julie’s brows rose a fraction. “You’re going out to dinner with Matt?”

  “Well it’s not a date or anything. He just offered to show me around town and talk to some people who might know about Katy.”

  “Didn’t you date him in high school?”

  Now Lizzie did blush. “For a minute. It didn’t work out.”

  “Maybe he wants it to now.”

  Shaking her head, Lizzie started to draw on her gloves. “Nah. I’m not planning on sticking around any longer than it takes to find Katy. After that I’m going home.” And with that being said, “It was nice to see you again. I’ll say goodbye now, just in case I don’t see you again before I leave. And I am terribly sorry for your loss.”

  Julie misted up at the mention of her dead husband and her gaze shot to the floor. “Yes. Thank you. I appreciate your condolences.” She saw her to the door. “I’ll let Josh and JD know you stopped by and that you’ll try to see them later.”

  All the more reason to run like hell.

  Chapter 8

  Not a pacer by nature, JD did so now anyway. Drink in his hand he walked from the fireplace to the window and back again, idly swirling the liquid around the bottom of the tumbler.

  “So what exactly was the deal with you and Lizzie anyway?”

  His gaze shot to his sister. It had been hard to engage her in conversation recently. But she chose this to want to talk about? He stopped by the fire and warmed the back of his legs. It had been a long day in the saddle. A long productive day. A lot of fence had been mended. His hands were stiff and sore. Hell, his ass was paying the price right now too. “There was no deal,” he told her a little stiffly.

  “You were interested in her in high school.”

  Interested was the understatement of the year. He’d been infatuated with Lizzie Waring in high school.

  “Then that year you came home for summer break after your first year of college I seem to remember something happening.”

  Again with the understatements. Something had indeed happened. And God, what a mess that something had turned out to be.

  Julie blinked long lashes at her brother, amused with his discomfort. “You had a fling with her or something, right?” She waited and when he only glared at her she said, “You know, that was just a shot in the dark but when you won’t speak it says volumes.”

  “Maybe you should have been the lawyer,” he commented dryly. Lizzie was back? And so close too. Right up the damn hill. He wondered what she was doing. What she looked like. God help him, he wondered if just the sight of her would still turn him on like it had before.

  “She’s a doctor now, from what I heard.”

  JD looked to his brother as he strolled into the living room after his shower. Great, now he would have two of them to contend with. “Can we drop this?” He didn’t want to talk about Lizzie. He wanted to see her. Something which he could not allow himself to do. The way he figured it her sister would show up home from wherever she was and Lizzie would go home to her family. End of story. “I know she’s a doctor,” he grumbled, happy she’d followed her dream. Pained he’d not been able to share it with her. But too much had been in their way. Too much would still stand in their way.

  “Mother nearly had a coronary when sh
e found out her golden boy was seeing the poor girl from up the mountain.” Josh poured himself a drink from the bar. A little whiskey before dinner never hurt anyone, he thought. Especially when they would be having dinner with Arlene.

  “I can see we are not going to drop this after all.” His voice a low growl, JD set himself down in a recliner lest he pace some more.

  “Are you going to go see her?” Julie asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “What would be the point?” Christ but she was tenacious tonight. Must be feeling a little better for getting away from their mother for the day. “I don’t know anything about her sister or her whereabouts, nor do I want to, so there’s no reason for me to talk to her.”

  “I didn’t mean see her about Katy.” Julie frowned. “That would be a waste of time. I’m sure she found some man to leech dry. She’ll come crawling back when he figures out what she is and kicks her to the side.”

  “Matt seems to think there might be something to it,” Josh said, leaning against the mantel of the fireplace.

  “Oh my God, Matt is actually taking this seriously?” Julie asked, scoffing.

  “Seriously enough that he called me and asked about Katy. Asked when was the last time I’d seen her and such. He seems to think maybe there might be something to Lizzie’s worries.”

  “Well there’s not,” Julie grumbled under her breath.

  “He said Lizzie always had a good head on her shoulders.”

  Except for that one summer, JD thought with a grimace. Neither one of us kept our heads then.

  “Maybe he’s trying to strike something up with her again,” Josh suggested with a grin. “He did mention to me she still looks as good as ever.”

  Julie glowered at her brother from beneath lowered brows.

  “He’s a single guy, she’s a single woman, and they have a history. You never know.”

  “Ancient history,” JD said, getting to his feet and finishing off his drink. But sometimes history repeated itself. Not something he wanted to think about.

  “Why is it again you and I didn’t stay together?” Matt asked over the rim of his wine glass.

  Lizzie looked up from her cheesecake, her eyes wide and shining in the candlelight. Matt had failed to mention to her this restaurant was very intimate. The tables were tiny, setting the occupants nearly hip to hip. Though she’d been a little upset with him at first now she was finding she didn’t mind the quiet little restaurant. And she didn’t mind sitting close to her old friend either.

  Matt snapped his fingers. “That’s right. I think it had something to do with my best friend stealing my girl.”

  The corners of her mouth turned down. “I certainly hope you’re not still holding a grudge over that, Matt. We were all in high school. We were a bunch of hormonal juveniles who didn’t know a damn thing about forever.”

  Realizing he’d upset her, he put a hand up in surrender. “I wasn’t trying to dredge up the past, Lizzie. I’m sorry.” He stared into her eyes, realizing all over again just how blue they were. Just how beautiful a woman she was. “I just sit here looking at you and wondering what kind of fool I was to let you slip away from me.” Reaching out he touched a finger to her hair. “The candlelight does wonderful things to your eyes.”

  A change of subject was definitely in order. Friend yes. But they could be no more than that to each other. “I have to thank you for taking my concern for Katy to heart and helping me look for her, Matt. I know it goes against your instincts.”

  He grimaced. “I know she’s your sister and you love her.”

  “But,” she prompted, knowing there was one.

  “But she has a reputation.”

  “I know she does. And she lives up to it more often than not.” Here it was again. She felt the need to explain her difficult relationship with Katy. “She and I lived through some very rough times together after our father died. We were all each other had.”

  “Yes, you did live through a lot with that dirt bag Grady in the same house. Yet you grew up to be who you are and she grew up to be who she is. You made something of yourself. For yourself. She chose to take from people like you.”

  “A lot of things happened no one even knows about,” she whispered. “Katy never abandoned me. Never.”

  “She uses you, Lizzie. You know that, don’t you?”

  Her jaw hardened. She did know that. She also did not doubt Katy’s love. “She never abandoned me, Matt. But I abandoned her.” She picked up her wine and took a healthy swallow. She’d wanted to change the subject, but not to this.

  He covered one of her hands with his and squeezed. “You didn’t abandon her, Lizzie. You went to college. You got married and started a family. You took care of you.”

  He didn’t understand and she didn’t want to explain it. Not to anyone. It hurt too much. “How about we find something else to talk about on the way home? Something more cheerful. You can catch me up on all the gossip.”

  Now he gave her a laugh. “That could take days.”

  The sister. Christ, he hadn’t considered the sister being a problem for him. He’d never thought in a million years Lizzie Waring would worry enough about her little hustler sister to come sniffing around. Hell, she never came to visit. Never. And Katy never talked about Lizzie. It was like they had become unrelated when Lizzie had moved away. He’d always figured Lizzie had been smart and distanced herself from her troublemaking sister. But no. Here she was, back home to roost in White Pigeon.

  The sun had set hours ago giving way to a star studded sky and crescent moon. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. And without that blanket of clouds it was going to be a damn cold one tonight. “Better bundle up, Lizzie,” he whispered, watching his breath crystalize and rise in the air.

  Through a pair of high-powered binoculars he watched the house. Saw her standing in the living room window with a steaming mug of coffee or tea. Or maybe even hot chocolate with the little marshmallows in it, he mused. Women liked that kind of stuff. The light behind her was warm and inviting. He could see she had a fire lit in the fireplace.

  He wondered how long she’d stick around. How far she’d push things. Push him. He wondered if he’d have to kill her too.

  Chapter 9

  Lizzie had forgotten just how isolated the little house on the mountain could make a person feel. And for some reason, isolated made her feel good tonight. No ringing phone, no cars streaking past the house, no television blaring some senseless chatter only a twelve year old could endure… she sighed. She missed the boy though. She missed Sean even though she’d just spoken to him on the phone not ten minutes ago. He’d been animated tonight, going on about some girl in one of his classes who liked to pass notes to him. He noticed girls now, even thought some of them were pretty, but he was much too busy playing whatever sport was in season to take them seriously. Yet. She knew the time was coming. One day he would wave a hand of dismissal at them, the next he would have his heart broken because one had rejected him. So went the circle of life.

  On that note her mind drifted to the evening she’d just spent with Matt. He’d made sure to tell her beforehand it would not be a date. And then he’d gone and taken her to an intimate restaurant. She frowned. It was obvious Matt wanted to pursue her, even though she’d made sure to tell him repeatedly she’d be going back to Seattle after she found her sister. She supposed Matt might just be looking for an affair and she was someone new to the town, relatively speaking.

  A fire roared in the fireplace not so much to keep the place warm, but to make it feel cozy. She’d noticed right off Katy had gotten rid of the old wood burning stove which had sat in the corner of the living room when she’d grown up. In its place on the wall was a thermostat which controlled the furnace in the back utility room. She wondered who Katy had taken the money from to do that and scowled at herself. Why, she mused, must she always think the worst of her little sister? Picking up her mug of hot tea she sipped. Chances were good Katy had
purchased the unit with ill-gotten gains. Or maybe money she’d “borrowed” from her big sister.

  She was just setting the mug back on the little table next to the couch when she heard it. A thump at the front of the house. The wind had died down some time ago and it had not snowed. No trees were close enough to the house to drop a branch on it or the front porch. She stiffened, her ears straining to hear any sound.

  Again, another thump.

  Heart racing, Lizzie stood slowly and went to the fireplace where she picked up the poker, her eyes never leaving the door.

  Thump.

  It could be an animal, she told herself. Maybe a bear or a raccoon. In fact, she relaxed a little bit. That was what it had to be. An animal come searching around for some scraps or garbage. The garbage was kept locked up in the garage just to keep them away, but she knew in the dead of winter they would come around homes anyway, just in case someone got careless. And Katy was notoriously careless. They probably had found leavings here before.

  Thump. This time right on the front door.

  Lizzie nearly jumped out of her skin, then reprimanded herself. More out of embarrassment than any bravery, she crossed to the front room, still carrying the poker. When she reached the door she flicked on the porch lights just as the doorknob jiggled. This time she stifled a scream. What kind of raccoon tried the door?

  A hand slapped against the glass next to the door. This time Lizzie did scream, good and long, as she watched the hand slide down the glass, her eyes riveted to the white palm, the long delicate fingers covered in blood and mud.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, now frantic not to get away from the specter outside, but to get to it. She fumbled with the lock on the door a moment and then ripped the door open. “Katy!”

  The bleached blonde head tilted back. Wide blue eyes, full of terror looked up from a bruised and battered face caked in mud. “Lizzie,” she groaned. “Oh, God, Lizzie. Help me.”