Scotched
Page 24
He wasn’t angry, or jealous, either, only considerate. He would keep watch from his own front window and when Gordon left, he’d return.
The thought comforted her and gave her the courage to say what needed to be said to the only other man she’d ever considered as a potential husband.
“I should have told you myself when I accepted Dan’s marriage proposal,” she said. “You shouldn’t have had to hear about it from your brother.”
She’d succeeded in surprising him. He set his cup aside and left the coffee cake untouched. “That’s what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Liss, I wasn’t around for you to tell. I was out of state at the time.”
“Right before you left, I wasn’t sure you wanted to be around me. I caused you a great deal of trouble. You broke the rules because of me. And I almost got both of us killed.”
“You have a way of convincing me to let you in on things you shouldn’t know anything about,” he admitted, with a rueful smile. “That doesn’t seem to have changed since you got engaged to Ruskin. What the hell was I thinking yesterday, letting a civilian conduct an interview with a suspect?”
“Will Doug’s confession hold up in court?”
“It should, especially since he broke down and repeated it a couple of hours later—with his lawyer present.” He reached for the coffee and sipped.
“Are you in trouble because of my meddling?”
“I doubt it. It got results.” He started on the coffee cake.
Liss sighed. “You wouldn’t tell me anyway, would you?”
“As to that, it’s on a need-to-know basis and you don’t need to know.”
“Well, at least your sense of humor is improving.” Liss bent forward, inclining her body a little closer to him in an attempt to gauge his reaction. “I need you to know this, Gordon. It wouldn’t have worked—you and me.”
“I know.” He polished off the coffee cake. “If I’d ever gotten around to proposing, and if you’d been foolish enough to accept, we’d probably have been divorced within a year.” His eyes locked on hers. “Still, it would have been one hell of a year.”
“Be serious!”
“What makes you think I’m not?”
“I’ve never been able to read you,” she complained, exasperated. “I’m trying to apologize here, Gordon. I should have phoned you, or at least written to you.”
“Because a ‘Dear John’ letter would have made things so much easier on me?” The glint of amusement in his dark eyes was unmistakable.
“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“In fact, I am. I’d already done a lot of thinking about us before my brother sent me the news of your engagement. I’d decided it wouldn’t be smart to continue to see you after I returned home. I was planning to keep my distance. We aren’t good for each other, Liss. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that, but that’s the honest truth.”
“I can’t explain it either,” Liss admitted as she sat beside him on the sofa, “but I know exactly what you mean. You tell me things about your cases that you shouldn’t, even when I don’t ask. And I ... take risks. I still get the shakes every time I think about what happened just before Christmas. I should never have—”
He touched a finger to her lips to stop her words. “It’s over. Done with. And so is this case. You’re going to marry a good man and try harder to avoid getting tangled up in unsolved murders.”
“Yes, I am. And you?”
He chuckled. “I’ve been seeing someone for the last couple of months. It’s getting serious.”
“That’s wonderful, Gordon. I’m happy for you. Is she anyone I know?”
He rose and she walked him to the door. “You met her once,” he said, “back when you first got back to Carrabassett County.” He stepped out onto her front porch, turned, and grinned at her again. “Her name is Penny Lassiter.”
Liss was frowning as she watched him get into his car and drive away. The only Lassister she knew was—
“Good grief,” she whispered.
“Good grief, what?” Dan asked, overhearing. As she’d expected, he’d lost no time trotting across the square to her house once he saw Gordon leaving.
“Gordon is dating Penny Lassiter.”
“Who?”
“Penny Lassiter—the sheriff of Carrabassett County.” Liss could see them together, and the image made her very happy.
“So, loose ends all tied up?” Dan asked as they went inside. “Air cleared?”
She slipped her hand into his, savoring the warmth and firmness of his grip. “Now all I have to worry about are my lists of things to do before our wedding.”
“Uh, Liss—about the wedding?”
“You’re not backing out,” she said, giving him a poke in the arm with her free hand, “and we’re not eloping.” A laugh caught in her throat when she looked up and saw the serious expression on his face.
“I got a phone call a little bit ago,” Dan said, turning her so that they were standing face-to-face in the center of her living room. “From your parents. You remember how they were going to leave ahead of schedule and drive straight here because Dolores Mayfield told them what was going on?”
“Please tell me they decided against it. I love them dearly, but there was no reason for them to change their original plan. They’ll still be here in plenty of time for the wedding.”
“They certainly will.” He glanced at his watch. “They decided to fly instead of drive. Their plane landed at the Jetport in Portland about an hour ago and they rented a car. In, say, another forty-five minutes, they’ll be on your doorstep.”
Liss felt her jaw drop.
“Before they show up, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Watching Dan swallow hard and hesitate made Liss’s heart stutter. Was Dan going to call off the wedding? Had her reckless meddling finally pushed him too far?
“When Tandy came back into your life, I had to wonder if you were really certain you picked the right man to marry.”
“I’m sure. I—”
“Let me finish. Please. I figured out pretty quick that I had nothing to worry about. I know you love me. And I love you. And because I love you, seeing you with Tandy this morning made me realize that I want to do more than tell you I love you.”
“You show me how you feel every day,” Liss assured him.
“Yeah? Well, good. But I wanted you to have proof of that love. I’m not going to change my mind about this. I’m resigned to making the ultimate sacrifice.”
She blinked at him in confusion for a moment before she saw the twinkle in his molasses-brown eyes. She started to smile. “You mean—?”
“Yes, Liss,” Dan said. “When we get married, at the Western Maine Highland Games, I will be wearing a kilt.”
A Note from the Author
Some of the mystery writers attending my fictional First Annual Maine-ly Cozy Con, or mentioned by fictional fans at this conference, are real. They all write their own books. The others, along with all editors, agents, book doctors, managers, and conference organizers who appear in these pages, are figments of my imagination and bear no resemblance to any real person, living or dead. The same is true of the residents and businesspeople of Moosetookalook, Maine, a made-up town in a fictitious county.
I’ve taken a liberty with television news coverage here in Maine. Although there is local news at 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 every weeknight, on weekends there is only one broadcast, at six, and half the time that one is bumped because of sporting events that run long. In my fictional Maine, however, Liss and her friends have three chances to hear the local news, even on a Saturday.
To learn more about Moosetookalook and its inhabitants and to see photos of “Lumpkin” and “Glenora,” you can visit www.KaitlynDunnett.com.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2011 by Kathy Lynn Emerson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2011931657
ISBN: 978-0-7582-7399-4