It was only 12:30. Aiden didn’t want their date to end. “Then how ’bout right now?” he said with sudden inspiration.
An eyebrow raised into a question mark. “Whaddaya mean?”
Suddenly, he thought she might be thinking he was asking for sex in a roundabout way. “I mean this evening doesn’t have to end. We could go somewhere for dessert. We didn’t have time for any at the diner.” He spoke quickly, wanting to get the words out so she’d understand what he’d really meant.
A smile unfurled on Lily’s lips. “I know just the place.”
They soon found themselves sitting in what was fast becoming “their” booth—the middle one by the window. Lily hadn’t turned on all the lights, just a couple in the back for some ambience.
“Be careful. It’s hot,” she warned as she placed a dish of steaming hot apple pie in front of Aiden. “Ice cream with that?”
“No thanks.”
She poured each of them a cup of freshly brewed coffee and added a scoop of French vanilla to her own plate. The ice cream began to melt when it met the slab of pie.
“You know, you didn’t have to do this. I feel bad.” Aiden frowned. “I meant we could have gone somewhere other than your diner for dessert. Somewhere you didn’t have to serve me.”
Lily waved him off. “Ah, it’s nothing; besides this is the only place in town to get dessert at this hour.” She pulled the keys from her pocket and dangled them. “Higgstown Diner is open twenty-four hours a day for select customers only.”
Aiden took a bite of his dessert. “Whoa, you’re right. It is hot,” he said around a mouthful of steaming apples.
“Fresh from the microwave.”
He nodded and waved a hand in front of his open mouth in an attempt to cool the bite he’d taken.
“Shoulda had some ice cream, cools it down quicker.” Lily stood, looking a little concerned.
He covered his mouth with a napkin, a little embarrassed. She left him for a moment and returned with a glass of ice water.
Way to give a great impression, tough guy, he chided himself. The skin on the roof of his mouth had blistered. He finally got the pie down with the aid of the water. “Thanks.”
“It’s my fault. Guess I had the pie in the microwave a touch too long.” She splayed a hand over her chest and looked genuinely concerned. “You OK now?”
He nodded. His eyes were drawn to those long, tapered fingers and her breasts. God, she was sexy. His mind flitted to how much he wished she would touch him with those hands. Run them through his hair, across his bare chest…
“So, where are you staying?” Lily asked.
“I’m renting a log cabin just a few minutes outside town, on Ryan’s Road. Basically in the middle of nowhere.”
“Yeah, I know the place. It’s beautiful, but it’s pretty deserted up there. Old man Hutchinson built it for his son, Ryan, a few years back. It’s been empty for a while.”
“Ah, hence the name ‘Ryan’s Road’.” Aiden grinned. “Why isn’t Ryan living in it?”
“He was killed in Afghanistan. His father passed away shortly after. Everyone says he died of a broken heart.”
Aiden gave his head a solemn shake. “Damn shame. What about his mother?”
Lily looked thoughtful. “You know, I don’t know anything about her. Never met the woman. I think they’d divorced when Ryan was just a boy.”
“Wow, that’s a sad story. Who owns it now?”
“One of Hutchinsons’ nephews, I think. He usually rents it out to the summer people. I’ve never seen the inside, but it looks gorgeous from the outside.” Lily’s brows knitted in contemplation. “How come you didn’t know that? I mean you rented the place.”
“Oh, I didn’t ask any questions about the history of the cabin. I just called a real estate agent before coming out here. He’d sent some pictures and that was enough for me,” he lied, then forked up another piece of pie, but blew on it heartily before letting it pass through his lips. “Would you like to come see it tomorrow?”
After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Sure.”
“Great! What time do you get off work?”
“It’s my day off, but I’ve got a few errands. Every Thursday morning I go to the Evelyn Harrison Seniors Center and visit with a few…friends.”
“I don’t have much planned. What time would you like me to come get you?” Aiden asked.
“Don’t worry about picking me up. I know where the cabin is. How about I come up around four? I can bring some groceries and make us dinner.”
Aiden held up a hand. “No way. You can drive up on your own, but I’ll make dinner.” He did a mental scan of his cupboards and fridge. There wasn’t much except junk food and beer. Looks like grocery shopping would be on his to-do list. But what would he cook? The only dish he knew was spaghetti and meatballs. “Hope you like Italian.”
Lily leaned back in her seat, looking content. “Wow, a man who can cook.” She smiled. “I love Italian. Can’t wait. Can I bring anything?”
Nothing, he thought, except that sexy little body. And all your secrets of course.
A sly grin unfurled on his lips. “No. Just you, Lily…” Aiden stopped himself just in time. He’d almost said her last name. “You know, I don’t even know your last name.”
“Geez, you’re right.” She tilted her head and took him in. “It feels like I’ve known you forever. I keep forgetting we’ve only just met. It’s Valier. My father was French Canadian.”
Here was his opportunity. He knew a little about her family from what the sheriff had told him, but Wilkins had warned him Lily was notoriously private. A hard nut to crack, were his exact words.
“Tell me about your dad. What kind of man is he? What does he do for a living? Or is he retired?” Aiden feigned ignorance. Starting in about dear old dad would be a good segue into the whole sibling rivalry. He couldn’t imagine a father leaving his fortune to only one of his children. That had to have pushed a few of Lily’s buttons.
She smiled, but it was without humor. “Let’s talk about something more interesting, like when you’re going to start looking for that little business you want to open. Maybe I can help.”
Wilkins was right. Lily Valier was a hard nut to crack. How many more times could he risk bringing up her family before she became suspicious?
Aiden got to his feet and took Lily’s hands, tugging her up with him. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk at all.” He pulled her in close, wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, and lowered his mouth to hers. The feel of her soft lips on his stirred him. She let out a low moan, and her hands were suddenly in his hair, pulling him hungrily toward her.
Outside, snowflakes fell, twinkling in the streetlights.
CHAPTER 5
Lily lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The excitement of her date and the dull ache of yearning kept her from settling into slumber. She relived their kiss over and over again. Still, in her imagination she felt the warmth of Aiden’s lips and the gentle strength of his hands on her body. Shock waves of desire rippled through her, and she wished more than anything he were here beside her now. Finally, sometime in the wee hours, sleep took her in gentle hands.
Lily woke the same way she fell asleep, with Aiden on her mind. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to her day.
She waited for the morning crowd to thin before stopping by the diner. A cup of much-needed coffee and something to eat wasn’t all she wanted. Since Sara’s death, friends had dropped out of her life as quickly and as thoroughly as if she had bubonic plague, and she yearned for some girl talk, especially now.
Lily settled at the counter. Annie, who was working the grill, turned to greet her. “Hey, whatcha doin’ here on your day off?”
“I’m just a regular customer today, Annie.” Lily turned over the cup in front of her. “A nice cuppa coffee and a piece of toast and jam is all I ask.” She smiled.
“Comin’ right up.” Annie poured each of them a coffee and
was back in a flash with the toast and jam.
“How was the breakfast crowd?” Lily asked.
“Oh, about the same as usual. Good turnout.” Annie gestured with a nod of her head to the window. “Can you believe it? Snow this early in the season?”
True, Lily had thought it odd the snow had started so early, but her mood was so upbeat a hurricane could blow through town and she wouldn’t care.
She shrugged and smiled. “Weird, I know, but it’s not like it hasn’t ever snowed in October before.”
Annie’s eyes suddenly narrowed as she leaned on the counter, taking Lily in. “Why the goofy grin?”
Although Annie was an employee, there was a spark of friendship between them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Lily replied with a wink.
“Ya got a funny-lookin’ smile on your face. What’s going on? Spill.” Annie rested her head in her hands. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked younger than her forty-five years.
Lily sipped her coffee. “I’ve met someone.”
Annie squealed. “Oh, and I bet I know who it is.” She clapped her hands. “That gorgeous hunk of a man who was in here yesterday. Am I right?”
Lily nodded, happy to have someone to share her joy with.
“And he’s the one who saved you the other night, too. By God, Lil, things happen for a reason. If the place wasn’t being robbed, and he hadn’t come by just then to help you, you never would have met and…”
Lily stilled her with a hand. “Must be divine intervention.” She smirked.
“Damn right. The Lord knows what we want and what we need, and He sends it to us when the time is right.” Annie fingered the tiny gold cross around her neck.
Lily liked that thought, but although she wanted to, she couldn’t accept it. If Aiden was sent to her by God, then why didn’t God save her sister and the baby growing inside her? It would have been beyond wonderful to have a niece or nephew, to build a family again after her mom’s passing last year. She pushed the thoughts away, not wanting them to crowd out the happy ones she’d started her day with.
“He took me out last night,” Lily continued.
Annie’s eyes widened. “Oh, do tell. And I want all the details.”
Lily leisurely spread strawberry jam on her toast, teasing her friend by taking her time in replying.
“Aw, come on. You know I have no life. Just a few small details,” Annie pleaded.
Lily laughed heartily and it felt good. “There’s not much to tell, really. He took me on a ghost walk in Dunnsville. That’s all.”
“Oooohhh, that sounds nice and cozy. Did ya get a kiss at the end of the evening or a little something more?” Annie winked.
Lily’s eyes strayed to the spot in the diner where Aiden had kissed her. “Maybe.” She took a bite of toast.
Annie clapped her hands again. “You go, girl! You two going out on another date?”
“I’m going to see the place where he’s staying later this afternoon. You know that log cabin on Ryan’s Road?”
“Oh, sure. Everybody knows that place. He gonna be around for a while?”
Lily smiled. “Looks that way.” She drained her coffee and finished off the toast.
Annie placed a hand on Lily’s. “I’m happy for ya. After all you’ve been through with losing your sister and mother, you deserve some happiness.”
Lily was genuinely touched. Annie’s words felt sincere. “Thanks, Annie. You might be the only one in town who thinks I deserve anything except a nice cozy jail cell.”
Her friend waved a hand in the air. “Don’t let these closed-minded small-town folk get the better of ya. People are gonna talk no matter what.” Annie’s expression darkened and she leaned in close. “Does this new fella know about…” Her words trailed off and she began again, “Does he know about the money and all that?”
Lily was surprised Annie broached the subject. Perhaps she was feeling a little more like a friend than an employee. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Still, the wall of protection she’d built up around herself after her sister’s murder was hard to get around. She’d confided in Annie, but she’d certainly not told her everything.
Annie shifted uncomfortably. “I spoke out of turn. I’m sorry.”
“No”—Lily was quick to answer—“it’s OK. Aiden knows about my sister’s death, but that’s it. He has no idea about my inheritance or that I’m a suspect in Sara’s murder.” She sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to tell him or he’ll find out on his own. But I’m scared he’ll bolt.”
“My advice is to just have fun for now. You’ll know when the time is right to tell him more, and besides, once he gets to know you, he’ll figure out for himself you’re a good woman.”
Lily wondered if Annie was right. After all, the townsfolk did have good reason for feeling the way they did. If she put herself in their shoes, their suspicions were understandable, especially because of the argument she’d had with Sara the day of her murder, and, of course, there was that damned e-mail. Information spread quicker than a cold in January in small towns like Higgstown.
Lily glanced at her watch. “Gotta go, Annie. Thanks for listening.”
“Where you off to?”
Lily threw her purse over a shoulder. “Three guesses.”
* * *
Visiting the residents of the Evelyn Harrison Seniors Center was bittersweet for Lily. The bright fluorescents made her eyes tired, and the harsh antiseptic smell was one she’d never get used to. It nearly stole her breath every time she walked through the front doors into the pea-green atrium. She stamped her feet free of snow as she made her way to the reception area.
“Hey, Miss Lily, nice to see you today.” Gail, a rail-thin black woman in her fifties, greeted Lily from her post. “How ’bout that weather?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“I know! It’s a little unexpected. Haven’t even dug my boots out yet.” Her toes were wet and chilled in her Sketchers. “Is everyone behaving themselves today? No wild parties?”
Gail laughed. “Things are quiet, but I imagine once they see you’re here, it’ll liven up pretty quick. Need any help?” She gestured to the buggy filled to overflowing that Lily had wheeled in behind her.
“Got it covered, but thanks. I’ll just start on my rounds if that’s OK.”
“Sure, honey, you go right ahead.”
Lily had been visiting the residents of the center since she was a teenager. It was something she was compelled to do, more than likely because she’d never had a grandparent of her own. Both sets on her mother’s and father’s sides died when she was just a girl, and she had no memories of what it felt like to have an older person in her life.
Over the years, the faces of the elderly residents came and went. Some were in Lily’s life for years and others just months, but she remembered most of them. The women in the facility outnumbered the men two to one, and the old fellas were often fought over by the ladies. It was comical how they would argue and fuss over them as if they were their husbands. Lily suspected the men secretly enjoyed the attention, though they grumbled and complained and would never admit to it.
She made her way to the common room where the majority of the residents would be watching the big-screen TV she’d bought for the center last month. Others would be playing cards or sitting around chatting.
The room was large and open. Picture windows made up an entire wall, letting in natural light, softening the artificial fluorescents. Laminate, yellowed with age and scarred with scrapes from wheelchairs, walkers, and canes covered the floor; the painted brick walls were cold and institutional-looking, though one was dressed up with a hand-painted mural of a flower-filled meadow, complete with rainbows and butterflies. A bit juvenile, Lily thought, but in fairness, it had been done by art students from Higgstown High.
She entered, pulling her buggy, and waved and smiled at the familiar faces.
“My goodness, is that Lily?” she heard someone ask in a voice shaky with age.
It was Irene Scott—ninety-two with failing eyesight, but she always seemed to know Lily when she arrived.
“Yes, Mrs. Scott, it’s me,” Lily called back loudly and took a seat on one of the couches. Soon her friends were settling in around her.
“Is it visiting day already?” Mr. Piccione asked as he approached with his walker. A portly man with a tidy, thin mustache, he was never without his fedora and sports coat, making him look as if he’d walked straight out of a 1950s gangster movie.
“Don’t you even know what day it is?” one of the ladies called.
Mr. Piccione shot her a dirty look and settled beside Lily. “How’s my girl today?” He patted her knee with an age-speckled hand.
“Just great, Mr. P.” She gave him her warmest smile. “I have something for you all.”
“What? What did you say?” Mrs. Scott called. Her hearing was about as good as her eyesight.
“She said she has something for us.” Mr. Piccione spoke loudly, enunciating each word, then returned his gaze to Lily. “You’re such a sweetie. You always have something for us.”
An air of excitement filled the room. The nurses and attendants sat back and let Lily have center stage. “I brought some large-print novels as well as books on tape, and I have a few treats, but of course I’ve got to let the staff take care of those because some of you are on restricted diets.”
“Not me, angel,” came a call from the back. Lily turned to see Mrs. Guiterrez smiling at her. Mrs. G., as Lily called her, was a little thing with jet-black hair. It was the kind that came from a bottle and was startling against the pale of her wrinkled face. She held a special place in Lily’s heart and had lived in the center for as long as Lily could remember.
Lily waved her over. “Good for you, Mrs. G. You keep doing whatever it is you’re doing to stay so healthy.”
The old woman walked briskly and confidently over to the couch and perched on the armrest beside Lily, wrapping an arm around her as if to lay claim. Mrs. G. had no children, and her husband had passed away long ago. Though she had some extended family, nieces and nephews who visited from time to time, Lily and her friends at the center had become as close as family. Lily suspected it was the sense of being alone in the world that had brought the two of them even closer over the last little while.
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