The House on Main Street

by Shirlee McCoy

  She didn’t know, but she had a feeling she was going to find out, because in a town the size of Apple Valley, avoiding someone was about as easy as forcing the sun to stand still in the sky.

  She walked into the emergency room lobby and shoved some quarters into a vending machine. Somewhere in the distance she was sure she could hear Gertrude cursing a blue streak.

  They must be moving her to her room.

  Good, because Tess needed to make sure her aunt was settled and comfortable, and then she needed to head home to Alex. Everything else—the store, the furniture she needed to refinish, Cade—could wait. But Alex? He needed her. And Tess? She needed to do this one last thing for Emily.

  Because, despite all her sister’s faults, Tessa really had loved her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “My leg hurts,” Gertrude groused, plucking at the thick blanket that Tess had dropped over her lap.

  Tess ignored her. It was that or completely lose her mind. The woman had been home from the hospital for twenty-four hours, and she’d spent at least twenty of them complaining.

  “Did you hear me, Tess? My leg hurts.”

  “I heard you.” She pulled a strip of faded wallpaper from the parlor wall and dropped it into the trash can. She’d made no progress on the store in the past two days. Between Gertrude’s accident, Alex’s obvious distress, and the people who’d stopped by to see how Gertrude was doing, there hadn’t been time.

  Now she needed to focus, because at some point, they had to reopen This-N-That and make some money from it.

  “If you heard me, then why didn’t you answer?”

  “Because it wasn’t a question, Gertrude. It was another complaint.”

  “You’d be complaining, too, if your leg had snapped in half.”

  “Do you want me to get you some pain medicine?” she offered.

  “You know I hate that stuff.”

  “Then what do you want me to do?”

  “Kill Zim Beck. My leg will feel a hell of a lot better if I know he’s dead.”

  “Gertrude!” Tess hissed, glancing toward the foyer. Alex had come home from school and gone straight to his room, but that didn’t mean he’d stayed there. She’d found him silently walking through the house a few times, touching items that she’d cleaned and put out for display. He seemed . . . discontent, even his music somehow riotous rather than restful.

  “Alex is upstairs with his headset plugged in to the keyboard. He can’t hear a thing. Besides, the man is an ass and a murderer, and he deserves to die.”

  “Zim didn’t murder anyone.”

  “He tried.”

  “Are we back to that again? Reverend Fisher told you that he and Zim were talking when you fell.” She yanked at another piece of wallpaper. They’d had this conversation a dozen times in a dozen different ways, and she was tired of it.

  “It’s a conspiracy. That’s what it is.”

  “So you’re saying the reverend, Zim, and a half a dozen other people are all conspiring against you?”

  “I’m saying that Zim wants us out of this house. Getting rid of me is the perfect way to accomplish that.”

  “Oh, come on, Gertrude. Do you really think he’d murder you to get the house? Why not go after me? I’m the one who inherited it.”

  “But it’s Alex’s place, and I’m the one who has the most interest in keeping it for him. Zim knows that.”

  “Don’t worry, Gertrude. If you die, I’ll stay here just to piss Zim off.” Tess yanked a three-foot strip of paper down and shoved it into the trash bag, trying really hard to keep a lid on her temper.

  “Are you being smart with me?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” She whirled, looking into Gertrude’s pale, lined face, all her irritation slipping away. “Sorry, Gert. I’m stressed, and it’s getting the best of me.”

  “I can’t say I blame you,” Gertrude conceded, surprising Tess with her acquiescence. “This whole thing has been a mess. Thing is, I know it’s my fault. If I hadn’t—”

  The stairs creaked, cutting off her words. She glanced at the foyer. “Is that you, Alex?”

  “Yes,” he responded, appearing on the threshold. He wore his thick coat, snow boots, and gloves. A bright blue knit hat was pulled down over his ears, and bits of reddish-blond hair peeked out from under it.

  He looked adorable. So seriously cute that Tessa’s heart melted.

  “What are you doing, Alex?” she asked softly, wishing she could just tug him into her arms for a hug without worrying that he would push her away.

  “I am going to the park.”

  “Son.” Gertrude sounded as soft as Tessa felt. “Just because I’m laid up doesn’t mean you get to go wandering around town on your own. You’ll have to wait to go to the park until I’m feeling better.”

  “Tessa will take me,” he said simply.

  “Alex—” She was going to tell him that she had too many things to do and didn’t have time for jaunts through Riley Park, but he’d never asked her for anything before, and she couldn’t deny him this one request.

  She sighed, dropping another piece of old wallpaper into the trash. “All right, but just for a little while, okay?”

  “Okay.” He nodded, and for the first time ever, he smiled straight into her eyes. He had a dimple in each cheek that she’d never seen before, and she felt a hot wash of emotion so intense that she could only call it love.

  She bundled up. Coat. Hat, gloves, and scarf that she’d found in Emily’s things. James had assured her that her belongings were on the way, but she needed to be warm now. Still, wearing Emily’s clothes felt like moving on. She wasn’t sure she was ready to do that yet. In the farthest recesses of her mind, she kept thinking that Emily and Dave were going to walk through the front door and take over their lives again.

  “Do you want me to bring anything back for you, Gertrude?” she asked, her hand on the front doorknob.

  “Seeing as how you can’t bring me a new leg, how about one of those doughnuts from Murphy’s? Pumpkin would be nice. Maybe a chocolate-covered, too. They’ll be closed by now, but if you knock, Murphy will give you what he has left from the day.”

  “All right.”

  “And a sandwich from the diner. I’ve got a hankering for a hot turkey. Nice as all the church-lady casseroles are, they all taste the same, and none of them taste good.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Tess said with a laugh, ushering Alex outside, shivering as they stepped onto the porch. God, it was cold. Her teeth were already chattering and they hadn’t even left the yard. “How about we drive to the park, Alex? That way we won’t freeze.”

  “What about the lights?” he asked.

  “What lights?” she responded, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her across the yard, tugging her to the sidewalk.

  He didn’t speak, but maybe she didn’t need him to. The sun had nearly set, and the sky was deep azure blue, the moon rising above distant mountains. Christmas lights sparkled from every house on the street. Nearly every tree and every bush had the same: white, blue, green, red, they glistened in the purplish twilight.

  She tightened her grip on Alex’s hand, struck by the beauty of the scene, the simplicity of walking with her nephew.

  “Hello, Alex and Tessa!” Charlotte called, waving from her front porch. Old Mrs. Landry on the corner called out, too. It was like walking through Mayberry, everyone knowing everyone, and all of them willing to say hello. Tess had hated that when she was a kid. Now it was like coming home—warm, welcoming, comfortable.

  Alex held her hand for the entire mile into town, and Tess didn’t feel nearly as cold as she’d thought she would.

  “You tired, buddy?” she asked as they neared the town center. “How about a hot chocolate?”

  “The park first,” Alex responded, pulling her across the street.

  The entrance to the park was just ahead, the wrought-iron gate open just like it always was. White lights sparkled in all the trees.
Had it been this beautiful when Tess was a kid?

  “Tess! Wait up!”

  She knew the voice.

  How could she not know Cade?

  The best thing, she thought, was to ignore him, because standing in the dusky evening, Christmas lights sparkling all around, the night air cold and crisp . . . that was asking for trouble.

  Alex had other ideas. He stopped short, swinging around and holding tight to Tessa’s hand as Cade approached.

  Still in his uniform, his bomber jacket hanging open, leather gloves on his hands, Cade looked tough and rugged. Outdoorsy and strong. So different from the guys Tess had dated, so different from Kent. After leaving Apple Valley, she’d gone for the more anemic type.

  Not anemic.

  Academic.

  “Where is my angel?” Alex demanded, patting his thighs. Once, twice, three times.

  “I’m afraid I haven’t found her yet.” Cade crouched in front of him. “But I’m still looking, and I won’t stop until I do. As a matter of fact, that’s what I wanted to talk to your aunt about.”

  “Okay. Good. Okay.” Alex started walking again.

  “Wait, Alex. The sheriff isn’t done.” Tess tried to pull Alex to a stop, but he was strong for his size and more than a little determined.

  “It’s okay.” Cade fell into step beside her. “I just finished my shift. I was planning to stop by your place on the way home, but this will work just as well.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind coming into your office or—”

  “What’s the matter, Red? Are you afraid that people will see us walking under the Christmas lights and assume we’re an item?” He smiled to take any sting out of the words, and she couldn’t not smile in return.

  “No, I’m worried that I’ll start thinking we’re an item,” she said truthfully.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked, snagging her free hand.

  “I haven’t decided yet.” She looked up at the deep blue sky, the tall spruce trees, anywhere but in Cade’s eyes.

  “Liar,” he whispered, his breath warm near her ear, and she felt herself melting into the moment.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, because if the subject didn’t change, she’d turn into a quivering puddle of longing, and then where would she be?

  Right back where she’d been that night ten years ago when he’d told her he planned to marry Emily.

  “We found more than a dozen individual prints on the display case the angel was in. None of them match anything we have in our system.” He switched gears easily but didn’t release her hand.

  She couldn’t say that she was sorry.

  “Which means what?”

  “That we can’t name a suspect, yet. We are narrowing things down, though. A couple of people mentioned someone being at the tea and leaving right before the angel went missing.”

  “Who?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say, Tess. We need to do a little more digging, verify things. Even in Apple Valley there are procedures that have to be followed before we release a name to the public.”

  “You love what you do, don’t you?” She hadn’t ever thought of what Cade would be like as sheriff of Apple Valley, but she’d never doubted that that’s what he’d be. He’d talked about it the first day they’d met, introducing himself as Cade Cunningham, future sheriff of Apple Valley. Thinking about it made her smile.

  “You should do that more often, Tess,” he said quietly, his hand tightening around hers.

  “What?”

  “Smile. You’re always beautiful, but when you smile you take my breath away.”

  “Yes,” Alex said and broke away from Tess, shuffling off the path that wound its way around Riley Pond and heading in toward a thick copse of trees.

  “Where are you going, Alex?” Tess grabbed his arm, pulling him up short.

  “To church.” He pointed at the well-lit church that stood on a hill overlooking the park. Even from a distance the old nativity scene was visible, small spotlights shining on the wooden figures that had been around for as long as Tess could remember.

  “That hill is really steep, Alex. We need to drive. Not walk.”

  “Okay.” Alex turned back the way they’d come, apparently thinking that her comment was a form of consent and that they were going to find a ride.

  “We left the car at home, remember? We’ll have to go another day.”

  “I don’t mind driving you,” Cade offered.

  “I doubt Jethro and Natalie would want us hanging out there on a Tuesday evening.”

  “You’ve met them. I think you know that they won’t mind.”

  “But—”

  “How about you just go with the flow for a change, Tess? Let me give you and Alex a ride, see what happens after that.” He touched her cheek, his glove cold against her already frigid skin.

  And how could she possibly say no?

  “All right, but we can’t stay too long, Alex. Okay?”

  “Okay,” he responded, taking her hand again.

  They walked back through the park, Cade leading the way to his truck. He opened the door and helped Alex in.

  “Seat belt on, sport,” he said. Then he turned to Tess. “Your turn.”

  “I can mana—”

  Too late. She was up and in the truck cab so quickly she barely knew how it had happened.

  “I’m perfectly capable of getting in a truck by myself, Cade,” she sputtered.

  “Sorry.” He leaned into the cab, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Old habits.”

  “What habits? You didn’t have a truck when we were kids.”

  “I always used to help you onto the swings in the park. Remember?”

  She did. Even when she’d been tall enough to get on those swings by herself, she’d pretended she couldn’t. Her little tomboy heart must have known what her head hadn’t. By the time the two had decided to consult with each other, her days in the park with Cade were over, and he’d been too busy helping Emily into his 1967 Ford Mustang to notice Tessa.

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “I know. I thought it was time we revisited it.” He climbed into the driver’s seat. “Seat belt on, Alex?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  He turned the heater on full blast, classical music playing on the radio. It wasn’t something that Tessa recognized, but Alex hummed softly.

  The moon had risen above the mountains, full and deep orange. A few clouds dotted the horizon, but closer in, stars twinkled in the deep blue sky. Against that backdrop, Apple Valley looked like a fairy-tale village.

  “God, it’s beautiful,” she whispered.

  “That’s one of the reasons why I love it.”

  “What are your other reasons?”

  For a moment he was silent. “Just one other reason,” he finally responded. “It’s home.”

  He said it like a promise and a benediction. As if the words held the secret to everything he’d ever wanted or needed.

  “I’m not sure I even know what that means,” she murmured.

  “What?”

  “Home.”

  “I think if you stick around here long enough, you’ll find out.” He stretched his right arm along the back of the bucket seat, his fingers just skimming the side of her neck.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “The historical society’s Christmas dance is this Friday. I’d love to take you.”

  “Why?”

  What a stupid, stupid question.

  “Why not?” he responded, his thumb running along the tender flesh behind her ear. She couldn’t think straight when he was doing that, but she didn’t want him to stop. As a matter of fact, she could think of about a dozen other things she’d like him to do.

  “I . . . can’t think of one good reason, but I’m sure I should.”

  He laughed, and the sound lodged somewhere in the region of Tessa’s heart. “You don’t have t
o give me an answer yet. But just so you know, it’s a costume party. Everyone has to wear clothes like what the Rileys might have worn. I figure that’s right up your alley.”

  She had to admit, the idea of a Victorian Christmas party appealed to her. People dressed in period costume, dancing the waltz to Christmas carols. What wasn’t to love about that? There were probably boxes of old clothes up in the attic. The Rileys hadn’t been the kind of people to throw things away. She could go up there—

  “We’re here,” Alex announced loudly, leaning forward and pointing at the church as Cade pulled into the parking area. It was a gorgeous little building, the white steeple spearing up toward the sky, a wrought-iron cross at the top. A wide stairway led to curved double doors, lights spilling from windows on either side of it.

  Alex barely waited for the truck to stop before he was scrambling out, reaching for Tessa’s hand and dragging her toward the building.

  “Let’s go,” he commanded, and she picked up the pace, jogging up the stairs that Gertrude had fallen down.

  “Maybe we should try to find the reverend before we go in, Alex,” Tessa cautioned, but Alex didn’t seem to hear. He pulled open the doors and barreled inside.

  She hoped the Fishers wouldn’t mind.

  Tess followed more slowly. She’d been in the church a few times when she was a kid. Christmas. Easter. Not consistently, but enough that the smell of the place was familiar. Wood polish and old books.

  A small vestibule opened into a simple chapel. Dark floors and two rows of pews led the way to a wide platform and a podium that had probably been standing there for as long as the church had existed.

  Alex broke away, moving faster than Tessa had ever seen him go, taking a seat in front of an old baby grand piano. Cade had been right. It was gorgeous, hand-carved scrolled vines and flowers spinning up the legs, the wood deep mahogany.

  If it had been there when she was a kid, Tess hadn’t noticed it. She’d been too busy studying the old stained-glass windows that ran along each sidewall. Unlike most churches, these windows didn’t depict biblical scenes. Instead, each one showcased local flora and fauna. Flowers. Trees. Birds. Animals. Local legend had it that Miriam Riley had designed and commissioned the pieces. If it was true, it was possible she’d also designed and commissioned the piano.