by Karen Kirst
Adelaide shook her head and glanced around the circle. “Now, that’s just rude.”
Chris caught Lawson Williams’s eye and winked. “What is?”
“Murdering the host and hostess after they went to the trouble of inviting you.”
Chris shook his head. “Some people have no scruples.”
Lawson grabbed his stomach as though he’d been hit by a bullet, then dropped to his knees before landing on his side. Chris’s brother Viktor was next. The boy stumbled into the circle and grabbed on to the hem of Violet’s coat before meeting his demise. Lorelei O’Brien, the sheriff’s wife, chose to carefully stagger backward to sit on the settee rather than fall to the floor as everyone else had, which made Chris wonder if there was some truth to the rumor that she might be expecting. As Chris searched for his next victim, his gaze fell on Adelaide, only to find her already watching him. They stared at each other for a second and he knew that she knew he was the murderer.
There was something else in her look, though. Something he couldn’t quite identify—and didn’t like. For a second, it made him feel as though a distance had suddenly come between them. But how could that be? They were only playing a game. He couldn’t think of anything to do but wink.
A few seconds later she gasped, then turned and swooned backward into his arms. She locked her desperate eyes on him before going completely limp. He gently lowered her to the floor. Kneeling beside her still form, a strange sense of foreboding stole over him like a soft breeze. That lessened the game’s fun for him. He purposefully took more risks in choosing his victims. Much to his relief, the game ended only a few minutes later when Violet caught on to him.
He helped Adelaide off the floor and swallowed the strange urge to apologize to her since he wasn’t sure what specifically he’d be apologizing for. He was grateful when Isabelle suggested they start an indoor game of hide-and-seek. Having been to the Grangers’ house several times before, Chris immediately thought of the perfect place to hide. He caught Adelaide’s hand and rushed from the room amidst the other scrambling guests. Muffled laughter filled the air at the many near collisions. Chris turned a corner and nearly knocked over Britta, who covered a small yelp a moment too late, then rushed up the stairs with August. Finally making it to the spot he had in mind, Chris pushed a large coat-and-hat rack out of the way to reveal the door to a slim coat closet in the foyer. He gestured Adelaide to go inside. She slipped inside, thanked him for finding a spot for her and closed herself inside. He frowned at the closet door for a second, then opened it and ducked inside. Adelaide’s whisper sounded over Rhett’s counting. “Chris, you aren’t seriously trying to hide in here with me, are you?”
“Hey, this is a great spot. Trust me. I play this game with my brothers all the time. I’m a master at it. Scoot in farther. Try to hide behind a coat. That way, even if someone opens the door, they won’t see us.”
“This is as far as I can scoot. Be realistic.” She elbowed him in the side—and probably not accidently, either—as he did his best to turn around.
“I am being realistic.” He left the door open a crack to let in some air and light, hoping the rack in front of the door would cover it. “I’m also being strategic.”
She didn’t seem to notice that he’d caged her in with his hands resting on the wall on either side of her. “Chris, how can you possibly think there’s enough room in here for both of—?”
“Very, very strategic.” He lowered his head so that they were in kissing range.
She froze. Her gaze fell to his mouth before her thick lashes lifted. Her green eyes deepened as she captured his gaze. The realization he saw there shifted to an amused admonition. She lifted her chin. “You and I ought to have another talk about respectability, Mr. Johansen.”
Something in her words triggered a flash of memory—Britta rushing upstairs with August. That was followed by recalling Britta’s gaze on August’s mouth as he lowly translated the rules for her. What if they were hiding together…the way Chris and Adelaide were? He stiffened.
“Chris, I was teasing. Or I suppose maybe I was flirting. I don’t know. Apparently, I’m not very good at it.”
“It isn’t you. It’s…we’ve got a problem. Come on.” He helped her out of the closet, which in retrospect, and as Adelaide had pointed out, hadn’t been the most respectable choice of a hiding spot for an unmarried couple. He’d only meant to steal a kiss. That plan had been prompted at least partially by his desire to erase the memory of that strange feeling of distance he’d experienced between them during the game. They made it to the parlor just as Rhett finished counting. Chris wasted no time in saying, “We have to stop the game.”
Rhett frowned. “Why? What’s wrong? Did someone cheat?”
“There are a lot of unmarried people at this party.”
“So?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “So if you weren’t ‘it,’ who would you hide with?”
“Isabelle,” Rhett said without hesitation.
“Right.” Chris nodded. “And what would you be doing?”
“I’d be… Uh-oh.” Rhett stepped into the hallway. “Olly olly oxen free! Everyone come back. We’re going to change the rules.”
There was grumbling and questions as everyone filtered back into the parlor. Chris’s suspicions proved correct when Britta returned walking arm and arm with… Viktor? She was with Viktor now. August entered a second later with Violet in tow. However, Violet went to stand beside Viktor while Britta and August shared a smile. Chris tilted his head in confusion. What was going on there?
He wasn’t worried about Violet. She and his brothers had been friends for a long time. She’d also befriended Britta, which was probably how the mail-order bride had been invited to the party. He shook his head. He shouldn’t let himself think so badly of Britta. It made sense for her to be friends with his brothers since she spent so much time at their house. She’d been bold with him in an attempt to persuade him into marriage. That didn’t mean she’d try the same tactic on his little brothers, who would be more innocent, unworldly, unsuspecting and immature in their responses to any wiles she might… Oh, man. He was going to need to have a talk with his brothers and his parents. Maybe Sophia should listen, too. She could help keep an eye on…
He froze. Where was Sophia?
She finally entered alone and came to stand beside him. He looped her into his side for a quick hug. She smiled at him even as she gave him a questioning look. He didn’t bother to explain his relief about having at least one sibling present whom he didn’t have to worry about.
He changed his mind about that only thirty minutes later when he watched Gabe whirl her around the parlor’s improvised dance floor. The two of them weren’t saying a word to each other. Gabe was staring at Sophia as though trying to memorize her every feature. Granted, Chris had seen the artist look at people like that before. Gabe had explained his creative process to Chris on one of his visits to the mercantile to pick up art supplies, so Chris knew that look meant the man was getting an idea for a painting. However, Chris didn’t appreciate the man getting ideas about Sophia, creative or otherwise. It didn’t help matters that, although Sophia avoided the man’s gaze at first, she eventually returned it in full measure and even agreed to another dance.
Chris would have cut in, but doing so would have meant stopping the music altogether since his fiddle was carrying the melody. That would embarrass his sister, which he had no desire to do. He had to content himself with glaring at Gabe. Chris couldn’t even manage to keep that up for long because his attention kept being drawn across the room to where Britta was flirting with not one, but two of his brothers. They each reciprocated without seeming to realize the girl’s attentions were split. Meanwhile, he saw Wes ask Adelaide to dance. She accepted and Chris watched them twirl and laugh around the floor.
It was all Chris could do not to throw his beloved violin in its case and drag all of his people home by their ears. Well, not Adelaide. He’d hold her hand,
but the rest of them deserved no less. Suddenly Chris realized that, in his overprotectiveness, he was turning into his father. The scariest part was that he didn’t care a whit. In fact, he completely understood why Olan had been so anxious. Chris’s hands were sweating so hard that he could hardly grip the bow. One more song. He’d play one more song, then the party was going to be over for him, his family, Britta and Adelaide if no one else.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Chris excused himself from the music making. Any guilt he might have felt for doing so was assuaged when Quinn and Rhett immediately challenged each other to a musical duel. Meanwhile, Chris had set his sights on his little brothers and was making a beeline toward them when Adelaide stepped right into his path.
Catching his arms, she turned him around and propelled him out of the parlor. She seemed to be searching for a secluded place, but all the rooms downstairs were filled with partygoers. They finally found a quiet spot in the back garden. He shook his head. “Adelaide, I’m sorry, but I can’t steal kisses with you right now. I’ve got go back inside.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, honestly! Don’t you think about anything besides kissing?”
“Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, right now I’m thinking about—” he wanted to say knocking some heads together but settled for “—something I’ve got to do.”
He tried to pass her, but she stepped in front of him again. “You can’t talk sense into your brothers while you’re in this state. It won’t work. They won’t listen.”
His gaze found hers. He realized that somehow she had figured out exactly what was going on and how much it was bothering him without so much as a word or look from him. He wasn’t in this alone. Relief filled him and made him sink to a nearby stone bench. “They’re my baby brothers.”
She leaned over to squeeze his shoulders. “I know you think of them that way, Chris. Maybe you always will. But you can’t treat them like they’re still little boys. It will do more harm than good.”
“You don’t think I should talk to them, then?”
“Oh, you should definitely talk to them. Just make sure they know it’s coming from a place of love and experience. Express your concern, but don’t make it into a lecture.”
He frowned. “What about Sophia and Gabe? Did you see them dancing?”
“Yes, and I already asked her about it.” She grinned. “Her response was actually really funny. She said, ‘He’s a strange one. It was like he was peering into my soul without actually seeing me as a person at all. Eventually I stared back to see if I could make him as uncomfortable as he was making me. I’m pretty sure I failed.’”
Chris laughed. “All right, I guess she’s still safe.”
“Safe from what?” Her head tilted as she narrowed her eyes. “Chris, have you been scaring suitors away from your sister?”
“Only since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Of course, I’ve had some help from my brothers and my pa. Don’t look at me like that. She’s too pretty and friendly and precious and sweet. She’s our princess. Look, let’s not get sidetracked. I’m airing my grievances and…” He considered holding his tongue, but she lifted a prodding brow so he let loose as nicely as possible. “Wes is friendly.”
She stared at him in confusion. “All right. It’s nice to know you think so.”
“To you, I mean. He’s friendly to you.”
“Wes was the first new friend I made in Peppin. Actually, he’s the first new friend I’ve made in years. That’s all there is to it. He has no designs on me. I know because he keeps giving me pointers on how to win my fight against Britta for you. He suggests a nice right uppercut.” She ever-so-gently pushed her fist up under his chin.
He caught her hand and captured her gaze to make sure she was listening. “Hey, you are not fighting Britta for me. You’ve already won my…” His words ran dry as he realized he was heading into dangerous territory. He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been about to say. Whatever it was, he had no business saying it. He wasn’t ready to make any declarations to her until he was more certain of her feelings for him. “What I mean is I should probably grab one of my brothers to begin straightening things out. Why don’t you stay here? I’ll go get him. We can talk to him together, and you can confirm the fact that she’s flirting with both of them. I’ll be right back.”
He ducked inside the house before she could respond. He returned momentarily with August. Chris cautiously related when he’d seen happening with Britta while August listened with a furrowed brow. When Chris was done, August offered a genuine grin. He stepped forward to pound Chris on the back. “You are such a good brother for telling me all of this, but none of that was new information to me.”
Chris frowned. “What? You mean you already knew she was flirting with both of y’all?”
“Sure, I did. Viktor knows it, too.”
“Then why…?”
August turned his hands palm up as though that should be obvious. “To keep her away from you.”
“Aw.” Adelaide’s hand covered her heart. “Isn’t that the nicest, sweetest thing?”
Chris clasped his brother on the shoulder. “The nicest and sweetest, but maybe not the smartest. Playing with fire isn’t a good idea, little brother.”
“There’s no danger for us here. Viktor and I have a pact to knock some sense into each other if we start going moon-eyed. Besides that, I hate to break this to you, but she only flirts with us when you’re around. Best we can figure, she’s trying to make you jealous.”
“And that,” Adelaide said, “is not so nice.”
“The only thing she’s doing is making me angry so her plan isn’t working out that well.” Chris frowned. “I think I should talk to our parents about this.”
August shrugged. “It’s up to you. Don’t worry about Viktor and me, though. We’re fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to relieve Viktor.”
“Hey,” Chris said, “avoid being alone with her. Include Violet in your group and as many other people as you can manage. That ought to slow her down. Got it?”
“Sure thing.” August gave them a quick wave and slipped back inside.
Chris took the seat beside Adelaide. “This has been the most stressful party I’ve ever been to.” He shook his head. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of all this for one day. Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
*
Adelaide couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed at Chris’s suggestion that they leave. She’d been having a wonderful time making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. However, he seemed so frazzled that she didn’t have the heart to suggest they stay any longer. They said a quick round of goodbyes before heading out. They were both quiet as they strolled down the sidewalk. Adelaide was content with the silence for it gave her time to savor the memories she’d just created—the least favorite of them being the winking game. The actual game itself had been fun. Discovering that Chris was the “murderer” had been disconcerting, to say the least. She’d stood right beside him for nearly half the game without being even vaguely aware of his actions.
She hadn’t enjoyed the reminder of how easily he could deceive her. She’d forced herself to put it behind her at the party and she was determined to do the same now. After all, it had only been a game. It didn’t have to have a deeper meaning unless she assigned one to it. With so many lovely things to focus on, there was no reason to give it a second thought.
“How do you like your new house so far?” Chris asked as it came into view.
“I think out of all the places I’ve lived, this is probably my second favorite.”
He glanced down at her with interest. “What’s your most favorite, then?”
“Your apartment,” she said without hesitation before feeling a blush rise in her cheeks. “That sounds far more scandalous than I intended it to, now that I’ve said it out loud.”
Chris laughed, but sent her a searching look. “You mean it, though? My apartment was your favorite?”<
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“Absolutely. It was like a dream of…” What might have been and of what perhaps still could be. But those words couldn’t find their way past her lips. In fact, they probably shouldn’t. She settled for. “It was like a dream home.”
“That’s good. That’s how I had hoped you’d feel.”
She knew what he truly meant was that was how he’d felt five years ago when he was decorating the apartment for her. Then she saw the way his jaw had tightened. She noticed the faraway look in his eye. That’s when she realized he wasn’t thinking about dreams. He was thinking about the reality of receiving her rejection back then. She couldn’t help thinking about it, too.
She’d worked so hard on that letter. She’d wanted to give him the final say in the matter. Truth be told, she’d hoped he’d show up at her door with her crumpled letter in hand, demanding answers. Refusing to let her go. She would have had a few questions of her own. There was no mistaking that. Even so, at least it would have shown her that he still cared enough to fight. Well, she cared enough to fight now, and that meant bringing both of them back to the present. She nudged his arm with her shoulder. “I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed by your fiddle playing. You were always good but you’ve improved a lot since I left five years ago.”
He shrugged. “Thanks. We were just kind of messing around today, though. I wish you could have heard us at the benefit concert for the fire engine.”
“I’m sure y’all were wonderful, but I wasn’t complimenting your group. I was complimenting you.” She grinned as she watched that realization flush his neck and cheeks with a hint of red. She slid her hand into his and squeezed his arm with the other. “Will you play for me sometime, just you? It’s only fair, you know, since you’ve read my books.”