by B. J Daniels
A knock at the door surprised her, and she looked over at Shade.
“Not room service again,” she said, frowning.
He wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the door. At the sound of his brother Will’s voice, she jumped up and ran into the bathroom. What was Shade thinking, inviting his brother to their hotel room?
She listened until she heard Shade tap on the door and tell her it was safe to come out.
“What was Will—?” But she didn’t get to finish the sentence, coming out of the bathroom to find dry clothing lying on the bed—his and hers.
“I asked him to bring us something to wear out of here.” He shrugged. “We didn’t exactly hang up our clothes to dry last night, not to mention your dress being torn.”
Lizzy eyed the jeans, T-shirt, underwear and sneakers that were distinctly hers. Her gaze shot up to Shade’s. “He got these from my house?”
“Your aunt was kind enough to get them for you,” he said sheepishly.
She groaned. “She knows?”
Shade let out a laugh. “She’s eighty-two, she knows.”
Lizzy had to laugh. He was right. If anyone would understand, it would be Gertie. “I should get home though. She’s going to want to hear all about it.”
He raised a brow.
“Not all about it. Just some of the good stuff.”
He chuckled. “Do you think you can stop by the house later? Maybe come for lunch? We could order pizza.”
Lizzy felt her heart do a little dip and then her stomach followed. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Maisie? She will love you.” He closed the distance between them. “Just like I do.” He kissed her slowly, wonderfully, deliciously. “Around noon?”
She nodded. She’d been so anxious to meet the girl, but now she was worried. And it wasn’t just that she had no idea how to be a wife, let alone a mother. She had no idea how to be a sheriff either. If she’d been a better sheriff, she would have figured out that Jennifer was in on it. She was anxious to get down to the jail to talk to the woman.
But first things first. Gertie. Then Maisie. Then Jennifer. It was going to be a rough day, she thought, until she looked down at the engagement ring on her finger, then up at Shade.
It was going to be a wonderful day.
* * *
SHADE WENT HOME to find Maisie sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal and Dorothea telling her a story about when she was a girl. He hoped it didn’t involve witch’s brews and spells, but Maisie seemed to be enjoying it.
Maisie smiled when she saw him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and joined her at the table. “Can I have a bite of your cereal?” She held out her spoon and he pretended to take a bite. “You’d better eat it so you grow big and strong.”
“I am big,” she said and went back to her cereal.
He glanced across the table at Dorothea. “Any trouble last night?”
“None here. How about with you?” She apparently couldn’t hide her knowing grin.
“It was the perfect date.” As he said it, he realized that for him and Lizzy, it had been.
“Anything exciting happen?” Dorothea prodded.
He pretended to give it some thought and started to shake his head, but instead laughed. “Oh, I did ask Lizzy to be my wife and she said yes. You mean something like that?”
She swatted at his arm playfully. “You’re awful, you know that?”
Maisie laughed as if following the conversation and repeated the word awful.
“Nice,” Shade said to Dorothea. “We’re really going to have to watch what we say around here.”
“Good thing I’m getting married and moving out.”
He’d forgotten about that and felt his smile fade. “But you’ll come visit every day. If you think you can get away from all of us that easily, you are sadly mistaken.”
“Like I’ll miss the lot of you,” she said, but he saw her tear up before she rose to get more coffee and offer him a cup.
“I invited Lizzy over for lunch. I thought we’d order in pizza.”
Dorothea turned abruptly from the kitchen counter. “You will not. I’ll make something special. This is the first time...” She indicated Maisie with a nod.
“Yes,” he admitted.
“Then it has to be special. Let me give it some thought. Noon?” He nodded and she clasped her hands together in obvious delight. “I’m assuming you gave her a ring.”
“Grandmother’s.”
Dorothea nodded in approval. “Good job,” she said, smiling. “It was the spell I put on your boots, wasn’t it?”
Maisie glanced at his boots and said, “Do your boots smell?” in her cute little lisp. They all laughed.
* * *
WHEN LIZZY WALKED in the door, she found Gertie, where else but in the kitchen. “What is that wonderful smell?” she asked.
“Your favorite brownies,” her aunt said, turning to smile at her. “I wanted to bake something special.” She gave Lizzy a wink, her eyes glittering with mischief.
Lizzy shook her head. “You continue to surprise me.”
“I shouldn’t. We’ve known each other long enough.”
“Then this won’t come as a shock to you, I suppose.” She held out her left hand. The pear-shaped diamond caught the light.
Gertie let out a gasp. “What a beautiful ring. So your night went like that, did it?” She clasped her hands together, and tears filled her eyes. “I am so happy for you.” She threw her arms around Lizzy. “I’ve dreamed of this day,” she said as she pulled back to wipe her tears. “Let’s celebrate with brownies.” She turned away.
Lizzy stared at her slim strong back and felt her heart drop.
She’d been so happy that she hadn’t given a thought to what this would mean for her aunt, who’d taken care of her since she was a baby. Gertie would be all alone in this large house. How could she desert her eighty-two-year-old aunt?
* * *
SHADE WAS TRYING hard not to be nervous. He kept telling himself that this was going to go fine. Even if Maisie was a little standoffish to Lizzy at first. Dorothea kept telling him the same thing.
“Stop pacing,” she said. “You’re going to wear out the floor.”
After breakfast, he’d bathed Maisie in the tub and dressed her for the day. While Maisie and Dorothea worked on cooking lunch in the kitchen, he’d taken another shower and dressed. But still he couldn’t believe how nervous he was. So much was riding on this first meeting. Kind of like his and Lizzy’s first date, except for the fact that they had known each other for years and had crushes on each other almost as long.
He groaned and raked a hand through his hair before going in the kitchen to see if he could help. He and Maisie played a variety of games involving trucks and baby dolls and wooden blocks with rules she seemed to make up as she went along until he heard a vehicle drive up.
“That’s Lizzy.”
“Lithie,” his daughter said. “Cookies.”
He laughed. “You would remember that, huh. I’m not sure she’s bringing cookies today. I want you to meet her.”
Maisie went back to her playing as he stepped to the door. When he opened it, he saw the same nervousness in Lizzy’s face. He drew her to him and kissed her. “It’s going to be fine.” He was starting to sound like Dorothea.
She smiled, but he could tell something was wrong. He told himself it was just nerves. Once she met Maisie...
“Come on in.” They walked into the living room where Maisie’s toys were spread across the carpet. She had a doll in one hand and a block in the other and appeared to be talking to both. “Maisie, this is Lizzy.”
The little girl looked up. “Cookies,” she said and smiled.
“Yes, she sent us cookies,” Shade said. “Why don’t we sit down?”
&
nbsp; Lizzy took a seat. “What are you playing?”
“Houth.” She held up her doll and then went back to stacking blocks so the doll could smash into them and knock them over.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Shade asked. “Lunch should be ready soon.”
“Water would be wonderful.”
* * *
LIZZY’S THROAT HAD gone dry. All the way over here, all she’d been able to think about was her aunt and how she couldn’t leave her. She couldn’t imagine how marriage to Shade would work with him on the ranch and her still living with her aunt, unless they could talk her aunt into moving, which seemed impossible.
She felt sick. Looking at the floor, she saw that Maisie had quit playing. The adorable blond, blue-eyed two-year-old was staring at Lizzy as if finally really seeing her.
“You wanna see baby?”
Before Lizzy could answer, the little girl crawled up onto her lap and handed her the doll. “She’s beautiful. Just like you,” Lizzy said, admiring the naked doll. “Where are her clothes?”
“Falled oft.”
Lizzy laughed. “Shall we see if we can find them?”
Maisie slipped off her lap and sat down again on the floor. Lizzy joined her. “Shall we put her clothes back on?” she asked, having found them in the pile of toys.
Maisie shook her head. “She doesn’t like ’em.”
“Well, then, we better build her house, don’t you think?” Lizzy began to stack blocks. Maisie watched her for a few moments and then began to pile more on.
As Shade stepped back into the room, the doll rammed the house, blocks flying, and both Maisie and Lizzy laughed.
* * *
IT WAS THE best sound that Shade had ever heard. He stopped partway into the room, a glass of water in his hand and a juice packet for Maisie. He watched the two of them playing on the floor. Lizzy was going to make a great mom. This was going to work. He thought of the children they would have together.
Dorothea called them in for lunch and he took Maisie to wash up. He realized she’d had an accident and he’d have to change her clothes, probably toss her into the tub, as well.
Hannah had been in the process of potty training. She’d told him that it was really about training himself at this stage. “You just have to remember to take her often.”
This was his future, he told himself as he undressed his daughter and got the water going in the tub. He just hoped that Lizzy was all right in the kitchen with Dorothea. He knew the woman would be wringing everything out of his fiancée about the murders and last night’s date and he groaned to himself.
* * *
“WHAT’S WRONG?” DOROTHEA asked the moment she and Lizzy were alone.
She started to deny that anything was wrong, but realized she couldn’t keep this to herself. She’d have to tell Shade, too. It was breaking her heart. “I love Shade and I want to marry him, but what about Aunt Gertie? I can’t leave her, especially now. She needs me.”
“Do you know your aunt at all?” Dorothea demanded. “She would love to see you married off where she is free to do whatever she wants.”
Lizzy looked at her in shock. She didn’t believe that for a moment. “What does she want to do that she isn’t already doing?”
“I heard from Sarah who works at the travel bureau that for the past few years in the fall, your aunt comes in and asks for cruise brochures from around the world.”
She felt herself start. Could this be true? “She’s never said anything about traveling.”
“Not to you, since she feels she can’t leave you because you need her.”
“That’s ridiculous. I don’t need her taking care of me. I’m there for her.”
Dorothea laughed and shook her head. “I think the two of you really need to talk. But I can tell you right now that your aunt would have a fit if she knew you put off Shade and your future because of her.”
* * *
WHEN SHADE AND Maisie made it in to lunch, he could tell that something had happened. He gave Dorothea a questioning look and she made an it’s all fine wave of her hand.
He put Maisie into her high chair and sat down beside Lizzy. When he took her hand, it was ice-cold. What had happened while he was getting Maisie ready? Something, no matter what Dorothea indicated.
Lunch was a seafood quiche and fruit salad. It amazed him how well Maisie ate, especially compared to him and Lizzy. They both picked at their food, lost in their own thoughts.
Conversation was stilted. If they hadn’t had Maisie to entertain them, it would have been pure hell. He was glad when it was over and Dorothea told the two of them to run along. She’d take care of everything, including getting Maisie cleaned up yet again and down for her nap.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” Lizzy said as they left the kitchen.
“What did Dorothea say to you?” Shade demanded, trying to keep his voice down. Everything had been so perfect this morning. Lizzy and Maisie had hit it off. Everything had looked as if it was going to work out for all of them.
“I can’t talk about it right now,” she said. “Please, I have to go, but I’ll call you later. I promise.”
He watched her go, cursing under his breath before he went to find Dorothea.
* * *
“GERTIE?” LIZZY FLEW into the house calling her aunt’s name. She had to talk to her. This couldn’t wait. If what Dorothea had told her was true...
She stuck her head into her aunt’s room and started to close the door when she saw the brochure on her nightstand. She stepped into the room. It was for a cruise around the Mediterranean. The brochure looked as if her aunt had nearly worn out the pages looking at it.
She felt her heart break. How could she have not known? She’d had no idea that Gertie had wanted to travel. Why hadn’t her aunt said something? For the same reason Lizzy thought she couldn’t accept Shade’s proposal.
Lizzy heard the front door open and her aunt calling her name. With the brochure still in her hand, she stepped out of Gertie’s room. “You want to travel?”
Gertie looked from the brochure to her. “I’ve thought about it.”
She laughed. “Auntie, why didn’t you tell me? You have to go. This one is this summer. I want you on this boat. In fact, it is going to be my gift to you.”
“Most certainly not,” Gertie said indignantly. “I have plenty of money to pay for the trips myself. I’ve been saving for the day when...” Her voice faltered.
“When you didn’t have to take care of me anymore.”
Her aunt shook her head. “No. For when you moved out and started your own family. A few of my friends have been planning a cruise for a while now.”
Lizzy shook her head, smiling through her tears. “I thought I was taking care of you and you thought you were taking care of me.”
“We’ve taken care of each other. But now it’s time to spread our wings, don’t you think?”
She hugged her aunt. “What about this house?”
“It’s just a house. I have a place I’ve had my eye on. I think it’s time for me to think about assisted living.”
“Assisted living?”
“They have a pool, community dining and they have all kinds of classes. They’ve talked to me about teaching a cooking class once I move in.”
So it had gone that far. Lizzy’d had no idea.
“Why are you looking sad? I’m excited about this next part of my life. Aren’t you?” Gertie asked impatiently. “You love Shade, right?”
Lizzy nodded.
“And the little girl?”
She nodded again. “I just met her. I think we’re going to be just fine together.”
“Then smile. Embrace all of it. If I’ve taught you anything, I hope I’ve taught you that.”
She did smile and handed the brochure to her aunt. “Tell your fr
iends that you’re on for the Mediterranean.”
Gertie’s eyes shone as Lizzy hugged her again. “Time to spread our wings.”
* * *
EARLY SUMMER CAME to the Flathead Valley with the scent of blossoms on the fruit trees, green grass and sunshine. Lizzy saw her aunt off to Seattle to catch her cruise ship with her friends. She’d never seen Gertie so excited.
In Whitefish, everyone had anxiously anticipated Jennifer Fox’s trial, but at the last minute, she took a plea deal that spared her life and saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial.
In her testimony, Jennifer admitted everything. From her statement it was clear that she enjoyed telling how she’d planned it all once she’d found the diaries. Brad printed the confession in his newspaper word for word, making it the most popular edition of his paper for the two weeks it ran. The part that shocked most everyone in town and had people talking at every café was Jennifer’s lack of regret for all of it.
Lizzy was relieved when Jennifer was moved to Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge for her life sentence without any chance of parole and the talk began to die down.
“Did you get the invitation?”
She looked up to find Sid standing in her office doorway and smiled. “Came yesterday. Going to be the wedding everyone in town is talking about.”
“I hope not,” he said as she waved him in. He closed the door. “Good to see you behind that desk.”
It had been hard after everything that had happened at the guest ranch, but Sid had been right. Time had helped. Also finally getting rid of that nagging feeling that she’d missed something important. Jennifer was now locked up, the key thrown away. When that piece of the puzzle had dropped, Lizzy had felt as if maybe she could do this job after all.
“My aunt sends her regrets,” Lizzy said.
“Dorothea told me that Gertie’s on the cruise of her dreams with a bunch of friends,” he said.