by Rebecca Deel
“Thank you, sir.” His lips gave a ghost of a smile. “Please, call me Mason. Looks like we’ll be spending a lot of quality time together.”
Ethan chuckled. “See you in a week, Mason.”
Outside the station, Rio’s cousin glanced his direction as they walked down the station steps. “Were you serious about that construction job?”
“Brian Elliott said he’d be willing to talk to you. He’s working in Darcy’s deli.” They crossed the square and went into the shop. Two workers were painting walls to the beat of country music.
He frowned as he noticed vulgar graffiti on the walls. Darcy hadn’t mentioned anything about it and she should have. The messages left on the walls reminded him of the one on her mirror. Could Sutton or one of his crew have struck here in another bid to scare her?
He scanned the faces of the workers. The older of the two men turned, nodded their direction before resuming his task of covering the foul language. No Brian. Rio walked to the back of the shop where Brian was leveling an industrial-size stove.
“Rio. Good to see you, man.” He wiped off his hand and extended it. The contractor eyed Mason. “Brian Elliott. You must be Mason. Ever worked construction?”
“My dad’s a carpenter. I worked construction during high school and college.”
Brian’s eyes lit. “What can you do?”
While he and Mason discussed the skills his cousin picked up on the job, Rio wandered back into the main dining room as Darcy walked in the door with a short, dark-haired Leah Conner.
His girlfriend’s gaze darted to the walls. Blood drained from her face. So the graffiti was new. Rio had been afraid of that.
“Rio!” Leah smiled.
He kissed her forehead. “How are you, sugar?”
“Fantastic.”
“I can see that. Dean must be treating you like a princess.”
The young woman blushed. “Absolutely.”
Rio chuckled. Had to love newlyweds.
“Why are you here?” Darcy asked.
“Mason’s talking to Brian about a job.”
“That’s great.” She wrinkled her nose. “I just hope Brian doesn’t keep him so busy he can’t reinforce my floor.”
“No problem, Darcy,” Brian said, striding into the main room with Mason. “He’ll do that for you as part of Elliott Construction.”
“Congratulations, Mason.” Darcy beamed at him. “That didn’t take long.”
Brian clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s a well-rounded worker. If his work ethic is as good as it seems, he’ll be a great addition to Elliott Construction.” He retrieved the clipboard leaning against the wall and pulled off a few sheets of paper. “Mason, bring these in tomorrow morning. You start work at seven. Your first job is reinforcing Darcy’s living room floor. Look at it today. Tell me what you need and if you require assistance.” He handed Mason a business card. “My cell number is on the bottom.” He extended his hand. “Welcome to Elliott Construction, Mason.”
He turned to Darcy. “I see you’ve noticed the artwork. We found it this morning. This is on me, Darcy. One of my crew forgot to lock the back door before we left last night. I promise you it won’t happen again.”
“Can’t let you take the blame, boss,” the older painter said. “I’m Doug Walsh, ma’am. The unlocked door was my fault. Was in too much of a hurry to see my girlfriend.”
“You may have made the mistake, but someone took advantage of it,” Darcy replied. “Whoever wrote that is doomed to disappointment. I’m not leaving.”
After a few last instructions to Mason, Brian returned to the kitchen with Darcy and Leah to show them the progress he’d made. Looked to Rio like Darcy might have found her first employee.
“Rio,” Mason murmured. “Did you see the tattoo on Walsh’s forearm?”
He scanned the body art, frowned. It looked faded. “Can’t make out the design from here. Is it important?”
“I recognize it from prison. He’s an ex-con who was affiliated with one of the more vicious gangs in prison.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
In the bookstore, Darcy searched the interior for Annie. Her gaze locked onto the redheaded dynamo as she hustled to the second level of the store with a group of elementary students behind her.
She grinned at the enthusiastic chatter. To have that much energy would be a blessing.
“I wish all my customers were that excited about reading.” Del walked behind the counter and set a stack of books beside the register. “Need some hot tea, Darcy? We just unboxed a new shipment of tea. One of them is mint with pieces of real chocolate in it. Interested?”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Large cup?”
“Please.”
“Did you need anything else? Maybe more reading material for your brother?”
Darcy laughed. “Not yet. I need to talk to Annie, though. Do you know when she’ll be free?”
“Fifteen minutes. Can you wait? If not, I can step in for her and send her down.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll drink my tea while I wait.”
The store owner dropped a diffuser filled with mint chocolate tea in hot water. “I hear you’re doing a concert in a couple weeks to raise money for Julia Kendall. You’re settling in fast.”
“Wow. Rio was right. The grapevine around here is amazing.”
“It’s shocking how fast things get around town. I have a secret source, though. While Josh was on patrol this morning, he talked to Pastor Lang. The law enforcement people are buzzing about it. Julia’s father is a cop and they’ve all taken Julia’s illness pretty hard. She’s a favorite of everybody in town, but especially the cops.”
That explained the fast swell of information. Allen would be cornering her soon. “Does Julia come to your store?”
“All the time. Julia loves to knit and read.” Del tilted her head. “Would you like to meet her?”
“I’d love to. I want a list of her favorite Christmas music to include in the concert.”
“She’s upstairs. I’ll introduce you when the kids come down.” When the phone rang, she excused herself and grabbed the wireless handset.
Darcy shoved her hand inside her purse, looking for a pen and paper. She hoped Julia liked the popular Christmas songs she already had in her repertoire. Her lips twitched. Otherwise, she would be scouring the Internet for sheet music to purchase and print, then memorizing the pieces.
Behind her, bells announced the entrance of a new customer. Darcy glanced over her shoulder, smiled at her boyfriend and his cousin. A welcome sight that sent her heart rate soaring. “Hi.”
Rio brushed her mouth with a light kiss. “How was breakfast?” he asked as he sat next to her. Mason wandered off to browse the book shelves.
“Fun. And, yes, I did manage to eat in a normal span of time.”
He chuckled. “Won’t be long before you have visitors whether I’m with you or not. People in Otter Creek are friendly and nosy. Their favorite pastime is one upping their friends in the information game.”
“Rio, Rio,” came a sweet voice. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Darcy turned to see a small girl with a cap of curly black hair beaming up at the medic.
“Well, hello, Tiger Lily.” He lifted her into his arms. “How’s my girl?”
The child giggled. “I’m out of the hospital.”
“I see that. Are you finished with your treatments?”
“Uh huh. I don’t have to go back for three whole months.”
“Now that’s cause for celebration. How about a chocolate chip cookie? My treat.”
She bounced up and down in his arms. “I love chocolate chip cookies. Can I have one from here? Serena makes them.”
“She makes the best cookies. I say we all get one.”
Del returned and tapped the girl’s nose. “Hi, beautiful. What can I get you today?”
“Chocolate chip cookie, please. One for Rio and the lady, too.”
&nb
sp; “You got it.” She smiled. “Have you met Darcy yet?”
“Uh uh.”
“Julia, the pretty lady is Darcy St. Claire. Darcy, Julia Kendall.”
Julia eyed her and leaned against Rio’s chest. “Hi,” she said, her voice soft.
Darcy smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Julia.”
Rio stroked her hair. “Darcy agreed to do a concert at the church in a couple weeks to raise money for your treatments.”
“Do you play the guitar like Nick?”
“Piano. What are your favorite Christmas songs, Julia?”
A couple minutes later, Darcy’s paper was full of music selections.
“Here you go, sweetie.” Del handed her a cookie, then gave one each to Rio and Darcy. Annie returned with her group of students. “One chocolate chip cookie for each of you, compliments of Serena Blackhawk.”
A cheer went up and the crowd rushed the coffee bar.
Darcy laughed at the press of small bodies and reaching hands. Within a couple minutes, the cookies had been handed out and the teacher and her assistant bundled the kids in their coats, hats, and scarves. Rio hugged Julia and sent her to join her classmates. When the students left, the silence was as much of a shock as the deafening noise had been.
“Whew! They’re a handful.” Annie poured herself a mug of coffee and sat beside Rio. “Julia looks good, doesn’t she?”
“Like a million bucks considering what she’s been through.”
“Here’s your tea, Darcy.” Del slid the tall mug in front of her. “Coffee, Rio?”
“Just what I need with this cookie.”
As she poured the steaming brew into a mug, another customer walked into the store. Annie started to stand, but Del waved her off. “I’ve got it. Darcy needs to talk to you.”
“I need more information on Ms. Bond.”
“Tell her why, sweetheart.”
“Something happened?” Annie set her mug down, alarm on her face.
“Another break-in, this time with us in the house.”
“Oh, my. Was anyone hurt?”
“Everyone’s fine, sugar.” Rio squeezed her hand. “We caught him. He’s in jail.”
“Did he steal anything?”
“He left a message on my bathroom mirror,” Darcy said. Remembering those words scrawled in lipstick still caused a ball of ice to form in her stomach. “He said to leave or die.”
Annie scowled. “Why would he say that?”
“My guess is he wanted free access to the house.” Rio sipped his coffee. “Do you have any idea what Ms. Bond collected that was worth the risk?”
“Something small,” Darcy added. “The holes in the walls and floors aren’t big.”
“I can’t think of anything. I’m sorry. Every time I went over there, her rooms were more cluttered, but nothing looked valuable to me. Of course, I was afraid to examine anything too carefully.”
“What about special interests, especially that last year?”
Annie’s cheeks flushed. “The only thing she obsessed over was pirates.”
Darcy stared at the other woman. “Pirates?”
“Obsessed how, Annie?” Rio asked.
“Costumes, books, treasure maps, movies.” She shrugged. “Gretchen had the money and it was a harmless interest.”
Darcy exchanged glances with Rio. “Explains the books on pirate history and historical romances we sent Del.”
“I shelved those in the book exchange section or boxed them for the retirement home. I think Del sent some of the better history books to the library.” Annie wrapped her hands around her coffee mug. “I didn’t realize Gretchen bought so many. Your burglar wouldn’t have been interested in those.” Doubt crept into her eyes. “Would he?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
When Annie left to help a knitting customer, Rio eyed Darcy’s stunned expression. He sympathized. Pirates? He’d left that fantasy life behind when he turned ten. Why would Gretchen find them so fascinating? “What do you think?”
“Is it possible some of the books were rare, like a first edition?”
“If the books were valuable, Del would have asked if you wanted them back.” He frowned. “Nick said Sutton and his crew go after high-value items.”
“No one would place valuable books in a wall or floor to protect them. If the books were the target, Sutton wouldn’t have broken in.”
“Unless he didn’t know you got rid of them.”
“How could he not? Otter Creek’s already talking about the concert. The neighbors know what sat on the porch every day. The grapevine is bound to have a bulleted list somewhere.” She scowled. “I should have asked if the town has a Facebook page. Somebody must have taken pictures and posted it.”
Rio chuckled. “Told you they were nosy.”
“Yeah, go ahead and laugh, Kincaid. They’re talking about us, too.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Everybody is sticking their nose in our lives.”
He trailed the back of his finger over her cheek. “Darcy, I hope you don’t think I’m going to complain if the word spreads that you’re off limits to other single men in town. You’ve lived in a big fishbowl for twenty years, baby. This is just a smaller one with friends and neighbors who will be customers at your deli. They don’t mean any harm.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s an aspect of small-town life you’ll have to get used to.”
“Your life isn’t an open book to them. Why should mine be?” she said crossly.
“Only certain parts of my life are open. There are things I can’t even tell you. The townsfolk are used to Josh keeping silent about his missions. They know not to ask too many questions and if they ask one question too many, no one complains when Josh refuses to answer. If they ask me something they shouldn’t, I tell them I can’t answer.”
“I don’t have the excuse of national security risks or confidentiality issues.”
“Tell them something without giving away everything. The other side of the nosiness is people will go out of their way to help you. You can count on them in a pinch. Watch and see at your concert. Even though it’s Christmas and they have presents to buy for their own families and friends, the town will turn out to support Julia and her family.”
The mutinous expression on Darcy’s face smoothed out into one of wonder. “Really?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but it doesn’t matter that a concert is being performed by the world renowned pianist Darcy Melton. Anybody doing a benefit for Julia will garner support simply because it’s for her.”
“I’ve always wanted to live in a place where people cared about each other.”
“You got your wish. You’ll learn to deal with the extreme interest in your life. Right now you’re a hot topic because you’re new. In a few months, you’ll fade into the woodwork like the rest of us.”
The bells over the door chimed and a gust of cold wind blew toward the coffee bar. Rio glanced over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes at the man making a beeline for Darcy. “Incoming,” he murmured.
She turned, sighed. “Hello, Allen.”
“I’ve been looking all over town for you. The man at your house wasn’t helpful at all. Claimed he didn’t know where you were.”
“It wasn’t a claim. I didn’t give him a list of my errands. You have my cell phone number. You could have called.”
“The phone is no way to plan your big comeback tour, baby.”
Rio stiffened at the endearment. He also didn’t like the way Darcy shrank away from her agent. “Back up, White.”
“Listen, Ron, this isn’t your business. Take a walk or something while Darcy and I discuss a few things.”
“Allen,” Darcy snapped. “His name is Rio and he’s not a dolt.”
Rio’s eyebrows rose. White thought he was Darcy’s arm candy? Unbelievable. “You and I need to take a walk, buddy.” He stood.
Darcy grabbed his hand. “Rio.”
Her voice told him all he ne
eded to know. She wanted to handle the situation herself. He laced their fingers together and waited.
“Allen, I’m not returning to that life.”
White’s eyes glittered. “You’ve been here less than a week and already scheduled for a concert. Admit it. You love the life, Darcy, and you miss it.”
“I will never return to that life. I still love to play the piano and I might occasionally do a concert, but those will be few. You’re wasting your time trying to convince me to return to the stage, Allen.”
“Sweetheart,” Rio murmured. “Tell him the truth.”
“Tell me what?” White glanced back and forth between them. He cringed. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Darcy’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
“You could have kept a man in your life a secret.”
“That’s your assessment of my character?” she asked, arms folded across her chest.
“Because if you are pregnant, we’ll work around it. In fact, the audience will love it. Everybody loves new mothers.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Darcy whispered fiercely.
“Then what secret haven’t you told me?”
Rio squeezed her fingers gently, gave her a slight nod. It was time to tell her agent. Otherwise, he’d hound her to return to her former life, a life she couldn’t continue without compromising her health.
With a sigh, Darcy explained the diagnosis and limitations she faced. “You are not to spread that around anywhere, Allen. I don’t want to be the lead on the news cycles.”
The agent stared at her a moment, stunned. “Why didn’t you say something? I would have understood. Look, you don’t have to stop performing. We can set up a few concerts a year and record albums.”
“I can’t practice for hours every day, Allen. If I can’t practice like I should, I’ll become sloppy. Audiences have a low tolerance for mistakes when they expect excellence. I’d rather go out on top of my field than continue giving concerts for fewer and fewer people while the critics tear me to shreds.”
“We’ll work something out if you give me a chance.”
“That’s enough.” Rio glared at the other man. “She told you that part of her life is finished. Accept it and move on.”