by Marta Perry
Deidre glanced at her watch and shook her head. “Kevin will be getting home from school soon. Ruth Blair said she’d pick him up and walk him home. We’d better stop where we are.” She looked around at the bags and boxes. “We made good progress today. Thanks to you, it’s not going to take as long as I feared.”
“Many hands make light work,” Judith said. “That’s why we call it a work frolic when we get together to do a chore.”
“Well, I appreciated this work frolic.” Deidre picked up the box, shoving the closet door closed with her foot. “Can you manage that one?”
“For sure.” Judith hefted the other box. “I’m ready.”
They went out, and Deidre paused in the hall long enough to double-check the door. She’d be glad when this job was finished so she could stop feeling responsible for the apartment and its contents.
As for the rest of the situation...well, she needed to see Dixie’s murderer apprehended. It wouldn’t ease her grief, she knew that. But at least then she’d know. When Frank died, she’d obsessed for months about why he’d lost control of the car. She’d finally pushed it out of her conscious thoughts, putting it in the category of things she might one day understand.
But Dixie’s death was deliberate murder. Until they knew, how could anyone feel entirely safe?
Deidre led the way out the walk instead of brushing through the gap in the hedge as she usually did. The boxes they carried weren’t heavy, but they were awkward.
“Did you set up for the auction house to take care of the furniture?” One of Judith’s numerous cousins was an auctioneer, so naturally she took an interest.
“Yes, they’ll come and pick it up as soon as I’m ready. And I have someone with a truck to get the things for the rummage sale and the clothing drive to the church. I just have to finish sorting.”
“You’ll be glad to be done, ain’t so?”
Deidre didn’t reply at once, her gaze caught by a car that slowed down as it neared them. Frowning, she tried to make out the face of the man behind the wheel, but the sun reflected off the windshield.
“Deidre?” Judith’s voice was questioning. “Is something wrong?”
“I thought for a minute it was that ex-husband of Dixie’s coming back again. But I must have been wrong, because he didn’t stop.” She remembered Jason’s speculation that Mike Hanlon could have been her prowler last night and felt uneasy. “Let’s get on inside with these things.”
They carried the boxes straight through to the workroom, since that seemed the best place for sorting. Judith slid hers under the table, so that it would be out of the way.
“I should get home, but I nearly forgot to tell you that your cousin Lovina is going to let us sell some of the wall hangings she’s been making.” Judith smiled. “Surprising, ain’t so?”
“Astounding. What did you do to convince her?” Lovina was actually a second or third cousin of Deidre’s, and she’d steadfastly refused to allow them to sell any of her wonderful quilted creations online. She didn’t want to get involved with the internet, she’d insisted, and she didn’t care if the bishop said it was all right.
“Nothing,” Judith said, laughing. “I had to listen to a long scolding about not getting too worldly, but in the end, I think she just wanted to do something to help you. You are family, even if you are Englisch, and you’ve had trouble.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it.” Cousin Lovina was crotchety, as her daughters said, but she was the most gifted quilter Deidre had ever seen. “Well, we’ll have to be careful to tell her all about the buyers, and maybe that will make her feel better.” She sobered. “People have been so kind. I can never repay it.”
“No one wants you to. You just let folks help you, for once. It’s good for them.” Her lips quirked. “Especially that lawyer. He strikes me as someone who doesn’t often go out of his way for strangers, but he has for you, ain’t so?”
Deidre felt the mix of emotions that the mere mention of Jason’s name engendered. “He has, and I’m not sure why. He can be so helpful one minute and then turn around and act as if he doesn’t approve of me the next.”
Judith’s dimples showed as she gave Deidre a squeeze. “That just means you’re keeping the man off balance because he has his eye on you. It’s probably good for him.”
“He’s not interested...” she began, and then stopped. How did she know that? He’d kissed her, after all. And she still hadn’t figured out what that had meant.
She noticed that the light was blinking on the answering machine, and that made for a good excuse to stop talking about a subject that made her increasingly uncomfortable.
But after she pressed the button, she realized this wasn’t going to be much of a distraction. It was her father-in-law, and he was clearly annoyed that she wasn’t there to receive his call.
“I’ve heard about your prowler scare last night. It’s all over town by now, but I should have heard it from you.”
Deidre made a face, since he couldn’t see her. She hadn’t wanted to listen to a lecture—that’s why she hadn’t called.
“I understand that the patrolman didn’t find anyone on the property, but surely this will convince you that I’m right. If you and Kevin had moved into Ferncliff by now, that would never have happened. We have the security to make it impossible, and for the sake of Kevin’s safety and well-being, I should think you’d recognize that fact.”
He’d stopped abruptly, as if maybe wondering if he’d gone too far. Then he began again, seeming to make an effort to sound conciliatory.
“Both Sylvia and I urge you to move in with us. We have plenty of room, and we certainly don’t intend to interfere in your life. We just want our grandson to have the security he deserves. Think about it.”
The message ended there.
Judith had come over to stand next to her during the last part of the recording, putting a comforting arm around Deidre’s waist. Now she gave her a little squeeze.
“You see? That man isn’t one to give up easily on what he wants. That’s why I think you should get a lawyer of your own for advice.” She paused, shaking her head. “Ach, listen to me. I’m telling you what to do just like that father-in-law of yours does. You’ll be thinking I’m no more worth listening to than he is.”
“No, I won’t. I know you really do have my best interests at heart. After all, we’ve been friends forever.” She managed a weak smile. “You know what my earliest memory is?”
Judith shook her head.
“It’s wading in the creek together, and your mother laughing at us and trying to get us to catch minnows.”
“I remember that, too. Your mamm brought a pail down for us to keep them in, but we couldn’t bear to take them out of the creek.”
Now her smile was a genuine one. There was nothing like a happy memory to chase away the blues. Unfortunately, the chill imposed by her father-in-law’s words still lingered. He’d sounded so...implacable.
How far was he willing to go to get his way?
* * *
JASON CHANGED CLOTHES quickly after work, grabbed the bag holding the lighting fixture he’d bought and headed across the lawn toward Deidre’s house. A busy day at work had been fairly successful in keeping his mind off her, but it would be too much to hope he could keep thoughts of Deidre at bay indefinitely.
He walked around the house, approaching the back door. How Deidre would receive him was anyone’s guess. He’d made a mistake—a big one. It had been no part of the judge’s plan that he should alienate Deidre by criticizing her relationship with her husband. On the other hand, he didn’t seem to be operating according to Judge Morris’s plan any longer.
What had possessed him to snipe at her after that phone call from Adam Bennett? He should have taken comfort from the fact that she hadn’t appeared to nourish any tender fee
lings for the man.
The truth was, he couldn’t be impartial about Deidre any longer. It mattered to him whether she was the devoted mother and honest woman she appeared to be or a manipulative deceiver who might put her child in jeopardy, as the judge seemed to believe.
He tapped at the back door, half wishing he could accomplish this task without seeing Deidre. He couldn’t. He had to have access to the circuit breaker, and...
Deidre opened the door, obviously surprised to see him. She gave a quick self-conscious push to the strand of blond hair that had fallen from the band at the nape of her neck. She wore faded jeans, sneakers, an oversize shirt and had a streak of dust on her cheek. She looked adorable.
“Jason. I wasn’t expecting you.” Her tone was cool. So she hadn’t forgotten how they’d parted.
He held up the package. “I have the motion-detecting light fixture to install for you.” If he kept it businesslike, maybe she wouldn’t tell him to get lost. “Where is your circuit box?”
She blinked, surprised. “You don’t need...”
Before she could finish, Kevin had run into the kitchen and was grinning at Jason.
“Hi. What are you going to do? Can I help?”
“Sure you can.” Without waiting for Deidre to interfere, he turned to the switch by the back door. “Is this the switch for the porch light?”
She nodded, her jaw setting. She was thinking he’d taken unfair advantage. Maybe he had.
Jase flipped the switch, and the light came on. He put a hand on Kevin’s shoulder and nodded toward the porch light. “I’m going to try to turn it off from the power box. I need you to watch it and give a shout when the light goes out, okay? That way I’ll know I have the right one.”
Kevin nodded, small face serious. “I can do that. I’ll yell real loud.”
He turned to Deidre. “The circuit panel?”
“In the basement.” She spun, her sneakers squeaking on the tile floor, and led the way.
Once she’d opened the cellar door and switched on the light, she preceded him down the stairs. “Watch your head,” she said.
He put up a hand to make sure he didn’t crack his head on the rough-hewn beam above the steps.
“I didn’t realize how old this house is.” He tapped the beam. “Wooden pegs?”
Distracted from her distaste for him, Deidre nodded. “You can see the original beams here and in the attic, and they’re pegged together. The house dates to about the 1850s, when the town was settled. My dad always liked to show the beams to visitors.” She grinned. “Most of them either didn’t notice, didn’t care, or didn’t know what it meant. It was built by his great-grandfather, if I’m counting the generations right.”
“History isn’t just in documents and monuments. It’s in the way ordinary people lived.” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t get me started. If I hadn’t been an attorney, I’d have been a history teacher. It always fascinated me in school, maybe because I had a teacher who made it come alive.”
“Maybe you’d have enjoyed teaching more,” she suggested, seeming genuinely interested.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But the law pays a lot better.”
“Money isn’t everything.” A flicker of disapproval crossed her face.
“Easy to say when you’ve always had enough.”
The words came out too quickly, and he wished them back. He didn’t go around betraying his origins to people. Either they felt sorry for him or they assumed a sort of false heartiness as if to say it didn’t matter what he’d come from, when all the time they were thinking that it did.
“Where’s the circuit box?” he said before she could respond.
“Here.” Seeming to accept the fact that he wasn’t inviting her into private territory, she gestured to the wall. The gray metal box looked incongruous against the stone of the foundation.
He opened the box and turned to shout toward the door at the top of the stairs. “Ready, Kevin?”
“I’m ready!”
The childish treble sounded eager. Too bad this wasn’t going to be more exciting for him.
As usual, there was a chart on the box’s door of which breaker was for which outlet. Also as usual, it was so faded it was impossible to read.
Deidre leaned closer, a wisp of her hair brushing his cheek. “I guess I should do something about the list, shouldn’t I? But I think all the outside lights are on the last few circuits.”
He considered prolonging the process, just to enjoy having her so close. He snapped the bottom breaker to the off position. “Is the light still on, Kev?” he shouted.
“Still on,” he called back.
Jase returned that one to the on position. “I owe you an apology,” he said, flicking the next switch. “How about now?” he shouted.
She didn’t speak, and he knew it would take more. Kevin hollered, “No!” He juggled the switches, moving to the next.
“Look, no excuses. Your relationship with Frank is none of my business, okay? I’m sorry for what I said.”
He flipped the switch. Before he could call out, he heard an excited squeal from upstairs.
“That’s it! That’s it!”
“Good job, Kev.” He closed the panel and turned to Deidre. “Are we okay?”
She seemed to struggle for a moment, but then she nodded. “Okay.” She turned and went quickly back up the stairs.
He followed her, wondering if she meant it. But at least she wasn’t inviting him to leave, so maybe he’d redeemed himself for his hasty words.
They went out together to the small back porch. He could reach the fixture easily enough, but he’d need a bit more height to work comfortably. “Do you have a step stool I can use?”
“Yes, of course.”
Deidre disappeared into the kitchen and was back a moment later, carrying a small folding step stool. She started to flip it open at the same time he reached for it, and their hands were entangled. She stepped back, letting him take it, and he was sure he didn’t imagine the faint flush that deepened her fair skin.
“What can I do?” Kevin danced around him as he mounted the step stool, while Deidre retreated.
“Suppose you hold the tools and hand them to me when I need them, okay?”
He’d taken the precaution of bringing a screwdriver and pair of pliers with him, along with a roll of electrical tape. He hadn’t wanted to give Deidre any excuses for turning him away.
Nodding, Kevin picked up the tools, and Jase began unscrewing the fixture. It was a simple matter, something he’d learned working nights on a maintenance crew while he’d scrimped his way through college. He’d bluffed his way into the job, but he’d learned a lot. Enough, at least, to sound like an authority as he explained to Kevin what he was doing.
“Remember how we made sure the light was off before we started? That was so we could be sure not to get hurt. You can get burned or shocked by an outlet if you’re not careful.”
Kevin nodded solemnly. “Billy always says you have to be careful with tools.”
“You help Billy when he comes over, do you?”
“He says I’m a big help. He’s been around lots. We’re getting the spring chores done.”
So Billy had been here a lot recently. Deidre had disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving them alone, so he couldn’t ask her about it. Maybe that was just as well, since he didn’t want to antagonize.
“We’re almost there.” He’d just set the last screw in place. “You want to screw this one in?”
“Can I?” Kevin dropped the tape in his excitement. “How do I do it?”
“Simple.” He put the screwdriver in the boy’s hand and lifted him up. “Just fit the end in that little slot in the screw and turn it.”
He put his hand over Kevin’s and helped him t
o tighten the final screw. “There, all done. We just have to turn the circuit back on, and it’s all ready.”
They exchanged high fives, with Kevin grinning widely. It had been oddly satisfying to be showing the boy how to do something. He didn’t know that he’d ever done such a thing before.
“Mommy, we did it! We’re done!”
Deidre came out, smiling. “That’s wonderful. Were you a help?”
“I couldn’t have done it without him,” Jase said. “Okay, now we have to set the angle of the sensor down a bit, so we know it will come on when anything moves out here.” He did so as he spoke.
Kevin nodded, but his forehead wrinkled a little. “Why do we need a light that shows us when something moves?”
Jase decided the wise move was to let Deidre answer that.
She looked startled for an instant. “Well, that way, we don’t waste electricity by having the light on all the time. It just comes on when someone’s coming to the door, so they can see the steps.”
Jase grinned. “It’ll also tell you when a stray dog, cat or raccoon comes close to the house, but that’s okay, isn’t it?”
Kevin nodded vigorously. “I’d like to see a raccoon. Hey, Mommy, do you think we’ll see a raccoon when we go to the falls on Saturday?”
So their picnic at the falls was planned. And Deidre hadn’t mentioned it to him.
A faint color filled Deidre’s cheeks, and she carefully didn’t look at him. “You usually just see raccoons at night, Kev. So I don’t think so. But we might see squirrels and chipmunks. Maybe even a deer.”
“That’d be cool. We can keep a list of how many animals we see, right, Jason?”
“Well, I...”
“Please do come with us,” Deidre said quickly. “If you don’t have something else to do, that is.”
Was she hoping he would come? Funny—before he’d told himself a hike in the woods wasn’t his thing. Now he didn’t want to miss it.
“Sounds great. What time do we leave?”
Her smile looked just a bit stiff. “We’ll set off at about ten. We can drive up one of the back roads and then hike from there. A backpack would be a good idea.”