by Sherry Lewis
“Grady was back there the whole time, Fred. And if you’d let us do our jobs—”
Fred looked away, but humphed his opinion.
Grady joined them in the clearing. “I had a bead on him. I would have had him—”
Fred humphed again, but his knees sagged as relief hit him just ahead of the reality. He’d come far too close to death this time.
Enos reached up to pat his deputy’s shoulder, then turned an unappreciative eye on Fred. “One of these days, Fred, you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Well, it darned near happened today,” Fred snapped.
“You can’t keep doing this kind of thing. If Margaret hadn’t called me—”
“—you’d never have figured out who the killer was.”
Enos glared at him.
Fred tried to glare back, but he didn’t feel nearly as strong as he tried to pretend he was.
Enos holstered his gun and threw an arm around Fred’s shoulders. “I can’t even begin to tell you how I felt when I saw him with that gun to your head.”
“Not nearly as bad as I felt, I can tell you that.”
Enos hugged him as if he didn’t want to let him go. “Margaret’s going to have your hide, you know that, don’t you?”
Fred knew that. But just for now, it didn’t matter how angry she got with him. It only mattered that he was still around so she could get angry with him at all.
TWENTY SIX
Fred held his boots in his hand and crept down the hallway from his bedroom to the living room. Without making a sound, he peeked at Margaret asleep on the couch. She’d stayed overnight, as if she expected him to sneak out somewhere after his brush with death. Or maybe she expected his heart to give out after all the excitement. Not that it would. He felt better than he had in weeks. She just wanted an excuse to babysit him.
She was sleeping so soundly, even the early morning sunlight spilling through chinks in the curtains didn’t disturb her. Well, good. She’d been far too upset with him last night. All that emotion couldn’t be good for her. Fred would let her sleep all day if she could.
Taking care not to step on any loose boards, he pushed open the kitchen door. But when he saw Enos at the table with a thermos of coffee in one hand and a package of Twinkies in the other, he froze in his tracks.
“What in the Sam Hill do you think you’re doing?” he whispered.
Enos leaned back in his chair and grinned at him. “We had a feeling you might try something like this.”
“Like what?”
Enos sent a meaningful glance at Fred’s stockinged feet and the boots in his hand. “Where are you off to?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is when I promised Maggie I’d take you to Doc’s first thing this morning.”
Fred let the kitchen door swing shut behind him and dropped his boots on the floor. “I’m not going.”
Heaving a deep put-upon sigh, Enos shook his head slowly. “We’ve been over this a hundred times—”
“I’m not going.” Fred patted his chest and looked robust. “Do I look sick?”
“No. But—”
Fred lowered himself to a chair and tugged on one boot. “No. And I’m not sick. Period. End of discussion.”
Enos’s expression darkened. “Listen, Fred, you went through something pretty hairy yesterday—”
Fred worked the laces into place and formed a bow.
“—and I’d want Doc to check you over if you were twenty years old and had the heart of an elephant.”
“Horsefeathers.”
Enos shoved away the Twinkies and stood. “You are without a doubt the most obstinate man I’ve ever met.”
Fred didn’t respond, but he appreciated the compliment.
“Do you have any idea how upset Maggie is?”
“Of course I do, but she’s got to get over it.”
Enos didn’t like that response. “She’s not ever going to get over it unless you make a few concessions.”
Fred pulled on the other boot. “She doesn’t want concessions—she wants total capitulation. No caffeine, no sodium, no cholesterol, no danger, no excitement— Just what in blazes does she think I want to stay alive for? Perry Mason reruns?”
“To see your grandchildren grow up.”
“And have them think I’m a useless old man?”
Enos paced to the back door and lifted the curtain. “Nobody thinks you’re a useless old man.”
Fred finished tying the boot and pushed to his feet. “That’s because I’m not. And I don’t intend to be, either.”
“Listen to reason, Fred—”
Fred snagged up the coffeepot and shoved it under the tap. “No, you listen. I’ve seen it happen. I saw my own mother shoved into a corner at family parties the minute she let herself get old. Everybody spent a token thirty seconds with her, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and ignored her the rest of the day.” He shook his head as if he could shake away the memory. “I was as guilty as anyone else for letting it happen. But it’s not going to happen to me.”
At least Enos had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “Nobody wants that to happen to you.”
“Fine. Then let’s drop the subject. If I feel even the slightest twinge, I’ll see Doc. All right?”
Enos tried to smile. “Sounds fine to me. Let’s just hope your kids go for it.”
Fred returned the smile. “You were a trial run. Come on and take a walk with me.”
“I really should get over to the office—”
“Nonsense. You’re never there before ten, anyway.”
With a chuckle, Enos downed the rest of his coffee, screwed the lid back on his thermos, and nodded. “I give up trying to argue with you.”
Fred pulled open the back door and waited while Enos stepped through. “That’s the most sensible thing you’ve said in years.”
They followed the trail around the south end of Spirit Lake in companionable silence. For the first time in days, the air felt cool and early morning mist rose from the lake’s surface. But dust still rose from their feet, and their legs brushed against drought-stiff foliage.
Something chattered in the distance and leaves rustled in the breeze. But the forest worked its magic.
Enos’s face relaxed after several minutes and he looked younger than he had in quite a spell. “I’m glad I came. It does me good to get out once in a while.”
“That’s why I do it every day. It clears the mind. Gets the blood pumping.”
Enos grinned, but something in the back of his eyes still looked troubled. It wasn’t the first time Fred had seen that look. Enos’s marriage had never been a real good one, probably because Enos had still been in love with Margaret when he tied the knot with Jessica. Even so, the young man had tried everything to make his marriage work over the years. He never said much, but Fred suspected far more than Enos would ever tell him.
Fred lifted his face to the morning sun, and his heart ached for all the people who’d never know the joy of marriage with their best friend. All the people, like Enos, who’d settled for someone. And all the people who’d been settled for. All the people like Adam and Nancy who hurt or had been hurt by the one they loved.
Trying to bolster his spirits, Fred clapped a hand on Enos’s shoulder and did his best to sound hearty when he spoke. “So, tell me when the arraignment’s been scheduled for.”
“Day after tomorrow. And you’ll never guess which judge has been assigned to the case.”
“Judge Roberts?”
Enos laughed outright. “Mitch will protest the draw, of course. He’ll never be able to stand having a black judge preside over his case.”
Fred shook his head and let the thought of Mitch’s discomfort tease a smile from his lips. He couldn’t think of more poetic justice. “I still keep telling myself there has to have been some other motivation behind this.”
Enos stepped over an exposed root and his face grew serious. “Old prejudices die hard,
I guess. He was so determined to keep Roy Dennington from buying Shadow Mountain, I think he would have done anything to prevent it.”
Fred drew in a breath of clear morning air and walked another few feet without speaking. “But Kate’s going to sell it to Roy, right?”
“Right.”
“And he’s planning to develop it—”
“Right.” Enos looked as disappointed as Fred felt.
“How soon?”
Enos shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. He was talking about moving his family in and getting established first.”
Fred smiled. “Great. That’ll give us a chance to make him see reason.”
“I don’t know. He’s got plans for that mountain.”
“I can be mighty persuasive.”
A laugh erupted and Enos grinned at him. “That you can, my friend.” But a second later his face sobered. “How’s Nancy?”
“She went home with Harriet and Porter last night. I just hope she tells them the whole truth soon.”
“It still hurts to think of everything Adam went through before he died.”
“And everything Nancy still has to go through.”
Enos nodded. “What do you think Porter and Harriet will do when they learn the truth?”
“They’ll love her. And they’ll love the baby. In a few months they’ll have convinced themselves the child was all their idea.”
Enos kicked up a cloud of dust and looked up into the trees. “I suppose she and Kelley will get together now.”
“I don’t know. They started out wrong. Any shot they might have at a good life together is hidden way down under all the heartache they’ve caused each other. And Adam.” Fred shoved his hands into his pockets. “I figure they’ll have to work harder than most if they want to build a life together that works. I’m not sure they’ll even try.”
“I guess it would be heartless of me to say I hope they don’t.”
Fred shook his head. “Of all the people I know, I’d never call you heartless.” He let silence ring between them for a second before he grinned. “But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I’ll call you a liar.”
Enos stuffed his hands in his pockets and studied the treetops again, but he blinked rapidly several times before he grinned back. “You sure you’re okay?”
“You ask me that one more time—”
Enos laughed. “It’s just that we’re right here by Doc’s—”
“No.”
“—and his kitchen light’s already on.”
“Absolutely not.”
“And I did promise Maggie.”
Fred made a face and walked a little faster. When he’d put a few feet between them, he stopped on the trail to watch the lake. A breeze danced across its surface and ruffled the water. He breathed deep and savored the feel of the air and the smell of the forest. Mornings didn’t come any better than this one.
A tiny movement on the opposite shore caught his eye, and for half a beat, he thought he saw Phoebe waiting for him, just the way she always had. He almost lifted his hand to wave, but caught himself and gave a little laugh.
He looked at Enos to see if he’d been watching, but Enos stood in the sunlight with his head tipped back to catch the sun and looked like he had at eighteen. He thought about the Native American legend that had given the lake its name. How early in the mornings the first people to find the lake had seen the mist rising from its surface and how they believed the mist was caused by rising spirits.
Fred lifted his eyes and tried to make Phoebe’s image form on the shore again. Tried to picture the breeze tugging at her skirt and pulling her hair. Tried to imagine her waving to him like a young girl, even after so many years together.
He tried to see her face again. To hear her voice. But he saw only trees and rocks.
And he knew she’d gone.
“Fred? You coming?”
Slowly, he turned back to the trail and met Enos’s gaze. “I’m with you, son.”
# # #
Don’t miss Fred Vickery’s previous forays into murder in . . .
Coming November 2015:
No Place for Tears
Fred knows something is wrong when Doc Huggins doesn’t lecture him about his diet. In fact, Doc hasn’t been the same since his daughter took up with the town’s resident loser: a good-for-nothing musician who already has a wife. But the worst is yet to come. When the guy dies of an insulin overdose, suspicion falls on Doc.
Fair weather friends are saying that Doc made a fatal mistake. That he’s too old to practice medicine. But Fred knows better—and starts nosing around. His only problem is discovering something that makes Doc look less guilty—not more . . .
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Want more Mystery, Murder and Mayhem?
Try these:
The Candy Shop Mysteries as Sammi Carter:
On Twitter: @sammi_carter
On her Facebook Page
Candy Apple Dead–Book #1 in the Candy Shop Series (Read an Excerpt)
Chocolate Dipped Death–Book #2 (Read an Excerpt)
Peppermint Twisted—Book #3
Goody, Goody Gunshots—Book #4
Sucker Punch—Book #5
The Piece of Cake Mystery Series as Jacklyn Brady
On Twitter: @JacklynBrady
On her Facebook Page
A Sheetcake Named Desire—Book #1
Cake on a Hot Tin Roof—Book #2
Arsenic and Old Cake—Book #3
The Cakes of Wrath—Book #4
Rebel Without a Cake—Book #5
The Cakes of Monte Cristo—Book #6
Like a Little Romance?
Try these Contemporary Romance books by Sherry Lewis
High Mountain Home—Read an excerpt here
New Year, New Love (Originally published as A Man for Mom)
Picture Perfect (Originally published as Call Me Mom)
That Woman in Wyoming—Read an excerpt here
The Children’s Cop (Book #2 in the Women in Blue series)
Mr. Congeniality
Let it Snow—Read an excerpt here
Keeping Her Safe—Read an excerpt here
The Christmas Wife (Also published as Christmas Homecoming)
Time Travel Romance:
A Time to Dream
Coming soon …
Whispers Through Time
An Echo in Time
Are you a writer? Check out:
Dancing on Coals© Workshop for Fiction Writers
For more than twenty years, Sherry has taught classes on writing craft and the writing life. Those workshops are now being revamped and made available for your Kindle:
Spinning Straw into Gold: The Art and Craft of Revisions
Creating Characters with Character
In and Out: Putting Characters in Conflict
And coming soon:
Why? Why? Why? Mastering Motivation