In the Cradle Lies

by Olivia Newport

  The doorbell rang, and Nolan called up, “Can you get that?”

  “Sure.” Jillian scrunched her eyebrows. It was still early for someone to drop by.

  Except Nolan had been acting strangely all morning. Crossing the wide living room, she saw he’d even managed to set the dining room table.

  Three places.

  “Who are you expecting?” she called toward the kitchen.

  “Just get the door, please.”

  In thick wool socks, Jillian finished the path to the door on the side of the house that served as the main entrance, turned the bolts, and opened the door.

  “Uncle Patrick!”

  “In the flesh.” Patrick stepped over the threshold.

  Jillian glanced toward the kitchen. “You and Dad?”

  “He finally called me back.” Patrick opened his arms for an embrace.

  Jillian hugged her uncle. She’d been in college the last time she saw him, and before that—she’d have to think. Their visits had been so few. She’d tracked the progress of Patrick, Grace, and their daughter more through the photos that turned up at Nana and Big Seamus’s house than personal contact.

  “This is amazing,” she said.

  “He didn’t tell you I was coming?”

  “No. The goofball. Come on in.”

  Nolan leaned against the banister, watching the reunion and grinning.

  “How was the drive?”

  “Snowy, more this morning on top of last night’s,” Patrick said. “Was it this wintry when I lived here?”

  “We’ve had quite a January,” Nolan said.

  “The house looks awesome.” Patrick’s eyes swept the downstairs layout before lifting to the crown molding.

  “Full tour after breakfast,” Nolan promised. “Who’s hungry?”

  In the dining room, the sausage and egg casserole sat in the center of the table, with a bowl of fried potatoes on one side and cut-up fruit on the other.

  “What a feast,” Patrick said.

  “Jillian can whip up any coffee invention your mind can imagine.”

  “Yes!” Jillian stood at the back of her chair. “Espresso. Cappuccino. Latte. Whatever you like.”

  “Just black, please,” Patrick said.

  The brothers howled.

  Jillian glared at Nolan. “That better be the last family secret you keep from me.”

  They sat down, recited the family blessing, filled their plates, and dug into catching up on news of Patrick’s family.

  A first.

  Never before had Jillian seen her father and Patrick making an effort to be at ease with each other, rather than sitting at opposite ends of a holiday family table or rotating out of the room so they didn’t have to spend too much time avoiding eye contact in the same space while three generations of Duffys gathered and cousins scampered through the rooms and aunts compared notes on jobs and family life.

  Perhaps the next “first” would be a visit that included Grace and Brinlee coming for a visit to Canyon Mines.

  “I hear a phone,” Patrick said, tilting his head.

  “Must be mine.” Jillian scooted her chair back. “I left it in my office.”

  The phone rang incessantly. Whoever was calling wasn’t content simply to leave a message but rather dialed again and again. By the time Jillian answered, Nia’s tone was curt.

  “What took you so long?”

  “Excuse me?” Jillian said.

  “Sorry,” Nia muttered. “Bit of a crisis over here.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We have a new unplanned guest.”

  “Don’t you have space?” Usually Nia just sent overflow inquiries to one of the chain motels at the edge of town.

  “You’re going to have to break the news to Kris. Right away.”

  Jillian dropped into her office chair. “What are you talking about?”

  “I think you’d better just come over here, Jillian. Just for a minute. Then you have to find Kris immediately.”

  “We have a guest of our own this morning, Nia.”

  “I bet it’s not the fiancée of the man your best friend is falling hard for.”

  “What?”

  “Just get over here. Please.” Nia clicked off.

  Jillian returned to the dining room.

  “Everything all right?” Nolan asked. “Client?”

  Jillian shook her head. “Nia. We need to go over to the Inn.”

  “Patrick is here, Jillian. He came to spend the day with us.”

  “The timing’s terrible. I’m sorry. Did you know Tucker is engaged?”

  Her father’s eyes flickered with alarm.

  “To a woman who just turned up at the Inn,” Jillian said, “while Tucker is somewhere with Kris.”

  “Sounds like trouble,” Patrick said.

  “Someone we care about could get hurt.” Nolan turned to Patrick. “The Inn at Hidden Run. It’s just down the street.”

  “I could use another cup of coffee,” Patrick said, “while I go over notes for my next presentation.”

  “There’s plenty of casserole left too.” Nolan stood. “Back as soon as I can.”

  “Sorry, Dad,” Jillian said as they hustled down the street to the Inn, crunching over fresh snow. “Tucker never even hinted to you?”

  “Not once.”

  Nia was in the parlor with a tray of scones. She’d probably made them that morning to serve her own guests and now offered a choice of strawberry and lemon cranberry to a tall, dark woman in designer jeans and a leather jacket.

  “Come on in,” Nia said. “This is Laurie Beth. She came to surprise Tucker.”

  Laurie Beth rose to shake hands with Jillian and Nolan. “Nia is being polite. It’s true Tucker will be surprised, but I was also starting to worry when he didn’t come home after a couple of days and I didn’t even know where he was.”

  “The skiing has been exceptionally good,” Jillian said. “At least that’s what I hear. I don’t ski.”

  “But I do,” Nolan said, “and it’s true. A great season. Do you ski?”

  Laurie Beth shrugged. “Some. I’m not in Tucker’s league though. When he said he wanted to ski for a few days, I didn’t think much of it.”

  “He’s done it before?” Jillian said.

  “Sure. Just two or three days at a time. I know it’s more fun if he can ski the hills he likes without worrying about me. But this time he didn’t even tell me where he was going, and I haven’t heard from him at all.”

  “How did you find him?”

  “His assistant finally cracked. She’s the only one Tucker has contacted a couple of times.” Laurie Beth’s blue eyes folded under her dark bangs in puzzlement. “It was all very strange though. I think the only reason she told me where Tucker was is because someone has been fishing around about our friend Jackson. Her sister-in-law works at the newspaper, and they had a call from a library. She said the original call came from Canyon Mines. Tucker’s assistant found that very curious.”

  Jillian startled. “That was me.”

  “What do you want with Jackson?”

  “It’s a long story. But I never actually spoke to him.”

  “He doesn’t really talk to people anymore. The death of Tucker’s grandfather hit him hard, and he’s not in the greatest health himself.”

  “Does Tucker normally talk to Jackson?” Jillian asked.

  “It’s been weird lately,” Laurie Beth said. “When I suggest checking on how Jackson’s doing, Tucker seems to want to avoid him. I don’t get it.”

  If nothing else came from hunting for Jackson, it brought someone to town who knew Tucker better than anyone—though clearly Tucker hadn’t been telling Laurie Beth everything, or she wouldn’t be here now. Jillian swallowed and moistened her lips. If only Kris weren’t the one who was going to be stomped on as a result.

  “Well, you’re here now,” Nolan said. “I’m sure you’re eager to see Tucker.”

  Laurie Beth smiled at her hostess. �
�Nia tells me you might have some ideas where Tucker might be. Can you help me find him?”

  “Tucker has been friendly with some people around town,” Nolan said. “Nice man.”

  Laurie Beth smiled. “I think so.” She raised her left hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, and the ring on her third finger flashed.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Jillian said, “why don’t you enjoy your scones, and I’ll ask around. Maybe someone knows what his plans were today.”

  “That makes sense.” Nolan sat down. “A better plan than driving all over the county looking for him.”

  Nia walked Jillian out. Nolan already had Laurie Beth chatting about her trip out from Missouri and picking up a second scone.

  “Did Tucker tell you anything about where he was going when he left this morning?” Jillian whispered.

  “Only that he was planning to try to persuade Kris to take the morning off. Skiing, I presume, after last night’s snow.”

  “She probably would do it,” Jillian said.

  If Kris had any inkling of Laurie Beth’s existence, she never would’ve given Tucker the time of day. Now what?

  “She didn’t answer her phone. They sometimes come back here together,” Nia said. “You have to stop that from happening.”

  “Obviously.” Jillian exhaled. “Even my dad can’t keep Laurie Beth chatting forever.”

  The first step was to verify that Kris was not at the shop. She could have simply not opened that morning, or she might have called Lindy in for a few hours. Lindy might know her plans for returning. Even if Jillian didn’t find Kris now, there could be time to head her off before she and Tucker turned up at the Inn.

  Waking up early and working in her bathrobe seemed like half a day ago. Uncle Patrick in the dining room seemed like a dream. It was barely time for most of the shops on Main Street to be opening for the day. Jillian bustled up the two blocks of Double Jack, back to Main Street, and over to Ore the Mountain. The inside lights were on, and the door was unlocked.

  Jillian tugged the door open. “Kris?”

  She crossed the empty shop, moving toward the counter and called again. “Kris?”

  This time the door from the kitchen swung open. “I’m here.”

  Kris looked a wreck. Blanched. Tear-streaked. Sniffly.

  “What happened?”

  “Not a great morning.” Kris shuffled into the table area.

  “Tucker?”

  “We had our first fight. I don’t know what got into me, Jillian. What universe have I been living in?”

  “Where’s Tucker now?”

  “I don’t know. And I don’t know if I’m supposed to care.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY–FOUR

  Jillian put both hands up to her cheeks. “There’s no right or wrong about what you’re supposed to feel. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  Kris gestured toward a table before grabbing a stack of paper napkins. Jillian wished she had something gentler to offer her friend’s nose.

  “Hidden Run. That’s what happened.” Kris wiped her nose and sat in a straight-backed chair. “I failed at the mission.”

  “You don’t mean he wanted to take you to ski Hidden Run today.”

  Kris shrugged. “I think that’s what he was getting at asking. He came by early when he knew I would be mixing ice cream. Once he started dropping hints, I tried to head it off by once again saying how dangerous it is up there even for the best skiers.”

  “And you argued about that?”

  “He was insulted that I doubted his ability.” Kris blew out breath. “Then he was insulted on my behalf that I doubted my own ability. Then he accused me of not believing that he’d done his homework, that he knew exactly what he was doing, and whatever the risks were, they were worth it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The reward of the thrill. You only live once, and you can’t be afraid to live life to the fullest. You have to make the most of the opportunity in front of you. It was one cliché after another. The worst was when he said he was disappointed I was satisfied to live a small life in a small place when I could be so much bigger.”

  “Oh Kris.” That was just mean. What got into Tucker? “Do you think he went anyway?”

  “Who knows? If not today, he’ll do it soon. I couldn’t talk him out of it, but I wouldn’t go with him either. But he might have just gone back to the Inn to sulk.”

  Jillian drew a long breath. “Kris, I have to tell you something.”

  Kris leaned forward. “What is it?”

  “Tucker is not at the Inn. But his fiancée is.”

  “Tucker is engaged?” Kris threw a wadded napkin on the table. “Well. What do you know?”

  “I’m sorry, Krissy.”

  “It’s not your fault, Jills. You’re not the one who withheld a rather significant fact. Not that I ever asked that specific question.”

  “It doesn’t seem like he gave you any reason to think you should.”

  Kris shook her head, her face reddening.

  “Are you all right?” Jillian asked. “Should I get you some water or something?”

  “It’s not my finest moment, but I’ll be all right.” Kris blew her nose into a fresh napkin. “I’ve been thinking ever since we quarreled, and I realize I was just someone Tucker was having fun being reckless with, and he almost caused me to be reckless. The night skiing. Closing the shop when I don’t usually do that. Even looking down my nose at you because you don’t ski—I’m sorry about that.”

  “It’s all right.” It wasn’t when it happened, but it was now.

  “All those gifts. Giving into the moment. Not asking enough questions—or the right questions. What was I thinking?”

  “None of that justifies being madcap with your feelings by not telling you about Laurie Beth.”

  Kris peered at Jillian. “You know her name?”

  Jillian swallowed hard. “I met her at the Inn. Nia says you sometimes drop in with Tucker.”

  “And she didn’t want me to just show up without a clue.”

  “No.”

  “Well, you can all rest easy on that matter.” Kris took another napkin from her stack and rubbed the table with it. “What’s she like?”

  “Don’t do this to yourself, Kris.”

  Kris raised both hands, palms out. “You’re right.”

  “My dad’s with Laurie Beth now,” Jillian said. “Tucker was shutting her out too. She didn’t even know he was here. She tracked him down by being stubborn with his assistant, who seems to be the only person he’s been in contact with.”

  “I’m not used to arguing with people, Jills.”

  “I know.” Banter was one thing. A true quarrel was another. “Tucker has a life in Missouri and someone who cares for him enough to come looking for him. So why is he being so rash with his own life and people who care about him?”

  “Laurie Beth showing up won’t change any of that,” Kris said. “I may not know Tucker as well as I thought I did, but I do know that.”

  “Maybe she will. Maybe there’s a side of him you don’t know, and a side of him she doesn’t know.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “She doesn’t ski, at least not at the level he does, like you do. They seem to have an understanding that he doesn’t have to go through the motions of taking her along on his trips because she would only drag him down. But you get the skiing.”

  “And she gets everything else? Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know what she gets,” Jillian said. “I just met her for a few minutes. I shook her hand. I didn’t even sit down. But she’s here now and could fill in some gaps. The two of you know Tucker better than anyone else.”

  “You want me to meet the woman Tucker is engaged to?”

  “Are you ready to let him break his neck on Hidden Run?”

  They locked eyes.

  The jangle of Jillian’s phone startled them both.

  “It’s a Missouri area code,” Jillian
said.

  “St. Louis?”

  “Or close by.” Jillian accepted the call and put it on speaker for Kris to hear as well. “This is Jillian.”

  “This is Jackson.” The old man’s voice wobbled. “I understand you’re looking for me.”

  “Yes, that’s right. Thank you for calling.”

  “The message said it had something to do with Tucker. That’s the magic word.”

  “Is it?”

  “Anything for Mattie’s grandson.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” Jillian’s eyes still gripped Kris’s. “I only met Tucker recently, but everyone here likes him.”

  “Mattie was always so proud of him.”

  “I understand you and Matthew were lifelong friends.”

  “To the very end—though he was one lock I could never quite pick.”

  “How so?”

  “What does it matter now? A couple of old men with a long-ago quarrel about a locked door and a brick wall.”

  “It might matter to Tucker.”

  “Then he should ask me about it, I suppose.”

  Jillian’s stomach sank.

  “This will sound odd,” Jillian said, “but do you mind my asking what Matthew’s parents were like?”

  Jackson scoffed. “Judd was a cold fish to anyone but Alyce. Nowadays someone like her would have a lifetime of therapy, but Judd wouldn’t allow that kind of help. When we were young, I had the idea Mattie would leave Maple Turn, but after his mother got that way, well, he was the only child, you see.”

  “I do see. I’m an only child. Did something happen to make her… get that way?”

  “Must have. It’s the only thing that would have kept Mattie in town. But Mattie kept that locked away too. Bricked it off just like he did that back wall. Wouldn’t tell me about either one.”

  “I see.”

  “I don’t know what Tucker is doing out in Colorado. Tell him to come see me when he gets home.”

  “Yes, sir, I will.”

  Jackson hung up.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–FIVE

  Maple Turn, Missouri, 1957

  It’s still early.” Jane’s eyebrows lifted and her lips twisted.

  Matthew raised an arm to move her silky brown hair off her shoulder. At the library all day she wore it tied back with a ribbon, but she let it hang loose for him in the evenings. The porch light outside her small apartment behind a garage cast a beatific yellow glow across her face. He said nothing.