“What do you suppose prompted your grandparents to do the remodel?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to be pretty happy with all the extra space. They claim it’s a good investment. The truth is, they like having me nearby. Now that they see us back together, they might be worried I’ll be moving out.”
“So they remodeled as an incentive to keep you here?”
“Maybe,” I said. “What do you think?”
“You might be right. Your place is nicer than my apartment, now. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to stay.”
“It’s not just that. I feel like they need me. They’ve done so much for me, I want to be here for them as long as I can.”
Nick reached for my hand. “Aimee, I want you to be here for me, too, for as long as you can. You must know how much I want you back in my life.”
“And I want you in mine.” I took a breath and said what was on my mind. “You know, there’s plenty of room here, if you don’t mind nodding off to the howling of coyotes and waking up to the gobbling of turkeys.”
“I like the sound of that.” He draped an arm around my shoulders and we sat back to watch the rest of our Dr. Who episode. When it ended, Nick turned off the TV. “Do you think any of the doctors at TMC has a TARDIS I could borrow?”
I laughed. “Since Dr. Who doesn’t work there, probably not. Why?”
“A vehicle that moves around in time and space looks like more fun than the planes in Buck’s fleet.” Nick rubbed his knuckles along my cheek. “I wouldn’t mind going back in time.”
“Why go back? Wouldn’t the future be more interesting?”
“It might, but first, I’d like to go back and redo that bungled night in Paris. With a few minor changes in how it unfolded, we wouldn’t have lost six months together.”
“Not a good idea. I wouldn’t want to change anything that’s happened between us. It turns out I had a lot to learn.”
“About Rella and me?”
“No. About myself.”
“Care to explain?”
“I stood up and took his hand. “I’d rather show you.”
“What about your knee?”
“It’s feeling much better.”
* * *
Photo courtesy of Lowell Martinson
Sharon St. George had the good fortune to spend an idyllic childhood in a small Northern California town, riding horseback and camping with her family in the nearby mountains. One of her favorite pastimes was reading fiction, and a trip to the library was always an occasion of great joy. She’s traded horses for llamas, but she still treks to the high mountain lakes near her home—always with a mystery novel in her backpack.
Sharon’s writing credits include three plays, several years writing advertising copy, a book on NASA’s space food project, and feature stories too numerous to count. She holds dual degrees in English and Theatre Arts, and occasionally acts in, or directs, one of her local community theater productions. Beach of Ethics is her third novel and the third book in the Aimee Machado mystery series, which began with Due for Discard and continued with Checked Out. Book 4, Spine Damage, will be released in 2017.
Sharon is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and she serves as program director for Writers Forum, a nonprofit organization for writers in Northern California.
For more information, go to www.sharonstgeorge.com.
Breach of Ethics Page 31