“Where’s your son now, Mildred?”
She pointed at the house. “In there.”
Kristin’s mind raced. Frogs had been smashed? Had the photographs been inside one of Anna Mae’s favorite knickknacks? A few of them had been large enough, but how would she cut through the hollow figurines without ruining— Then she remembered the large frog bank on Anna Mae’s dresser. Banks already had an opening.
With a comforting squeeze to Mildred’s arm, Kristin tempered her excitement and moved to the walk beside the front door to meet Chad and Larry. She wanted to talk to them out of Mildred’s earshot.
Chad reached her first. “What are you doing here?”
“Long story,” she replied. “I’ll explain later.”
He seemed to accept her answer because he nodded toward the U-Haul and changed the subject. “Are they both in the truck?”
“No, Will’s inside.”
Chad turned to Larry. “Go ahead and get started with Mr. Arnett. I’ll talk to his mother and be right in.”
“Sure. See you in there.”
When Larry was gone, Chad glanced toward the U-Haul again. “What’s her story today?”
“She thinks Anna Mae smashed the figurines because her things were taken from the house. She also believes her cousin started the fire at my shop for the same reason. Which is why Mildred brought back the pieces she took.”
“Busy ghost,” Chad said dryly.
“Chad, I came over here because there’s a chance the snapshots Anna Mae wrote about in her journals are inside something Mildred returned. That is, if they weren’t in the frogs that were smashed. If you search the house—really search it from top to bottom—”
He stared blankly. “Do you know how much manpower that would take? Talk about your needles in haystacks. We’d be looking for a three or four-inch square of paper in a three-story house that’s cluttered to the rafters. We’re a small department, Kristin, and we’re busy. Besides the day-to-day stuff and these nuisance calls, I’m up to my ears in the drug case.”
“This isn’t a nuisance call,” she said insistently. “What if the person who smashed the frogs really was involved in Anna Mae’s death? You have to believe that something’s going on now. Anyone looking for valuables to sell for drugs wouldn’t give frog figurines a second look, much less break them for sport.”
Chad assessed her for several long moments, indecision churning through his green eyes. Finally, he said, “Did you get the message I left on your answering machine?”
Biting back the urge to ask what that had to do with the break-in, Kristin braced herself for an argument. “Yes,” she replied calmly, “but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Chad’s easy grin took her by surprise. “It’s not what you think. I wanted to ask Mary Alice, but she’ll be out of town Tuesday night. Asking a woman I’ve dated could mess things up with her.”
The weight on her shoulders shifted a little. “You and Mary Alice—?”
“—got along very well last night. I know it’s early, and I shouldn’t be thinking this way, but…I really like her. I don’t want to screw this up by asking someone else to the dinner, and I don’t want to go alone.”
Kristin’s relief was only surpassed by the happiness she felt for him. Sometimes wishes did come true. “Oh, Chad that’s wonderful.”
“So—” he said, getting back to his invitation, “—we’d be going to dinner as friends. Just friends. Only friends. Nothing but friends.”
Still, Kristin hesitated, Zach’s tenderness and warmth over the past day fueling her reluctance.
“Okay,” Chad said, “I’ll put it another way. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” He gestured at Anna Mae’s home. “I’ll have Larry look around today, and I’ll finish on Friday when I’m off. I’ll give you the whole day—if you’ll give me a few hours on Tuesday night.”
She couldn’t say no. The search was too important. “Chad, I could help, too,” she blurted. “I saw a bank in her bedroom that was large enough—”
“Sorry. But if we do find something, there could be chain-of-evidence problems if I allowed you inside a crime scene.”
Crime scene? He was no longer dubbing it a nuisance call? “You think there’s something funny going on, now, too, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said through a sigh. “I do. Dammit.”
On Monday morning, as Kristin prepared to leave for Jeremy Sherwood’s office in Lancaster, she mulled over the conversation she’d had with Chad last night. He’d found the bank Kristin mentioned smashed in the basement, along with the chalky remains of four other figurines. There was no sign of the photos, but the broken pieces would be dusted for fingerprints. Chad admitted, too, that the burglar had to have known Anna Mae to recognize the frogs as special possessions.
Slinging her white straw bag over her shoulder, she put on her second earring and headed for the door. When she opened it, Zach was just coming up the walk. She was stunned to see him looking so worn-out, dark smudges under his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she said, immediately concerned.
“I’m starving,” he said through a broad grin. “Want to grab lunch somewhere?”
Having lunch with him would be wonderful, but… “Have you slept since you brought me home yesterday?”
“I got a few hours.”
“But not many.” From the looks of him, he’d worked through the night. Was he that eager to return home? He’d obviously showered and shaved, and instead of his work clothes, he wore a soft yellow polo shirt with his jeans. How a man could look tired and compellingly vital at the same time defied all logic.
He scanned her white tank top and mint green jacket and slacks. “I see you’re ready. Where are we eating?”
Feeling a warm glow, Kristin locked the door behind her and headed for her van. “I don’t know about you, but I’m having lunch in Lancaster. My architect has a few floor plans to show me.”
“Lancaster works for me,” he said, falling into step beside her. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind looking at the plans. From a contractor’s standpoint, I might be able to suggest a few things this guy didn’t think of.”
Kristin stared quizzically as he opened the passenger-side door of the van for her. He wasn’t at all surprised that she was leaving for Lancaster, and his timing was perfect. Was this a spur of the moment invitation? Or had Zach remembered that she was seeing Jeremy this afternoon, and for some reason, wanted to go along? Of course, the next question she asked herself was, why?
Tired of trying to figure him out, Kristin climbed into the van, then gave him the same answer he’d given her when she’d offered to help with Etta’s back porch. She handed him the keys. “Suit yourself.”
The meeting with Jeremy was a disaster, and it was all Zach’s fault. Kristin assessed his careless expression as they drove out of the lot at Sherwood Designs, and Zach turned onto Route 30.
“Was that necessary?” she asked.
Zach sent her an innocent look. “I think so. If we don’t leave the parking lot, we’ll never get to the restaurant, and I’m still hungry.”
“Don’t joke about this. The things you said to Jeremy were inexcusable.”
Zach kept scanning the street, presumably for eateries. “No, the floor plans he showed you were inexcusable.”
“There was nothing wrong with any of them. I didn’t ask him for the Taj Mahal, I asked for a simple shop with three bays and some charm, and he did that.”
“I just don’t think you should rush into anything.”
“I’m not planning to, but I have to start rebuilding soon to be open for Christmas.” Kristin paused to calm herself. “I need some order in my life. I’m moving ahead as soon as possible.”
“Whatever,” he said, shrugging, but there was more than a trace of disapproval in his tone. “Now where would you like to eat?”
They chose a Pennsylvania-Dutch style family restaurant in nearby Smoketown, and sampled everything that
was offered at the long table they shared with tourists from Ohio. It was down-home cooking with a variety of meats and noodle dishes, as well as regional favorites like chowchow and pepper cabbage. By the time their waitress set the shoofly and Dutch apple pies on the table and took orders for ice cream, neither of them had room for dessert.
Zach groaned through a chuckle as he squeezed behind the steering wheel. “Why did you let me eat so much?”
“A man needs fuel to work.”
“This man could’ve done with a lot less of it.” He started the engine. “Now what do you want to do?”
Kristin snapped on her seat belt, then studied him in surprise. “You’re not ready to go home?”
Zach pulled out of the parking lot. “Nah. I think we should take a tour. The city’s changed since I was here last.” Two black Amish buggies passed by in the opposite lane, the horses clopping easily along the road. He grinned and recanted. “Well, maybe it hasn’t changed that much.”
Kristin leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes. “I’m too full to tour. I need a nap.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Fair’s fair. I gave you a tour when you were in Nags Head.”
Her eyes flew open and she straightened. “You did not. I took myself on a tour, such as it was. All I saw was sand and water.”
“Did you like it?”
“Yes, very much. Just not as much as I like it here.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “It’s beautiful. And at first, I was really swept away by all of it. Then I got back and realized that I’d missed seeing green trees and wheat fields.” She smiled. “And Amish buggies. You know the old saying, ‘It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there?’ Well that about sums it up. This is where I belong. This is home.” She glanced at him. “You know?”
Zach nodded somberly and drove.
They ended up touring anyway. They spent hours strolling through an open-air flea market where Kristin bought several woven baskets and a colorful Amish quilt. Then they stopped at a fruit stand for fresh raspberries. The tour ended at the wax museum in Lancaster.
It was nearly dark when they entered Wisdom’s town limits, the mood inside the van, satisfied and contented, the summer air through the open windows laced with the smells of new things growing.
When Zach pulled into Kristin’s driveway, shut off the engine and leaned over to kiss her deeply, it was expected, anticipated…and welcomed. The lure and tingle of attraction had been with them all day, running just below the surface.
Still, when their lips parted and he remained near, she had to ask why.
Zach’s gaze drifted over her features. “Because you’re beautiful and I’ve wanted to do that all day.”
“Even at Jeremy’s office?” she said through a quiet smile.
Zach unfastened his seat belt. “Especially at Jeremy’s office.”
The second kiss was even more thrilling than the first. The third had him releasing her seat belt, too, and pulling her as close to him as the console between the bucket seats would allow.
Everything in Kristin alternately sang and scolded, but the music won out. The wonderful day they’d spent together won out. His talented hands and lips won out.
They were both gasping for breath when Zach finally tore his mouth from hers and rasped, “The back of the van, or your bed?”
“My bed,” she said through husky laughter, loving him, and feeling the wonder of it balloon inside of her. “Mrs. Franz would be scandalized if she found us groping each other in the driveway.”
“No, she wouldn’t,” he said, kissing her neck, then moving lower to rub his nose and lips over her breasts above her tank top. “She’d be glad you were having a good time.”
She smiled, cupping the back of his head. “Am I going to have a good time?”
He worked his way back up, raining kisses over her throat and chin. “Oh, yeah,” he murmured, finding her lips again. “We both are.”
How they got inside the front door without tripping and falling over each other was a minor miracle. How they managed to reach even the third step on the way to her second floor bedroom before they collapsed on the stairs was a major feat.
The kissing and touching reached new heights. Kristin kicked out of her sandals, wiggled her arms through the sleeves while Zach peeled off her jacket.
The phone rang.
His fevered whisper shivered through her as the phone rang again and he nuzzled her ear and hairline. “Let it ring.”
She would’ve laughed if she hadn’t been so aware of his hands unfastening the belt on her slacks. She had no intention of answering the phone. In fact, it was amazing that either of them had heard it with all the heavy breathing that was going on.
Zach yanked her belt from the loops and cast it aside, then moved his hands to the button on her waistband as the phone kept ringing.
The answering machine clicked on. A loud, hearty male voice spilled from the living room into the entryway.
“Kristin, it’s Chad. Pick up if you’re there.”
Zach kissed her harder, deeper, popped the button through the buttonhole.
“Not there?” the disembodied voice said after a short pause. “Okay. I just wanted to tell you that I’ll pick you up around seven-fifteen tomorrow night. I forgot to mention the time yesterday. Dinner’s at eight at the Horseheads Inn, but retired Chief Nance is coming with his wife, and I know you like her. That’ll give you and Emily a chance to visit before we eat.” He finished with a smile in his voice. “I guess that’s all. See you soon.”
The click of the machine shutting off was almost deafening.
Zach levered himself off of Kristin with a hand on the step above her head, then backed away and released a blast of air. He didn’t mince words. “You’re having dinner with Chad?”
Kristin sat up, disturbed by the sudden coldness in the air. “It’s not a real date. I’m only going with him because Mary Alice can’t make it, and he doesn’t want to mess things up with her by asking another woman.”
“You’re not ‘another woman’?”
“I’m a friend.”
The chill in Zach’s gray eyes went right through her. “Why can’t he go alone?”
“It’s the annual police dinner, and he’s speaking,” Kristin replied, as if that explained everything. “Zach, it’s only a dinner.”
Though he nodded, a nerve continued to pulse at his jaw. “I just didn’t expect you to see anyone else while I was still in town.”
Kristin stilled for a very long moment as his words caromed around in her head. Then a feeling of hurt and anger erupted inside of her, along with a sickening feeling of being used. She stood, her voice starting out low and gaining momentum as she set him straight.
“You didn’t expect me to see anyone else while you were here? Why do you even care? In less than a week, you’ll be gone, and we’ll both go on with our lives as before.” She met his cold stare with one of her own. “Or were you planning to breeze into town to bed me every so often, then be on your way again? We don’t have a monogamous relationship, Zach. We don’t have any relationship at all. Who I see is my own business.”
Zach’s anger had kept pace with hers while she spoke. “Know what? You’re absolutely right. Who you see is your own business. How stupid of me not to remember that.” He strode to the door, throwing it open and stalking out on the porch. “By all means, see whoever you damn please!”
“I plan to!” she shot back.
The only reply she got from him was the gunning of his truck’s engine as he tore out of her driveway.
Kristin slammed the inside door and climbed the stairs to the bathroom, sobs wracking her chest and tears falling. The six-mile drive would give him plenty of time to think about his stupid, asinine, ignorant remarks. But there was no forgiveness for him if he phoned to apologize tonight.
She didn’t know when she’d finally forgiven him for being with Gretchen—for breaking her trust
. Maybe it was on the cruise when he’d told her he hadn’t gone after Chad because he’d made a promise to her. There’d been no specific marking of the event.
But this. This was the end of it. She was through wishing and hoping for a man who didn’t respect her, didn’t value her and didn’t love her. Kristin stepped out of her slacks and stuffed them into the hamper. Etta had been right, she decided, pushing open the glass shower doors and turning on the spray. They’d needed closure. Now they had it.
Chapter 15
K ristin eased away from Larry McIntyre’s chatty wife and returned to her table, tired of mingling. She sipped iced tea while she waited for Chad to finish talking with several out-of-town police officers. There was no shortage of them. The banquet room hummed with after-dinner conversation. Now that the evening was drawing to a close, she was eager to leave. Her cheeks ached from forcing smiles all night and pretending a lightness of heart she didn’t feel. The one bright spot was talking with Emily Nance, who was charming, witty and unpretentious.
Kristin hid her uneasiness as councilman Len Rogers sent her another inebriated grin and shuffled toward her again. Waving, she made a beeline for the powder room. Len had been drinking steadily since he’d wandered into the banquet room from the bar to speak to Chad. Now, for some reason, he seemed to want her company.
It was nice to see Emily lazing on one of the powder room’s mauve chairs, wiggling her toes. Her white pumps lay beside her on the floor.
“Uh-oh,” Emily said, laughing. “Caught in the act.” She motioned to her shoes. “New heels. I should know better. I tried to stick it out, but Hank never shuts up when he comes to these things, and dang it, my feet hurt.” She looked at Kristin’s thin high heels and shook her gray head. “How you young women manage to walk gracefully in those things is beyond me—never mind wearing them for hours.”
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