The Spring at Moss Hill

by Carla Neggers

  A muscle tightened visibly in Justin’s jaw. He turned to Russ. “You got this?”

  Russ nodded. “No problem.”

  The second-eldest Sloan about-faced and went back inside.

  Chris Sloan crossed his arms on his chest, not looking as combative as he had fifteen seconds ago. “It’s a good job in Syracuse?”

  “Yeah,” Travis said. “It’s great.”

  “Justin gave you a decent recommendation. It’s more than I’d have done. We know you’re responsible for these rumors. Time to let go of the past, Travis.”

  Chris didn’t wait for Travis to respond and followed his brother back into the building.

  Travis blew out a breath. “Obviously coming here wasn’t one of my better ideas. Man. But Chris is right. I got caught up in the past. Maybe I said a few things I shouldn’t have, but nothing really bad. I didn’t mean to get anyone worked up. I worked hard on this place and wanted to see it, and I convinced myself the only way was to just show up.” He turned to Russ. “I’m not a disgruntled former employee looking for trouble—I’m sorry if it looked that way.”

  “But you came with an ax to grind,” Russ said, not backing off.

  “The past crawled up and bit me. I thought I could handle it. Just being back here...” Travis grimaced, sighed. “I screwed up a lot of things when I was working for the Sloans. I’m doing fine now. Great new job, spending more time with my kids, being their dad—stepping up. I’ve made a few friends in Syracuse. It’s a fresh start.” He gave a halfhearted grin. “Nothing like getting your ass kicked by a Sloan to help you see the error of your ways.”

  Russ didn’t smile back at him. “You’re not from Knights Bridge. Your uncle’s funeral wasn’t in town.”

  “That’s right. Coming here was deliberate. I guess I wanted to feel like I could be one of them, you know? A Sloan, a Flanagan. I saw I couldn’t. I got it in my head that people in Knights Bridge don’t let you in if you weren’t born here.”

  “It became a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Kylie said, her day with him in Boston, with all his relentless negativity, making more sense to her.

  Travis nodded. “I had a chip on my shoulder, and I had problems that had nothing to do with anyone but me. Looking back, I’m surprised the Sloans gave me as many chances as they did. I got into some therapy—it was part of the deal if I wanted to see more of my kids. Being self-destructive and aggressive isn’t healthy. I had these big plans...dreams...” Travis shrugged his big shoulders. “I make a good living, and I get up every day with the intention of doing the right thing, being a better man. It’s enough. Being angry at the world, blaming everyone else for what I didn’t have—it was no way to live.”

  “Hold that thought,” Russ said. “You slipped up this week. You used the class today to get inside Moss Hill because you assumed Mark would never let you in if you knocked on his door and asked him.”

  “Not assumed,” Travis said. “Knew.”

  “Based on your own preconceived notions about how you’re regarded here.”

  “Yeah. My point on my mind-set.” Travis glanced toward the front entrance to the main building, where several people who’d come out for a bit of fresh air were going in again. “I’m glad I got to work on this place. It came out great.” He bit down on his lower lip and turned to Kylie. “I’m really sorry. I let myself get steamrolled by the past. I’m glad you moved in here, and you’re not alone in that house out past the bridge.”

  “I am, too,” she said.

  Russ’s gaze hadn’t softened. “Why did you bring up Morwenna Mills?”

  “She told you that? I was being a jerk. Plain and simple. I cop to it.” Travis shoved his hands into the pockets of his frayed denim jacket. “I knew you ditched me in Boston, Kylie. I was replaying that tape in my head. It was stupid. I’m sorry. Your secret is safe with me. It always has been.”

  She smiled. “No harm, no foul.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  He apologized again and left, heading across the parking lot to his truck. He ducked into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot, turning right, back toward town.

  Russ watched until the truck was out of sight. Then he turned to Kylie. “You actually went out with that guy?”

  “He had Red Sox tickets.”

  “That’s all it takes, huh?”

  “I came to my senses by the third inning and ditched him in the seventh.”

  “Were the Red Sox winning?”

  “Tied.”

  “Tied and you left in the seventh? That bad a date?”

  “It wasn’t really a date. We just went to a ballgame together.”

  “What constitutes a date in your mind?”

  She felt a surge of heat as she remembered last night. “A candlelit dinner. A movie. Splitting a bottle of wine at a Paris cafe, although I did that with this French sculptor who was also a mistake.”

  “We’ve had a candlelit dinner and split a bottle of wine. Next I’ll have to take you to a Red Sox game and then Paris. I won’t be a mistake.”

  “There were no candles at dinner last night,” she said, teasing him.

  “In my head there were.” He leaned in close to her. “And there were other things that made up for candles.”

  “Have you ever dated the wrong woman?”

  He laughed, slipping an arm around her. “Yes, ma’am. But it’s a good thing we’ve kissed a few frogs that have turned out to be real frogs, or we wouldn’t be here now. I bet you can draw a mean frog. Think the Badgers need to meet a frog family?”

  Kylie smiled, finally relaxing. “It could be fun.”

  * * *

  Daphne’s class had restarted when Kylie returned to the Moss Hill lobby with Russ. Not wanting to interrupt, they joined Justin and Christopher Sloan and Mark Flanagan at the refreshment tables. Kylie tried again with coffee and poured herself a fresh cup. Justin and Chris had filled Mark in on Travis’s visit, “a dumb-ass move,” as Justin put it, helping himself to a molasses cookie, one of three different kinds of cookies his sister-in-law had made for the occasion.

  Brandon Sloan tiptoed out of the meeting room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He shuddered as he approached the refreshment tables. “Once Daphne mentioned corsets, I was out of there,” he said. He helped himself to a chocolate-chip cookie. “Thank God there was a problem with her microphone, and I could seize the moment and sneak out unnoticed.”

  No way had his departure gone unnoticed, Kylie thought, amused.

  “Ruby would kill me if I did something like that,” Christopher said.

  His two older brothers grinned. “Yeah, she would,” Brandon said.

  Justin narrowed his eyes on his youngest brother. “You need to tell her, Chris.”

  Chris heaved a sigh, staring at a clump of red grapes he’d just picked up. “I know. I’m not doing her any favors. I didn’t want to be a distraction this week.” He grimaced. “Hell.”

  “Relax,” Brandon said. “Everyone will be relieved when you two stop dancing around each other and call it a day. It’s like when Maggie and I were separated. People knew we were supposed to be together before we did. With you and Ruby, it’s the opposite.”

  Justin grinned at his youngest brother. “Don’t you like your big brothers giving you advice?”

  “I’d rather run ten miles bare-assed in a cold rain,” Chris muttered. “Sorry, Kylie.”

  “That’s okay. I can sympathize.”

  “Do you have brothers?” he asked her.

  “A younger sister.”

  “What about you, Russ?” Justin asked. “Any siblings?”

  “An older brother. He’s only eighteen months older, though.”

  “It counts,” Chris said. “Is he full of advice for you?”

 
“Other way around.”

  Justin and Brandon pounced on that one—the younger brother as the pest instead of the picked-on. After a few minutes, Mark rolled his eyes at Russ. “All we need now are Eric, Adam and Heather Sloan, and you could see what it’s like around here. I grew up with these guys. Where does your sister live, Kylie? Around here?”

  “Boston. She’s in veterinary school at Tufts. Her name’s Lila.”

  “A vet? No kidding.”

  “My father’s a vet,” she added. “My mother runs a dog training and grooming business.”

  She didn’t remember ever saying so much about herself—not that she’d had many opportunities, given her solitary ways.

  When the morning session ended for a short lunch break, Daphne headed straight for Russ. “Did I have an actual stalker?” she asked him in a loud whisper.

  “No, Daphne,” Russ said. “You didn’t have a stalker.”

  “I saw you big guys go all tough and mean and wondered. Was he after you, Kylie? Of course I don’t wish such a thing on anyone, but being rescued by Russ and a couple of Sloans can’t be a bad thing.”

  Kylie bit back a smile. “It was just a guy who worked on this place and wanted to see it now that it’s finished. I recognized him.”

  “There was no rescue,” Russ added.

  “Well, it was exciting while it lasted.” Daphne fought a yawn. “I wish I could help myself to wine now, but I’d better wait until after the master class this afternoon or who knows what I’ll say that will get me into trouble. Olivia and Dylan promised to make me a French martini tonight. I should have Marty send them his recipe. This first session went well, I think, but I’m drained. A potential stalker, though. That will be enough to reenergize me.”

  Ava and Ruby eased in to either side of Daphne, whisking her off to introduce her to more of their friends and professors.

  Russ stood close to Kylie, his own cup of coffee in hand. “My guess is Daphne’s giving this her all because she’s never doing it again. How would Morwenna handle a public appearance?”

  “She’d channel Daphne Stewart. What a pro.”

  “That she is. I doubt anyone else has a clue what this is taking out of her. What would you do if Morwenna had a stalker?”

  “Call in Sherlock Badger,” Kylie said lightly. “He’s not in every book. He only visits Middle Branch once in a while. He’d be available.”

  “Is Middle Branch named after the Middle Branch of the Swift River?”

  She tried to hide her surprise. “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

  “I’ve been reading that book on Quabbin in my apartment.”

  And he’d really read it, she thought. The damming of the Swift River had allowed the valley to flood, creating the reservoir and forever changing Knights Bridge.

  Daphne wandered back, iced-tea in hand. She was visibly more subdued. “You’re an artist,” she said to Kylie. “You must have ways you protect your work. Even if you’re just starting out—maybe especially if you’re just starting out—you have to keep your focus where it belongs.”

  “It’s easy to get distracted,” Kylie said, neutral.

  “Mmm.” Daphne eyed her as if she suspected she’d hit a nerve. “Well. I suspect you and I aren’t that different. I love what I do as much as I did when I was hiding in the library attic. I thought I’d love teaching, but I don’t. Other people are better suited than I am. I’ll get through the afternoon class—it’s more hands-on, more about what I do day to day now versus the past. But I can share my knowledge and experience in other ways. I’m glad I did this today, but I truly don’t need to do it again. I put my dear Colt Russell through his paces because I couldn’t face my own ambivalence.”

  Kylie smiled. Russ ignored her.

  Daphne grinned, a mischievous glint in her deep green eyes. “Don’t you think he looks like a Colt? He told you about his brother, Marty? I called him Colt Martin and almost got a martini in my face. They’re a tough pair. You wouldn’t think Marty’s tough because he’s such a dreamer and a nice guy, but he is. Not that Russ isn’t nice. But you know what I mean.”

  “Quit before you dig your hole any deeper,” Russ said.

  She laughed. “I always take your advice.”

  Kylie doubted that was true. Ava and Ruby joined them as the crowd dwindled. “Where’s your firefighter?” Daphne asked.

  “He left with his brothers,” Ruby said.

  “Good,” her twin sister muttered.

  “I remember their father as a young man,” Daphne said. “He was quite the stud, too. It’s so easy to get caught up in love and romance and put aside our own plans for the future. I almost quit the business and moved to Copenhagen with my third husband. Lovely city, but can you imagine?”

  Kylie had no idea if that was a true story and clearly neither did Ava and Ruby, but Daphne seemed satisfied when Ruby smiled. As the twin sisters chatted with Daphne, Kylie could see that Ruby especially had stars in her eyes about Hollywood.

  “I can see why you two want to start a children’s theater here,” Daphne said. “It’s a great location.”

  “It has potential,” Ava said. “But, I’m not sure we’re ready.”

  “Knights Bridge or you and Ruby?”

  “All of the above.”

  Ruby nodded. “I get excited thinking about the possibilities, but when I bump up against reality, my stomach twists right into knots. My ambivalence about the theater didn’t help me see what was going on between Chris and me. I’m sorry so much of that played out in public. I’ve been a little high-strung lately, I know.”

  Daphne waved a hand. “I’ve been married three times. You don’t have to explain.”

  Ava kept her gaze on Kylie. “I think Ruby and I pushed Daphne to do this. Come to Knights Bridge again, teach a class, talk to us about a children’s theater.”

  Daphne cleared her throat pointedly. “No one pushes me into anything.”

  “But this isn’t your thing, is it?” Ava asked. “Russ, you’re skeptical, too, aren’t you? About this theater?”

  “I don’t know enough about getting a community children’s theater up and running to be skeptical,” he said.

  “I don’t either,” Daphne said. “Ava and Ruby probably know more than I do—”

  “No,” they said simultaneously and emphatically.

  Ava recovered first. “We have a lot to learn and experience before we can pull off our vision for a theater here.”

  “I thought I wanted to come back to Knights Bridge after I get my master’s,” Ruby said. “Now... I don’t know.”

  “You need your time in the bright lights and big city,” Daphne said cheerfully. “I knew I didn’t belong in Knights Bridge forty years ago.”

  Kylie wondered what Russ’s life was like in Southern California. Nothing like the one he was witnessing now, in Knights Bridge.

  “Well.” Daphne clapped her hands together. “No point dwelling on this. Today is a good day, and soon it will be done. People enjoyed my talk this morning. Now, some food then on to the afternoon session.” She smiled at Kylie. “And I did bring Russ Colton to town. I think he fits in, myself. Rugged, tough, good with the locals. The Magnum, PI shirt doesn’t quite fit, but Marty will find an alternative.”

  “That’s what scares me,” Russ said.

  Daphne winked at him. “We’re not fooled, Russ. Nothing scares you.”

  Kylie laughed, and Ava and even Ruby seemed to relax. Daphne made plans to ride back to Carriage Hill with Ava. “I’ll go with you,” Ruby said. “Chris was going to join us for dinner, but he had to go to the station and canceled. I think I’m going to buy a clue.”

  “I’ve always preferred the quick-but-painful lopping off of a relationship to the slow, miserable bleed,” Daphne said. “Be sure to come to dinner tonigh
t, Ruby. I’ll introduce you to the joys of a French martini.”

  Twenty-Two

  Russ wasn’t in Knights Bridge to mess up Kylie’s life.

  It was his singular thought as he arrived at the Farm at Carriage Hill.

  She’d told him she would drive herself to dinner. He suspected she wanted to give herself a chance to change her mind. She had a thousand reasons to stay home, including her stubborn, ill-fated attraction to a certain private investigator—that being him—but the truth was, she wanted to go. He’d seen it in her eyes when she’d ducked up to her apartment.

  Maybe her life could use a little messing up.

  Dylan welcomed Russ into the house and offered him a beer. The dining room was set for dinner. Maggie and Brandon Sloan were spending the evening with their sons, but the Flanagans and Justin Sloan and his fiancée, Samantha Bennett, were gathered in the living room. A low fire in the center-chimney fireplace was taking the chill out of the evening air.

  Daphne had changed into a simple black dress, with gaudy earrings that suited her over-the-top personality—or at least the over-the-top personality she liked to embrace as her own. She was seated by the fire, nursing a drink. “Marty better watch out,” she said as Russ stood next to her. “Dylan makes a damn good French martini, too.”

  Ava and Ruby, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire, each had martinis. Ruby dove right into hers, but Ava discreetly set hers aside.

  Daphne, of course, noticed. “We’ll try again when you visit me in Hollywood, dear,” she said. “Russ’s brother is better at making drinks than I am, but I’ll bet you’ll like my version of a French martini when we’re sitting out by my pool in the Southern California sun. I’ve been freezing to death since the sun went down.”

  The twin sisters both smiled, more because of Daphne’s invitation to visit than the prospect of trying another of her martini concoctions.

  Kylie entered the living room. Russ hadn’t heard her come in. Olivia greeted her warmly. “I hope I look better than the last time you saw me,” Olivia said with a laugh. “I decided not to push myself today, with our dinner tonight, but I’m sorry I missed Daphne’s class.”