As for what T ravis said about their getting married, more than anything in the world, Kim wanted to throw her arms around his neck and say yes. But she couldn’ t do that. There were too many problems yet to solve. T ravis was still too connected to his other life, to his bastard of a father . How could they be happy until all that was settled? And his mother was going to need a great deal of help. As much as they all loved Joe, he was a small town man; he’d never be a match for T ravis’s notorious father . Randall Maxwell was known all over the world as a man who held his own against anyone—on a global scale. How could Joe, the owner of a small hardware store, cope with that? Travis would have to st ep in and take care of it all. How long did it take to divorce a superwealthy man who didn’ t want to part with a dime? Years? How could she and T ravis have a life when he was constantly wrapped up in that mess? It seemed that the obstacles around them were insurmountable. Not that she’d give him up. Not ever . But it was a question of time before they’d have their own lives, their own home, their own . . . children. When she st epped outside into the cool evening air , she took a breath. She reminded herself that no matter what the obstructions, they’d have each other and there was light at the end of the tunnel. The thought that she did have a future where she wasn’ t alone—as she’d started to fear—made her smile, and as she did, her mind began to clear . And as she had since she was a child, she began to think about jewelry . In the fading light the leaves on a nearby maple tree looked like moonstones. Or maybe cut quartz. Of course the ones in the shadows were pure garnets. She hadn’ t used garnets in a long time so maybe now was the time to start again. There was a little seating area set back under the trees, and she sat down on a pretty wooden bench and began to draw what she saw in her mind. The stones, even the curve of the leaves reminded her of a woman’ s neck. She could make the gold flow along the skin, then angle up over a collarbone. If she did it right, the necklace could be really sensual. Of course each one would have to be fitted to the wearer , but that would be nice to do. She hated those necklaces that were a stif f, round circle. No one had a perfectly round neck and she thought the jewelry stood out awkwardly . She was so busy with her thoughts and her drawing that she didn’ t see or hear anyone until a man almost tripped over her feet. “I’m sorry ,” he said. “I didn’ t mean to disturb you.”
Kim looked up to see a short, stout, sixtyish man standing to her right and holding a broom. He had on an old pair of jeans and a plaid shirt that looked as though it had been washed hundreds of times. He was smiling at her in a way that reminded her of people at home. “Please go back to what you were doing.” He nodded toward her sketch pad in a way that made her think he was curious. “I like the way the light plays on those maple leaves,” she said. “They are beautiful, aren’ t they?” He put his hands on the top of the broom handle and stared at the leaves. “Are you one of the people staying here?” “I am.” “I don’t mean to be nosy , but is it a family reunion? W e don’t usually have this many guests here.” Kim suppressed a laugh as she thought of the truth of why so many people were there. T ravis had planned to oversee her and Dave. Only Dave had been sent away . “No,” she said. “It’ s just my . . .” She wasn’ t sure what to call T ravis. Her fiancé? But then he hadn’ t officially asked her to marry him, not with a ring (what Kim told the young men who wandered into her store was necessary for a proposal), and she certainly hadn’ t acc epted. “Your young man?” he asked. It was an old-fashioned term that seemed to fit the situation. “Y es, my young man invited some people.” They were silent for a moment, then the man glanced at her sketchbook. “I’ll let you get back to what you were doing, but if you need any help with anything, let me know . Just ask for Red. That’ s what my hair used to be.” He started to walk away . “We have that in common. Actually ,” Kim said, “maybe you can help us find someone.” Halting, he looked back at her . There was something about him that she liked. He had a sweet smile. “I have trouble ke eping all the newcomers straight, but if the person is over forty I can probably help.” She smiled at his use of “newcomers.” It was the same term they used in Edilean. “How about if the person died in 1893?” “Then I probably went to school with him.” Kim laughed. “Dr . Tristan Janes. I assume the town was named after his family?”
“Yes it was,” the man said as he motioned toward one of the empty chairs across from her . He was asking her permission to sit there. “Please,” she said. As he took a seat, he said, “W ill your young man mind that you’re having a tête-à-tête with another man?” “I’m sure he’ll be wild with jealousy , but I’ll be able to calm his beastly spirit.” Red chuckled. “Spoken like a woman in love.” Kim couldn’ t help blushing. “What about Dr . Janes?” “There used to be a library here, but when the mill closed the town pretty much died with it. They moved all the books and papers to the state capital. If they hadn’ t done that you could go to the library and read it all. I’m a poor second best. Anyway ,” he said, “a Mr . Gustav Janes started the town back in 1857 when he opened a mill that ground the flour for everyone in a fifty-mile radius. His only child, T ristan, became a doctor . I read that ol’ Gustav, who couldn’ t read or write, was de eply proud of his son.” “As he should be,” Kim said. “T ristan died young, didn’ t he?” “He did. He was rescuing some miners and the walls collapsed on him. It took them a week to find his body . He was well loved and hundreds of people attended his funeral.” “And I’m sure that number included an ancestor of mine,” Kim said. “It seems that she was carrying his child, who was my—let me get this straight —my great-granduncle.” “I think that makes you an honorary native of Janes Creek.” “Not a newcomer?” “Far from it.” In the distance they heard voices coming toward them, and Red stood up. “I think your young man is returning and I should go.” “The question everyone in my hometown wants to know is whether or not Dr. Janes was married.” “Oh no. I read that he was the town catch, a beautiful young man, but he never married. I’m sure that if he’d lived he would have married your ancestor . Especially if she was half as pretty as you are.” “Thank you,” Kim said as Red started to walk away . “Oh!” she called out. “Do you know where he’ s buried?” “All the Janes family are at the Old Mill. If you go out there, be careful. The place is falling down. T ake companions with you. Big, strong ones.”
“All right, I will,” she said as he disappeared around a corner and out of sight. To the left, on the other side of the dense hedge, came T ravis, frowning as he spoke on his cell phone. But when he saw Kim he smiled and said, “Forester , just do it!” and hung up. He held out his arm to Kim. “Ready for dinner?” “Yes,” she said as they walked toward the main building. Concealed in the bushes and watching them was the older man, Red. He was smiling. “Sir?” said a man in a suit. “What is it?” Red snapped. “You have a call from Hong Kong and Mr . Forester needs—” Red frowned. “My son took care of Forester . I need you to send someone to the state capital. I want to know everything about the Dr . Tristan Janes who died in 1893.” “In the morning I’ll—” Red gave the man a sharp look. “I’ll call the governor .” “You do that,” Red said as he walked away from the hotel. The man picked up the broom and followed Randall Maxwell to the waiting car . The sound of the shower running woke Kim, and as memories came to her , she stretched luxuriously . Last night had been wonderful. At dinner a table had been set up for them on a little glassed-in porch, and T ravis had chosen the meal ahead of time. They’d had three dif ferent wines with their six- course dinner . Outside, the stars sparkled and the moonlight flowed over the soft glow from the candles. By the dessert course they were feeding each other—and it was all Kim could do not to jump on T ravis and rip his clothes of f. “Shall we retire to our rooms?” he asked before dessert was finished. “If you’re ready ,” Kim said in her most demure voice. “I have been . . . ready for the last hour .” He sounded like a man in pain. Kim gave a very unadult giggle.
They managed to bid their server—the same young woman who’d checked Kim in—good night and didn’ t so much as touch each other on the long trip up the stairs. T ravis opened the door and let Kim go in ahead of him. He closed the chain lock, and turned to look at her . There were no words needed. She made a leap and was in his arms. Clothes flew across the room and puddled on the floor . By the time they’d covered the few st eps to the bed they were naked. They came together with all the passion they felt. And five minutes after their mutual climax, they began again, this time exploring each other ’s bodies and finding what the other liked. “What about this?” T ravis whispered, his hand between her legs. “Yes, very much.” Part of her still wished that they’d been together from the start of their adulthood. It would have been nice to learn about one another together . On the other hand, T ravis knew some truly lovely things about a woman’ s body. He knew just what to do to take her to new heights of ecstasy , and ke ep her there. As for Kim, she’d learned a thing or two also, and when she lowered her mouth onto the center of him, she was pleased by his gasp. T wenty minutes later she moved back up to his neck. “Where did you learn to do that?” he asked, his eyes full of wonder . “Late night TV ,” she said without cracking a smile. Travis let her know he wasn’ t sure whether to believe her or not, but he liked thinking she’d learned from TV and not from another man. “You make me crazy , you know that?” he said as he rolled her to her back and began kissing her . They hadn’ t gone to sle ep until 3:00 A. M . They’d fallen across each other , naked, sweaty , and as limp as rag dolls. At some point T ravis had awakened. He moved Kim from lying crosswise on the bed, positioned her head on his shoulder , pulled the covers over them, and immediately went back to sle ep. It was morning now , and as Kim listened to the shower running, she k ept smiling as she remembered last night. Travis entered the room wearing a towel and drying his hair with another one. “Y ou continue looking at me like that and I’ll need another shower .” He gave her a hot little look. “In an hour or so, that is.” Smiling, Kim stretched. “I had a good time last night.”
“Yeah?” he said as he sat down on the bed beside her and stroked her hair back from her face. “I did too. How about if today we—” “Oh!” she said and sat up straighter . “I forgot to tell you that I know where T ristan Janes is buried.” “That isn’ t what I was going to suggest we do, but we did come here for that purpose.” “Right. T o find more of my relatives.” Bending, he kissed her earlobe. “Maybe we could just call people named Janes and ask what they know .” Travis got up and headed for the bathroom. “I already checked the local phone book and I asked Penny . There are no Janeses left.” “When did you talk to her?” Kim asked. “This morning while you were asle ep,” he called from across the room. Kim glanced at the clock. It was a little after nine and she didn’ t think she’d ever sl ept so late in her life. When they were kids she and T ravis had been outside before six. “Are you still a morning person?” He put his head around the doorway , his cheeks covered in shaving foam. “I’m usually at the of fice by seven. What about you?” “In my garage workshop at six.” “Of course I’m having breakfast by five,” he said. “Four-thirty for me.” “I’m in the gym at four .” “I don’t bother to sle ep at all,” she said and they laughed together at their one-upmanship. He came out of the bathroom, freshly shaved and nude. At Kim’ s look he paused in starting to dress, but then he turned away . “I don’ t know about you, but I’m starving.” As she started to get out of bed, she realized she too was naked and hesitated. T ravis had his back to her but he was watching her in the mirror . It’s not as though he hasn’ t seen me nude before, she thought as she threw back the cover and walked across the room with all the bravado she could muster. She paused at the bathroom door and looked back at him. He was buttoning his shirt—and he was smiling broadly . She showered and washed her hair , copiously applying conditioner to make it as silky as she could. When she got out, she dried of f, put on the hotel robe hanging from a hook on the door , and began to blow-dry her hair . Travis came in, fully dressed, and took the dryer from her . She was glad to see that he was a bit awkward with the big hand dryer—which meant he
hadn’t done such a domestic task before. As Kim bent her head forward and felt his hands on the back of her neck and in her hair , she didn’ t think she’d ever felt anything so sensual. There was something so very intimate, so private, about what he was doing that she thought it might possibly be sexier than sex. What a funny thought! Sexier than sex. “What’s that laugh for?” he asked as he turned the dryer of f. “Nothing, just silliness.” T urning, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thanks,” she said. “I enjoyed that.” “Me too.” He ran his hands down the back of her body , and gave a pat to her rear end. “Get dressed so I can get some food! Y ou wore me out last night.” He left the bathroom. “You?” she asked as she began putting on her makeup. “Y ou spent most of the time on your back. I was the one doing all the work.” Travis looked around the doorjamb. “So what channels of TV do you watch when you stay up all night? I think we should watch them together .” “Go away ,” she said, laughing, “and let me get ready .” He went back into the bedroom and put on his watch. “So tell me how you found out where Janes is buried.” With a curler clasped to her lashes, she told him about meeting the caretaker , Red, and the highlights of what he’d told her . Minutes later , she was finished and went to the bedroom to get dressed. T ravis sat down in a chair to watch the show . “So who’ s here that we can take with us?” she concluded as she started to fasten her bracelet, but then held out her arm to T ravis. “The man said we should take someone big and strong with us? Is that in case a rock falls on one of us and the other can’ t pull it of f?” “I don’t know why he said that. Y ou think Russell is here?” “Probably . And since I’m footing the bill, I’m sure he’ s eating truf fles and Beluga.” “Sounds good to me,” Kim said. “After we go see this Old Mill, maybe we can walk through town.” “And see if there are any jewelry stores to check out?” “Exactly ,” Kim said, pleased that he knew that about her . He smiled as he opened the door into the hallway , and they started down the stairs. “I think I’d enjoy that. Maybe we could find a ring that you’d like.”
“I don’t copy other people’ s work,” she said stif fly. They were outside the main dining room, which Kim hadn’ t seen. “I was thinking more of something you’d like to wear for the rest of your life.” “I—” She wanted to say more but was cut of f by a chorus of good mornings. The dining room had eight tables, and all of them were occupied by people she’d never seen before. But they all seemed to know them, as they said hello to T ravis and “Miss Aldredge.” “Y ou’ll have to introduce me.” Travis nodded to a table for four . “That’ s Penny and you know her kid. I’ve never seen the rest of them.” “Your room fillers,” she said, amused. When T ravis went after something he didn’ t hold back; he covered all the bases. Am I what he wants next? she couldn’ t help wondering. Penny—Mrs. Pender gast—looked at Kim and nodded toward the two empty chairs at their table. She was a handsome woman, younger -looking than Kim had expected. Her face was unlined, and she’d k ept her slim figure, which she showed of f in black linen trousers and a white shirt. Pe eping out from under her hair , which fell softly to her collar , were the pearl earrings that Russell had bought in Kim’ s shop. “Your choice,” T ravis said. Kim didn’ t hesitate as she walked to the table and took a seat. Her eyes were on Mrs. Pender gast. “I’ve heard nothing but good about you,” she said. “T ravis doesn’ t seem able to conduct his life without you.” “He gets in trouble; Mom gets him out,” Russell said. Penny gave her son a look to stop it, but he just smiled. “And I have heard about you for years,” Penny said. “Really?” Kim asked, surprised. “I had no idea that T ravis had ever spoken of me to anyone.” “Did you show her the plaque?” “Not yet,” T ravis said as he gave his order to the server . There was an antique sideboard against the wall that was covered with silver chafing dishes, but it looked like he wanted the meal served to him. Penny leaned toward Kim. “If you want something from the buf fet, you’d better get it now before my uncle Bernie eats it all.” She nodded toward a corner table where a tall, skinny man was digging into three piled-high plates.
Kim excused herself and went to get scrambled eggs, sausages, and whole wheat toast. When she turned back toward the table, she paused to look at the three of them. T ravis and Mrs. Pender gast had their heads together , talking quietly . Actually , she was talking while T ravis nodded solemnly , a slight frown on his brow . The familiarity between them didn’ t surprise her , but what did was seeing Travis and Russell next to each other . When Kim had last seen Russell she’d been too upset to comprehend much of anything, but now she saw the similarities between the two men. They were the same height, had the same dark hair and eyes, and when they reached for their cof fee cups, their hands moved in exactly the same way . Having lived in Edilean all her life, if there was one thing Kim knew about it was relatives. It was easy to see that Travis and Russell were closely related. With her eyes wide, Kim looked up to see Penny staring at her . Kim raised her brows, as though to ask if T ravis knew . Penny gave one sideways movement of her head to say no, and her eyes were pleading. They said, Please don’ t tell him. Not yet. Kim didn’ t like to ke ep secrets from T ravis, but there was more here than she knew about. She gave a curt nod to Penny , then sat down. Travis and Penny went on talking about what the “moron” in New Y ork was doing about some deal. While it was interesting to see another side of him, Kim was more fascinated by the similarities between him and Russell. She watched T ravis’s hand gestures, the way he held a fork. When Russell spoke to his mother , she listened to his voice. It was very like T ravis’s de ep resonance. After a few moments of unabashedly staring, Kim felt Russ’ s eyes on her , and she looked at him. He was smiling at her as though they shared a secret —and it looked as though they did. A very big secret. When Kim looked at Russell, he raised his glass of OJ slightly , as though in salute to her . She couldn’ t help giving a little laugh. Unless she missed her guess, T ravis had a half brother . “Sorry,” Travis said as he leaned away from Penny and looked at Kim. “We’re ignoring you.” “No one is ignoring me,” she said. “In fact I’m being well entertained.” She turned to Penny . “Didn’ t you use to work for T ravis’s father?” “For many years.” Penny’ s eyes were alight, as though she was wondering what Kim was going to say next. Announce what she’d just
figured out? But Kim wasn’ t even tempted to tell. Hearing that he had a brother was going to change T ravis’s world, and she was not the one to tell him. That news needed to come from Russell and Penny—and a lot of explaining was going to have to be done. “Maybe Russell could go with us today ,” Kim said. “Go where?” He was looking at Kim as though he expected her to tell what she’d just discovered. “To some derelict old building,” T ravis said. “Last night while I was working, the love of my life was flirting with another man, and he told her where to go today . He said that she’d need the help of someone big and strong. Kim seems to think that’ s you .” His tone was light and teasing. His words “the love of my life” made Penny and Russell look hard at Kim. Penny glanced at Kim’ s left hand, obviously noting that there was no ring. Kim knew there was more going on in the silence than in the words being spoken. “In case all of you for got, I’m here to find my ancestor .” “And his possible descendants,” T ravis said. “It seems that there’ s a grave site near an old mill, so T ravis and I are going to go see it.” She looked directly at Russell. “I think you should go with us. If this place is a ruin it’ll be quiet there. A person can think. Or talk.” Russell gave a little smile. “I’m about talked out,” he said and looked at his mother . “What about you? Finished with your New Y ork business?” “Completely ,” she said. “Penny is going to retire,” T ravis said to Kim, “and she’ s thinking of moving to Edilean. Any good houses there for sale?” “Old or new?” Kim asked. “Old, small, on at least an acre. I like to garden. But I don’ t want it to be too far out of town.” “I know a place. It used to be an overseer ’s house. It would need some renovation.” Kim turned to Russell. “And what about you? Where do you live?” “Not in Edilean,” he said as he put his napkin on the table and stood up. “When do you want to go to this falling down old building? Anyone bring a camera? Notebook and pen?”
Travis stood up to stand beside Russell. They were exactly the same build and wore the same expressions of challenge on their handsome faces. Kim glanced at Penny . Why didn’ t Travis see the resemblance? Again Penny looked at Kim with that expression of pleading. Please don’ t tell, she seemed to be saying. Kim hadn’ t made herself a success by being intimidated by anyone, no matter who she worked for . “Tomorrow ,” she said softly , and Penny nodded. She had twenty-four hours to tell T ravis the truth and if she didn’ t, Kim would tell him. Travis was waiting for her by the door . “Russ rented a Je ep and he went to get directions.” He lowered his voice. “Kim, if you’d rather that you and I spend time alone together , I can turn this whole thing over to Penny . She’ll find out about Dr . Janes.” “No,” Kim said. “I think you should—” She’d almost said “get to know your brother” but she didn’ t. She wondered how he was going to react when he found out that his beloved assistant had had an af fair with his father . Travis already had enough issues with his father and he didn’ t need any more. “Think I should what?” “Nothing. Here’ s Russ. Shall we go?” Travis wanted to drive, but Russell wouldn’ t let him. “My car , my hands on the wheel,” he said. Kim rode in front with Russ. T ravis was in back with the handwritten directions. “Looks like you failed penmanship,” T ravis said. “I can’ t read this.” “Maybe you should have gone to better schools to improve your comprehension,” Russ shot back. “Oh wait. I went to the same ones you did.” “Did you pass any of the classes?” T ravis mumbled. Kim looked out the window to hide her smile. They sounded like her and Reede. The Old Mill was beautiful. It was wide and low , U-shaped, with the middle part one story , flanked by two-story sections. The building had a low stone wall along the front, which made a courtyard in the center of the U. For a few moments the three of them stood, looking at the wonderful old building. Part of it had no roof and doves flew out when they walked up.
But the two-story section on the left had new tiles on the roof. The little stone wall looked to be falling down, but in places the rocks had been r eplaced. “Someone’ s been working on it,” T ravis said. “ That is perfect,” Kim said. She was pointing inside the courtyard to the right. There, behind another low stone wall was a perfect little garden— exc ept that it looked like something out of an eighteenth-century book about gardening. It had gravel paths laid out in the shape of a double circle with an X through it. Inside the eight quarters were wild, weedy-looking plants of dif ferent colors, heights, and textures. They had all been carefully , meticulously tended. “Unless I miss my guess, those are medicinal herbs,” Kim said, grinning, “and that means there’ s still a T ristan here.” Travis and Russ looked at each other , then back at Kim. “What does that mean?” Russ asked. “The Tristans are doctors so . . .” Kim said. “Medicinal herbs,” T ravis finished for her . “All the T ristans have the greenest thumbs imaginable. When we were kids we made T ris plant things for us. If he planted them they grew for sure. When the rest of us put anything in the ground, half the time it didn’ t grow.” “So maybe a descendant owns this place,” Russ said. A tile came rattling down from the roof, hit the ground, and broke. “One who can’ t afford to restore it,” T ravis said, looking at Kim. “I think you are going to find some relatives here.” She looked at Russ. “Finding new relatives—ones you didn’ t know you had—can be very rewarding, don’ t you think?” “It can also be terrifying,” he said softly . “Traumatic.” “Possibly . But then I always find truth to be better than de ep secrets.” “D epends on the truth,” Russ said. His eyes were laughing, as though he were greatly enjoying the exchange. Travis had walked away to the center of the building and pushed open a door. “Are you two going to spend the day in some cryptic, philosophical exchange or are we going to look around?” “I vote that you scale this wall and walk along the ridg epole. Show us what you learned in Hollywood,” Russ said.
“Only if you show us that you know how to do anything at all,” T ravis shot back as he went through the doorway . Russ went to the door , and turned back to Kim. “Are you coming?” “I . . .” There was something about the herb garden that she liked. Maybe it was the shape of it, or the light on the yellow-green leaves of one of the plants, but she was glad she had her sketch pad with her . Travis came back to the door , and went to Kim. “Why don’ t you stay here and draw? The kid and I will find the cemetery and record everything.” He kissed the top of her head. She was grateful to him for understanding. When a spurt of creativity hit, it needed all her attention. T o put it of f might allow it to disappear . And too, unlike her history-loving cousins, Kim couldn’ t abide cemeteries. “Thank you,” she said. “Don’t leave here, don’ t talk to strangers, and—” “And don’ t eat any of those plants,” Russ said. “I’ll try to behave myself,” Kim said as she shooed them away . She really did want to put those shapes down on paper . Travis kissed her again, this time on the cheek, then went to the door . “I thought you were a ladies’ man,” Kim heard Russell say , “but you don’t even know where to kiss the girl.” “I could show you a lot about . . .” She heard T ravis say as their voices faded into the distance. Kim sat down on a flat stone near the plants she most admired. They were tall, with seed-filled heads that looked as delicate as rays of sunshine. She pulled out her phone, snapped a photo of one of them, and sent it to her cousin T ristan. WHAT IS THIS ? she wrote. Kim started sketching, translating the shapes into jewelry . The chain would be made of long, thin tendrils, like the leaves of the plant. She drew a curved shape with tiny spirals inside it that would clasp one edge of the chain. She’d put a pearl at the center of each one. The earrings had a thin leaf that would curve up a woman’ s ear. Her phone buzzed; it was T ristan. ANGELICA , he wrote. WHERE DID YOU SEE THAT ? Standing, she st epped back to get a full view of the garden. When she couldn’ t get a good photo that showed the design of it, she climbed on the surrounding wall, snapped, and sent it to T ris. When she started to get down, the loose rocks slid under her feet, which flew out from under her . She would have fallen but a strong arm caught her .
It was Red from the B&B. “Are you all right?” he asked as he helped her down. “Fine, but thanks.” “I told you this place was dangerous,” he said, his tone sounding severe. “Last year a woman nearly broke her leg here.” Kim sat down in the shade on an old doorsill. “Don’t lean back,” he said. “That door doesn’ t look to be securely on its hinges.” She wiped dirt of f her trousers and flicked sand out of her hair . “Are you the town watchdog?” “More or less,” he said. “I was on the way to the garage but made a detour by here. Looks like my worry paid of f. You didn’ t come here alone, did you?” “No. I have two big strong men with me.” He laughed. “Y our young man and . . . ?” “His—” She hesitated. “His friend.” “But not yours?” Bending, Red picked up her sketchbook. “May I?” She gestured that it was all right for him to look at what she’d drawn. “These are pretty ,” he said as he brushed of f some dirt. “Do you make these into jewelry?” “Yes. I have a shop in Edilean. That’ s in—” “Virginia!” he said. “I used to go fishing there. Nice little town. I like the old houses. I don’ t remember a jewelry store, but I do remember a place that sold baby clothes.” Red sat down on the low wall. “Why would I remember that?” “Because they are extraordinary ,” Kim said. “The shop is called Yesterday and it’ s owned by a lovely woman, Mrs. Olivia W ingate.” “Does she make the clothes?” “No. Lucy makes most of them.” “Lucy W ingate?” “No. She’ s . . .” Kim trailed of f. Everything about Lucy was too much of a secret to talk about. “Do you know who owns this place?” She gestured at the Old Mill. “I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve seen a young woman here, but I don’ t know who she is.” “She’s under forty?”
He smiled at her good memory . “Yes, she is. I’m sure you could find the property records in the county courthouse.” “Today? Saturday?” “Oh. Right,” he said. “But then, you don’ t want to waste your time with your young man in a dusty old courthouse, do you?” “No,” Kim said, “I don’ t, especially since we don’ t have much time together before he—” She waved her hand. Red looked concerned. “Y ou sound like he’ s ill. Oh, my dear , please say that isn’ t so.” “No, no,” Kim said. “He just . . .” “He’s in the military? Facing combat?” “No,” Kim said. “He has some personal business he has to take care of, so he has to leave.” Red sighed in relief. “That doesn’ t sound so bad.” Kim snorted. “It has to do with his father and from what I’ve heard . . .” Again, she waved her hand. “That’ s . . .” “I understand. It’ s private, but there’ s a reason that I’m known around town as everyone’ s grandfather . I’m a good listener .” Kim smiled. “That’ s what T ravis says he is.” “And is he?” “Yes, very good.” “Does he have other good qualities?” “Of course. Lots of them.” “Then perhaps . . .” He trailed of f. “Perhaps what?” “Sometimes children can’ t see their parents clearly . They remember that their mother wouldn’ t let them eat what they liked. What they don’ t remember is that they wanted to eat paint flaking of f an old wall.” From what she’d heard, T ravis’s father hadn’ t been around enough to know what his son was eating. W as he having an af fair with Mrs. Pendergast all those years? But she couldn’ t say any of that to anyone, especially not to a stranger . Red stood up. “I believe I hear your young men returning, so I better go.” Kim got up. “Stay and meet them.” “Maybe this evening,” he said as he began to walk quickly . “I just remembered that I have a hundred pounds of ice in the back of the truck.”
“It’s probably melted by now ,” she called after him as she watched him hurry out of sight. “Were you talking to someone?” T ravis asked as he came back into the courtyard, Russ behind him. “The caretaker from the B&B stopped by . He—” She broke of f as her phone buzzed. It was from T ristan. GORGEOUS GARDEN. I WANT TO MEET WHOEVER MADE IT. I SEE COMFREY. IS IT POSSIBLY BOCKING 14 ? I NEED SOME TO MAKE COMPOST TEA . She gave the phone to T ravis, he read it, and handed it to Russ. All three of them looked at the herb garden. T o a person who knew nothing about herbs, the plants looked very much alike. How could he pick out one from a cell phone photo? “Told you,” Kim said. “There’ s a Tristan here. So what did you guys find out?” Travis spoke first. “Dr . Tristan Janes, born 1861, died 1893, aged thirty- two years.” He turned to Russell. “What did it say on the stone about him?” “‘A Well-Loved Man,’” Russ answered. “Not a bad thing to have people say about you. Sorry , but there was no evidence of a wife or kids.” “His father was named—” “Gustav ,” Kim supplied. “Right,” T ravis said. “No doubt that was told to you by the mysterious man named Red.” “What’s mysterious about him?” “Just that he disappears whenever we show up,” T ravis said. “He’s probably heard you’re a Maxwell and he runs away ,” Russ said. “Smart man.” Kim squinted her eyes at Russell. He was as much a Maxwell as T ravis was. Russ gave a one-sided grin. He understood Kim’ s meaning perfectly . “So what do we do now?” “ We don’t do anything,” T ravis said. “ You are going to walk around town and ask questions until you find the owner of this old place. Kim and I are going to look at jewelry .” “Oh?” Russ asked, an eyebrow raised. “For designs,” Kim said quickly . Travis pulled her arm through his. “Keys,” he said to Russell, his hand extended.
“I need to—” “Keys!” T ravis said in a voice meant to be obeyed. Russ laughed. “Big—Maxwell commands.” He tossed T ravis the car keys. Kim was sure Russ had been about to say that “big brother commands.” With a grin, Russ winked at Kim. He’s enjoying this, she thought. And he’ s going to delight in dropping this brotherly bombshell on T ravis. When they were in the car , Kim asked T ravis what he and Russ had talked about when they were alone. “Nothing much, why?” “Did you two ke ep ar guing the whole time you were there?” “Naw,” he said, smiling. “That’ s all done for your benefit. He was actually good help. There are only six headstones in the little cemetery , and I took photos while Russ wrote down names and dates. I guess your friends will want all the data.” “I’m sure they will,” Kim said. “So what did you do, other than meet a man in secret?” She ignored his comment as she opened her sketchbook. They had reached the center of the little town and T ravis expertly parallel parked the car, turned of f the engine, and took the book to look at Kim’ s designs. “So this slides around a woman’ s neck?” he asked. “Yes, and the earrings go up.” “Not down? Not grazing her shoulders?” “I’m not much on chandelier earrings.” “Me neither . They get in a man’ s way.” He leaned across the seat and kissed her earlobe. She had on small gold earrings with stones of citrine just off center . She smiled at him, glad he’d really looked at her drawings. Most people just glanced at them and said how pretty they were, but they couldn’ t actually visualize her designs. “Want to wander through every store or go directly to the one and only jewelry shop in town?” She looked at him in disbelief. “Don’ t tell me you’re a man who likes going shopping with women? Going in and out of stores and looking at every little thing in the shop?” “Well, I . . .” He looked out the windshield.
“Oh, I see. Y ou’re just being polite. Y ou added the jewelry bit on the end to entice me there.” “I’m glad you’re not a judge in a courtroom or I’d never be able to put anything over on you. I tell you what, today is yours. I’ll go in and out of every one of these insuf ferably cute little stores, but in the future . . .” “I’m on my own? Y ou’ll get a beer while I wander?” “Pretty much,” he said, and they smiled at each other . That they were speaking as though their future together was set in place, a given, a done deal, was pleasing to both of them. They got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk, holding hands. So normal, Kim thought. So . . . so satisfyingly , de eply normal . “Where to first?” T ravis asked. “There.” Kim pointed to a used bookstore across the street. Its windows were covered in years of dirt and the few books she could see had curled, faded covers. “Local history , right?” T ravis asked. When Kim nodded, he raised her hand and kissed it. “Jewelry store last? T o be savored?” “Exactly ,” she said. In the bookstore Kim was glad to see that T ravis didn’ t mind going through boxes that had twenty years of dust coating them and digging for out-of-print books and local pamphlets. He found a cookbook put together in the twenties by the women of a local church. They looked through it, saw there was no contributor named Janes, so Kim said it was no use to them. But T ravis said a person never knew when relatives were going to turn up. Kim started to ask what he meant by that but he’d walked away . He talked with the shop owner while Kim went through the shelves of books on the history of jewelry . She chose a big one on Peter Carl Faber gé. They left the store with a box full of books, and T ravis put them in the Je ep he’d commandeered from Russell. “Do you think he walked?” “Who?” T ravis asked. “Russell. Y ou left him there at the Old Mill without transportation. Do you think he walked to . . . to wherever he went?” “Probably called Penny and she picked him up,” T ravis said. “So how long has she worked for you?” They were crossing the street again.
“Since I started at my dad’ s.” “And your father let her go so she could work for you ?” “Why all these questions?” “I’m just trying to find out about your life, that’ s all.” He paused in front of a little shop that had some very pretty clothes in the window . “When my dad rooked me into working for him, Penny said she was going to help me. Dad didn’ t want to let her go, but she threatened to quit if he didn’ t, and since she knows more about the business than he does, he couldn’ t allow that.” “Why was she so adamant about working for you?” “Felt sorry for me, I guess. I’d just come from Hollywood and my way of handling things was physical. I had trouble even remembering my law training.” “But Mrs. Pender gast took you under her wing and mothered you?” Travis snorted. “She kicked me fifty times a day . Made me think. Made me put my anger at my father aside enough so that I could do the job. That first year was hell. Do you like that?” “That your first year was bad?” “No. I mean that shirt. Those pants. I think you’d look good in them.” “And trying them on would stop me from interrogating you, wouldn’ t it?” “I never want to go against you in a courtroom.” His hand was on her back as he ur ged her toward the doorway . They spent two hours going from one store to another . For all that T ravis had said he didn’ t like such things, he was a dream to shop with. He sat down and waited while Kim tried on clothes, and he gave his opinion on each one. But for all that he seemed to give his full attention to her , twice he was on his phone, and each time he erased a frown when he saw her . She asked what was going on. “Closing up business. Y ou ready for lunch?” As Kim turned away , she was reminded of all that was still facing them, especially the court case for the divorce. “Sure,” she said as T ravis opened the door for her . But as soon as they were outside, his phone rang again. “Damn!” he muttered as he looked at it. “It’ s Penny . I . . .” He looked at Kim in question.
“Take it,” she said. “I’ll meet you at the diner .” But she saw a flash of movement in the window of an antiques shop across the road. It was Mrs. Pendergast’s arm, and she was waving at Kim, a phone to her ear . Kim looked at T ravis’s back, then at Mrs. Pender gast. She was motioning for Kim to come to the store. They did need to talk. “Thirty minutes, the diner ,” Kim said to T ravis, and he nodded as he frowned at the call, and Kim hurried across the road. Joe Layton took a couple of de ep breaths as he picked up the phone receiver in his of fice. He was a believer in land lines. Their connections were better , less likely to fade out, and since the call he was about to make would change his—and Lucy’ s—life, he wanted to hear every word. It had been simple to get the number of the headquarters of Maxwell Industries, but getting the man himself on the phone wasn’ t going to be easy. Joe thought maybe he’d tell whoever answered the phone that it was a matter of life and death. That way he’d ke ep the truth between him and Maxwell. But the snooty woman who was at the end of the line of a long succession of secretaries brought out the truth in Joe. “You can’ t just call and expect to speak directly to Mr . Maxwell.” Her tone was patronizing, but at the same time amused. It was obvious that she saw herself as Big City while Joe was Country Bumpkin. Joe was fed up with all of them. “T ell him I’m the man who wants to marry his wife.” The secretary was silent for a moment, then her tone changed to brisk efficiency . “I’ll see if he’ s available.” It was only moments before Randall Maxwell was on the line. “So you’re Joe Layton.” “Looks like nobody’ s k ept a secret from you,” Joe said. “Not if I want to know what’ s going on, they can’ t. So what’ s Lucy up to now?” “I want to settle this thing between you and me.” “By ‘thing’ do you mean a divorce?” Randall asked. “Yes, that’ s exactly what I mean.” “Layton, you weren’ t born yesterday ,” Randall snapped in a voice that often intimidated people. “There’ s more in volved in this than just a few
grand.” Joe wasn’ t intimidated in the least. “Ke ep your money ,” Joe growled. “Ke ep every goddamn cent of it.” “That’s an interesting conc ept. What about the money she stole from me?” “You mean the money you so conveniently left for her to find?” Randall chuckled. “Lucy always did like clever men.” Joe didn’ t answer . When Lucy told him about “accidently” seeing her husband’ s laptop with his online banking account left wide open, Joe knew Maxwell had meant for her to see it. Lucy said there was five million in the account and she took three and a half. Joe admired her restraint. She spoke of how unusual it had been for Randall to leave his laptop where she could see it. “He must have been under a lot of stress.” There was guilt in her voice, showing that she felt bad for what she’d done. The idea that half of what Randall Maxwell owned was hers didn’ t seem to have entered her mind. If Maxwell had purposefully left the account open, he’d done it for a reason. If Lucy were a dif ferent kind of woman Joe would have thought that Maxwell suspected her of seeing other men and that he wanted to know where she went when she had money . But as Joe heard more of Lucy’ s story, he thought it was possible that Maxwell was giving his wife freedom. Maybe Maxwell thought he’d failed with his son, so he no longer needed to use Lucy to hold T ravis to him. If Joe knew anything in life it was the pleasure/pain you got from your family . He loved his son with all his heart, but there were times when the boy’ s wife made Joe want to disown him. “So how’ s Travis?” Randall asked into the silence. There was a soft undertone in his voice that told Joe a lot. Maxwell loved his son very much. “He’ s a good kid,” Joe said. “Y ou raised him right.” It was Randall’ s turn for a moment of silence. “Lucy can ke ep the money and I’ll give her a divorce—and I’ll be fair with her .” Joe drew in his breath. “If by that you mean you’ll give her more millions, don’ t ! Save it for T ravis—and your other kid that I’ve been seeing around town. Seems his mother is your former secretary . Must have been convenient for you.” Randall laughed. “Layton, you ever want a job with me, you got it.” “No thanks,” Joe said, but he was grinning as he hung up.
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“So what questions do you have for me?” Penny asked Kim. They were sitting at a rusty old table outside the back of the antiques store. There was a tall wooden fence on three sides, and leaning against it were dozens of old metal advertising signs. The Mobil Pegasus was directly behind Penny’ s perfectly coif fed head. The first thing Kim was aware of was that Mrs. Pender gast had put herself in the position of power . Her chair ’s back was facing the fence, a solid barrier , while Kim’ s back was to the door and windows of the store, a more vulnerable position. But more important than that, Penny’ s words had cast Kim as the one who was to ask the questions and maybe she’d receive answers. Kim wasn’ t falling for it. First, she moved her chair so that she was no longer backed against the openness of the store, then she looked at Penny . “I want you to tell me everything.” Penny gave a bit of a smile in acknowledgment of what Kim had done, and shrugged. “Late night, champagne to celebrate a deal, handsome boss, fight with my boyfriend. It all went together to make it happen.” “And afterward?” Kim asked. Penny took her time in r eplying, and Kim doubted that she’d ever told the story before. Mrs. Pender gast didn’ t seem to be the type to share intimate details of her life with anyone. “That wasn’ t so easy . I didn’ t realize I was pregnant until I was four months along. By that time the boyfriend was gone and besides, Randall was . . .” “Married.”