Home to Sparrow Lake (Harlequin Heartwarming) (8 page)

“Has he been acting strange lately? Disappearing for hours without an explanation? Going out late at night—after curfew—without telling anyone?”

Kristen stiffened. So that’s why he’d wanted to get her alone. She’d known he had an angle, and it was one she didn’t like.

“Wait a minute. This is why you asked me out for a drive? So you could make accusations about Brian?”

“So I could talk to you about your brother before I have to arrest him. I spotted the three boys on the street at one this morning right here.”

“In front of the Grants’ place?”

“Right. I asked them to stop so I could talk to them. They ran instead.”

“They probably weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Take a good look. Does anything look strange to you?”

Frowning, she looked out the house with its myriad lawn ornaments. Mrs. Grant had always loved placing statues of animals all over her yard. “Looks okay to me.”

“Except the lawn ornaments are all moved around. Mrs. Grant was very upset when she called it in this morning.”

“What?” She nearly choked on that. “You’re all bent out of shape over a harmless prank?”

“Not one prank. They’ve been playing pranks on the townspeople a couple of times a week for the past month, Kristen. I want it to stop before those pranks get out of hand. Or before someone gets hurt.”

Kristen opened the passenger door. “I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

Though she started to get out, Alex caught her arm and said, “If you care about your brother, you’ll make the time.”

Her pulse flitted through her at his touch, but she told herself it was because she was angry, not because she was attracted to him.

“You should be looking for real criminals to arrest,” she told him, “not people who are simply guilty of being new in town.”

With that, she jerked her arm free and stalked off.

* * *

“I
DIDN
’
T
EXPECT
you back so quickly,” Aunt Margaret said when Kristen stormed into the house.

Kristen’s irritation had escalated on the fifteen-minute walk home, but she put it in check for her aunt’s sake.

Should she tell her or not?

Kristen was tempted to share the police chief’s motives for getting her alone, but Aunt Margaret was so cheerful, she decided not to ruin her aunt’s mood. Still, Kristen was disturbed by what he’d told her. What if Brian was getting into trouble? She would keep their conversation to herself, but maybe she could find a way to probe her aunt for information without giving away Alex’s accusation.

Kristen followed her into the kitchen. There, to her surprise, her brother and one of his friends sat at the island, the surface of which was littered with containers of leftovers, mostly empty now. The friend was scrawny, but his plate was full and he was chowing down like there was no tomorrow.

“Oh, hi, Aunt Margaret. I hope you don’t mind that I invited Andy to lunch.”

“Of course not. This is your home, too. Brian.”

“Hi, Mrs. Becker,” the kid said through a mouthful of food.

“Andy, this is my niece Kristen. Brian’s sister.”

“Hmmph.” He acknowledged her with his mouth full.

“Uh, we’re done now, though.” Brian slid off his stool and smacked Andy in the arm. “C’mon.”

“You’re not done until you clean up after yourself,” Kristen said.

“Oh, right.”

Brian scooped all the empty containers together and dumped them on the counter, opened the dishwasher door and stacked them. His friend Andy continued to chomp on a piece of chicken. He kept his head down as he ate, didn’t look at anyone. Kristen gave him the once-over while Brian cleaned off the island. The kid was scrawny—how could someone so little eat so much? His clothes were too big, as if he was wearing hand-me-downs. His shirt and cutoffs were threadbare, if clean.

Pulling off a piece of paper towel from the roll, Brian handed it to Andy and said, “Let’s go to my room.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Andy was a little weird, but he didn’t seem like a troublemaker. Still, Kristen couldn’t help worrying. Could Alex have been right about the boys? While Brian seemed fairly mature for his age, he wasn’t adult-level responsible. He did a good job at Sew Fine...when he was there.

She turned to her aunt. “About Brian—”

“Your brother is such a sweetheart!” Aunt Margaret beamed. “He needs a little prompting, but he truly has been the most wonderful and helpful companion since he moved in with me.”

Thus ended the conversation about Brian possibly getting into trouble.

Too bad Kristen couldn’t forget about it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

H
E
’
D
AWAKENED
BEFORE
DAWN
.

Alex had been tempted to take a hammer to his alarm clock until he suffered the next onslaught, an ambush by Spike, who suddenly realized it must be breakfast time. “Okay, okay,” he muttered, setting the big fluffy cat down on the floor. The stray he’d been feeding had moved in, fattened up, and decided who was boss.

Groggily, Alex turned off the alarm and managed to sit up. He staggered out to the kitchen and fed Spike, then remembered why he’d set the alarm so early. He and Owen had made plans to go fishing with John McClintock, owner of McClintock Boat, Bait and Tackle. He’d better dress quickly.

An hour later, there he was, travel mug filled with hot coffee in one hand, fishing rod in the other, sitting in one of John’s boats in the middle of the stocked lake. If they didn’t get too many small ones they’d have to throw back in, they would take their booty back to John’s store and cook fish over the grill on the patio for breakfast. It wasn’t the fishing in itself that attracted Alex, but the camaraderie with his friends in addition to spending some time in nature. They were in a beautiful setting, in the middle of the lake, with stands of trees between the mansions and businesses at the water’s edge. The lake’s clean, deep water made it perfect for sailing or swimming or waterskiing.

At this time on a Sunday morning, however, there wasn’t a whole lot of movement on or in the water. Alex had seen no more than two other fishing boats in the distance. No swimmers. He loved the sense of early morning peace. Well, usually. Fishing with the guys was an enjoyable venture, one to which he looked forward.

As if Owen knew that Alex was fighting to keep from nodding off, he said, “Drink your coffee. You’ll feel better.”

“I’m never going to feel better,” Alex groused. “Not until I get, like, twelve hours of continuous shut-eye.”

John laughed. “You’re just a young whippersnapper. Wait till you get to be my age and wonder where the ability to sleep went.”

“What are you? Fifty-six?”

“Closer to seventy-six,” John said. “Actually I’m going to be seventy-two.”

With thick salt-and-pepper hair and a lightly lined face, John looked a decade younger than his years, maybe because, after retiring from a suit job in Milwaukee, he’d taken to his Sparrow Lake vacation home full-time. Then he’d bought the store and made his version of an idyllic life come true.

Alex was wondering what that felt like when he heard a faint buzzing. Owen put his fishing pole between his knees and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

“Trina?” Alex asked.

“Yep.” Owen’s thumbs were going as he texted something in return. “She just woke up and wanted to tell me she loved me.”

Thinking he knew the woman he’d like to have text
him,
Alex couldn’t help but tease his friend. “Newlyweds!” He rolled his eyes so John could see.

John laughed. “Wish I had a beautiful woman who would text me about anything. You’re a lucky man, Owen Larson.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“It’s been nearly seven years since she died, but I still miss Karen.” John sighed. “What about you, Alex? When are you going to find you a woman?”

“When I win the lottery,” he joked.

He’d had a woman in his life for a short while. Rather than learning how to deal with the stress of being a cop’s wife, Emma had left him. Said she couldn’t stand the chances he took and wanted to end it before they brought kids into the world.

He’d been married for all of five months.

Now, nearly three years later, he’d finally found a woman he wanted to get to know better, but he feared that Kristen was never going to speak to him again, even though he’d been trying to help her brother.

“You know you’re not too old to find someone else,” Owen told John. “There are lots of mature women around here who don’t have a man.”

“No one around here much interests me,” John said. “Except maybe one.” He looked out across the lake at Margaret Becker’s mansion. “But she would never give a boring old coot like me the time of day.”

“Then find a way to interest her.” Feeling a jerk on his pole, Alex realized he’d hooked a fish. “If you want to get to know her enough,” he said, putting down his coffee cup, “you’ll find a way to reel her in.”

Good advice.

He glanced back at the Becker mansion.

Maybe he would take that advice himself and not give up on Kristen just yet.

* * *

W
AS
SHE
DESTINED
to see Alex everywhere she looked? Kristen wondered as she stared out the window on the other side of the kitchen sink. She was looking for that boat she’d spotted earlier, before the family had gathered for Sunday brunch. Family minus Brian, that was. It was nearly eleven and he hadn’t yet joined them. At any rate, she’d been washing off fresh strawberries in a colander and had sworn she’d spotted the police chief in a fishing boat. It wasn’t out there now, however. It seemed to have disappeared.

Had Alex been watching the house?

If so, had his interest been Brian?

Or her?

“Here are some more dirty dishes,” Heather said.

Kristen moved to the side to let her sister put them into the sink but said, “I’ll take care of them if you start putting away the food.”

“Deal.”

What was it with dishwashers, anyway? Kristen wondered as she turned on the faucet. It didn’t matter how expensive the unit was, no matter the instructions, you always had to rinse off the dishes first if you wanted them clean.

“You haven’t seen Brian, have you?” she asked, raising her voice to be heard above the running water.

“No, not yet.”

“Does he usually sleep this late?”

“How would I know?” Heather was wrapping a plate of leftover cut fruit with plastic wrap. “I’m not the one who lives here.”

Heather sounded testy, making Kristen hold back the observation that she’d only moved in with Aunt Margaret the week before. As to Brian...he must have been out very late.

A reminder of Alex’s accusation.

What had her brother been doing? she wondered, but figured there was no use bringing it up with her sister, who had been tense all morning, had actually lost her temper with the twins. Aunt Margaret had the girls now. They’d followed her to her huge, paint- and fabric-stocked studio where they could “create” something fun.

Heather had seemed relieved to have a rest from them.

Kristen finished loading the dirty dishes, added dishwashing powder and started the appliance.

Thinking to get her sister’s mind off the girls, Kristen said, “You know, I enjoy working at the store more than I thought I would.” A fact that surprised her. “Nice people. A whole lot less pressure than I’m used to.”

“Uh-huh.” Heather shoved a couple of cartons of leftovers into the refrigerator.

“Nice working conditions. No stress.”

“Yeah, right.”

Kristen caught Heather’s sarcastic tone. What was wrong with her today?

“I was thinking of ways to improve Sew Fine’s sales.” Which was necessary for Aunt Margaret to have a decent retirement. “I wanted to talk to you about creating an online store.”

“What?”

“That way, people who have been calling in orders could use it, and so could new customers who don’t necessarily live in the area.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? The sky’s the limit, Heather. Customers could order from anywhere in the country.”

Even as Kristen spoke, Heather’s expression changed from disbelieving to downright anxious.

“No! It’ll be on me to see that it works. I can’t possibly take on something so complicated.”

“No, no, I’ll take care of setting it up, Heather. It’s the best way to make the business grow.”

“Grow? How many more orders?” Heather was so agitated she nearly dropped the plate of fruit meant for the refrigerator. “I don’t think so, Kristen. I have my hands full now.”

“Brian is already fulfilling the phoned-in customer requests. He can continue to take care of the orders when the internet site is up and running.”

“Brian is going to start college soon.” Heather’s voice raised a notch. “Full-time. At the end of the summer! I can’t count on him now. I’ll never be able to trust him to pull it off then.”

Kristen gaped at her sister. She’d never seen Heather so panicked. Her sister was the supreme juggler of work, family and school.

“Heather, is something wrong?” she asked.

“I can’t take on anything more. I never should have agreed to be the store manager, but I knew how much Aunt Margaret wanted to retire and I needed the money for the girls. Everything I have to do...it’s all too much for me!” Heather pushed a shaking hand through her hair and her eyes grew watery. “And now my sitter called about tomorrow night. She canceled. I’ll have to miss a class, which will affect my grade. I’m scheduled to do a class presentation!”

“Hey, hey, calm down, please.” Kristen had no idea the kind of pressure her sister had been experiencing. “You’re not alone. You have family.”

“If you’re going to suggest that I ask Brian to take care of my girls—”

“I was going to suggest me.”

“You?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. I took care of you and Brian when we were growing up.”

“But Brian and I weren’t five-year-old twins.”

“I know, I know. Taylor and Addison are little monkeys, running around looking for trouble.”

“Believe me, they find it.” Heather heaved a sigh.

Kristen put her arms around her sister and gave her a big hug. “I’ll deal.”

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Heather suddenly sounded calmer than she had all morning.

“Positive. You can go to your class tomorrow night knowing that I’ll have it all under control.”

At least she hoped she would. That morning, the twins had been hugging each other one minute, sifting dirt into one another’s hair the next. They’d gotten into all kinds of mischief before Aunt Margaret had finally lured them off to her studio.

Poor Heather. Kristen hadn’t realized how so much responsibility had weighed on her younger sister. Heather suddenly seemed to be almost as badly off as their mother had been after their father abandoned the family.

Well, she was here for Heather, at least for now, Kristen thought. While she was still in Sparrow Lake, she would do whatever she could to make her sister’s life a little easier.

A vow that bothered her later that day after Heather and the girls had left for home.

Knowing she needed to update her résumé before continuing her job search, Kristen pulled it up on her computer and added her work as a marketing consultant for Sew Fine. She would have to start sending résumés out soon. In this economy, who knew how long it could take her to find another job in Chicago? Or even an interview for a job.

She sat there staring at her résumé, realizing this was the first step to leaving Sparrow Lake. Leaving her family—the people who needed her—and she’d just gotten here. Aunt Margaret needed someone to make sure she could retire in comfort. Brian needed someone to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. Heather needed someone to lift part of the burden of being a young widow with too much responsibility.

But what about what
she
needed? Aunt Margaret had agreed that Kristen would keep looking for something permanent while she tried to boost business for Sew Fine.

Since the day she’d received notice that Chicago Lifestyle was downsizing her, Kristen had felt a hole in her life that she hadn’t been able to fill. Being told that she wasn’t necessary to the company she’d helped expand in so short a time had truly been a humiliating experience, one she hoped never to repeat. She was determined to prove herself, to show them what a mistake they’d made in letting her go.

She did not want to be compared to her father, a man who had failed at everything he’d tried. True, most of the businesses he’d gotten himself into had been risky. But still...

So far, she’d proved nothing except how difficult it was to get a job when you were already out of work.

* * *

I
T
WAS
ONLY
early evening and Margaret was tired enough to stretch out on her bed, draped with gauzy material from post to post. Those twins were enough to exhaust anyone, even their mother, who was a third Margaret’s age. Poor Heather. Margaret wished her niece could find a nice man to love her and her children. The girls could use two parents. Heather had been going it on her own for more than two years. Probably she didn’t have the time to even think about dating again.

Worse, Kristen had the time and a nice man who was interested, but she didn’t seem to want to let him into her life.

The phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts.

Reaching over to the nightstand, she picked up the receiver on the second ring. “Hello.”

“Margaret? This is John McClintock.”

“John.” Odd, John had never called her before. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Um, I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m having a big fish fry at the shop next Sunday. The proceeds are going to fund a fishing camp for local kids.”

“That sounds nice.”

“I was thinking maybe you could invite your whole family. Your nieces and nephew and those two cute little girls. I’ll bet those two rascals would like to learn to fish.”

Undoubtedly they would. The twins were a lot like her—always wanting to try everything at least once.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Margaret promised.

“Listen, I have another reason for wanting you to come.”

Margaret’s pulse sped up a bit, and she sat up. Here she’d just been thinking about seeing someone new. Was John interested in her? She didn’t know him well, but he’d always seemed like a very nice man.

“Yes,” she said expectantly.

“It’s my buddy Alex,” John said. “He’s a little soft on your niece Kristen, and she’s a difficult one for him to get to know. He’s gonna be at the fish fry, too.”