Miz Scarlet and the Bewildered Bridegroom (8 page)

“When did the Wilkies
leave for their hike?”

“It was just a few
minutes before I went upstairs. Diana wanted directions for the
blue trail, so I found her a park map. Last time I saw them, Dave
was getting their binoculars from their car.”

“There’s something off
about all this, Jen, something just not right. Why break a window
at the back of the house when the front door was
unlocked?”

“Maybe the burglar
didn’t know the front door was unlocked.”

“Or he didn’t want to
be seen entering the Four Acorns Inn. There’s shrubbery by the sun
porch and plenty of places to hide, with no neighbors to see
someone breaking the glass. Bur’s got a view of the sun porch, but
he wouldn’t notice unless he just happened to look out the window
at just the right moment.”

“But how could the
burglar know he wouldn’t get caught inside the inn?” Jenny
wondered. “It’s almost as if someone was watching me and waiting
for me to go upstairs.”

“Good point,” I nodded.
That made sense to me.
It could
even be someone who knows the daily routine.
“Maybe it was someone who’s familiar with the
inn, like a workman...a carpenter...or a delivery
man.”

“Or someone who’s been
here before, maybe a guest,” she added helpfully.

“A former guest?” That
thought was rather unsettling.

“Or someone with a
grudge,” she added.

Those words stabbed at
my heart like an ice cold knife, chilling me to the bone. I could
think of one man who would love to destroy the Four Acorns Inn. He
was the same man who once tried to kill me and was sentenced to
jail for his efforts. But as far as I knew, Ned Sorkin was still
behind bars and not dumb enough to think he could get away with
menacing me.

“Or it could just be
some run-of-the-mill thief, in search of something to pawn at
Phil’s Gold Exchange,” said an unexpected voice behind us. “Why
don’t you both take a deep breath and relax? You’re safe, I promise
you.”

“Kenny!” I felt a wave
of relief wash over me when I heard him speak those words. “You’re
always looking for the logical answer, aren’t you?”

“I am,” he smiled. “If
it’s any consolation, the current heroin epidemic is driving a lot
of criminal behavior, ladies.”

“You think it’s some
junkie?” If only he had stopped after he said we were safe, we
could have let ourselves believe. Now all I could think of was that
some desperate creature, in need of a fix, was lurking outside in
the hopes of catching an opportunity to break into the inn. I
wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

“Whoa!” Jenny recoiled.
“I could have been killed by some drugged-up
maniac?”

“It was probably just a
petty thief,” he insisted. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m
going to upgrade your security system right now. I even brought my
tool kit with me.”

“You did?” I asked,
still feeling alarmed at the prospect of another break-in. He held
up a black satchel, proof he was a man of his word.

“I’ll do anything to
keep you from climbing onto the runaway train to nowhere, Miz
Scarlet. Do us all a favor. Don’t make this more than it seems, at
least not without hard evidence. You’ll spook yourselves silly.”
Kenny leaned in and planted a polite kiss on my cheek, even as he
slipped his fingers down my back and playfully pinched my fanny,
out of sight of our teenage chaperone.

“That’s it? Case
closed?” The teenager didn’t seem convinced.

“Oh, I didn’t say that
to lull you into a false sense of security, Jen. I do have a plan
to protect the inn and its guests on the off-chance there is some
funny business going on.”

“You
do?”

“I do.” There were
those two words again. I stifled a smile and left him to his
explanation. “In fact, I think I’d like to be a guest at the Four
Acorns Inn. From this moment on, I’m Milton Worman from the Garden
State. I’m here on business and I would like a room for the
night.”

“But you already met
some of the guests,” I pointed out.

“Not all of them,” he
reminded me. “It was just the ones at dinner last night and with
the exception of Ms. Vinson and the doctor, they’re leaving
today.”

“Actually, Ms. Vinson
had a change in plans; she’s trying to book a flight as we
speak.”

“Milton Worman? Aren’t
you funny!” the teenager snorted, with the enthusiasm of a
ten-year-old who just found out the Boogey Man wasn’t under the bed
after all. “You don’t look like a Milton. You look more like a
Lance or a Brad.”

“I may be funny, but
I’d like that room. Is it available?” He took my hand and gave it a
squeeze. As our eyes met, I saw the raw determination in that gaze
and realized he was serious about keeping watch over the
inn.

“Well, we have the
Black Oak Room, because the Johnsons checked out earlier this
morning or, when Ms. Vinson vacates hers, you can have the Red Oak
Room.”

“Perfect. I’ll go with
the Red Oak. It’s a little more private. Let me go brief Poup on
the plan and I’ll just run home for a suitcase.”

The Wilkies came back
from their hike on White Oak Hill after all the fuss was over. I
left Bur to explain things to them, while Jenny and I got lunch
started.

Half way through our
preparations, Florence came into the kitchen to say farewell and to
settle up her bill. I could see Dave and Diana right behind her, so
I put on a good show.

“We’re so sorry to hear
you have an emergency back in Minnesota, Florence. Perhaps you will
come back and visit us again.”

“You’ve been so kind.
I...I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.” She grew
teary-eyed. It must be hard for her to see her romantic dream
crushed in such a public fashion, especially after her mammoth
effort to snag the bachelor.

“Not at all. I’m
crediting your account for the unused night. You have a safe trip
home.”

When Kenny returned
thirty minutes later, overnight case in hand, he actually signed
the guest register as Milton Worman. Jenny pretended not to know
him as she escorted him up to the Red Oak Room, just in case
someone was watching.

I got to work in the
kitchen, making a pie. Under the wistful gaze of Huck, January, and
Mozzie, I rolled out the crust, washed my fruit, and threw together
my spice mix. They waited patiently at my feet, hopeful I might
drop something tasty onto the floor. I almost did when the front
door burst open and I heard someone calling my name. The three
little dogs made a mad dash down the hall to greet
Lacey.

“I’m back! And I’ve got
a scoop for you, Scarlet Wilson! You’re not going to believe
this!”

She came through the
door, escorted by the canines, and settled herself on a counter
stool. I grabbed the blueberries and sorted them into a large,
stainless steel bowl, while she spilled the beans about Florence’s
unfortunate crush. According to our departing guest, Thaddeus had
been quite the handsome, chivalrous healer fifteen years ago.
Although happily married, that didn’t deter a number of nurses,
physical therapists, and other female hospital personnel from
setting their sights on bagging the trophy.

Florence herself had
had a number of affairs with married doctors over the years and all
the affairs had ended badly. Once or twice, Thaddeus had lent her a
shoulder to cry on, a sure sign in her mind that he was interested
in her. She convinced herself he was a man of honor who didn’t wish
to break his marriage vows. If only he had been free, they would
have had a passionate romance. When Thaddeus’s daughter recently
mentioned his upcoming appointment in passing to another member of
the retired nurses’ circle, the news made its way through the
social grapevine. Florence saw it as her “Nightingale” moment, her
chance to play nurse to the patient in need. She found out he was
booked at the inn and called to make her own reservation. Expecting
him to be delighted to see her, she was stunned by his lack of
response when they finally reconnected at the Four Acorns Inn.
That’s the trouble with one-sided romance. It’s like hitting the
proverbial brick wall at a hundred miles an hour when rejection
sets in.

“Well, at least now she
is spared the embarrassment of seeing Dr. Van Zandt and Laurel
together,” Lacey said. She poured herself a diet soda in a short
tumbler and added a couple of ice cubes before swirling the liquid
around a few times. She watched the contents bounce against the ice
and then took a long swig. Her unexpected silence caught my
attention.

“Is something wrong?” I
asked.

“Oh, I’m fine. I just
realized something, Scarlet. All those years ago, when my husband
had his many affairs, I never thought I could ever forgive the
women who betrayed me. To me, they were temptresses who seduced
him. But when I was talking to Florence today, I was struck by the
realization that it really does take two to tango. I wasted too
many years being angry at him for the wrong
reasons.”

“Wrong in what
way?”

“I convinced myself
those shameless hussies threw themselves at him, tempting a weak
man, but I realized for the first time today that it was always his
choice to have the affairs. I blamed the women for breaking up our
marriage, but he was the real problem. He encouraged them. Hell, he
even welcomed them into his bed.”

“It sounds like
Florence really got to you, Lacey.”

“She did. Or rather,
Reverend Hoskins’ sermon did. Maybe if we hadn’t gone to church
this morning, I wouldn’t have made the effort to be compassionate.
She fooled herself into believing that Thaddeus only stopped
himself from having an affair with her out of respect for his wife.
But the doctor really loved the woman he married. He never had any
intention of having an affair with Ms. Vinson.”

“And that makes him a
good guy?”

“It does. After years
of feeling like I didn’t put enough effort into my marriage, even
thinking that if I had paid a little more attention to the bastard,
he wouldn’t have strayed, I realize now that it really didn’t
matter what I did. My husband loved chasing and being chased more
than he loved me. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but learn it I
must.”

“That’s a pretty big
serving of humble pie,” I pointed out, as I laid the top crust over
the blueberries and began to crimp the edges. She smiled at my
feeble attempt at humor.

“Yes and no. I wasted a
lot of time trying to have the upper hand. I must confess I enjoyed
having men chase me all these years. It turns out I don’t really
have as much power over them as I imagined. In some ways, it’s
almost a relief to know that several of them spent time with me
because they genuinely liked me, not because I fooled them into
it.”

“Funny how romance is
never what we think it is,” I sighed, reaching over and patting her
hand affectionately. “Just out of curiosity, was there ever anyone
you thought was a keeper?”

She took a long, deep
breath and let it out slowly. “Gee, I wish you hadn’t asked me that
question, Scarlet.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, forget it. And
now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go have a quick cry and a
long bath, so I can pull myself together for the Scrabble
tournament tonight.”

“Shoot!” I groaned,
tapping my forehead. “I completely forgot about that. I have to
call Myrtle and Willow to find a substitute, since Florence
left.”

“We’re short a player?”
It was the way she said that, with a slight excitement in her
voice, that made me think she was going to skip that sob
session.

“Do you know someone
who might want to join us?”

“Perhaps. Yes, I just
might,” she replied, more to herself than to me. It didn’t take a
rocket scientist to figure out she had a man in mind. “Any chance
there’s an empty seat at the dinner table tonight?”

“Sure,” I smiled. “Just
let me know by six, Lacey.”

“I will. Believe me, I
will.”

“Oh,” said Jenny,
coming into the kitchen as we finished our conversation. “How many
places was I supposed to set for dinner? I only did
eight.”

“Put another one on,” I
smiled. “We can always take it off if we don’t need
it.”

By the time my mother
and Thaddeus returned from their day’s excursion, Bur had arrived,
ready for dinner and Scrabble. Judging from the frown Lacey wore, I
guessed that her plans had gone awry. Just before everyone sat down
to eat, Jenny quietly removed the extra place setting, wisely
keeping her tongue.

The Wilkies joined us
for dinner, but begged off on game night, telling us they wanted to
retire to their room, since they had an early flight to catch in
the morning. Jen and I cleared the table, and once the dishwasher
was loaded and the pots scrubbed, I cut the blueberry pie, topped
each piece with vanilla bean ice cream, and carried the tray into
the dining room. Jenny followed me with mugs of freshly brewed
coffee.