CHAPTER 9

“Yes, yes, I understand, Yvonne.” Avery was sitting at her aunt’s kitchen table, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Kate walked into the room in her heavy jacket and scarf, obviously preparing to leave. With her free hand, Avery motioned for her to wait. “Next Wednesday at eleven? Hold on.”

She covered the mouthpiece of the telephone. “My boss needs me for an emergency meeting next Wednesday morning. Will that be okay?” she whispered.

Kate nodded. “It’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll make sure not to schedule any appointments until the afternoon, and I can cover the tea if you run too late.”

“Thank you,” Avery whispered before uncovering the mouthpiece. “I can make it. All right. See you then. ’Bye.” Terminating the call, she shoved her cell phone in her pocket and sighed heavily, leaning against the table.

“What was that about?” Kate asked.

“One of my old clients, a woman named Wanda, disappeared a week ago. Her mother has already called the police to report her missing, but they want to meet with her caseworkers. Yvonne thinks it’ll be helpful if I’m there.”

Kate frowned. “I thought you were taking time away from the Center.”

“I know,” Avery said, rubbing her eyes. “I am.”

“Couldn’t someone else meet with Wanda’s parents?”

“The caseworker she was assigned to after I left already met with them, but they want me, too. I get it. She was my client. I might be able to help in some way. I’m going to think back through our sessions together, see what I can dredge up. Maybe she mentioned something to me that could be useful.” She met Kate’s concerned gaze. “Look, if it weren’t a dire situation, I wouldn’t be going in. She’s got a son, but she’s only nineteen. They think she’s relapsed and at this point, she’s been alone on the streets for a week. They wouldn’t have called me if they weren’t desperate. The least I can do is help.”

“Just take care of yourself, dear. I worry about you.”

“I worry about me, too,” Avery muttered, just as Kate began to cough. “And now I’m really worried about you. When did you start coughing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” her aunt said. “I’m sure it’s just something in the air.” Silently, she slipped out the door.

Avery looked after her aunt with concern. She’d have to keep an eye on her—she was clearly less worried about herself than she should be. Kate needed rest, and Avery would make sure she got it. It had been tough getting her aunt to slow down after her last chemo treatment. She’d been raring to go within a few days, but Avery—with Emma’s help—had convinced her to take it easy for another week. Now, she forced her protective instincts back down. Kate had said it was nothing, so she’d have to take her words at face value for the moment. If her aunt kept coughing, she’d worry more.

In the meantime, she returned her focus to her own situation. What did it mean that this was the second of her clients who’d had serious issues after she started working with them? It wasn’t unusual for clients to be tough, but having one die and another disappear within a few weeks was not exactly normal.

Wanda MacGreeley had been one of her more challenging cases, not least of which was because she was whip smart. Like many of her other charges, Wanda was a single mom referred to the rehabilitation program by Family Services so that she could keep custody of her child. But unlike so many of the others, Wanda seemed to have the genuine desire to get better—to kick the addiction and her demons—and graduate from the program. Just like Mia. Wanda had been doing so well when Avery left the Center. She was keeping clean, and she truly seemed to be motivated to stick with the program and get her son back permanently. What had made her deviate from the positive path she’d been following?

Avery went up to her room on the second floor. Because Kate had acted like a second mother to her and Emma after their mom had died, any place her aunt lived felt like home. Kate had moved to Star Harbor nine years ago, when Avery was in her freshman year of college. It was the year her mom finally succumbed to the cancer. Kate had set aside rooms in her new house for both her and Emma. The small, cozy bedroom was really hers, not some temporary space set up in an unused guest room.

Crossing the room, she made a beeline for her desk, where she kept a writing pad and lots of pens. Then she tossed the pad on the quilted coverlet of her queen-sized bed and jumped on after it. Lying there on her stomach, she began to think. It would be easier if she had Wanda’s case files to flip through, but she’d do the best she could without them.

She wrote down everything she remembered about the intake interview, along with details from their individual sessions. A few things jumped out at her, but nothing really noteworthy. Could she be missing something?

Sighing, she rolled onto her back, still desperately trying to remember anything that might be of help. If only she’d been able to take her work laptop with her when she went on her leave of absence. Unfortunately, that would have been against Back Bay policy—and would probably have violated all sorts of HIPAA regulations.

Avery’s mind was a riot of emotions and worry. If she were in Boston, she’d be able to reach out to her network and start tracking Wanda’s steps, but there was nothing she could do from Star Harbor. Without her notes, resources, or anything else that could help the girl, she’d just have to wait to talk to Yvonne and the MacGreeleys. In the meantime, she needed to keep herself busy so she didn’t go out of her mind.

She tried to practice the violin for an hour, but her heart just wasn’t in it. Putting her instrument away, she sighed. What else could she do?

Kate had mentioned something about Christmas lights a few days ago. Now was as good a time as any to get them out, since she sure wasn’t making any headway here. She padded down into the kitchen and rummaged around in one of the drawers. There it was, the key to the Inn’s cellar. She tucked it into her pocket and threw on her coat for the short walk to the Inn.

As she walked down Ashumet Avenue, she noticed that some homes were already decorated for Christmas. The street would look beautiful at night, illuminated by gorgeous holiday lights and gas lamps, but not as beautiful as downtown. When she was here last December, seemingly every store was decked out with lights and wreaths, giving the town an old-fashioned feel. And the big tree they lit up on the Green was the best of all. The whole town came out for the lighting. Wasn’t that supposed to be next week? Kate would undoubtedly want to go.

When she reached the Inn, she headed around the back, vaulted up the porch steps, and unlocked the door so that she wouldn’t need to bother rummaging for the key while she was carrying the Christmas lights. Then she skipped back down the steps, heading for the cellar door.

Like many of the older structures in Star Harbor, the Inn had been built in the 1600s, at a time when formal basements weren’t used. The dirt-floor cellar, not even accessible through the main building, was indicative of a time when families had used the space to store produce and other essentials. Avery had been down to the Inn’s cellar only once, to put away an old flag for Kate last summer. Even when it was 90 degrees outside, the cellar had been cold and dank, and Avery hadn’t lingered. Now she would need to spend some time down there searching for those lights. They were probably in a box, but she didn’t dare hope that it would be properly labeled.

When she reached the cellar, she frowned—the padlock was already undone, the shackle hanging open. Had Aunt Kate forgotten to lock the door? With growing unease, she pulled the large, heavy doors up and out.

“Hello?” she called into the dark hole.

Nothing. Not even her own voice echoed back at her. Sighing, she added Kate’s forgetfulness to her mental list of things to worry about, turned around, and gamely clambered down the small ladder until her feet touched the ground. Now where was the light? Feeling around with her hand, her fingers finally latched on to the switch that would turn on the overhead lighting. Within seconds, the space was suffused with dim light. She glanced around. The cellar ran the whole width of the Inn, but not the whole length. Nothing seemed amiss, so she started searching for the box of lights.

She squeezed past a large rocking chair and an old drying rack into the back section where the boxes were stacked up against the one wall that wasn’t made of dirt. She started pulling them down, one by one. As she’d suspected, none of them were labeled, so it took her a long time to look through everything. She opened each box, marveling at the amount of junk that Aunt Kate had managed to accumulate over the years. A whole box of playing-card sets? Ridiculous. A box of ancient china that she’d never display? Useless. Some of the boxes were very heavy. Her coat began to weigh her down, so she shucked it off, placing it on top of an old wooden chair.

Half an hour later, Avery had pulled the last few boxes out. Still no Christmas lights. She sighed and sat back on her heels. She should have known. The stuff in these boxes was ancient, and they’d obviously used the lights just last year. Buying a few new sets of lights went to the top of her mental checklist. Just then she heard a creak.

Heart beating wildly, she leapt to her feet, hand at her throat.

Theo stood there, wearing a snug black turtleneck and tan corduroy pants that emphasized his long legs. There was an odd expression on his too-handsome face.

“Avery,” he said, the low rumble of his voice filling the narrow space, “what are you doing here?” His eyes raked up and down her body, and deepened to that dark green she was used to seeing whenever he looked at her. The low light cast shadows across the planes of his face. He looked powerful and very, very beautiful.

She crossed her hands under her breasts defensively, trying to control her reaction to his physicality. “I might ask you the same question.”

“I heard noises, so I came to investigate. I wasn’t expecting to find you here.” He cocked his head at her. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find the Christmas lights,” she sighed. “Obviously, I’m not having much luck.”

“Maybe you’re looking in the wrong place,” he said with a grin. “What’s behind the wall?”

Avery glanced back. “Nothing, as far as I know.”

“Can I take a look?”

She gestured with her hand. “Sure. Why not?”

He squeezed by her in the narrow space, placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady so she wouldn’t fall down. Heat licked at her skin, but she forced herself to ignore it. She braved a glance at him, only to find that he was staring at her intently, his eyes simmering. Quickly, she looked away.

Then he was at the wall, rapping it with his knuckles, up and down. “Sounds hollow back there. Did your aunt have this built?”

Avery shook her head. “No, but I’m pretty sure it was here when she bought the place. I remember her telling me she asked the previous owners about it, but I don’t recall what they said. I can ask her.”

Theo rose, looking even taller in the low space. “Let me help you put this stuff back.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I know. But I want to.”

She inclined her head. “All right.” She could use the help. As long as he didn’t press her to talk.

“So does this mean you’re sticking around for Christmas?” he asked, stacking the first few boxes up, taking care to leave the mysterious section bare. Unfortunately, it meant that there was even less work space, and they were standing so close they were almost touching. His heat was palpable, and she couldn’t help but notice how nicely his clothes clung to his taut body. He lifted the boxes effortlessly, despite the fact that some of them were so heavy Avery had barely been able to budge them.

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“You should.” He was methodically closing and stacking boxes.

“Really?” she asked, closing a box and pushing it toward him. “Why’s that?”

“Oh, I can think of any number of reasons.”

“Like what?”

“Well, it’s gorgeous here this time of year, for one.”

“So says the man who ‘agrees with winter.’ ” She laughed. “I think it’s freezing.”

He grinned at her, white teeth gleaming in the dim light. “It is, but there’s a lot to look forward to. The tree lighting. Ice-skating on the pond. And all the ladies go over to the LMK to decorate cookies right before Christmas.”

“Uh-huh.” She wasn’t convinced.

“And of course, there’s being with family.” Now, that she understood. She’d spent most of her Christmases with Emma and Kate since her mom had died. For the past few years, she’d come for a short vacation in December but hadn’t actually stayed for the holiday, choosing instead to work extra hours at the Recovery Center for clients who might need assistance. For some reason, troubled people always seemed to be more sad, hopeless, and depressed around the holidays. She actually enjoyed the holiday work—it felt good to give her clients some much-needed hope and reassurance.

“You make a good point,” she admitted. “I love being with Emma and Kate at this time of year.” And since Kate had been diagnosed with cancer, each precious moment seemed to have a greater importance.

“Don’t sound so surprised that I’m right,” he said with a sly smile. She couldn’t help but smile back. He placed the last box on top of the now-towering pile. “Come on,” he said, holding out a hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

It would be stupid of her to touch him without a glove on, so she pointedly ignored his hand. “Thanks, I have it,” she said, turning to walk back down the narrow pathway to the staircase. She felt him behind her every step of the way.

“After you,” she said, gesturing with her hand, unconsciously initiating the exact conversation they’d had the first day he showed up at the Inn.

“Oh, no,” he said with a huge grin. “After you.”

Avery sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to insist now any more than she’d been able to then. Except this time it was worse. Now that they’d shared a passionate kiss, there was subtext to every conversation they had. Grabbing her coat from the chair, she began to climb. “Could you hit the lights, please? They’re to the left of the staircase.” She smiled to herself, knowing he couldn’t refuse her request.

At least it would keep his eyes off her ass.

Theo clambered out of the cellar in the dark. She was clever, this one. He tried not to let himself be too disappointed. If all went according to plan, there’d be other opportunities. Many other opportunities. Careful not to let the cellar doors slam, he swung them closed. Avery locked the dead bolt, double-checking to make sure it was secure.

“I still need to find those lights,” she said, frowning, before giving a little shiver. “Or buy new ones.”

“It’s freezing out here,” he said, noticing that her teeth had started to chatter. “Let’s go inside.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Avery made a beeline for the foyer as soon as she entered the Inn. Theo was forced to trail after her. At least he got the view he’d been denied a few moments before. She was wearing a dark blue sweater over a pair of jeans that hugged her ass in all the right places. He liked the way she looked in jeans. Of course, he liked the sexy librarian look too, but he’d take this outfit any day of the week—casual, comfortable, and relaxed. He followed the sway of her luscious curves until she disappeared around the corner.

“Ugh,” he heard her say. When he walked around the corner, he saw her crouched in front of a cabinet near the reception desk, a cardboard box flipped open on the floor. “Kate must have put them in here. I can’t believe I just wasted so much time.”

“I wouldn’t call it a waste,” Theo said with a smile. He’d take any opportunity to be near her, even if it was stacking boxes in a dusty old root cellar. Any chance to get her to open up. Any chance to show her that they could be good together. “C’mon, I’ll help you put them up.”

Avery glanced up at him. “No way. You’re a guest here.”

“I want to help. Besides,” he said slyly, “wouldn’t Kate want you to make your guests feel welcome?”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t include having our guests do physical labor or chores around the Inn.” She started pulling lights from the box and laying them out on the desk.

“I don’t see it as a chore.”

“It is. A big chore,” she said, continuing to work and doing her best to ignore him. Time to pull out the big guns.

“Avery, I haven’t put up decorations for myself since I moved to California. It would be a real treat for me. Besides, it’ll go a lot faster if we do it together. Maybe help make up for lost time. Please?” He couldn’t sound more charming if he tried.

“All right,” she reluctantly agreed. “Here.” She handed him some snarled lights. “You can untangle these for me.”

He grinned. “My specialty.”

“Well, a lot more of them are jumbled up, so I’m afraid you’ll be here for a while.” She pulled another bunch out and began to work on them. “And speaking of being here for a while, why aren’t you writing?”

He inclined his head, his eyes still trained on the lights as he tried to work his magic with the twisted strands. “I’m taking a break. Things are going really well and I’m getting a lot done at the Inn. I spent the morning sketching out the first few chapters of the book. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be ready to get back to San Francisco by the time my short-term renter is out.”

“When’s that?”

“The first week in February. I gave myself two months to get things sorted with my writing.” Of course, there was still his personal stuff to figure out, but that was a work in progress.

“I’m glad things are going well for you,” she said quietly. Theo glanced up at her. She was kneeling on the floor with her own head down, long, elegant fingers untwisting a strand of lights. She didn’t sound sarcastic, just genuinely happy for him.

“Yeah,” he said, giving a little laugh. “Me too. My agent was going to kill me if I didn’t start the book soon.”

“Why do you think you were struggling with the book before you came back to Star Harbor?”

Good question. “I think I was getting complacent. Things used to come to me so easily. Ideas just flowed. And then, they just stopped. What’s amazing is how long it took me to get my act in gear. I should have dealt with things awhile ago, but somehow I stagnated, as a writer and as a person.” She was still working, head down, untangling those damned lights. “I have to say, I’m glad I came back to Star Harbor, and I’m glad I met you.”

She looked up, giving him a brief, searching look. “I’m sure I’ll regret saying this later, but I’m glad I met you, too.”

Inordinately pleased by her admission, he grinned, but she ducked her head down again, missing his mile-wide smile. She was back to staring at those lights, fingers working nimbly to try to extricate one long strand from another. Her mouth was pursed in concentration and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Here, let me,” he said, reaching for the lights. She handed them over and he had them untangled in seconds.

“You really know how to work those,” she said. “I’m afraid I’m all thumbs with these lights.”

“Oh, I know you’re good with your fingers,” he said, deadpan.

She blinked and swallowed, looking startled. “Excuse me?”

“Luke told me you’re a great violinist.” He tried to look innocent, opening his eyes wide. “What did you think I meant?”

“Nothing.” She was staring at his mouth, and the tension between them was palpable. “I, ah, need to get a hammer and some nails. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Damn, but he loved to tease her, something he would never have thought of doing with his paramours back in San Francisco. There, it had been seduction by wit … or simply through his connections—again, depressing to contemplate. As he pondered this, he heard Avery rummaging around. He realized there must be some kind of supply closet near the kitchen. Sure enough, she returned carrying a small toolbox, looking unbelievably sexy with it in her hand. Placing the box on the reception desk, she sorted through it until she found what she was looking for.

“I think I remember how Aunt Kate had everything last year. Let’s do the outside lights first. Do you need to get your coat?”

“No. This won’t take long.”

“Famous last words,” she said with a chuckle. God, he loved her laugh.

“You’ll see. It’ll go fast. Then we can linger on the inside lights where it’s nice and warm.” He lifted one of the longer strands of lights and carried it to the door. Avery had already put on her coat and she followed him out with the hammer and nails.

As she eyed the Inn’s entrance and the porch overhang, Theo followed her gaze. Between last night and this morning, someone had put up a huge wreath on the front door. It had probably been Luke, who was constantly doing improvement projects around the Inn. A large, fragrant evergreen garland was draped over the frame and more garlands wove in and out of the porch railings. “I’m going to let you do the honors since you probably won’t need a ladder.”

Experimentally, he reached up. The Inn had low ceilings compared to many of the newer buildings in town. The door frame was about seven-and-a-half feet tall, and he could easily reach the top of it without even standing on his toes. “You’re right. Show me where you want the lights.”

“Just follow the greenery. Across there,” she pointed to the door frame, “and then let them hang down. We’ll probably only need a few extra nails to secure them up top. Then Kate usually wraps the porch columns and railing with more lights. They’ll look nice if we weave them in and out of the greens. If you attach the lights to the top of the columns, I can do the wrapping.” The columns were slightly higher than the door frame, but still within reach.

“Let me do the columns first. Then I can take care of the door frame.” It took less than five minutes to get the nails in place. While Avery was busy winding the lights around and around, he nailed the strand to the top of the door frame. Then he came back to help her finish.

By the time they were through, Avery’s cheeks were flushed from the cold and his own fingers were freezing.

“The outside looks great,” Avery said, once they were back inside the Inn. “Thanks for all of your help.”

“I can help inside, too,” he said, looking at her. She stared back for a moment, blinking a few times. Was she trying to figure out if there was some kind of hidden meaning behind his words? There wasn’t. He just wanted to spend a few more minutes with her before he got back to work.

“All right,” she said, turning away to shuck off her coat and grab a few more strands. “In here.” Carrying the lights carefully, she walked into the parlor, where more lush evergreen boughs had been arranged. “The lights go on the mantel and over these bookshelves.”

“Got it.” Theo took a strand of lights from her arm, deliberately letting his fingers brush against hers, and was rewarded by several fast eye blinks. He had her number, all right. She liked him—more than liked him—but she refused to admit it. He’d be as patient as he needed to be, because he knew that what she had to give was worth the wait. Gracing her with a slow, easy smile, he turned away and placed the first strand on top of the mantel, arranging it as best he could around the greenery. When he turned back to get the other strand from Avery, he saw that she was already across the room. Having removed her shoes, she was standing on top of a small sofa about two feet away from a bookshelf, straining to get the lights into place.

Just as he was crossing the room to help her, she toppled over the back of the sofa, giving a little cry as she realized there was nothing for her to hang on to. He caught her before she could hit the ground. There was a tinkling sound of broken glass as some of the lights were crushed against the wall, but she was safe in his arms. He shifted her so that one of his arms was around her waist and the other was under her knees.

“Th-thank you,” she said, barely daring to look up at him.

“I think you broke some lights. Better those than your head.”

“I know.” She swallowed hard. “I slipped on the silk.”

He glanced over at the fabric. It had a slight sheen to it, something he hadn’t realized until just now. “Look at that. You don’t even need to go outside to slip.”

Pink suffused her cheeks and she gave him a challenging glare. “You can put me down now.”

“Not until you thank me for catching you.”

“I just did.”

“I mean really thank me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What exactly do you want?”

“Something that you want, too.” He couldn’t help smiling as he hoisted her higher against his chest. Let her try to deny it.

But she didn’t. Instead of protesting, her gaze softened and she wrapped her arms around his neck, tipping her head back. His lips meeting hers was the sweetest thing he’d experienced since—well, the other time they’d kissed. She was warm and when she opened her mouth to him, he seized the opportunity, gently twining his tongue with hers in a delicate, complicated dance.

Careful not to step on the broken glass, he walked to the sofa and sat down, Avery still curled in his arms. She sat up in his lap, kissing him as if she couldn’t get enough. Her mouth was smooth and soft, just like her body. Slowly, he ran one hand up her rib cage over her sweater. She moaned a little, so he skimmed it higher, up the side of her breast. Still kissing him ardently, she pushed against him, a wordless plea for more attention. Gladly, he cupped her soft breast in his hand. Kneading gently, he savored the feel of her nipple hardening in his palm. When she moaned more loudly, he obliged her, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion over its tip. Desperate to feel her flesh, he slid his other hand under her sweater and up her back, loving the sensation of her satiny skin against his rougher hand.

Tightening her arms around his neck, she kissed his jaw from his chin to his ear before returning to his mouth. He was on the verge of losing all restraint when the chime of the clock striking the hour brought him back to reality.

Pushing her too fast would be a mistake. Reluctantly, he removed his hand from her breast, slipping the other one out from under her sweater. He cupped her face, enjoying her lingering look of passion. Her creamy white skin was flushed pink and her lips were swollen from his. There was a dreamy expression on her face and her eyes were still closed. When she realized that he had moved away from her, she opened them.

Consternation, then horror, flashed over her face. Shoving at him, she nearly leapt off the sofa.

“I—I did it again,” she said in disbelief, backing away from him and sweeping up her shoes.

“Avery,” he said, holding out his hand as he rose. “Wait, I—”

But Avery was gone. He’d been right to pull back.

She liked him. He was sure of it. But if she was fighting her attraction this hard, she was more closed off than he’d realized. His inner mastermind kicked in. Should he back off and give her a chance to catch her bearings? Or tempt her with everything he could offer? This required serious thought. But breaking down that little wall she’d built up around herself was an enticing challenge. One he couldn’t resist.