Eight

There was a sense of relief that all had been worked out between Nadine and Abby because if it wasn’t, it was going to be a long and cold winter. I didn’t mean that to be about the weather either.

Poor Fifi was shivering as we headed back to the camper. I decided to take the long way around the lake to make sure all was well with the campground before I left for my big date. The last thing I wanted was a call from Dottie saying I had to come home from my date early due to someone at the campground needing something.

“I’m telling you, it’s not going to sell!” Valerie’s voice carried through the thin walls of the camper she and Nadine had rented. “No one is interested in that. Your readers want the fire. The sex. The romance. Don’t you get it?”

There were some mumbles from another voice that could only be Nadine responding to an angry Valerie.

I held Fifi closer to my body, so she’d stay warm and not squirm or yelp. Call me nosy. I liked to think I was curious.

“This is ridiculous. If you think that I’m going to sign off on any sort of thing like that, then you’re out of your mind! No one wants romance in the kitchen! The bedroom is where you write the words! That’s what makes it steamy. Not a cup of pasta!” There was a pause before Valerie started yelling again. “Just like this camper! What on earth is going around in that head of yours to make you want to stay in this hick town for months? These very cold months? That’s it! The cold has made you crazy!”

There was some stomping around, but I didn’t know who it was. When I heard the footsteps coming closer to the door, I took off. I didn’t want them to see me.

“Okay, sweet girl.” I grabbed one of Fifi’s sweaters from her drawer in my dresser.

It was the time of year she had to wear a little sweater all day and night. Tammy, her previous owner, did give me a slew of sweaters to pick from. After Fifi had babies from Rosco the pug, Tammy was all too happy to give me all of Fifi’s wardrobe, which at this time in my life was larger than mine.

“You’ve got it made, little girl,” I said to Fifi as I pushed around the hangers in the camper’s small closet. “What about this one?” I pulled out a black sweater that was more form-fitting than the sweatshirts Hank was used to seeing me wear.

I held it up to my body and turned around. Fifi was doing a little jig on the bed, causing her whole body to shake with delight. I swear fashion was ingrained in the little white fur ball. Tammy treated Fifi like Mary Elizabeth had tried with me, putting her in fancy clothes and classes in an effort to make her the best show dog around.

See where we both ended up. . .Happy Trails Campground.

“I think you’re right.” I twisted around the other way in the very small bedroom situated at the back of the camper and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror I had attached to the wall.

Space was limited in campers. Well, my space was limited. We had many tourists that’d come in those big fancy campers and RVs that were truly like houses on wheels. I’d never realized just how many people actually lived their life full time as campers, going from state to state and exploring the US. It was truly awesome.

“With the only pair of skinny jeans I’ve got and those beautiful snow boots,” I said with a hint of sarcasm, “this just might be the right outfit.”

I held the hanger up against me with one hand and grabbed a wad of hair with my other. I pulled it up a bit, thinking I’d wear the messy curls up, and moved side to side to see what I’d look like from different angles.

Fifi yipped from the edge of the bed.

“You’re right again.” I let go of the mop of a mess and let the curls fly out on all sides. “Down. There’s no sense in trying to fix this mess with . . .” I glanced over the bed and looked on the night stand at the glowing clock. “Only five minutes!”

I threw the shirt down on the bed and quickly ran to the bathroom to grab a spit bath since it was all I had time for. The night had gotten away from me and I thought I had a little longer than five minutes to get ready.

Before I knew it, the five minutes were up and Hank was right on time. Fifi had warned me before I heard the knock at the door. She was jumping up and down near the front door of the camper. It was her way of telling me someone had pulled up.

I had barely enough time to swipe on some red lipstick to give my pale face a pop of color before the knock came. I took one last look at my face. One thing I did miss about having the lifestyle I had before was the monthly dermatologist appointments that kept my face in shape with peels. I had had terrible acne as a teen. Though Mary Elizabeth adopted me in my early teens, she’d always complained that I should’ve gone to see a dermatologist for my skin way before she had fostered me. It was another dig I felt she’d made about my deceased parents. Maybe that was another reason I’d not liked living under Mary Elizabeth’s roof. I felt she was always trying put my parents down.

The louder the knock, the louder Fifi barked.

“Just go on in. Honey, if she’s expecting you, then she knows you’re here.” Mary Elizabeth’s voice travelled through the camper. When I came around the corner of the bathroom, she and Hank were standing in the combination family room and kitchen area of the camper chatting away like two old pals. “See, there’s my baby girl. And look at her. She’s beautiful just like they taught her in those fashion classes I stuck her in when she was fifteen.” Mary Elizabeth’s face beamed with pride.

“Hi.” I looked directly at Hank and nearly wanted to die right there. “Can I see you for a minute in my bedroom?” I gave Mary Elizabeth the death stare.

“I’m sure she wants my opinion on her outfit.” She fluttered her eyes at Hank, gently touching his arm as she walked past him. “Mmmmmm. . .” she hummed under her breath as she approached me. “I could sop him up with a biscuit,” she growled, lifting her perfectly tweezed brows.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, sliding the accordion door to the bedroom shut, giving us what little privacy a camper had.

“I saw your light on and was coming by to drop off a little pecan pie I made today. I noticed you’re a little too skinny.” She elbowed me in the ribs. “And if you want to keep that hunk out there, it appears I arrived just in time.”

“Listen, I’m so glad that you and Bobby Ray are having a wonderful time over there. Let’s get one thing clear.” I sucked in a deep breath and looked her square in her eyes. I wanted so bad to tell her that it was Bobby Ray who had invited her and make it known I had nothing to do with it.

Then she smiled. Her cheeks puffed out, and she smiled bigger. There was a touch of age in her eyes that I’d never seen before. The big old softie I’d become from all the warm welcomes the citizens of Normal had shown me over the past year started to melt the hardness of my heart towards Mary Elizabeth.

Instead of giving her a piece of my mind and telling her I didn’t want her around for Christmas, I swallowed that big breath and decided for my peace of mind that it was time to bury the hatchet. After all, it wasn’t like she was moving to Normal. Her visit would be over soon.

“This is my first date with Hank.” I bit back the anger. “Do you think I look okay?”

Mary Elizabeth clapped her hands in delight before she rubbed them across my shoulders like she was getting off some lint. Her mouth opened, and I waited to take the blow about how I needed to do something different or how my hair was unruly. She closed her mouth and smiled.

“You look beautiful.” Her words were simple and sincere. “You are the most perfect you there ever was. You’ve truly grown up to be an amazing individual. Though I didn’t raise you, I do hope that I had some hand in how you’ve turned out.”

My eyes watered. This was the first time I’d ever heard words come out of her mouth that I felt were honest as the humility covered her face.

“I know I wasn’t a perfect foster mom,” her voice cracked, and she lifted her hands around her neck. The strand of pearls cascaded down the front of her as she held one end of the strand pinched between her fingers. “I hope we can sit down while I’m here and make amends.”

She reached up and over my head, placing the pearls around my neck and clipping the clasp together. Then she adjusted the necklace, placing it perfectly around my neckline.

“I do love you and Bobby Ray as if I had birthed you.” She turned me around to face the full length mirror, her hands on each of my arms, her eyes staring at me over my shoulder. “Perfect touch.”

I gulped back the lump in my throat. I lifted my hands to Mary Elizabeth’s precious pearls that I’d once been grounded for after she caught me trying them on when she was in the shower so many years ago and ran my fingers along them.

“Are you sure I can wear them?” I asked when I realized they did make the outfit truly amazing.

“Wear them?” Her hands squeezed my arms. “They are yours now.”

There was no denying the tone of her voice. She meant it. The stern and final squeeze of her hands told me so.

“Now, before we forget and get lost in this crazy moment, you get out there to that man waiting for you.” Mary Elizabeth always did know how to diffuse a situation when she knew it was getting too heavy. “I’d love to keep my foster grand-dog.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I gave her the side eye.

“No. I’d love to. Just show me where the remote control is because I love that Real Housewives show and it’s about to come on.” She did not just say that.

“Who are you and where did you put Mary Elizabeth?” I asked in a joking way.

“You only know the mother side of me, which was what I had to be when you kids were growing up. Now you get the fun side of Mary Elizabeth,” she referred to herself in third person, ripping open the accordion door before she trotted out of the bedroom in her white furry snow boots.

“That was interesting.” Hank walked around the side of his truck and opened the passenger door for me.

“What? Hank Sharp opening the door for me? Or the fact my foster mom has showed up and decided to be someone I don’t recognize?” I asked. “I’m sorry,” I immediately apologized before I hoisted myself up into the truck.

Hank leaned up against that open door, his body shielding me from the chilly winter breeze.

“Sorry for what?” His big grin reached his green eyes, lifting them at the corners. “I finally get to know the real May-bell-ine. When you asked her how you look? You look amazing.” He winked, slamming the passenger door. My heart did all sorts of flip flops in ways it’s never flopped before.

“I guess you heard us in the other room?” I wiggled around nervously in the seat and adjusted the heat vents on my side.

“It’s not like we weren’t ten feet from each other with a tiny door separating us.” He had both hands on the wheel, slowing taking the road through Happy Trails. “I think it’s interesting to meet the woman who fostered you after your parents’ deaths. I mean, I’m sure it’s hard to take in a teenager.”

“You know all about that?” When I looked over at him, we were passing Dottie’s camper. She had the curtain pulled back and waved at me with a big grin on her face.

“When someone by the name of Mae West decided to blow into Normal, Kentucky, with the attitude you had, I had to know what this gal was all about.” He leaned over the wheel, looking past me and then the other way before he pulled out to the main road leading into Normal. “Of course I looked you up, even though I knew about your past with your ex. Then I really got to know you after you decided to put your nose into my investigations.”

“Listen, I think I have a knack for that sleuthing stuff.” I teased as he belted a big belly laugh. “But you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“Is that right?” His southern drawl gave me goose bumps all over my body.

“I’m sure there’s not going to be any more murders of people I know. Three is plenty. If we could just skip the rest of this month and get to the new year, I’d be all for it.” I looked out the window at the snow. “It sure is coming down out there. I didn’t know you had a truck.”

“Yeah. I think everyone in this part of Kentucky has one since we have the national park and curvy roads.” He continued through town and past the library, which was the last building on the street.

“Maybe I should get a truck,” I made mention.

“I’ll be more than happy to take you anywhere you want to go.” He reached over and touched my hands I had folded in my lap. “I’m sorry. Was that too forward?”

“No. Not at all.” I liked how his hand was heavy on top of mine. For some odd reason, it made me feel safe and gooey inside. I liked that. “It looks like Nadine is going to see Abby.”

Nadine White was walking up the steps of the library with a big basket.

“Her agent told me they were going to drop off a big basket of goodies and books for Abby at the library as a way of not only apologizing but to make peace.”

“I heard about that whole scuffle thing when I called to check on Ms. White before I picked you up. She seemed awfully concerned with that photographer this afternoon and I just told her that I couldn’t be hired on the side since I was going to be on forest ranger duty a few times during her visit.” He took the next road on the left. There weren’t any street lights, but the moon shined so bright off the snow there was barely any need for the truck’s headlights to show us the way.

“I wished the internet at The Laundry Club hadn’t gone out just as Abby put it on social media that Nadine White was going to be in town.” I could feel my shoulders start to relax a little more and I let my fingers entwine with his. I felt like a teenager going on a date.

“Abby is the one who let the world know Nadine was here?” He shook his head.

He turned the truck into a parking lot where there were a lot of other cars parked in front of a big red barn. The Red Barn was the name posted across the top of the barn near the open door to what had been a hay loft at one time.

“I’ve never been here. I’ve heard about this place and they do have some flyers at the campground office for tourists, but I’ve never checked it out.” The snow on top of the barn roof sparkled in the moonlight. The mountains of the Daniel Boone National Park shadowed in the background made the entire scene as pretty as a picture.

“I’m honored to be the first to bring you.” Hank put the truck in park. “Now, you wait right there because I’m going to be the southern gentleman you don’t think I can be and open your door.”

“I never. . .” I started to protest his observation of me.  And started back up when he opened the door, “To clarify, I never thought you weren’t a southern gentleman.” I got out of the truck. “I said that you were a different type.”

“You told me that Ty was sincere and thoughtful. True to his southern roots.” Hank had a good memory.

“But you didn’t hear me say that I thought you were the protective type of southern gentleman.” Which was the truth.

When I first opened up my heart to even think about a relationship, I was charmed by Ty’s sweet demeanor and attention, which was what I had needed at that moment in time. It was Hank’s protectiveness and his making sure I had everything I needed in the long term that really stole my heart.

“You are a listener. When I mentioned that I needed to plow for campground’s gator for snow removal, you found me one.” I was about to give another example, but Hank had a different idea.

He put his finger on my lips. His large hand took my face and held it gently, forcing me to look at him. There was a deep softness to his green eyes that I’d never seen before.

“You will always be safe with me. I will always protect you.” He leaned in and his lips touched my lips like a soft whisper.

He pulled back, leaving me standing there with my lips puckered and ready for more. When I opened my eyes, he was grinning.

“I had to get that out of the way or it would have been on my mind all night.” He reached down and grabbed my hand, leaving me breathless and speechless. “Looks like I did it again. I left Mae West speechless for the second time ever.”

“Stop it.” I teasingly smacked his arm and let him lead me into the barn.

If you’d told me that an old farm barn could be romantic, I would have laughed and told you about some really neat place in New York City that’d charm the pants right off you when you stepped inside, but this old barn was so charming. I had not been to a nice restaurant in almost a year now, so maybe that’s the reason I immediately fell in love with the place.

Long gone were the old stalls , hay lofts, and dirt floor. The inside was completely open with exposed wood beams. I wasn’t sure if they were original to the barn, but if they weren’t, someone had gone to great lengths to make it look like they were. Each wood beam had strands of small, round light bulbs that were turned down just enough so you could see what you were eating but made you feel as if you were dining in moonlight.

Tables draped with white linen tablecloths were scattered around with a romantic red candle in a lantern in the middle of each. Some of the tables had two chairs while others had four.

Along the back of the barn was a long bar with floor to ceiling shelves of every Kentucky bourbon and wine you could imagine. There was no mistaken the pride the Red Barn took in their spirits.

To the right of the bar, there was just enough space for a band. Tonight the band was playing some jazz, which I loved.

“Reservation for Sharp.” Hank held my hand so tight as he proudly said his name.

“Please follow me.” The hostess grabbed two menus and walked ahead of us. “Can I start you off with some wine?”

Hank rattled off something that I wasn’t familiar with. Really, I wasn’t familiar with much alcohol other than a beer every now and again.

“What do you think?” He asked a very good question that I wasn’t sure how to answer.

“What do I think?” I needed clarification. Was he asking about the kiss or the restaurant?

Both were amazing.

“About the atmosphere?” He suddenly looked very amused. “Wait. You were thinking I was asking about me kissing you.”

“No, I wasn’t.” I tried to play it off.

“Oh, Mae West. Yes, you were.” He gave me a friendly smile, bantering back and forth with me in a relaxed manner. “I’m getting so good at reading you now. I was a little off when you first moved here, but you aren’t as transparent as you want to be.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tossed some curls behind my shoulder. Had I really lost the touch of not showing all my cards, I wondered.

He laughed triumphantly.

“Stop it.” I folded my arms in front of me. “Stop making fun of me.”

“I’m not. You’re cute.” Those two words sounded so odd coming from him.

Cute and the six-foot, dark haired, green eyed and just enough muscles under his shirt to make him hunky didn’t seem to go together, but he pulled it off.

“Cute?” My jaw dropped.

“Gorgeous and I’d like to revisit that kiss later. I just knew I couldn’t sit across from you like this if it were still burning in my head what it would be like to kiss you. And I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint.”

The waitress had come over with the bottle of wine Hank had mentioned to the hostess and did the whole swirl test. It was something my ex would do at the restaurants we visited in the city before the scan he pulled over everyone’s eyes imploded and blew up my life.

Hank gave her the nod and she poured two glasses of the pinot he’d picked out.

“To a real first date of many.” Hank lifted his glass in air, starting the first toast of many to come in our future.

Both of us had gotten the steak special. The conversation flowed with ease like we’d known each other for a longer period of time. I got to know about his family and how they still lived in Normal. He’d even slipped and said that he couldn’t wait for me to meet them, which made me believe this was more than a onetime gig. The way things were going, that sounded good to me. I knew I wasn’t ready to make a big commitment, but spending time with Hank was a responsible way for me to have companionship and take baby steps in that direction.

“My mom loves Ginger.” He lit up when he talked about one of Fifi’s puppies that he’d given to his mother as a gift. “Ginger goes everywhere with her.”

“I love that. What does her fur look like?” I had wondered if the mix of poodle and pug did any sort of damage to the little ones. Since I had given the other puppies to tourists after I’d made them fill out adoption paperwork with the local SPCA and undergo a background check, I’d not kept in touch with them.

“She looks like a poodle, but she has tan fur, not white. What amazed my mom the most was that she could walk into any gun shop and walk out with a gun in fifteen minutes while it took five weeks to adopt a dog.” He shook his head. “As someone who carries as an officer of the law, I agree with my mom.”

“I’m so glad the ASPCA has that process because I was so worried about the safety of Fifi’s babies.” I wanted to keep them all, but there was no way I could have them in the camper. Fifi was already high maintenance, and I couldn’t imagine having several more like her.

While the band played, we both sat back with our wine and listened with ease, never once trying to make conversation or force it along. It was nice to be able to go out and enjoy another adult. Especially a good looking one that did have good kissing skills, though I wouldn’t admit that at this point.

“I hate to see the night end.” Hank hinted around to extending it once we got back to the camper.

“That’s strange,” I noted when we drove past the library. “Abby is still there and it’s after ten.”

Nothing in Normal was open past eight or nine p.m. Most businesses closed around six p.m. and the library was one of them.

“That is odd.” Hank pulled the truck over to the curb right behind the rental I’d seen barreling out of the campground that Nadine White had been driving.

“Oh, maybe she and Nadine have bonded. I’m sure they’re gabbing over books.” I shrugged Hank’s concern off.

“I’d rather go check it out. That Nadine sure was upset about people finding out she was here.” He threw the gear shift into park. “You wait right here.”

As if.

I jumped out of the truck as soon as I saw him walk around the front of it.

“Really?” His brow lifted with amused contempt.

“She’s my friend. I want to make sure she’s OK.” Not that I thought anything was wrong, but I did kinda wanted Nadine to see that I was with Hank because I seen the look on her face at the Normal Diner this morning when she was sitting across from him.

Hank left the southern gentleman from earlier at the restaurant behind as he bolted up the front steps of the library. It was a very old Victorian house that’d been converted into the town’s library. There were concrete steps leading up to a wraparound porch where Abby had placed rockers for readers’ enjoyment. She even left them out in the winter along with a basket next to each one with a quilt made by women in the Women’s Club of Normal.

Hank opened the front door.

“That’s weird too.” I bit on my lip as a tiny bit of worry settled into my gut. “I’ve been here before when she’s putting newly cataloged books on the shelf after hours and she always locks the door.”

The loudest scream I’ve ever heard came from the office.

I stood there in slow motion as I watched Hank draw the gun from the hidden holster under his shirt. I shoved past him, running towards the office. It was as though my feet had a mind of their own.

“Abby?” I questioned when I got to the door and noticed she was standing over Nadine White on the floor. “Did you scream?”

I could feel Hank behind me.

“Abby?” Hank called.

She stood with her back to us. My eyes drew down her body until they saw the bloody knife dangling from her fingers.

She turned around. Her eyes hollow.

“She’s dead,” she replied in a small frightened voice.