Home to Whiskey Creek

“Arnold. Don’t you remember her?”

“You mean Olivia’s sister?”

“That’s right. She wasn’t in your grade, was she?”

“Olivia was, but not Noelle. Noelle’s two years younger. So why did she drop in?”

There was a shrug in Gran’s voice when she answered. “Said she heard about what happened and felt terrible. She brought a gift from that shop where she works.”

This was completely unexpected. Addy knew her, but they’d never been friends. “Which shop is that?”

Gran had given her a lot of information over the years. Addy knew that Noelle had married the handsome Kyle Houseman even though Olivia, her sister, had been dating him only a few months before. She knew that Kyle’s proposal had a lot to do with Noelle’s pregnancy, and that Noelle had aborted the baby after they were married without telling Kyle, which pretty much destroyed any obligation he’d felt toward her and resulted in their divorce. But she didn’t know where Noelle had gone to work. She probably would’ve learned if she’d returned when Olivia married Kyle’s stepbrother, Brandon Lucero. She’d wanted to attend the ceremony. She and Olivia had called and exchanged emails for several months after she left town, but Addy had eventually stopped responding. She’d done what she could to break ties with everyone except Gran and those who helped Gran, like Darlene. She couldn’t have too many people drawing her back to Whiskey Creek....

“A Damsel’s Delights.” Gran smiled when she managed to remember the name of the store. Her mind was mostly sound, despite her age. “They have dresses, handmade jewelry, hats and other accessories.”

Addy pictured a quaint-looking shop done up in pink and brown with striped awnings and cute tea tables out front. “Oh, it’s a couple of blocks down Sutter Street. I saw it when I drove through on Saturday.” Once she’d arrived, she’d wanted to see what had changed while she’d been gone and was relieved to find that there wasn’t much she didn’t recognize. Set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Whiskey Creek had been founded during the gold rush and, like so many other towns with a similar history, had covered boardwalks, old-fashioned light poles and a bevy of restored Victorians and shops that maintained the nineteenth-century feel.

“She’s been running the place since her divorce.”

“Why’s she working? You told me she stuck Kyle for quite a bit of spousal maintenance.”

Gran’s voice turned sour. “She took him for everything she could. She wanted him for his money—and to hurt her sister.”

“I’m guessing it worked on both counts.”

“Sure did. Can’t say why she went back to retail. Maybe she doesn’t have anything better to do.” She clicked her tongue. “I feel sorry for her parents. She’s always been such a...difficult girl.”

Which Gran understood, thanks to her own daughter.

“Why is she reaching out to me?” Addy asked.

“She probably needs a friend. Everyone who lives here is on to her.”

It wasn’t like Gran to dislike anyone, but she clearly disliked Olivia’s younger sister. “Olivia lives in town these days, doesn’t she?” Addy asked.

“Not far. Brandon owns a cabin up in the mountains. But he won’t have anything to do with Noelle, so they don’t spend much time together. Her parents aren’t pleased that he’s drawn such a hard line. They blame him for ‘breaking up the family,’ but...if you ask me, he’s doing the right thing.” Her hand shook with the usual tremors as she carried Addy’s plate to the table. “And I think Olivia’s secretly happy about the break.”

“After what Noelle did to her, Olivia has every right not to spend much time with her sister. Has Kyle remarried?”

“Not yet.”

“Is he seeing anyone?”

“Haven’t heard, but somehow I doubt it. He wasn’t given any choice when his wife aborted his child. And he lost his true love to his stepbrother. Life has been hard on him.”

Addy shifted to relieve the pressure on her sore backside. “He got Olivia’s sister pregnant, Gran.”

“He and Olivia were on a break.”

“They hadn’t been split up very long. Some people would say he deserved what he got.”

“Those people don’t know Noelle. She’s a life-wrecker, just plain wicked. You should see how shamelessly she flirts with Brandon if she ever runs into him. I’ve witnessed it at the restaurant, and I’m guessing that’s why he won’t have anything to do with her. He’s not about to let her ruin his marriage.”

Adelaide took a bite of meat loaf. “It takes two to make a baby.” After being married to an adulterer, she wasn’t letting Kyle off the hook too easily.

“That’s true, but Kyle’s paid the price for his mistake. He’s a good man.” She touched Grandpa Davies’s war picture hanging near the stove as if to say he wasn’t the last good man, after all. “He stood up and married her even though he knew what he was in for, didn’t he? Did it for the baby. That’s called taking responsibility for your actions, and it’s something I don’t see too often these days. Everyone wants to make excuses. Anyway, I like him. I hope he can find a woman who’ll treat him right.”

“Don’t look at me.” She lifted her hands in mock protest.

Gran didn’t laugh; she scowled. “Why not? Don’t you think he’s handsome?”

He was handsome. But so were his friends. Especially Noah. She had to admit that, despite everything, she still felt a sizzle when he was around. She’d have to be dead not to feel something. He had that much sex appeal. But she’d gone to great pains to extricate herself from this town. She wasn’t about to build any relationships while she was here—not with Noah or Kyle or anyone else.

“He’s not bad.” She pretended to be intent on stirring gravy into her mashed potatoes when she added, “Do you see him with Noah very often?”

“Oh, yes. They come into the restaurant all the time. To this day, that whole group is the best of friends.”

Adelaide had always envied them their closeness. Her class had nothing to rival the clique that had included Cody and Noah, Eve, Cheyenne, Gail, Callie, Ted, Kyle and others. Maybe that was why she’d acquiesced so easily when she was invited to that fateful party. She’d known a lot of popular people would be there. She’d accepted in the hope that Noah and his friends might go, too.

And Cody had gone....

“Speaking of Noah, I think we should invite him over for dinner, to thank him for his help last night, don’t you?” Gran said.

Adelaide nearly choked on her food. “I’m sure that’s not necessary. He doesn’t expect anything.”

“Maybe he doesn’t expect it, but he might enjoy it.”

Addy had offered him something. She’d been loopy when she’d asked what he wanted as his reward, but she could remember the way he’d looked at her when he’d said, “After the past half hour, that’s not a fair question to ask me.”

She was glad he hadn’t taken her up on anything specific. This way, they could both just...let it go.

“Don’t you agree?”

When Gran turned to face her, Adelaide set down her fork. “To be honest, I’d rather not see him again. It was awkward when he had to take over for you yesterday. We—we don’t really know each other that well.”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” She waved Adelaide’s words away. “What are a few slivers? A pretty woman like you...I’m sure he didn’t mind one bit. But we do owe him. What would’ve happened to you if not for him?”

She hated to imagine. But...he wouldn’t have had to save her if not for his twin brother. “Maybe when my scrapes and bruises have healed,” she mumbled, hoping that small concession would encourage Gran to leave the matter in her hands.

“Noah’s a lot like Kyle.”

“He’s a cheater?” she teased.

“He’s a good man!”

Adelaide wasn’t so sure. Cody had seemed just as promising—just as smart, handsome, athletic and even more popular. He’d had such innate ability, could do anything and do it well. She’d experienced the effect he had on others firsthand.