Hide in Plain Sight

Andrea was the oldest. She was the responsible one. She’d take care of it.

The trouble was, she was responsible to her job, as well, and there couldn’t possibly be a worse time for her to take off. Gordon Walker would not understand his right-hand woman requesting a leave to help her family. He hadn’t even taken time away from work when his wife was in labor with their twins.

Of course, he and his wife were now divorced, and he saw his daughters once a month if he was lucky.

She tried again. “I’m in the middle of a very important project, and I’m on a deadline. I couldn’t take time off now. It wouldn’t be fair to the company.”

It wasn’t fair to her, either. Maybe that thought was unworthy, but she couldn’t help it. The promotion her boss had been dangling in front of her for the past year would be hers when this project was completed. Her position with the company, her stable, secure life, would be assured.

“Can’t someone else take over for you?” Grams’s brow furrowed. “We’ve already accepted reservations for our opening weekend. All the rooms are booked. We can’t turn those people away now.”

Grams’s sense of hospitality was obviously offended at the thought, even though these would be paying guests. Andrea could see it in her eyes. An Unger didn’t let people down.

I’m a Hampton, too. She thought bleakly of her father. They’re pretty good at letting people down.

Rachel tried to push herself up on the bed a little, wincing, and Andrea hurried to help her.

“Take it easy. I don’t think you should try to do that on your own. Those casts must weigh a ton.”

“If they don’t, they feel like it.” Rachel moved her head restlessly on the pillow.

Looking into Rachel’s eyes was like looking in a mirror. Green eyes, cat’s eyes. All three Hampton girls had them, even though otherwise they didn’t look at all alike.

She was the cool, conservative blonde. That was how people saw her, and she didn’t find anything wrong with that. It fit with who she wanted to be.

Rachel, two years younger, was the warm one, with her heart-shaped face and her sunny-brown hair. She had the gift of making friends and collecting strays everywhere she went. Sweet, generous, she was the family peacemaker, always the buffer.

And they’d needed a buffer, she and Caroline. Her youngest sister had been born an exotic orchid in a family of daisies. She certainly looked the part. In her, the green eyes sparkled and shot fire. Her hair, a rich, deep red, had been worn in a mass of curls to below her shoulders the last time Andrea had seen her. Currently, as far as she knew, Caroline was making pottery in Taos. Or maybe it was turquoise jewelry in Santa Fe. Andrea couldn’t keep up.

“I could come home in a wheelchair. We could get some extra help and I could supervise.” But the tears that shone in Rachel’s eyes belied the brave words, and she thumped one hand against the side rail of the bed, making the IV clatter.

“Honey, don’t.” Andrea caught the restless hand, her heart twisting. “It’ll be all right.”

But how would it be all right? How could she be true to herself and yet not let them down?

Rachel clung to her, much as she had when Mom had taken them away from Grams and Grandfather so many years ago. “You mean you’ll do it?”

“We’ll find some way of handling the situation. I promise.”

Rachel gave a little sigh, relaxing a bit, though worry still puckered her brows.

“Good,” Grams said. “I knew we could count on you.”

She’d told her boss she couldn’t be back until Monday, though she’d continue working while she was here. She was only a phone call or an e-mail away, after all. By then, she’d somehow convince Grams and Rachel that with Rachel laid up for who knows how long, starting a bed-and-breakfast didn’t make sense.

A glance at Rachel’s face assured her that now was not the time to mention that. Rachel was far too fragile.

She’d discuss it with Grams later. Giving up the inn was the best thing for everyone, especially Rachel. Once she was healed, she could get another restaurant job in a minute with her skills, and if she needed help to get through until then, Andrea or Grams would certainly provide that.

Right now she had to do something to wipe that strained expression from Rachel’s eyes. “Did you hear about my adventure getting here last night? Rescued from a ditch by your handsome tenant. Hope you don’t mind my using your car while mine’s in the body shop.”

“Grams told me Cal brought you to the hospital. He is a hunk, isn’t he?” Some of the tension eased out of the pale face. “So, you interested, big sis?”

“I wouldn’t want to tread on your territory.” She smiled. “We made a deal a long time ago, remember? No boyfriend poaching.”

“Sad to say, Cal doesn’t see me as anything but little-sister material.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have to admit, when I first met him, I thought there might be something, but the chemistry just isn’t there.”

Andrea didn’t bother to analyze why she was relieved. “I understand he’s been around for about a year?” She made it a question for both of them.

“Just about,” Grams agreed. “He stayed over at the Zimmerman farm for a while, I think, when he first came to the area.”

“You never mentioned renting the barn to him when we talked.” Grams and Rachel had come into the city for dinner just a month ago, but in all their talk about the inn, they hadn’t brought up their resident tenant.

“Didn’t we? I thought you knew about him.”

The vagueness of it got under her skin. “Where did he come from? What did he do before? What does Uncle Nick think of him?” Her grandfather’s business partner had a solid, no-nonsense attitude that Grams lacked.

“I don’t know. Does it matter?” Grams frowned a little, as if Andrea had said something impolite. “And it’s not James Bendick’s business.”

Rachel moved slightly. “He’s a nice guy. That’s all we need to know.”

It wasn’t all she needed to know. Perhaps the truth was that Grams hadn’t mentioned him because she’d known exactly the questions Andrea would ask and didn’t want to answer them. Grams did things her own way, and she’d never appreciated unsolicited advice.

“I believe I’ll get some coffee.” Grams stood, picking up her handbag.

“I’ll get it for you, Grams,” she offered.

Her grandmother shook her head. “You stay here and talk to Rachel. I want to stretch my legs a bit.”

Andrea watched her leave, her heart clutching a little. Grams wouldn’t admit it, but she was slowing down. Grams had always been so strong, so unchanging, that age had sat lightly upon her. It had seemed she would never let it get the better of her. But that had been an illusion.

A weight settled on Andrea’s shoulders. She had to make the right decisions now. Rachel, Grams—she was responsible for both of them.

“Are you okay, Dree?”

She shook off the apprehension before she turned to look at her sister. “Sure. Just worried about you. Did the police talk to you about the accident?”

Rachel nodded. “The township chief was in before you got here. It doesn’t sound as if they have much evidence. He wanted to know if I remembered anything.”

“Do you?”

Rachel moved restlessly. “I don’t remember anything that happened after about noon yesterday.”

THREE

Cal let himself in the side door of the Unger mansion, toolbox in hand. He’d told Katherine that he’d fix the loose post on the main staircase, but that wasn’t his only reason for being there.

He’d been mulling it over, praying about it, most of the day. Prayer was still new enough to him that he wondered sometimes whether he ought to be asking for guidance about simple everyday things. Still, it was comforting to feel that Someone cared.