Winter Reunion

“How can he have the audacity to come in here?”

“I think I’d better go,” Dev said in a low voice. He turned to leave. “No sense in making anyone upset.”

Beth watched him go, her heart heavy. Maura had been against their marriage from day one, proclaiming that it was a terrible mistake. Ever the champion for her two daughters, she’d later pinned all blame for the divorce on Dev’s shoulders. Her heart had truly turned to stone over what happened after that, and Beth knew her mother would never, ever forgive him.

But the clock was already ticking on the situation with the Sloane House boarders. There was a lot of work to do with no time to waste, and much of it was going to involve Dev.

It was going to be hard enough as it was, and now Beth could only pray that she could keep her mother and Dev apart until at least one of them left town.

Chapter Four

Beth stood at the open door of her car and watched Dev park his late father’s Jeep behind her bumper, hoping her mother’s outburst hadn’t irreparably damaged their tenuous truce.

Maura had retreated into troubled silence on the topic of Dev after their encounter on Friday night. And since Dev had never been one for emotional scenes, preferring a stony retreat to fanning the flames of an argument, it wasn’t likely the two of them would ever come to any level of understanding even if they did run into each other again.

Beth had hoped to see him at church this morning for a chance to talk, but the fact that he hadn’t shown up wasn’t a surprise. As a teenager he’d attended only rarely and probably under duress, though his parents had been pillars of the community and staunch members of the church.

An old memory surfaced, of the first Sunday after Beth’s family had moved to town. She’d been a high school sophomore, and could still remember seeing the dark, brooding teenager in a pew with his parents. He’d been tall, dark and impossibly handsome. That raw, youthful appeal had nothing on what he’d become…six feet of solid muscle, with an aura of strength, even when he was standing still.

She’d never known exactly what he did in the Marines, but had no doubt that he completed his missions with the kind of intense, lethal power that allowed nothing to stand in his way.

Now, he climbed out of his vehicle, clearly favoring his injured shoulder, and started up the walk leading to the two-story brick home where he’d grown up, pausing to stare at the discreet, forest-green sign over the porch steps with Sloane House written in fanciful gilt letters.

There was no warmth in the firm set of his jaw or the flinty expression in his eyes when he spared a brief nod in her direction.

“Cool wheels,” she called out as she closed her car door.

“What?”

Belatedly remembering that he might not hear her clearly, she spoke louder. “The Jeep. It sure brings back memories.”

“Dad’s house calls,” he said on a long sigh.

Clutching a leather folder to her chest, she caught up with him at the front steps. “He had to be the last of a dying breed. He was such an institution around here.”

“A real hero, all right.”

Though from the lack of emotion in Dev’s voice, he’d been one to everyone but his son. “Even if he wasn’t a perfect father, he was well loved in the community, Dev.”

Dev tipped his head in silent acknowledgment.

“Nora told the boarders that we’d be here this afternoon. So how do you want to handle this?” Beth asked.

“I don’t. Hand me an M16—”

Startled, she looked over her shoulder at him. “A what?”

“Hand me an M16, give me a mission, and I’m good to go. But I don’t fit this everyday life in the States anymore. So how am I going to help these folks? If my mother cared about them, she should’ve allowed us to hire the appropriate staff.”

Beth suppressed a shudder, imagining the kinds of dangers he’d faced all these years. “I’m not sure these people need a staff, as such.”

“Then aren’t there other options—like low-cost public housing?”

“Not nearly enough in the county, and none here in Aspen Creek. The economy hit this town pretty hard over the past few years, so I don’t suppose there are any plans, either.”

Dev looked unconvinced. “I knew she’d turned the house into a boardinghouse, but her country club and golf buddies were her primary focus when I was a kid. I still can’t imagine my mother doing this.”

Privately, Beth agreed. Vivian Sloane certainly hadn’t had a very warm heart when it came to welcoming a young daughter-in-law into the family. What could have made her change during the last few years?

“Well, Nora has been overseeing things since your mother passed away, and that’s what her report said. Did you read your copy?”

“Just the first few pages so far.”

“She explained the whole operation, and listed the current residents. We’ve got just four adults here, plus one of them has her young son with her.”

Dev’s eyebrows rose. “A child? Here?”

“Hey, there are homeless families everywhere. At least this mom has a safe place for her son to live.”

“How long have they all been here?”

Beth shuffled through the papers in the folder. “According to the records, the current boarders moved in during the three months prior to your mother’s heart attack. Elana and her son Cody arrived just the week before.” She looked up and caught a flicker of uneasiness in Dev’s eyes. “But good news—residents do benefit from being here, and then they do move on. There were actually two more women and a gentleman, who left a few weeks ago.”

“Successfully, I hope.”

“All have their own apartments now, and have jobs in town. Nora has checked in on them a couple of times.” She looked up at him, and bit back a smile at the grim set of his mouth. “This isn’t some dangerous mission, Dev. It might actually be fun.”

“Right. If ‘the blind leading the blind’ isn’t a recipe for failure.”

“We’ll do fine. I suppose we should talk to them as a group and allay any fears they may have, then meet with everyone individually. What do you think?”

He sighed.

“Ready?” She crossed the wide plank floor of the porch, noting the half-dozen Adirondack chairs and rockers with bright red cushions and a checkers set sitting on a table. At the front door she hesitated, then rapped on the door.

A few moments later, a somber, gray-haired man peered out a beveled windowpane in the door before he opened it. “You must be Vivian’s boy.” He gave Dev a narrowed look. “And…you must be Beth Carrigan. We’ve heard about things changing around here.”

“We’re only coming on board to help out. Right, Dev?” She looked over her shoulder and winced at his dark expression.

“Folks here are worried. Most of us have been waiting in the parlor to hear what you have to say.”

“And you are?” Beth asked, extending her hand.

“Carl White. Thirty-two years on the railroad line till my heart gave out.” He thumped his barrel chest with his fist. “Got a pacemaker and new valves—a real overhaul. Almost ready to go down the tracks again.”

But his face was ashen, and he sucked in a rattling breath after each sentence. If he was planning to go down the road, she hoped it wouldn’t be very far.

“Good to meet you, Carl.”