Summer Reading is Killing Me

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

I spent the rest of the afternoon unloading boxes of books from the van. I explained to patrons that no, I didn’t know when the Founder’s Day Celebration would be rescheduled, and yes, we would still hold a book sale. By the end of the day, I was grubby from the boxes and cranky from answering the same questions a dozen times. I loved the town of Miller’s Cove, but the town’s overactive grapevine of gossip exhausted me. Despite my protests to the contrary, everyone assumed I had all the gritty details of the investigation since I found the body. They gave me a wink and a nod hinting they understood I had to keep things under my hat. If I told them just a little nugget of gossip, they promised to stay mum. When I didn’t spill the beans, they gave me a disappointed shake of their head and walked away.

When I got home, I fed Ferdie, my oversized Maine Coon cat. I poured myself a tall glass of iced tea and turned on the Philco Model 70 Cathedral radio I rescued and restored after one of my antiquing trips around the state. Soft jazz played as I strolled into my living room. I kicked off my flats and sank into my favorite chaise. With the heat of the late afternoon beating against my windows, I was grateful the prior owner had installed central air. I adored all things from the early part of the twentieth century, but I am a huge fan of cool air on a muggy summer day.

I pulled my cell phone from my front pants pocket and dialed Clint’s number. His message played and the sound of his deep, husky voice sent a little thrill through my body. I left a message. “Hey you. You must still be in class. Had some excitement here today and wanted you to hear it from me first. Call me when you get a chance. Love you.” I hung up and set the phone on my coffee table.

I heaved a sigh and decided I better jump in the shower before heading to the movies with Grant. The cool water washed away the day’s exhaustion and book grunge. Wrapped in a towel, I picked through my closet and pulled out a navy sundress splashed with white daisies. I put on a pair of espadrilles and the small white gold heart necklace studded with blue sapphires that Clint had given me for Valentine’s Day. I left my long, red curls loose around my shoulders and added a swipe of mascara and a touch of peach lip gloss. Eyeing myself in the mirror, I decided the outfit said movies with a friend and not date. After last year, I didn’t want misunderstandings between Grant and me.

The doorbell rang, and I grabbed my purse and headed to the door. I stepped outside and Grant gave me a hurt look. “You won’t invite me inside?”

Suppressing a nervous titter I said, “I’m ready, and I haven’t been out to a movie in a long time. Let’s just go.” An awkward moment lay between us. The last time I watched a movie with him was right before his mother whacked me in the head with a shovel then tried to poison me. “What are we going to see?” I gave him a bright smile to hide my discomfort.

“ We only have two choices. One is an action film that involved race cars and fiery explosions. You would hate it, so we’re watching African Queen.” Grant opened the passenger door of his sports car, and I slid into the soft buttery leather seats.

“ I love Katherine Hepburn. I haven’t watched that movie in years. Perfect choice.” This time the smile I offered him was genuine. He eased the car onto the road and ten minutes later we were pulling up to the theater.

“ Listen, Phee, this isn’t the time or the place, but I’m sorry for what my mother did to you and to the people here in Miller’s Cove. I needed to apologize and have you forgive me before I leave. A law firm in Burlington offered me a position, and I accepted it.” He pushed a hand through his blond curls.

“ I don’t know what to say. I understand it’s hard to live here after everything that happened, but you just bought a house and started at the firm a year ago. Are you sure?”

“ I’ve thought about it, and it would be best for everyone. The law firm has suffered because of me. To be truthful, they’ve been decent about the whole situation. I haven’t put in enough billable hours because of all the time spent getting my mom institutionalized. Everyone looks at me and wonders if I’m like her. Next thing you know, they’ll accuse me of killing the girl in the park.” I tried to protest, but he put his hand up to stop me. “Phee, say what you want, but the taint of what my mother did will always follow me. Heck! I couldn’t get a date with anyone here in town if I paid them.”

“ I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you have to leave and sorry I haven’t been a friend to you through all of this.” Grabbing his hand, I asked, “Forgive me?”

“ Nothing to forgive. It’s time for me to move on.” He squeezed my hand and sat up straight. “Enough of the gloom and doom twins act. Let’s go have Jujubes, slushies and one last movie together before I leave.”

My eyes welled up, and I turned away. I had been a crappy friend to Grant. I had been through a lot in the past year, but friends and family surrounded me through all of it. Whenever I seemed upset or afraid, someone told me a joke, shared a cup of coffee or just sat quietly and listened. Who helped Grant? I was his closest friend. His father was dead. He had no other family. I decided even if he left, I would still try to reach out to him. I swallowed the lump in my throat, turned around and gave him a fierce hug. “I’ve been awful to you. There are so many things I wished I’d said, but I just…”

Grant held me and said softly, “Don’t cry. I know you, and I can tell what’s in your heart. It’s okay. We’ll be okay. Now let’s stop crying and hugging before we start a rumor.”

I wiped my eyes and gave a weak laugh. “That train already left the station. I’m sure rumors started when we talked in the coffee shop this morning. I’m buying the Jujubes tonight. In fact, I feel so bad about not being a good friend, I’ll get you your very own box.”

“ Oh boy! You must feel guilty! I’m taking you up on that offer.”

Two hours later, we exited the theater laughing and joking like we were teenagers. “Grant, thanks for bringing me. I’ll miss you when you leave. Promise me you won’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t. I’ll come visit, and the city is just an hour away. If you feel adventurous, you could break your boycott and chat online. I swear you’re the only American under thirty who doesn’t use social media.” Grant gave me a playful nudge. “You realize that the twenty-first century is here to stay, right?”

“ Believe it or not, I’m the one who created the library’s website.” At Grant’s incredulous look, I bragged a bit. “I can do website design. I even helped Julia with her yoga page. I just prefer to keep my personal life a little more private. The world doesn’t need a status update every time I change my toenail polish!”

“ Fine. We’ll stick with telephone calls and smoke signals. No one in this town needs social media anyway. We’ve got Nellie Jo. Fastest way to hear what someone’s up to is to go get a cup of coffee,” Grant joked. He dropped me off and after a brief hug on the porch and a tearful “we’ll keep in touch,” I went inside.

It was strange that Clint hadn’t returned my call. I reached into my purse to check my phone and realized I had left it on the coffee table earlier. I had five missed calls. Three were from Clint, one from my mother and one from Juliet. Listening to my messages, Clint’s deep voice rumbled, “I’ve tried calling a couple times because I heard about the excitement in town. I’m getting a little worried. Call me when you get a chance.” The next message from my mom was fishing for the latest gossip. I listened to the last message from Juliet. “Hey, PheePhee. I want to give you a head’s up that Clint called me. He’s a little worried that you might be upset about today. He couldn’t get in touch with you, so he called to ask me to check on you. I wasn’t going to tell him you went to the movies with Grant. Clint might not have a jealous bone in his body, but he’s still a man with a g*n. Call him, then call me. Ciao .”

I groaned. I had wanted to tell him about finding the body before anyone else did. Too late now. Clint might understand me making peace with Grant, but he wouldn’t like me sticking my nose into another murder.