***
I watched Jonathan leave. Grateful to see him gone, I turned my eyes from the door and looked at Alex.
“Uptight, isn’t he?” he asked, chuckling.
I laughed. “You have no idea.” I had a lot to learn about how divorced couples managed to be in each other’s company without feeling hostile. I did a good job of picking up the pieces of our shattered lives. Now if only I could find a solution for wanting to gouge out my ex-husband’s eyes every time we came face to face.
Alex pulled a slip of paper from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “Here’s a list of electricians, plumbers and carpenters.”
“You’re a man of your word.” I looked down at the bouquet of wild flowers in my hand. “I have to warn you. Being nice to me might be harmful to your health.”
“Your ex?”
I nodded.
“I’ll take my chances.”
I liked that. Jonathan intimidated most people, including me. But not so much anymore, I happily noted. “He has a big gun.”
“I saw that.” He shrugged.
"Jonathan's suspicious by nature. He'll probably check you out and has the resources to do it.”
“I’m an open book. I have nothing to hide.”
“Good, because if you did, he’ll find it.”
He hesitated a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing to find.”
I smiled. “I’ll put these in water.” He followed me into the kitchen. “I haven’t unpacked any vases yet.” I filled an eight-ounce glass with bottled water, arranged the flowers and stepped back to admire them. “The flowers are lovely, but the glass doesn’t do them justice. They deserve crystal.”
“I’m sure they appreciate the bottled water, though. I can't take credit for them. They're your flowers.”
"Mine?" I didn't understand.
"From the flower garden along the side of the house. You probably haven't had a chance to walk the grounds, yet."
"True." I wondered what other gems I might find out there.
He moved closer to me. “You look nice.”
I ran a hand over my hair. “You’re too kind. I must look like the Bride of Frankenstein.”
“Not at all.” He glanced around the room. “This isn’t so bad.”
I laughed.
“It’s my positive side.”
“Maybe I should try that on my ex-husband.” I tilted my head. “You know, it just occurred to me you know so much more about me than I do you. Tell me about yourself.”
He continued to stare at me. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Okay, now you have me thinking you’re a serial killer who puts divorcées out of their misery.” I loved his laugh. “Do you have children?”
“I’ve never been married.”
“You don’t need to be married to have children.”
He smiled. “I'll rephrase. I don't have any children that I'm aware of.” He leaned against the counter next to me and crossed his arms against his chest.
Our bodies brushed against each other. I looked up at him. “What do you do for a living?”
“I dabble a little in some things, but don’t do a whole lot of any one thing.”
“That must be nice.”
“A few years back, I stumbled onto an investment, and it affords me my lifestyle today.”
“Did you always live here?”
“Born and bred. After I graduated high school, I took business admin at UMaine and after that moved to Portland where I managed a small but lucrative business for a few years.” He paused.
“And?”
“Then I moved back here. I always missed this town. It’s home to me.”
I shoved off the counter and stood a few feet back from him. “You can take the boy out of the town but you can’t take the town out of the boy.”
“Something like that.”
There was more to Alex than that, but I decided not to press the matter. “Any brothers or sisters?”
“No. Or at least none that I know about.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was raised in foster homes.”
Remembering the love of my parents and my happy childhood, my heart went out to him.
“I’m sorry.” An awkward moment passed between us. “Have you ever tried to locate your birth parents?”
“I did years ago, but didn’t get lucky.”
“It’s not as difficult as it once was to find birth parents. With the Internet and the numerous websites — ”
“I’m not really interested.”
The cold look in his eyes shut me up.
“Did you learn anything useful from Leroy about your ghost?”
“Not too much.” I thought about that for a moment and realized I'd learned nothing at all from him.
“What do you intend to do now?”
Good question. It crossed my mind to sell the house, but only flittingly. I was not a quitter; not without a fight, at least. I might give in to a person’s demands too easily, but I did not quit. “First of all, I’m going to get as much information as I can about the previous owners of the house. Maybe there’s a clue in there somewhere why Irwin chose this house to inhabit.” The doorbell rang. “That must be the fella from Home Building Supplies. Can you wait?”
He glanced at his watch. “I have an appointment.” He brushed his lips against my cheek. “Take care. I’ll call you tonight and see how you made out.” He left through the kitchen door.
I touched my cheek where he kissed me and smiled. The doorbell rang again. “Hold your horses. I’m coming.”