“Listen,” he said. “I want you in bed early tonight. You need time to heal. Promise?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“If you need me, you have my cell number, and I put Mike’s number on the desk in the library.”
“Mike the detective,” she said. “The one in Fort Lauderdale?”
“He’s home now, and he’ll know what to do in case of any problems,” Colin said. “By the way, Mike set up a makeshift gym downtown in what used to be his wife’s dress shop. It’s very informal, only invited people go, and we don’t have many women. But then, Mike scares them off.”
“How does he do that?”
“I think I’ll let Mike show you.” He started toward the door, but hesitated. “You’ll be all right here by yourself?”
“Perfectly fine.”
“Okay,” he said at last, then took a step toward her as though he meant to hug her or kiss her cheek good-bye.
Gemma knew she wouldn’t be able to stand that. She took a step back and the moment passed.
When he was gone, she didn’t know whether to be relieved or devastated. “He belongs to someone else,” she told herself, then immediately went back to work.
Without Colin hovering over her and making sure she didn’t strain herself, she started organizing. As far as she could tell, at some point in the life of the Frazier papers some industrious person had “cleaned up.” Gemma had always found tidy people to be maddening. Their one and only goal seemed to be to have everything appear to be “neat.” “Put away.” “Out of sight.” It didn’t seem to matter that bills were mixed in with the kitchen utensils, that research supplies were thrown in with the shoes. Just so everything looked good!
For Gemma, she put like things together, and if she didn’t have time to put something where it belonged, she left it out.
Unfortunately, whoever had stored away the Frazier papers had put them away by size. Small papers dated 1620 were in a box with small papers dated 1934. This lack of correct sequencing nearly drove Gemma crazy.
The first thing she did was take everything off the shelves in the library and storage room. A couple of times she reached too far and felt her stitches pull, but she learned to keep her elbow close to her ribs.
Once the shelves in both rooms were clean, she mentally categorized the space into decades. As she emptied the containers, she put dated papers into the proper areas. Once they were sorted, she would rebox them in archival storage containers that were acid free and wouldn’t eat up the contents.
She didn’t stop emptying and sorting until her stomach was growling. After a quick meal—and she silently thanked Rachel for her cooking—Gemma went back to work. When it grew dark, she turned on all the lights. She carried empty boxes from the house to the garage where there was now space since she and Colin had cleared out that area.
She fell into bed at 1 A.M., was up at six, and started work immediately. The days began to merge together as she went through everything and piled it high on shelves in the house. There were several boxes of account books in the garage that could be taken away to be stored elsewhere, but she had gone through everything inside the house.
When all of it was out, she went online to Gaylord library supplies and compiled her wish list for storage boxes. Gemma was torn between going to the main house and disturbing Mrs. Frazier or e-mailing her. Electronic mail won out.
Mrs. Frazier replied instantly, saying that she’d reimburse Gemma for whatever she spent.
Gemma put in her credit card number, pushed the SEND button on the order, then leaned back in her chair and looked about the room. If Colin were there she’d open the wine in the refrigerator and they’d celebrate. But he wasn’t there. In fact, she hadn’t seen or heard from him in days now.
An hour later, he called. There was static on the line and a lot of noise wherever he was. She could hear men shouting.
“Gemma?” he said into the phone, and she knew he was shouting. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you, but there’s no cell service here.”
“Where are you?” She had to shout the question three times before he heard her.
“At that ranger station,” he shouted back. “Fire fighting. Whole family here. You okay?”
Fire? Gemma thought and many images of forest fires ran through her head. “Are you all right? Can I help?”
“I’m fine. No, stay there. I have to go. They need the phone. I’ll be back when I can. Okay?”
“Yes,” she said, then heard the phone click off. She stood where she was for a moment. So this is what it was like when you cared about a law enforcement man.
She went to the TV and turned it on. It took her a moment to find a channel with local news, but there the fire was, roaring across trees, destroying everything in its path.
She spent an hour watching, saw film of women at a table passing out food and drinks to firefighters and she saw Mrs. Frazier and Rachel. But she didn’t see Colin.
She had to make herself return to work, but she left the TV on with muted sound. Whenever anything about the fire came on, she listened.
It took great effort on her part to give her mind back to her research.
As she looked at the massive amount of data around her, she tried to figure out where to begin. The logical way would be to start with the oldest documents and come forward. But Colin was right in that what truly interested her was his Heartwishes story. She hadn’t realized it, but she’d been thinking of her dissertation while she worked. “The Origin of a Family Myth” was one title she’d thought of. “Myth and Reality in one Family” was another. “The Didacticism of a Myth.” She must have come up with fifty titles, all of them centered around the Frazier Heartwishes.
She opened the refrigerator, saw that most of the food Rachel had prepared was gone, and knew she needed to go to the grocery. Besides, she wanted to hear what the locals knew about the fire.
She looked at her watch, saw that it was a little after four. Maybe if she drove into town—in the car she’d not yet used—she could stop by his office and ask his deputy what she knew. The keys were by the back door and the Volvo was in the carport. It was a pretty car with dark blue upholstery. It took her a few minutes to orient herself to the buttons on the car before she pulled out.
Every time she’d gone to the guesthouse she’d passed the main house, but now she saw that there was a narrow gravel drive out the back and she followed it. To the left was the Frazier house, but Gemma turned right and ended up on McDowell Avenue, which led her to downtown Edilean.
She parked under some trees across from the grassy little square, got out, locked the car, then stood and looked. Now what? she thought. She had no idea where Colin’s office was.
“Hi, Gemma,” said a voice behind her.
Turning, she saw one of the women she’d met in the grocery. In a stroller was the little girl she and Colin had held. Gemma went to the child. “How are you, Caitlyn?” she asked, and the girl smiled happily. Gemma tried to remember if she’d heard the mother’s name.
“I hear you have a date with Dr. Tris.”
“Sort of,” Gemma said cautiously. She felt that the invitation from Tris was more about friendship than an actual date, but she didn’t say that.
“Every unmarried woman in town has tried to get him to ask her out, so what did you do to entice him?”
Gemma wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I don’t know. I think maybe his niece got him to ask me.”
The woman smiled. “I can believe that. He adores Nell.” Little Caitlyn began to grow restless. “I have to go, but maybe we can have lunch sometimes.”
“Yeah, sure,” Gemma said as the woman waved good-bye.
Smiling, Gemma crossed the street to the square. She stood under the big oak tree and looked around.
Across the road, she saw stores, all of them obviously under some historic code for their façades, so their signs were barely visible. There was a drugstore and several unbelievably cute little boutiques that s
old toys, children’s clothing, outdoor gear, body products, a jewelry store called “Kim’s,” and a shop full of old maps and prints.
On the corner was a door and a window with DR. TRISTAN ALDREDGE written in dark green letters. Beside it was a tall, narrow brick building with SHERIFF written over the door. Gemma looked up and saw the small windows on the second floor. She smiled as she remembered Colin’s description of his dark, smelly apartment.
She crossed the street to the office. An old-fashioned bell rang when she opened the door. Inside were two big oak desks, the kind a person saw in an old black-and-white western starring Henry Fonda.
On the far wall was a glass-doored case full of rifles, looking ready to be used if anyone tried to get the bad guy out of jail.
“You’re Gemma,” said a voice to her right.
She turned to see a tall woman, early thirties, with sleek black hair pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a brown uniform that fit her athletic body perfectly. The heavy black belt around her small waist was filled with leather pockets, one of them containing a handgun.
“Oh,” Gemma said, surprised that the woman knew who she was. “Did Colin—” She cut herself off. “YouTube.”
“Right. Pretty heroic stunt for a civilian.”
“It was Tom’s idea, and Colin did all the work. I just grabbed the kid.”
The young woman looked Gemma up and down. “Uh huh. If you want to work out together sometime, Mike’s gym is at the end of the block. By the way, I’m Rolanda. Roy.”
“I’ve heard about you. Colin says you’re great on a computer.”
“That’s what he tells me, but it’s really odd that when I can’t figure out something, he knows how to do it. The truth is, he thinks that by flattering me I’ll do anything that requires a person to sit in a chair for longer than fifteen minutes.”
“Does it work?”
“Perfectly,” Roy said, smiling. “He and I have an unspoken agreement. I let him dump the paperwork on me, and he lets me bring my son to the office when the sitter flakes out on me.”
Gemma, ever curious, said, “Your husband . . .”
“Single mother. He wanted me and his old girlfriend. I said no.”
“Imagine that.”
The two women smiled at each other.
“What have you heard about the fire?” Gemma asked.
“It’s under control. The family should be back today. Except Mr. Frazier might stay awhile. If any vehicle breaks down, he can fix it.”
“Oh?” Gemma said and knew her expression was giving too much away. She had really missed Colin. “I’m just concerned, is all. Colin said there was no cell phone service there.”
It was Roy’s turn to look surprised. “He called you from the fire?”
“Just once. I haven’t heard anything in a while.”
Roy’s smile broadened. “I heard you’re going out with Dr. Tris.”
“It’s just to a barbecue,” Gemma said, her mind on Colin. “How bad is the fire?”
“We’ve had worse.” Roy was watching Gemma. “You’re all Colin has talked about since he met you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Roy was looking at Gemma in speculation. “He likes you.”
Gemma willed the blood not to rush to her face and give her away. “We’re becoming buddies.”
“That’s not what the town is saying.”
Gemma didn’t think she should reply to that statement. “I better go. I just wanted to introduce myself.”
“Stop by any time. And if you have any problems about anything, give us a call.”
“Okay.” She had her hand on the doorknob but turned back. “What happened about Tara and her flower bed? She said someone was trampling it.”
“Sleepwalking.”
“What?”
Roy smiled. “Colin figured it out, but then he usually does. He’s good at mysteries. He had her put up cameras to make sure. They showed Tara walking through her flowers, wearing her husband’s shoes, and sound asleep. Dr. Tris gave her some pills to help her sleep and told Tara’s husband to get a job that let him stay at home more.” She paused. “I wouldn’t usually tell anyone about a case, but this one is all over town anyway. Poor Tara says she wants to hide.”
“I don’t blame her.” Gemma hesitated. “I need to ask you a question and I don’t know how to say it.”
Roy’s face changed from smiling to serious. “If anyone is bothering you—”
“No, not that. Where’s a grocery store that’s, well, cheaper than the organic one?”
Roy’s eyes lit up as she smiled. “Go there. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the final total. Colin didn’t say so, but it’s my guess that he took you there to show Ellie that you’re now an honorary Frazier. She’ll give you the family discount.”
“Even though I’m a temporary resident?”
“If you’re with Colin, that’s enough for all of us.”
“I’d think that privilege would be reserved for Jean.”
Roy took a while to answer. “Doesn’t she wear the most beautiful high heels you’ve ever seen? Two years ago she broke a heel off on our brick sidewalks and I haven’t seen her in Edilean since.”
Gemma could only blink at Roy as an understanding passed between them. She wasn’t in favor of Colin and Jean being together. Smiling, Gemma said good-bye and left the office.
Instead of returning to the guesthouse, she decided to walk around the square at the shops. Each one was pretty and well kept. At the end of the block from Colin’s office was a large building with locked doors and shades over the windows. Paint had been scraped off the glass doors but she could see that it used to read EDILEAN FASHIONS. This was probably the gym Colin had told her about. If her side wasn’t so sore she would have knocked on the door, but she didn’t.
After she’d circled the block, not going into any store, she got in her car and drove out McTern Road to Ellie’s store. A couple of people waved hello, but no one stopped her. As before, Ellie was in the back behind the deli counter.
“I hear you’re going to my daughter’s barbecue with Tristan,” Ellie said.
Gemma wanted to get away from that subject. “Is it true that Mike scares people in the gym?”
Ellie smiled. “If people sit around on the benches and talk too much, he can be very scary. So are you going with Tris?”
“Yes,” Gemma said.
There were three other women waiting their turn, and all of them stared at Gemma as though to ask how she’d finagled that date.
Ellie’s eyes twinkled. “Give everyone kisses from me, especially Tris and Colin.”
At the mention of the second man, the women’s mouths fell open. It seemed that Tris and Colin were the town’s prize catches.
“Here you are,” Ellie said as she handed Gemma a white package. “Lots of sliced turkey. Be sure and get some brown mustard. Colin likes it, but then you probably already know that.”
Smiling, Gemma turned away, but Ellie’s voice made her look back. “And Tris loves pickles. Better get at least four kinds. Now, ladies, what can I do for you?”
Gemma had to suppress her laugher as she went in search of mustard and pickles.
10
THE NEXT MORNING, Colin called again. The connection wasn’t any better than the first time. “Mom and the others left,” he said. “They’ll check on you soon.”
“What about you?” she shouted into the phone. “When do you get back?”
“I don’t know. Days. I’m helping with the cleanup. Miss me?”
“Yes,” she said.
There was what sounded like a crash and it was a minute before Colin got back on the line. “I have to go, but I wanted to tell you that no one’s been hurt. I’ll see you when I get back.”
Gemma hung up and held the phone to her for a moment. That he’d called even when he was so very busy made her feel good.
By that afternoon, she was well into her research. As she dug deeper
, she had to remind herself that she was doing a family history. She didn’t have to be as precise as she usually would be. This was for fun, to please a family—or, more precisely, Mrs. Frazier.
The truth was, she was rationalizing. She didn’t want to delve into medieval history but to stay in the nineteenth century. She wanted to know about the piece of letter she’d read. Who was Julian? Who was “that woman” who’d not cared about his death?
She’d been through Jocelyn’s genealogy charts and had even exchanged a few e-mails with her, but they could find no one named Julian.
However, there were two Tamsens. One was an Aldredge, the other a Frazier. If the war mentioned in the letter was the Civil War, then the writer had to be Tamsen Frazier, as the Aldredge woman died before the war began. But the names made Gemma think there was a connection.
She e-mailed Jocelyn and asked what she knew about the Tamsens, but Joce said she’d only found dates. She didn’t know if either woman had married or produced children. “The Aldredges tend toward fatherless children,” Joce wrote. “We all tease Tris about that. And the Fraziers and Aldredges have been friends and have intermarried all the way back to the settling of the town.”
“The friendship doesn’t seem to have changed,” Gemma wrote back.
“Nothing changes in this town,” Joce responded. “I named my daughter Edilean.”
A few more exchanges resulted in Joce saying that she and her family would be at the barbecue. “Everyone in town wants to meet you. Even Roy praised what you did to save that little boy, and she thinks most women are victims waiting to happen. My best friends, Sara and Tess, will be there. They’re both pregnant and have contests to see who can eat the most. So far, Tess is winning.”
Smiling, Gemma wrote that she looked forward to meeting all of them, then went back to work. Mrs. Frazier came by the guesthouse, driving a red utility vehicle that had a crown painted in gold on the hood.
“My son Lanny’s idea of a joke,” she said, but she didn’t seem to be displeased. She was fascinated by every word Gemma told her, especially about the Heartwishes. “Do you have to be a Frazier by blood? Must you be born into the family to get your wish?” she asked.