Stranger in the Moonlight

  “I couldn’t miss something like that, could I?” Kim said. “Down and dirty. Raunchy. More than a little embarrassing at their age.”

  “But did you see Lucy’s face?”

  “Yes and no. She had it buried in Jecca’s dad’s body parts, so I’d see an eye here, and an ear there. I’d have to get one of those police artists to draw a full face for me.”

  Sara laughed. “When I saw her, she looked like the happiest woman alive.”

  “No, that would be Jecca.”

  “It was a beautiful wedding. And her dress was divine! She and Tris are a stunning couple, aren’t they?”

  “Yes,” Kim said with pride. She and Jecca had been roommates all through college and had remained BFF, even though Jecca lived in New York City and Kim in Edilean. A few months ago Jecca had come to Edilean to spend the summer painting, had met the local doctor, Kim’s cousin Tristan, fallen in love, and had married him today.

  “How’s Reede doing?” Sara asked, referring to Kim’s brother. Reede had volunteered to help Tris while he recovered from a broken arm, but now it looked like he was going to have the responsibility of Tris’s medical practice for the next three years.

  “Reede is not a happy camper,” Kim said. “I didn’t know a person could complain as much as he does. He’s threatening to jump a freighter and leave town.”

  “He wouldn’t do that, would he? We need a doctor on call here in Edilean.”

  “No,” Kim said. “Reede has too much of a sense of duty to do that. But it would be nice if he didn’t look at this as a three-year prison sentence.”

  “Everyone will be glad for Tris to come back and be our doctor again.”

  “Especially the women,” Kim said, and they laughed. Dr. Tristan Aldredge was a truly beautiful man, with a sweet temperament, and he genuinely cared about people.

  “Who’s that man who keeps staring at you?” Sara asked, looking behind Kim.

  She turned but saw no one she didn’t recognize.

  “He stepped outside just as you turned around,” Sara said.

  “What’s he look like?”

  “Your typical tall, dark, and handsome,” Sara said, smiling. “It looks like his nose has been broken a few times—or maybe I see that in all men since I met Mike.” Her husband was a master of several forms of martial arts.

  “My secret admirer, I guess,” Kim said as she stood up.

  “Is Dave here tonight?”

  “No. He had to cater a wedding in Williamsburg.”

  “That must be difficult for you,” Sara said. “He’s gone every weekend.”

  “But home during the week,” Kim said. “His home, not mine.”

  “Speaking of which, how’s your new house?” Sara asked as she also stood. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d managed to lose the baby weight and now had her slim figure back.

  “Wonderful,” Kim said, and her eyes lit up. “I turned the big garage into a workroom, and Jecca helped me decorate the inside. Lots of color.”

  “Does Dave like it?”

  “He likes my kitchen,” Kim said. “When I get more settled, we’ll have you and your three kids over. But tell Mike he can’t bring his new toy, the backhoe, with him.”

  “I’ll do that.” Smiling, Sara said good-bye and left. The band was returning, and she wanted to get away where she could talk.

  Kim stood there for a moment, looking at the friends and relatives around her. There were also some newcomers in attendance, meaning people who weren’t descended from the seven founding families, and they’d come to see Dr. Tris get married. He was beloved by everyone, and she wondered how many people were there uninvited because they wanted to see Tristan again. He had saved many lives in their small town.

  It had been Kim’s hope that Jecca would marry her brother, Reede, but she’d fallen for Tris almost the day she met him. Because of job changes, Kim’s dream of having her best friend live in the small town of Edilean had been postponed for another few years.

  Kim couldn’t help thinking that by that time she would be almost thirty. I’ll be a statistic, she’d often thought but had said to no one. She was successful in business, but her personal life didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

  The bridal couple had left some time ago—Kim hadn’t caught the bouquet—but some of the guests were hanging around to dance as long as the band played.

  As she walked toward the side of the tent, she again thought how much she wished she could have had a date tonight. She’d met Dave six months before, when she’d gone into Williamsburg to talk to a nervous bride about the rings she and her fiancé wanted. The girl had been maddeningly indecisive and her groom was even worse. Kim had wanted to start giving them orders, but she could do nothing but make strong suggestions.

  After an hour, and still no decisions, the girl’s father had come in, instantly sized up the situation, and told his daughter which rings to get. Kim had looked at him in gratitude.

  When she went out to her car, her way was blocked by a big white truck with BORMAN CATERING written on the side. A good-looking young man came running toward her.

  “Sorry,” he said as he pulled out his keys, but then he saw that the bride’s father had blocked him in. Since the father was locked inside his study on a conference call, Kim and the man had introduced themselves. The first few minutes they’d exchanged complaints about the bride’s inability to make a decision.

  “And her mother is just like her,” Dave said. He was David Borman and he owned the elegant little catering company.

  By the time the father got off the phone and moved his car, she and Dave had a date. Since then, they’d gone out twice a week, and it had been quite pleasant. There were no fireworks, but it had been nice. The sex was good, nothing outrageous, but sweet. Dave was always respectful of her, always courteous.

  “So where are the bad boys when you need them?” Kim mumbled as she took a flute of champagne off a tray and went outside.

  She knew Tristan’s house and grounds as well as her own, so she headed toward the path that led to Mrs. Wingate’s house. To her left was the old playhouse. She’d spent a lot of time there when she was a child. Her mother and Tris’s were good friends, and when they got together, Kim would go to the playhouse. It was in bad shape now but Jecca had plans to restore it.

  Kim sat down on a bench at the head of the path. The moon was bright, the lights from the big tent twinkled, and the air was moist and warm. She closed her eyes and let it all seep into her. Was there a way to make jewelry that looked and felt like moonlight on your skin? she wondered.

  “Do you still teach people how to have fun?” asked a man’s voice.

  Abruptly, she opened her eyes. A tall man was standing in front of her, looming over her. She couldn’t see his face, as the moon formed a circle behind his head. His question was so suggestive, so provocative, that she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. There was no one else around them, just this stranger and his creepy question.

  “I think I should go,” she said as she got up and headed toward the tent with its light and people.

  “How long did the house I built for your doll last?”

  Kim halted, then slowly turned back to him.

  He was taller now, and from what she could see of his face in the low light, he was no longer choirboy-pretty as he had been when he was twelve. There were lines at his eyes and, as Sara’d said, his nose looked as though it had been hit a few times. But he was very handsome, with dark eyes as intense as the night around them.

  “Travis,” she whispered.

  “I told you I’d come back and I have.”

  His voice was deep and strong, and she liked the sound of it. As she took a couple of steps toward him, she felt as though she were looking at a ghost.

  “I thought maybe you wouldn’t remember me,” he said softly. “You were so very young then.”

  She was reluctant to tell him the truth, of the depth of her despair after he left. She’d cried herself to slee
p many nights. The photo of the two of them was still her most prized possession, the thing she’d grab if the building caught on fire.

  No, she thought. It was better to keep it light. “Of course I remember you,” she said. “You were a great friend to me. I thought I was going to lose my mind from boredom, but you came along and saved me.”

  “Saved you by being someone who knew nothing. You were a good teacher.”

  “You on that bike!” she said. “I’ve never seen anyone learn as fast as you did.”

  Travis had an image of the things he’d done on a bicycle since then, of leaps and jumps, and turns in the air. He wondered if Kim had any idea how good she looked. The moonlight on her hair, still with a hint of red in it, and the color of that dress in the silvery light—it made a beautiful picture. Had she been any other female in the world, he would be making a pass at her right now. It had never mattered to him if the woman was the wife of a diplomat or a barmaid, if Travis was attracted to her, he let her know.

  But Kim had lived all her life in a small town where everyone knew her. She wasn’t the type of woman he could make a move on five minutes after seeing her.

  Kim felt the awkward silence between them and thought that he hadn’t changed. When he was twelve, he hadn’t said much, just watched and listened and learned.

  “Would you like to go back to the wedding?” she asked. She was still holding her champagne flute. “Get something to drink?”

  “I . . .” Travis began, then seemed to hear himself say, “I need help.” He doubted if he’d ever before said those words. His life had made him fiercely independent.

  Immediately, Kim went to him. “Are you hurt? Should I call a doctor? My brother, Reede, is here and—”

  “No,” he said, smiling down at her. She was even prettier up close. “I’m not hurt. I came to Edilean for a reason, to do something. But now that I’m here I don’t know how to go about it.”

  Reaching out, Kim took his hand in hers. It was a large hand, and she could feel calluses on it. It looked like he did something in his life that required physical labor. She led him over to the bench and had him sit down beside her. The light from the wedding celebration was behind her and she could see him better. He had on a dark suit that looked as though it had been tailored for him. His cheekbones reflected the moonlight, and she saw lines between his eyes. He looked worried. She bent toward him in concern.

  When she leaned forward she unintentionally gave Travis a view down the top of her dress. Kim had told Jecca the neckline was too low, but she’d laughed. “With a set of knockers like yours you should show them off.” With a compliment like that, Kim couldn’t insist that the bodice have a modesty panel put in it.

  Travis was so distracted by the view that for a moment he couldn’t speak.

  “You can tell me anything,” Kim said. “I know we haven’t seen each other in a long time, but friendship lasts forever, and you and I are friends. Remember?”

  “Yes,” he said, swallowing. He had to take his hand out of hers or he’d be pulling her closer to him. Why hadn’t he used the drive down to think about what he’d say if he did see Kim again? Instead, he’d spent most of the time on the phone planning the rock climbing trip he was going on in six weeks. Equipment had to be purchased and Travis needed to do some training. Wonder if there was a cliff he could climb in little Edilean? And did this backwoods town have a gym? He didn’t want his body turning to mush while he was here trying to figure out his mother’s problems.

  He saw that Kim was still waiting for his answer. He hadn’t planned to ask for help, hadn’t even planned to see her again, but seeing her inside the tent, in that figure-hugging dress, had been too much for him. When she’d slipped out and disappeared into the woods, he’d followed her.

  Now, he couldn’t keep sitting there in silence. Kim was going to think he was a moron.

  “It’s my mother,” he said. “She’s living here in Edilean.” He fell silent again, not sure what to tell and what to keep back. He didn’t want to scare Kim away.

  “What about her?” she coaxed as she tried to remember what she knew about his mother. When it had all happened, Kim had been too young to understand what was going on, but over the years she’d figured out some things. Lucy Merritt had been hiding from her abusive husband.

  At the memory of the name, Kim gasped. “Lucy! Your mother’s name was Lucy. Is she Lucy Cooper, the woman who runs away every time I get near? She’s lived in Edilean for four years, but tonight was the first time I saw her, and even then it was only a partial view.”

  Travis was genuinely surprised. He’d asked his mother about Kim a couple of times, but she’d always said that they traveled in different circles, then changed the subject. “I didn’t know that she hid from you, but I’m sure she would feel that she needed to. She didn’t see many people when we were here before, just that old man and your mother. And you.”

  “Mr. Bertrand died the next year, and my mother would never tell anyone that Lucy was here.”

  “What about you?” Travis asked. “If you’d recognized her, would you have told?”

  “I—” Kim broke off. If she’d seen Travis’s mother here in Edilean she would have been on the phone to Jecca two minutes later. And she would have told her cousin Sara and maybe her new relative by marriage, Jocelyn, and she rather liked her cousin Colin’s new wife, Gemma, so maybe she would have told her. And she would have had to tell Tris, as he was Mrs. Wingate’s friend.

  “Maybe,” Kim said in a way that made Travis smile.

  “If this is your cousin’s house and Mom lived next door, it must have been difficult for her to hide from you.”

  “She managed it,” Kim said but didn’t elaborate on the many times Lucy Cooper had escaped her view. Jecca had lived in Mrs. Wingate’s house for a while, and every time Kim visited, Lucy would magically disappear. Now Kim wondered if the poor woman had slipped into a broom closet. Whatever she did, Kim knew one thing for sure: Her mother had told Lucy not to let Kim see her.

  Kim wanted to get the focus off her. “Is your mother here because of your father?”

  “Yes,” Travis said as he leaned back against the bench. He was silent for a moment, then turned to smile at her. “I’m keeping you from your friends—and your relatives. Mom said everyone in Edilean is related to one another.”

  “It’s not that bad, but close,” Kim said.

  “Is that dress one of those . . . bride things?” He waved his hand.

  “I was the maid of honor.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Doesn’t ‘maid’ mean that you’re not married?”

  “I’m not. What about you?”

  “Never married. I work for my father,” Travis said. “The deal is that if I work for him he won’t pursue Mom.” He was telling her things that he never told unless necessary, but the words seemed to pour from him.

  “That doesn’t sound pleasant,” Kim said and again wanted to reach for his hand, but she didn’t. She couldn’t imagine being in such a situation, but she thought how . . . well, how noble, heroic even, it was of him to sacrifice himself for his mother. Who did that today?

  “It seems that now my mother wants to get married, but she’s still legally married to my father.”

  Kim didn’t understand the problem. “She can get a divorce, can’t she?”

  “Yes, but if she files that will let my father know where she is and he’ll do what he can to make her life unpleasant.”

  “There are laws—”

  “I know,” Travis said. “I’m not worried about the divorce. It’s the aftermath that I fear.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kim said. The band was playing their last set, and she could hear people laughing. She wondered if Travis had ever learned to dance.

  Travis turned to her. “Can I trust you? I mean, really trust you? I’m not used to confiding in people.” Every word he said was from his heart. This was Kim, the grown-up version of the little girl who’d changed his life
.

  “Yes,” she said and meant it with great sincerity.

  “My father is . . .”

  “Abusive,” Kim said, her jaw set.

  “He is to anyone who is weaker than he is, and my mother is a delicate woman.”

  “Jecca adores her.”

  “Mom mentioned her. She’s the young woman who lived in the apartment next door.”

  “And she’s the bride. I guess you know that Jecca and your mother became great friends. They worked out together, sewed together. There was a point when I was becoming downright jealous.”

  Travis was looking at Kim in shock. He talked to his mother once a week—even if he was out of the country—but he’d heard nothing of this. He’d seen the article that said she’d made clothes for some woman, but he’d thought that meant his mother stayed in her rooms and sewed.

  “Jecca is Joe Layton’s daughter,” Kim said when Travis was silent.

  “Joe Layton?”

  “I assume that’s the man she wants to marry, isn’t it? Tonight the two of them were dancing together as though they were about to tear each other’s clothes off. Jecca said Lucy was very flexible, but I had no idea she could do a back bend like that. I hope that when I’m her age I can—” She broke off at Travis’s look. “Oh. Right. She’s your mother. I feel pretty certain that the man she wants to marry is Joe Layton.”

  “What’s he like? What does he do?”

  “He owns a hardware store in New Jersey, one that’s been in his family for generations. But he’s turning it over to his son and opening a store here in Edilean.”

  “Can the small population of this town support a hardware store?”

  “We are near some large cities,” Kim said coolly.

  “I didn’t mean to insult Edilean. I was thinking in terms of money. My mother stands to make a profit by the divorce.”