“Yes, ma’am,” Landon said, then gave her his usual kiss goodbye, except he let it linger.
Right there in front of Cal.His mouth curving on hers, because he was purposefully baiting his brother.
“You guys suck,” Cal grumbled, pushing outside.
Landon grinned down at her, and she shook her head, trying to go for disapproving and failing.Because it felt like such a nice, normal thing for the brothers to poke at each other in harmless ways.
“See you later.Love you.”
“Love you too.Be careful.”
“We will be.”She trekked outside into the cold.
With the sun, it didn’t feel quite as frigid as it had the past few days.So she led Cal over to the stables, got the horses saddled, and then set off.It was a nice ride.Quiet, slow, peaceful.
The Harrington cabin looked a bit like a postcard with all that snow about it.Smoke puffing out of the chimney.Hints of a bright blue winter sky poking through the trees around it.
Aly led her horse up to the front of the cabin.They dismounted, checked the horses to make sure all was well, then tied them to a post.The trees were a nice shelter, and since the wind had died down, and the sun was out, they should be fine for a little while.
Cal followed her up to the door of the cabin.
“Does Glenda ever freak you the fuck out?”he grumbled.
She sent him a censuring look.“She’s been traumatized, Cal.”
“Yeah, join the club.I don’t go around humming at people.Maybe I’ll start.”
“Noted.”Aly knocked on the door, rolling her eyes at him.
But he was here and maybe not hisnormalirreverent self, but closer than he’d been.Aly wanted to believe that yesterday symbolized a big change, but she knew when it came to people big changes took time.Sometimes progress wasn’t a straight line.
Jill opened it after a few minutes’ wait.“Aly.Cal.What are you doing here?”But she smiled welcomingly and opened the door wide so they could enter.
“We’re here to act as the dig-out brigade.I didn’t get a chance to call you back last night, and then I knew your power would be out today.I wanted to make sure you and Glenda had everything you needed.I brought you a few things.And we’ll get you a clear walkway to your truck if you need it.”
Cal held up the shovel he’d brought.“I’ll get started if that’s okay.”
“Thanks, Cal.I appreciate it.I’ll put some soup on for after.”
“Go talk, Aly.I’ve got it,” he said, then tromped off to Jill’s truck, completely covered in snow.Aly went ahead and stepped inside.
“I’m actually glad you came by.It’s easier to talk about this in person.”Since power and generators could be iffy up here, everything in the house was also set up to run by fire.Jill already had one going in her stove.She got out everything to heat up some soup with nervous, jerky movements, and once that was going turned back to Aly.
Her expression was all worry and concern, which made Aly nervous.She’d hoped for reprieve.
This wasn’t that.
“Detective Hayes came by yesterday.”
“Came by?Here?”Aly’s heart sank.
Jill nodded.She sent a glance down the hall that led to the bedrooms.No doubt Glenda was in one of them.
“He had more questions for Grandma.Which would have been fine, but… first, he made a kind of offhanded comment about…” Jill looked out to the living room where Cal had disappeared outside.Still, Jill lowered her voice.“He didn’t come out and say it, but he made it sound like he didn’t believe Cal.About the… traumatic amnesia thing.”
Aly frowned.She’d always had a positive opinion of Detective Hayes, but that certainly soured it.Cal hadn’t chosen all he’d been saddled with, and Aly knew without a shadow of a doubt if he had remembered back when Marie had been murdered, he would havetold.Not run away.
“Then he said he had to talk to Grandma alone, because that’d be better when he was on the stand.Which the more I think about, the more I don’t get.What would it matter?”Jill leaned forward even closer, lowered her voice to a whisper.“She won’t tell me what he asked.What they talked about.It worries me.”
