Britt scooped Aurora into her arms as they stood and asked Carolyn questions about the dog. She held Aurora confidently, rubbing beneath the dog’s chin. Aurora half closed her eyes. Her rib cage expanded rhythmically.
Britt had on cargo pants, a V-neck black shirt, and gold oval earrings that sparkled against her neck. The dark mane of her hair framed her warrior princess face.
Each time he’d looked at her tonight, the sensory details of their kiss had flooded his mind. The warmth of her lips. The way she tasted. The lithe strength of her body.
She was determined and adventurous. She was a genius with chocolate. She was persistent, brave, and funny. She was loyal, and at the very core of her being, she was good.
He’d been introduced to plenty of women. Beautiful women. Impressive women. None of them had been as beautiful to him as she was. None had the mix of qualities she had that made her uniquely irresistible to him.
Could it be that no other woman had measured up to Brittbecause he’d been young and shell-shocked and grasping for something to cling to when he’d fallen in love with her? Maybe the love that formed in you when you were a teenager was the most powerful love there was.
Except that no one else he knew had continued to love the girl they’d fallen for when they were fourteen.
If he hadn’t met Britt until yesterday, he believed that he’d have fallen in love with her yesterday just as completely as he had all those years ago. His love for her stemmed from who she was. And who he was. And the alchemy between them.
“I took Aurora by the pet store and got all the necessary supplies,” Carolyn was saying to Britt. “A bed, a leash. Bowls. Food.”
Realizing that he’d been staring at Britt, Zander pulled his attention to his aunt.
“Once Aurora and I returned home,” Carolyn said to him, “I decided to finish going through the closet.”
“And you found a cell phone,” Zander said.
Carolyn gave a subdued nod. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.” She met Britt’s eyes. “I’ve been reorganizing Frank’s side of the closet. I’ve found other items of his. Little notes. Spare change. A business card.”
“Have you checked the cell phone yet?” Zander asked.
“No. To be honest, I’m afraid to. I’m not sure that I’m ready for another shock.”
What would he do if he discovered something on Frank’s hidden cell phone that would devastate Carolyn? She’d just said she wasn’t ready for another shock and, frankly, he agreed. She wasn’t. “Are you okay with me checking it?”
“Yes. I plugged the phone in. It’s been charging in the home office.”
Zander led the way into the small room at the front of the house. For a moment all three of them simply stared at the phone while Carolyn screwed her hands together into a nervous ball. The cell phone looked to be a few years old. No case. It lay there, proof of Frank’s secrets.
“Would you like me to take Aurora?” Carolyn asked Britt.
“Actually, I’m enjoying holding her. She’s lying in my arms like a warm sack of flour. It’s comforting.”
Zander gestured for Carolyn to take the desk chair as he powered on the cell phone. “It’s passcode protected. It’s asking for a four digit code.”
Carolyn exhaled.
“What were Frank’s usual passwords?” he asked.
“His birth year.”
He tried it. Shook his head.
“Six three six three, the last four digits of his Social Security number.”
He tried it, shook his head again.
“His debit card PIN number was zero two one one, his birthday and mine.”
No.
After that, Carolyn had to work harder to come up with possibilities. Zander continued to enter each one, without success. “That’s it for tonight,” he eventually said. “The phone just froze me out.”
