Quinn forced a smile. There was no reason to be rude after all. “Quinn. It’s nice to meet you. And these little troublemakers are Lila and Tommy.”
“You have wonderful kids.”
“Oh, they’re not mine. I’m their aunt. I’m just looking after them while their parents are having a date night.” Quinn put an arm around them both. “But we like hanging out together, don’t we, guys?” Lila and Tommy mumbled their agreement through mouths full of pizza. The woman was still looking at them and Quinn felt like she had to keep the conversation going, so she asked, “How are you liking Mystic?”
“It’s very nice,” Riley said, but Quinn was sure she detected a subtle flinch in her features. “Beautiful.”
“Yes, it’s a great place to live, and the community is very friendly.” Riley’s pizza arrived and Quinn welcomed the opportunity to end their conversation. “Well, enjoy your pizza. I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”
7
RILEY
Riley ripped off another strip of wallpaper before she stopped for a coffee break. One of the living room walls looked like it had been attacked by a tiger and she hadn’t gotten very far since she’d started early this morning. In some places, the wallpaper came off easily, in others, it was stuck like there was superglue underneath. She needed some aggressive wallpaper remover and putty knives, which she should have gotten first thing anyway, she supposed, and she could do with a ladder too. She’d been nothing but efficient as a PR consultant, but home improvement was new to her, and she had no idea where to start. She could hire someone to renovate for her, of course, but then what wouldshedo? Stand there and watch them work all day?
Staring at the scruffy wall, Riley hated the house even more now. It refused to let go of its layers, desperately clinging to the past. At night, it kept her up because it scared her, and in the day, it overwhelmed her so much she had trouble thinking straight. There was nothing in between.
In need of some fresh air, Riley went outside and sat on her front steps while she searched for a hardware store nearby. She found one located in a retail park, a few miles from Mystic. She’d never been to a retail park before, but there were going to be many firsts if she’d be here for the foreseeable future, and besides, it would be nice to be among people as it was so quiet in the house. She thought of Quinn, the friendly woman she’d met in the restaurant last night, and regretted not extending their conversation. Making friends was an alien concept to her; she hadn’t done that since college, but if she was starting over, it was time that she put herself out there and made some real connections. If she didn’t, she might wilt away here and no one would notice.
The yard was begging for attention, and sitting there, looking out over the huge, overgrown lawn was intimidating. That was definitely a job for a professional; there was no way she could do that by herself. From the faint patterns in the tall grass, she could see there was a network of paths between the currently non-active fountains somewhere underneath, but it would be a huge job to groom it back to its original state. The surrounding hedges were getting too high, blocking out the sunlight in places. A piece of rope was hanging off a tree branch, a sad reminder of a swing that had once been there. It was all a bit sad, really, both inside and outside, and Aster House would never make her happy or even remotely relaxed unless it looked like a lived-in home. The backyard was even worse, but she imagined it would be beautiful when the trees and hedges were trimmed back, giving her an unobstructed view over the river.
After twenty minutes of contemplating what she needed for the living room, the shopping list she’d created on her phone was long and included stripper, paints, brushes, rollers, tools, buckets, steps, a ladder, trash bags, and other things such as cheap clothes she didn’t mind getting paint on, sneakers, jeans, and some warm sweaters. Although the sun was warm in March, the evenings were still cold, and her designer trench coat and suits made her stand out too much when she went into town. She’d noticed the looks last night; the staff at the restaurant seemed intimidated by her, and she didn’t want to feel out of place.
Again, her mind went back to Quinn. She hadn’t asked nosey questions, something Riley had expected from townspeople. Weren’t they all curious, eager to pass on information so they had something to talk about in a place where nothing ever happened?
Riley’s thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing, which had been a rare occurrence in the past days. Up until the last day of her handover, it had been ringing nonstop, and although it often annoyed her, she’d missed the sound of contact.
“Riley Moore speaking.”
“Hi, Riley. It’s Lindsey from Mystic Realtors.”
“Oh, hi.” Riley paused, confused as to why a realtor would call her. They tended to stay clear of buyers after their purchase in case they had something to complain about. Then a sudden thought filled her with hope. Perhaps the previous owners had changed their minds and wanted to buy it back from her. Maybe they missed the house and were willing to pay what she had paid, or more. That would be a godsend. “What can I do for you?”
“There’s a meeting tomorrow, in the town hall. The Parks and Recreations department is presenting their plans for the summer season. Everyone is welcome, and there will be a Q and A and input session after. The invites were sent before you moved into Aster House, and I figured, since I’m the only one who had your number, I’d give you a call to let you know.”
“Thank you, that’s so kind of you,” Riley said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
“No problem. It might be a good opportunity for you to meet some people.” Lindsey hesitated. “How are you settling in?”
There. She’d asked the question. Frankly, it was unheard of, and Riley could hardly believe what she was hearing. Why was she so nice to her? “It’s a big job,” she said with a chuckle. “But I’m off to the hardware store and ready to get hands-on.”
“That’s the spirit. Well, good luck and I might see you tomorrow night.”
“I’ll be there. Oh, by the way, do you happen to know any good yard workers?”
“I’m not surprised you ask. I noticed it was quite overgrown.” Lindsey laughed. “I do, actually. My nephew Gareth does yards. He’s very young, and he only just started out, but he’s got a few clients already and they seem happy with him. I’ll send you his number, but if you’d prefer a professional company, I can recommend you some of those too.”
“Gareth sounds great. I’ll give him a call today.” Riley smiled. “Thank you, Lindsey. You’ve been so sweet.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s the way things work around here.”
8
QUINN
Driving out of Groton Retail Park with a truck full of slate, Quinn narrowed her eyes as she spotted a woman trying to fit a ladder into her Mercedes. It stuck out of the trunk way too far to be anywhere near safe while driving, even though she’d secured it with ratchet straps.
She slowed down and planned on opening the window to warn the woman, then saw it was Riley, Aster House’s new owner.Fuck.She drove on, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. Riley walked around her car, seemingly assessing the situation, then tugged at the ladder. It didn’t look secure enough, and Quinn’s conscience told her to turn around and go back. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything happened to Riley, and besides, there was no way she could avoid her in a small community like Mystic. That would make life terribly complicated. She parked her truck next to Riley’s car and got out.
