"About all of this," she gestured vaguely, her blonde hair swaying with the movement. "The attacks."
"It feels like grasping at straws," I admitted.
"The only connection so far," Beth looked at her reflection in the elevator's metallic doors, "is that they're all wealthy and on that committee."
"That seems too simple and obvious," I said. But sometimes the simplest answer was the right one. We'd have to dig deeper once we got out of here.
ELEVEN
Emma
A day had passed since we’d visited the hospital, and we were no closer to solving the case. Outside, the sunset was setting, painting the sky in oranges and red, clearly visible through the wall of windows against the back wall. A candle burned in the center of the table in front of us, and Daniel looked good enough to eat. He’d showered recently enough that his reddish-brown hair was damp, and the gray at his temples taunting me to run my fingers through his beautiful hair.
He saw me staring, and he took another bite of the lasagna on his plate. The movement made my gaze cling to his lips, and I suddenly wanted him to kiss me more than anything in this world. But I’d have to wait. There was still one more bite on my plate.
Eating it, I leaned against the table, watching as Daniel made his way through his third helping of the food. Everything about Daniel was amazing, but I had to be the luckiest lady on the planet that he was handsome, funny, smart,anda good cook. How blessed could one woman be?
I pushed my plate away, the last bite of lasagna sitting heavy in my belly. "That was delicious," I said with a contented sigh.
"Thanks," Daniel replied, his fork scraping up the final bits on his dish. "Henry and Alice pick a movie?"
That was something the four of us liked to do together, watch a movie in the evening. We took turns picking which one to watch, but their choices were almost always something nerdy and fun. Daniel and I really enjoyed getting out of our comfort zone by watching their picks. Daniel had even gotten really into the way some of the "heroes” fought. He said he’d have to research their training videos online, and Henry had agreed to help him with that. I didn’t think he needed to look like Thor, but he begged to differ.
"They picked something with superheroes, I think."
"Woot! I hope it’s one where the hero hunts down the bad guy and gives him what he deserves,” he said in a really excited voice.
I laughed. "I’m sure it will be.” I collected our plates.
"Want me to get those?" His green eyes caught mine, that protective streak never far from the surface.
"I got it, but I appreciate the offer.” I dropped a kiss on his cheek. After stacking the plates, I carried them to the sink and started the water.
"Did you get a chance to talk to Travis after his interview?" Daniel asked.
I had, and I was always glad for a call from my son. Sometimes it was still crazy to me that I birthed him, kissed his boo boos, taught him to walk, and now he was out in the big world, and I was just happy to get a phone call. Everyone always told methose days would go fast. I had no idea just how fast though. Otherwise, I might have appreciated those moments more.
"Yeah, the call went well. He's excited," I nodded, grabbing a sponge and starting on the first plate. "They offered him the job."
"Here? In Mystic Hollow?" Daniel was smiling.
"Uh-huh. He'll be working on all the old roads, given the recent grant the town got to revitalize a lot of the beat-up roads, which also means he’ll be kept busy and employed.” He was lucky. He was coming home at the perfect time. "The civil engineering firm was pretty impressed with him. They liked his grades, but they also said that his personality was a perfect fit, and they loved that he had personal ties to the town."
My boy was coming home with a big, grown-up job, and I couldn’t be happier. Mystic Hollow wasn’t a large city, so sometimes it was hard to find employment if you were looking for something specific like he was with his civil engineering degree. It must be good karma that he finished school right when the town was able to start improving the roads.
"Good for him." Daniel smiled wider, leaning against the doorframe. "And Jacqueline? She must be thrilled too."
"Absolutely. She's got her eye on joining the local coven. And she's talking about starting an interior design business too. With her style, she'll fit right in," I said, scrubbing a stubborn spot on a dish.
"I’m so happy. It’s going to be wonderful having them close to home.”
"It really is.” I checked the time. "I think Henry and Alice should be here in a couple of hours. They said they’re at a hard spot in their game or something. I didn’t really understand, just told them it was okay.”
He came up behind me at the sink and nuzzled my neck. "We’ve got some time before they’re home, huh?”
"Plenty of time," I said, shutting off the water and drying my hands. "For what, I'm not exactly sure."
He chuckled, his hand finding my waist. "I have a few ideas."
