Page 84 of Floodgates

Outside the baggage claim, two cars were waiting for us. Cord and I went with Breckin’s sister Bethany and his brother Brian in a Lexus SUV, and Breckin and Celia went with his parents in a limousine. Cord chatted with Breckin’s siblings about pretty straightforward stuff. They hadn’t seen Breckin in more than eighteen years, and the fact that he was suddenly home was a little overwhelming for them. Though they had heard from him through sporadic phone calls and the occasional e-mail, he had not returned home. He had left for college, and it was as though he’d left the family. Neither Bethany nor Brian knew why.

It was a beautiful drive to their home from the airport. The countryside was breathtaking, awash in fall colors.

“Vermont is gorgeous,” I said in awe.

“It is,” Brian agreed, smiling into the rearview mirror.

“Wait until we go through the covered bridges,” Bethany announced, turning around in her seat. “You’re going to love it.”

We took 89 from the Burlington Airport past Colchester and kept going north.

“What are we close to?” I asked.

“We’re passing Malletts Bay,” Brian informed me. “You can’t see it from here, but that’s where we are. I’ll turn off soon, and we’ll head west toward Lake Champlain.”

“So your house is on the lake?”

“No, we’re further inland, but it’s only, like, a half hour or so to the water if you want to go,” Brian explained. “We’re going to pass over three or four covered bridges on the way.”

“Oh, I can’t wait. I just love it here,” I told him, reaching over to take hold of Cord’s hand. I felt him squeeze back gently, but I didn’t turn to look at him.

When we finally turned off the highway, we drove down country roads, and all I saw were the colors of fall—auburn, gold, red, mahogany, and brown. The birch trees, aspen, and dogwood were like something out of a magazine.

“Here we go, Tracy.” Bethany pointed, and I saw the beautiful bridge.

“It’s not a big deal,” Cord said, nuzzling my ear, covering me in goose bumps.

“It’s a huge deal,” I assured him, marveling at the backdrop of autumn. “This is amazing.”

“No,” Cord whispered, gently nibbling the side of my neck. “It’s you.”

I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Between the man at my side and the splendor outside, a bad day had turned into a wonderful one.

We passed the sign welcoming us to Fieldcrest, Vermont, population just below five thousand. The Alcott home was a Vermont log house with a saltbox roof that sat on ninety acres of rolling hills in lush green and orange. Once we got out of the car, I could see down toward town from the hill the house sat on.

The streets were lined in sugar maples, there was a church with a high steeple, and I could see from one end of town to the other. In the Alcotts’ yard, I saw a gazebo out back, as well as a shack that I was informed was for storing the maple syrup extracted from the trees around the grounds. I had never seen a more beautiful home, and I wondered how, as Breckin had obviously come from something so grand, he could have ever enjoyed life in my tiny little fifteen-hundred-square-foot A-frame.

Cord bumped me, and when I looked up into his eyes, I saw a glow in them as he smiled down at me.

“What?”

“When we get back,” he said hoarsely, “will you let me sit on your couch in your sweet little house?”

How did he know?

There was no way Cord Nolan was perceptive enough to know what I was thinking. But somehow he did, and I couldn’t have stopped my lunge if my life had depended on it. I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms tight around his neck as I eased him down for a kiss.

It was fast—I didn’t ravish him, but I bit down gently, and tugged on his bottom lip before I let him go. No one was paying any attention to us, too wrapped up in Breckin and Celia. It was nice; I liked that it felt like Cord and I were all alone.

“Is that a yes?” he prodded.

“That’s a yes.”

“Inspector.”

Mr. Alcott—“call me John”—offered me and Cord rooms at the house, but Cord explained that we had reservations at the bed-and-breakfast in town.

“We’re not all staying together?” Celia asked Cord.