Софи Келли - A Midwinter's Tail

Rebecca shook her head. “I can see I’m going to have to have a talk with those young men,” she said. She tried to look stern but as usual couldn’t quite keep the smile from around her eyes.

“So we’ll head to Red Wing next Friday?” Roma said, looking from me to Rebecca.

“Yes,” I said.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Roma drove us home. She dropped off Rebecca first. The older woman undid her seat belt and turned partway around in the seat. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do without the two of you. You’re angels.”

I leaned forward; Roma leaned back. We tipped our heads together and folded our hands under our chins and looked at Rebecca with our most angelic expressions—which probably looked a lot as though our brains had just run out of our noses.

Rebecca laughed and shook her head again. “You’re also very silly.”

I straightened up and brushed my hair back off my face. “I know I sound like a broken record, but we will find a dress.” I held up three fingers. “Librarian’s honor.”

Her eyes flicked over to Roma. “It’s sweet how she thinks I believe that, isn’t it?”

Roma laughed. “It is.” She leaned over and hugged Rebecca. “I’ll talk to you before Friday and we’ll decide on a time.”

I reached forward and gave Rebecca’s shoulder a squeeze. “Come for tea on Sunday,” I said.

“Call me,” she said. She climbed out of the SUV and waved good night. Roma waited until she was safely inside before she backed out of the driveway.

“Do you really think we’re going to find a dress for Rebecca in Red Wing?” she asked.

I adjusted my seat belt a little tighter. “I hope so,” I said. “I wish there was some way to persuade Everett to give up on his idea of a wedding extravaganza.”

Roma waited for a half-ton and a car to go by before she backed onto the street. “I thought it was the woman who was supposed to turn into Bridezilla, not the groom.”

“It’s not that Everett is Bridezilla—or Groomzilla—exactly. It’s just that he’s got the idea that Rebecca should have the wedding she didn’t have when they were young. And he’s so happy he wants the whole world to know.”

I caught her smile in the rearview mirror. “It’s really kind of sweet, when you think about it,” she said.

I nodded slowly. “It is. All those years apart and they’re still crazy about each other.”

“So, why are some couples like Rebecca and Everett when others end up like Burtis and Dayna Chapman?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Look at my parents. They were married, got divorced, then got married again. My mother said what she learned was that she didn’t want a man she could live with. She wanted a man she couldn’t live without.”

“That sounds like your mother.”

I could see Roma smiling. She’d met my mother earlier in the fall when she filled in as a last-minute director for the New Horizons Theatre Festival.

She pulled into my driveway behind my truck, put the car in park and shifted around to look at me. “My dad says that marriage works as long as you both don’t want to pour a bucket of water over the other person at the same time.”

I thought about the bumpy path Marcus and I had followed before we ended up together. More than once I’d thought about pouring my coffee on his shoes. I laughed. “I think your dad’s onto something.”

I gestured to the house. “How about some hot chocolate?”

Roma made a face. “I’ll have to take a rain check. There’s a German shepherd at the clinic I really need to check on. But you and Maggie are still coming out for lunch tomorrow, right?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

I undid my seat belt and slid across the seat. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

Roma smiled. “It was fun.”

“Somewhere in the state of Minnesota we will find Rebecca a dress,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She waved and I headed around the house to the back door.

Marcus called just after ten o’clock. I was curled up in the big chair in the bedroom reading, with Hercules sprawled in my lap.

“How was practice?” I asked.

“Good. But I ended up going into the boards, headfirst.”

I straightened up, disturbing Herc, who sat up as well and glared at the phone. “Are you all right?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” he said. “My cheek’s a little swollen, and I have a couple of bruises. Brady said it makes me look a little more menacing.”

“Brady Chapman’s on the team?”

“Uh-huh.”

I could hear him shifting in his seat and guessed that he was stretched out on the sofa.

“We needed a goalie. Derek starts college after Christmas. Remember?”

Officer Derek Craig was finishing his degree with the long-term goal of law school. He’d borrowed every LSAT prep book I’d been able to get for him. He was smart, observant and focused. I had no doubt he’d make a good lawyer.

“Did you finish going through Olivia’s kitchen?” I asked. Hercules had settled himself again, his head against my chest. I started stroking his fur and he began purring.

“How did you—never mind. We’re just about done,” he said.

“You didn’t find anything, did you?”

“You know I can’t answer that.”

I could picture him smiling and I could hear it in his voice.

“You know you just did,” I pointed out.

He yawned.

“You’re tired,” I said. “Go have a shower.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that. You and Maggie are going to Roma’s to paint tomorrow afternoon, aren’t you?”

My hand had stopped moving, and Hercules gave it a nudge with his head. “Uh-huh,” I said. “And you’ll be here for supper?”

“Ummm, I’m looking forward to it.”

That sound, a little like the cats purring, made me weak in the knees. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” I said softly.

“Good night, Kathleen,” he said.

I hung up the phone but sat there for a moment, thinking about how good Marcus smelled, how much I like threading my fingers through his dark brown hair and kissing his warm mouth. After a moment I realized Hercules was staring curiously at me.

“Sorry, I just got a little sidetracked,” I said. He gave me a look that if he’d been a person I would have called “yeah, right.”

I leaned back in the chair and stretched my arms over my head. “I forgot to tell Marcus I’m going to Fern’s in the morning to have breakfast with Burtis,” I said.

The cat’s expression grew even more skeptical.

“I really did forget,” I said. I made a mental note to tell Marcus as soon as he arrived for dinner tomorrow night. I really was trying to stay out of his cases. I just wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it.

* * *

I didn’t want to get up in the morning. It was so warm and comfortable under my heavy quilt and woolen blanket. It had snowed, but only a little, so I was able to clear everything away with just the broom. Owen came out with me, chasing snowflakes as I swept them away, jumping around and generally having a good time. Hercules came only as far as the top step. He looked around, shook his head and went back through the door with a sour expression on his face. (Hercules hated snow.) And when I say through the door, I mean literally through it. The air seemed to shimmer, ever so slightly, and he was gone. Seeing that happen still made the hairs come up on the back of my neck and I couldn’t help looking around to make sure no one else had been watching.

I fed the boys breakfast, pulled on my down-filled jacket and heavy-soled lace-up boots and grabbed my purse.

“I’ll be back,” I said.

Hercules looked up and meowed. Owen made a low “murp” and didn’t even bother lifting his head from his bowl.