Carla Neggers - The Spring At Moss Hill

He was in no hurry as he returned to his apartment. He had nothing planned for the day. He’d figured he’d see what was what when he got here and go from there. He could have taken a later flight or spent the day in Boston, but this was fine.

As he started to unpack his duffel bag, Ruby O’Dunn texted him. He’d emailed her his number before he’d boarded his flight but hadn’t followed up when he’d landed in Boston, given the early hour. He glanced at her text. Welcome! Settled at Moss Hill?

He typed his answer. All set.

A bunch of us are getting together for lunch. Join us?

Where?

Smith’s off the common in 30 minutes.

Will do.

I’ve invited Kylie Shaw across the hall from you. She’ll know the way.

Ruby typed faster than he did. Ok.

See you soon.

Russ slid his phone back in his jacket pocket. Were Ruby and Kylie friends? Had to be. Otherwise why invite her to lunch?

Maybe his instincts were off, and Kylie Shaw wasn’t trying to keep to herself.

Might as well check with her. He walked across the hall and knocked on her door.

She looked thunderstruck when she opened up. She only cracked the door, as if she didn’t want him to see the place was a mess. “I’m...um... You’re here about lunch.” She gave a vague wave with a slender hand. “Ruby texted me.”

“I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

“We’re not. I mean...” Kylie bit her lower lip. “I don’t know anyone in town that well.”

“But you’re going to lunch?” Russ tried to make it sound like a genuine question and not an order. But he wanted her to go to lunch. Her behavior was borderline unusual. “I was on a plane all night. It’d be great to have someone else drive.”

“You don’t look jet-lagged.”

“Trust me. I am.” True, maybe, but he’d be fine to drive. “Yours is the Mini, I gather. Clever private eye that I am, I figure it has to be since it’s the only other car in the parking lot.”

Kylie nodded without enthusiasm. No smile at his humor. “I’ll meet you downstairs. Give me five minutes.”

To what? Gulp? Do yoga breaths? Russ shrugged. “Okay.”

“Five minutes.”

She shut the door.

Russ went back to his apartment and got his car key in case Kylie changed her mind, and he had to drive into town. But he would bet she wouldn’t change her mind. Something about lunch both intrigued and rattled her.

It was early but not too early in California. He texted Julius: I’m about to have lunch at Smith’s.

Order the turkey club. Don’t go near the salads.

No update?

Quiet here. Why?

Later.

* * *

Russ headed downstairs and out to the Mini, a cream color underneath the dried mud and dust. Of course it was unlocked. He opened the door to let in some spring air while he waited.

Kylie joined him. She was in the same outfit she’d had on earlier, but she’d changed out of her orange-laced shoes into black ankle boots. It wasn’t the sort of thing he normally noticed, but the laces had been tough to miss. She gave him a tight smile. “All set.”

She might have been going on a secret mission behind enemy lines.

“I noticed your car is as muddy as your bike.”

“There’s a thing here called mud season. It just ended. I haven’t had a chance to clean my bike and car since then.” She pushed a palm through her pale hair, then gave him a forced smile.

Russ slid into the passenger seat while she went around the hood to the driver’s side. It was a little car. His left thigh almost touched her right thigh. He thought she noticed. It wasn’t an obvious giveaway, just a slight shift toward her door as she started the engine. “I’m not used to having anyone in the car with me,” she said. “Last one in the passenger seat was a dog.”

“A big dog?”

“Not as big as you.”

“That would be a hell of a big dog.”

“It was a chocolate Lab that had run off from the Sloan farmhouse about a mile away. I found him rolling in the mud on the riverbank.”

“Mud seems to be a theme in your life. I’m glad I don’t scare you anymore.”

“You wouldn’t have scared me to begin with if I’d seen the palm trees on your shirt.”

“You noticed them? The observant artist. My palm trees aren’t intimidating?”

She smiled. “Not by themselves.”

“Need the rest of me, huh?” He thought he saw color in her face, but the light shifted as they continued down the road. “The shirt’s new. A gift from my brother.”

“To remind you that you’re an outsider here?”

“Trust me, I don’t need reminding.” He pointed out his window. “Was that Moss Hill back there, across from the mill? Are there hiking trails?”

“Yes, and yes. I was on one of the trails this morning.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

“No dog?”

“No dog.”

“If I lived way the hell out here all by myself, I’d have a dog. In fact, I’d have two dogs. Maybe a couple of goldfish, too, although they aren’t much good in a fight.”

“Do you have a dog in Beverly Hills?”

He shook his head. “No dog, and I don’t live in Beverly Hills,” he said, leaving it at that. “How long have you lived at Moss Hill?”

“Since mid-March.”

“Before that?”

“I rented a house up the road.”

“But you’re not from Knights Bridge.”

“I moved to town last summer.” There was a slight testiness to her voice, as if she’d told him only because she knew he’d ask. “Are you from Beverly Hills?”

“Nope. Army brat. I joined the navy. I’ve been out two years.”

“Thank you for your service,” Kylie said quietly.

Russ hadn’t expected that from her. He didn’t know why. “It’s a privilege to serve,” he said. “Where did you live before Knights Bridge?”

“All over.”

Vague answer. He watched her drive, one hand on the wheel, the other on the shifter. She wasn’t tentative so much as tense. Not used to men? Not used to lunch? Didn’t like Ruby O’Dunn? He wanted answers, but he didn’t want to pepper her with too many questions. He was at her mercy. Imagine if she dumped him on the side of the road.

“Are there bears here?” he asked.

“Black bears.”

He settled back in his seat. “I’m not big on bears.”

She glanced at him as if she were trying to figure out if he was serious. But she turned, eyes on the road. “Do you know who all will be at lunch?”

“You, me, Ruby. I don’t know who else, if anyone. Why? Do you have enemies in town?”

“Just curious,” she said, and pointed to more ducks in the river.

Russ figured he had ten minutes, tops, to pull himself together before he got sucked into some small-town nonsense that had nothing to do with Daphne—or Noah Kendrick and Dylan McCaffrey. It was jet lag. Boredom. Curiosity.

His neighbor’s pretty blue eyes, her slender hands, the curve of her breasts under her purple sweater.

He hadn’t had a woman in his life in far too long.

The jet lag, boredom and curiosity made him vulnerable to doing something really stupid.

And he wasn’t paid to be stupid.

“Did I lose you?” he asked.

“Sorry. My mind wandered off.”

“You know you’re driving, right?”

“It didn’t wander off like that. I’m paying attention to the road.” She smiled at him. “No worries.”

He begged to differ, but he said nothing. If Kylie and Ruby weren’t friends, why lunch? Could be a simple question of politeness. He fought back a yawn, debating whether to watch the picturesque scenery or the attractive, intriguing driver. Finally he decided he could do both.

Six

Smith’s was located in a 1920s house that had been converted into a restaurant, around the corner from the country store. Kylie had dined there a number of times, alone, tucked in a booth with her sketch pad. At first, she hadn’t thought much about socializing with the people of her adopted town. She was here temporarily, as an artistic retreat—to work, not to hang out with the locals. She liked people. She liked being around people. But that wasn’t why she was in Knights Bridge. When she’d moved into Moss Hill and started to consider making the town home, she’d figured friends and socializing would come in due time—when she had more head space for them and allowed herself out of the retreat mind-set.