He smiled grimly at her perplexed look. âYouâre forgettingâpeople in Bedford Creek already know you and Emilie came to see me. Theyâre probably speculating right this minute about where we are today. You canât come back and pretend we donât know each other, not in a small town.â
âIâll say Iâm there on vacation. You told me Bedford Creek is a tourist town. My presence doesnât have to have anything to do with you.â
Obviously she hadnât thought this far ahead. âNobody would believe that. If you come back, weâll have to keep up the illusion of friendship. And if weâre both going to be looking into what happened when Tina lived there, weâd better figure out a way to cooperate on this, or at least not step on each otherâs toes.â
He could see just how unpalatable she found that, and at some level it grated on his pride. He wasnât that hard to take, was he? It wasnât as if he were asking her to pretend a romantic interest in him.
Her eyes met his, and he could read the determination there. âI suppose youâre right. You know a lot more about your town than I do. But Iâm still coming. So that means weâre in this together, for as long as it takes.â
Chapter Four
âN ow let me help you with that.â Kate Cavendish took the bundle of diapers from Anneâs arms before she could object. âBelieve me, I remember how much you need to bring when youâre traveling with a baby.â
âI can manageâ¦â
But Kate was already hustling up the front steps to The Willows, white curls glistening in the late winter sunshine. She propped the door open with an iron doorstop in the shape of a cat, then hurried inside. Anne lifted Emilie from the car seat.
It was silly, she supposed, to be made uncomfortable by so much open friendliness, but she just wasnât used to it. She could only hope Kateâs enthusiastic welcome wasnât because the woman thought Anne was here to see Mitch.
That was ridiculous. It wasnât as if theyâd returned together. Sheâd taken two days to organize this trip. Surely she could take a brief vacation in Bedford Creek without the whole town jumping to conclusions about why she was here.
Kate was probably just delighted to have paying guests at this time of the year. No matter how many tourists might show up in the summer, early March was clearly a quiet time in Bedford Creek. She glanced up at the mountain ridge that cut off the sky. It was sere and brown, its leafless trees defining its bones. She shivered a little.
âHere we go, sweetheart,â she said to Emilie. âWeâll just pop you in the crib while Mommy unloads the car, all right?â
Emilie wiggled, her arms flailing in the pink snowsuit. After three hours in the car, she was only too ready to practice her new crawling skills. She wouldnât be pleased at the crib, no matter how enticing Anne made it sound.
As they reached the center hall of the Victorian, Kate hurried down the winding staircase. The colors of the stained-glass window on the landing tinged her hair, and a smile lit her bright-blue eyes at the sight of the baby.
âOh, let me take her, please. Iâd just love to hold her.â Kate held out her hands.
Emilie leaned her head against Anneâs shoulder for a moment, considering, and then smiled, her chubby hands opening toward the woman. Emiliehad apparently decided anyone who looked like Mrs. Santa Claus had to be a friend.
âYou little sweetheart.â Kate settled the baby on her hip with the ease of long practice. âWeâre going to be great friends while youâre here, I can just tell.â
âThank you, Kate.â Anne touched Emilieâs cheek lightly. âI appreciate the help. It will just take me a few minutes to unload.â
âTake your time.â Kate carried the baby toward the wide archway into
Learning to Kill: Stories