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“Sean told me his dad died last year.”
“What hasn’t my son told you?” Darcy stopped in the middle of the entry hall and faced Joshua, thinking of her son’s enthusiasm and lack of inhibition. As the saying goes, he’d never met a stranger—which thankfully had helped him make friends. They had moved a lot over the years.
“We talked this afternoon for twenty minutes nonstop.”
Darcy laughed. “Nonstop on whose part, yours or his?”
“Mostly his.”
“That’s what I thought. He doesn’t know how to keep a secret. Whenever he gets me a present, I have to open it right then and there, because he can’t wait. So this past Christmas I got his picture frame he made me on December fourth, the day he finished it.”
“He said something about his dad dying in a plane crash.”
“Clay was a fighter pilot for the Navy. During a routine exercise he had problems with his plane and crashed. Knowing the risks he had to take in his job, I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t—” A tightness in her throat prevented her from saying anything else. In fact, she wasn’t even sure why she had told Joshua that. But for some reason the man was easy to talk to, and for a year she had kept a lot bottled up inside her. For most of her life she’d held her emotions close to her heart.
“I’m sorry. Death of a loved one is always difficult. I’ve lost both my parents over the past eight years. They were the only family I had.”
A profound sadness and empathy edged each of his words and drew Darcy to him. “You didn’t grow up here, did you?” Darcy felt that she would have remembered someone like him, even though she suspected a few years separated them in age.
“No. Louisville. I moved here nine years ago. I didn’t want to live in a large town, but I still wanted to be close if my parents needed me.”
Darcy could tell from the tone in his voice that there was more to that story. Indeed there was more to Joshua Markham than merely being a firefighter. But she was only going to be here for a few months. With her heart still scarred from her marriage to Clay, there was no way she would open herself up to any more pain, to another man.
“Mom. Joshua.” Sean came running into the entry hall and slid to a stop a few feet from Darcy. “Dinner is ready. Lizzy made my favorite.”
“Pizza?” Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly the atmosphere between her and Joshua had shifted and become charged with possibilities that she wouldn’t pursue.
“Naw. Spaghetti. It’s my favorite now.”
Darcy clasped her son’s shoulder and ruffled his hair. “You have a new favorite every week. I can’t keep up with them anymore.”
Sean blushed and leaned closer to Joshua, cupping his mouth as though he were imparting a deep, dark secret. “Anything Lizzy makes is my favorite. She’s a great cook. Wait ’til you taste her spaghetti. Mom, you should get Lizzy to show you how.”
“I doubt I could match her in that department.”
“Sure, Mom. You can do anything. Jake told me about the yearlings you used to break.”
“A long time ago. At the ripe old age of thirty-one I’m wiser now.” She placed a hand on the small of her back. “Just thinking about those days I can feel the aches and pains. Every once in a while there was one who didn’t like the feel of a bit and rein or the touch of a saddle and loved to show me how much.”
Sean’s eyes grew round. “Did you ever break anything?”
“Only my pride from time to time.”
“Maybe I can learn how?”
“Not ’til you’re much older.” Then in a whisper to Joshua she added, “And gone from my home.”
“Mom, I heard that.”
“Come on. Let’s go in to eat.”
When Sean raced ahead, she reached out and touched Joshua’s arm to stop his forward movement. The instant her fingers grazed him she pulled her hand away.
“Will you do me a favor, Joshua?”
“What?”
“Let’s not talk about the fire at dinner tonight. Dad may bring it up, but I’d rather not get him too upset.”
“Sure. I don’t have anything else to share about the fire until I get the lab tests back.”
“Knowing my father, he’ll try to pump you for information about your investigation. The doctor said he needed to reduce his stress level, which I’m not sure is possible, especially now with the fire. But I’m going to do everything I can to make his life less stressful.” Will that satisfy her father…finally? she wondered.
“Good luck. I’ve found if the person doesn’t want change, it’s nearly impossible to force one on them.”
“I know, especially someone as stubborn as my father. But that’s why I’m here this summer.”
“So in August you’ll be returning home. Sean said you lived in Panama City, Florida.”
“Yes, I’m a high school librarian, so luckily I could take the summer off to help Dad. This trip will be good for Sean.” She wasn’t so sure about herself, especially after the rocky start she and her dad had had.
“You haven’t come home much?”
Darcy thought of the estranged relationship between her and her father. “No, since Clay was in the Navy we were always moving, getting settled in at a new place.” She started forward, not wanting to go into the past. Going backward wouldn’t change what had happened and she was tired of trying to justify why it had taken a crisis to bring her home.
After they washed their hands, Darcy stepped into the dining room as Lizzy finished putting the last serving bowl on the table. The older woman turned to leave. “Why don’t you stay and join us for dinner?” Darcy asked.
Lizzy looked startled. Shaking her head she began backing toward the door. “I’ve got too much to do in the kitchen.”
“Lizzy, you’re part of the family and you have to eat.” Darcy inhaled the aroma of meat sauce, seasoned with oregano, garlic and onion, flavoring the air. “It smells wonderful.” She sensed Joshua’s presence behind her, and a tingling awareness shivered down her spine.
Lizzy glanced toward Shamus, who was already dishing up his spaghetti. “I don’t—”
“Come on, Lizzy. Joshua’s joining us.” Sean took the bowl from his grandfather and spooned a big helping onto his plate.
The older woman sighed. “I guess, just this once.”
“I’ve been trying to get her to join me for dinner for years,” Shamus grumbled, a frown creasing his brow. “Always said she was too busy. We must have the cleanest kitchen in the state.”
“You’re welcome to eat in the kitchen anytime you want.” Bristling, Lizzy sat next to Sean, leaving the other side of the table for Darcy and Joshua.
Shamus motioned toward the two empty chairs. “Sit, you two. I’m hungry and this is getting cold.”
“I like cold spaghetti, Grandpa.”
“You like anything that doesn’t move.” Shamus picked up the bowl of salad but didn’t put any on his plate. He passed it to Sean with a smug look thrown toward Lizzy.
The older woman pinched her lips together and focused on filling her plate with the main course. She held her petite frame rigid in the chair, her movements jerky.
At the door Darcy twisted partway around to look at Joshua. “You can always reconsider eating with us. I forget how—” She couldn’t come up with an acceptable way to describe the stressful, tension-laden meals she had spent with her father over the years. He was so set in his ways that he wouldn’t even eat in the kitchen when it was just him. Darcy was sure that for the past thirty-five years her father had eaten in the dining room and that was the way it would remain.
“Your father reminds me of my own.”
“He does?”
“Gruff on the outside, but mush on the inside.”
“Mush?” What was Joshua seeing that she had missed? Darcy wondered.
“Look at him with your son. He’s listening to every word he’s saying.”
Darcy glanced over her shoulder at her father. His gaze was glued to Sean, who was regaling him with details of the new foal’s first day. Seeing the attention her son was getting pierced defenses she’d built up over the years when trying to deal with her father.
Darcy moved into the room, continuing to feel Joshua’s presence close behind her. Had her relationship with her husband colored hers with her father? Even when Clay had been home, he had rarely shown any interest in Sean. Her son was starved for male attention, and that had provoked over the years memories of her own childhood: trying to please her father and never quite succeeding.
After she slipped into the chair across from Lizzy, she filled her plate with the delicious-smelling spaghetti and meat sauce, then gave the bowls to Joshua, who took the last bit. Her father and Sean had already started eating. Lizzy cleared her throat.
Shamus looked up, confusion darkening his expression. “What?”
“I would like to say a blessing,” Lizzy said in a prim and proper voice.
Eyebrows slashing downward, Shamus released his fork to clang onto his plate. “Fine.”
Lizzy and Joshua bowed their heads. Watching Joshua, Sean immediately followed suit. Darcy clasped her hands together, realizing they were quivering, and stared down at her plate, feeling her father’s gaze drill into her.
“Dear Heavenly Father, bless this food we are about to partake of and watch out for each one at this table. Give us the strength to seek Your guidance and the power to know when we need Your help. Amen.”
Darcy lifted her head. Her father snatched up his fork, grumbling something under his breath. When her mother died, he’d stopped going to church, telling Darcy that he was just too busy. She had gone with Lizzy until she had left home, but she had always been aware of her father’s disapproval.
“Grandpa, Joshua’s bringing Arnold here for me to play with. I wish I had a dog.”
“We’ll just see what we can do about that.” Darcy was about to say something when her father continued. “Every boy should have a dog.”
“Dad didn’t like animals. And when we lived overseas, it was hard to have one,” Sean said.
“Arnold recently became a father. The puppies are five weeks old,” Joshua said as he poured ranch dressing onto his salad.
Sean’s eyes grew big. “They are? Can I have one?”
“A friend of mine owns them. I can check—” Joshua swung his gaze to Darcy “—if that’s okay with your mom.”
The full force of his attention was directed at Darcy, causing heat to steal into her cheeks. The urge to shift nervously in her chair inundated her. “I love dogs. That sounds great.” She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. “But, Sean, you’ll have to learn to take care of your puppy. It’s a big responsibility.”
Her son puffed out his chest. “I’m eight, Mom. I’m big enough.”
“And we need to see about getting him a horse while he’s here this summer.” Shamus pinned Darcy with his eyes. “You had one at the age of five.”
Memories assailed Darcy. She balled the napkin in her lap, her nails digging into the soft cotton material.
“My very own horse?” Sean exclaimed.
“For as long as you’re here and whenever you come to visit again. It would be nice if you visited every summer.”
Again Darcy felt her father’s intimidating glare. She returned it with an unwavering look, though memories of never quite living up to what her father expected continued to flit through her mind, scene after disappointing scene.
“Can I, Mom?” Sean bounced up and down in his chair.
“We’ll see, hon.”
“Yes!” Her son pumped his fist into the air. “A dog and a horse.”
“Your mother’s right about taking care of your animals. Around my farm that is a must.” Shamus broke off a piece of French bread and started to reach for the butter.
“That isn’t on your diet,” Lizzy said, snatching away the butter dish before his fingers touched it.
“Nothing good is on my diet,” Shamus grumbled, his mouth puckered in a frown.
Before her father started in on what he couldn’t eat anymore, Darcy released the tight grip on her napkin and asked, “Joshua, what made you decide to work with a dog?”
“I’ve been known to take in strays. My captain knew I loved animals, especially dogs, so when this opportunity came up, he encouraged me to do it. Arnold and I went through some extensive training, but it’s been worth it.”
“Heard you helped solve the Wright case a few months back.” With narrowed eyes, Shamus stared at the butter dish sitting next to Lizzy’s plate and just out of his reach.
“Wright case? What happened?” Darcy watched the silent exchange between her father and Lizzy—a battle of gazes. In the end her father turned his attention to Joshua. Darcy’s mouth almost fell open.
“It was a warehouse fire in Lexington that spread to some other buildings. It was arson. We were lucky and apprehended the man responsible.”
“Who?”
“An employee who had been fired and was angry at the owner.”
“I came up with another name of someone you could check out,” Shamus said, lifting his water glass to take a big sip. “I’d forgotten I had to let Mike Reynolds go a couple of months ago.”
“He was your assistant farm manager, wasn’t he?” Joshua asked, peering at Darcy.
Did he notice the stiff set to her shoulders and the tight grip she had on her glass? she wondered.
“Yeah. I didn’t like his methods.”
“He’s working at the Colemans’ farm now.”
“That’s what I heard.”
“Dad, I think—”
Shamus swung his sharp gaze toward his daughter, a challenge in his eyes.
Darcy stiffened even more. “I don’t think we need to discuss this at the dining room table.” She glanced toward her son.
