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Lacey parked her suitcase next to the luggage rack and followed Sophie to the window. In the courtyard below, water gushed from a stone fountain, and walkways wound through gardens full of flowers. Beyond lay the river and neighboring farms.
Then her gaze landed on an all-too-familiar copse of willow trees and a two-story house with peeling white paint. Her stomach dropped. “Oh...”
“What’s the matter?” Sophie’s voice rose in alarm.
“Our old house. Gram’s house.”
“You can see it from here?” Sophie peered out the window. “Oh, my. Lacey, I’m sorry. I never realized...” Sophie pressed her fingers to her lips and looked at Lacey. “You don’t have to stay in this room. You can move across the hall.”
Lacey shook her head. “No, I want this one.”
“But to be reminded whenever you look out the window...”
“Sophie, not a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened in that house.”
“I’m sorry, honey, so sorry. But I do wish you could put the past behind you.”
Lacey shook her head and bit her lower lip. “Not possible.”
Sophie let a moment of silence pass and then said, “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t want to change rooms, I’ll let you get settled. You probably want to go see your grandmother right away.”
“Yes, I’m having dinner with her, but that still gives me time to unpack.”
“If you need help bringing in more stuff, Hugh is around somewhere.”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Lacey lifted her suitcase onto the luggage rack and unzipped it.
Sophie walked toward the door but then stopped and turned. “Don’t forget the party tonight.”
Lacey looked up. “Party?”
“Yes, I mentioned it when you made your reservation. We’re having a kickoff party for Silver River Days, here in our courtyard.”
“Oh, right. I saw the banner in town. But I don’t think—”
“Please come, Lacey.”
Lacey pressed her lips together. “But I won’t be here for the celebration itself. And, well, you know I feel uncomfortable at town gatherings.”
Sophie slowly shook her head. “Lacey, it’s been ten years. Do you really think people are looking at you and thinking only that your father was a...was...”
Lacey closed her eyes. “Go ahead and say it, Sophie. A murderer. You, along with everybody else in this town, believe that my father shot and killed Rory Dalton’s father in cold blood. But he didn’t. I know he didn’t.”
“The jury convicted him.”
“They were wrong.”
Sophie stepped close and put her arm around Lacey’s shoulders. “You know Hugh and I were friends with your parents, hon. We used to go out together. And, okay, your dad was a hothead sometimes, but we put up with him. No question we loved your mom. Nobody mourned her death more than we did. I miss her to this day. But don’t you think it’s time for you to move on?”
“If only I could prove his innocence...”
“Let it go, Lacey.”
Lacey squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
* * *
CARRYING A VASE of pink roses, Lacey knocked on the door to her grandmother’s apartment at the Riverview Retirement Community.
“Come in,” came the cheery reply.
She opened the door and stepped into the apartment’s compact kitchenette and from there into the living room.
Remylon Whitfield, looking crisp and cool in a pink cotton blouse and white slacks, sat in her wheelchair near the patio door. She held out her arms. “Lacey, love! I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Good to be here, Gram.” Lacey set her purse and the flowers on a table and then hurried to Remy’s side and gave her a warm hug.
“I’ve missed you,” Gram said when they ended their embrace. She glanced over Lacey’s shoulder and clapped her hands. “You brought me some roses. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. The best housewarming present I could think of.”
“They’re perfect. Did you get your room at Sophie’s? You’re staying for dinner here, though, right? We can play Scrabble afterward.”
Gram’s eyes behind her glasses were hopeful.
“I should have time for a game or two, although Sophie wants me to come to their Silver River Days party tonight. I told her I’d think about it.”
“You should go, dear.”
Lacey sighed. “I just don’t feel comfortable in this town.”
“I know, honey. Sometimes, when I get to thinking about the past, I don’t, either.” Gram looked down at her hands.
“But it’s different for you. Having your son-in-law accused of murder is not the same as having your father, your flesh and blood, accused.”
“Not accused, dear. Convicted,” Gram said in a reproving tone.
Lacey opened her mouth to argue but then clamped her jaw shut. No sense in firing up their old disagreement, especially when she’d just arrived. Her gaze landed on two cardboard boxes sitting beside the patio doors. “Looks like you’ve already done some moving.”
Gram nodded. “Cousin Bessie helped me gather some things together before she left. Vernon brought the boxes over when he came to pick her up.”
“That was nice of him. I could start unpacking them now. We have some time before dinner.”
“Might as well.”
While Lacey tackled the boxes, which contained mostly linens that she stowed away either in the bathroom or in the hall closet, her grandmother filled her in on her new life at Riverview. The food was good, the aides were nice and she’d met the woman next door, who was also a bridge player.
“Sounds like you’re settling in,” Lacey said.
Gram sighed. “Maybe so, but I’m sure gonna miss Cousin Bessie.”
“I know. I’m glad you two were apartment neighbors these past years. But I can understand her wanting to go with her son and his family when he was transferred. You have a lot of close friends in town, especially your bridge club.”
“Not like family. Not much left of our family now... Just you and me.” Gram gave her a sidelong glance.
Lacey knew what was coming next. Sure enough, Gram let a few seconds go by and then said, “Would be nice to live closer to each other.”
Lacey tucked the last pair of sheets and pillowcases into a drawer in the hall closet. “Anytime you want to move to Boise, I’ll find a place for you.”
Gram folded her arms. “Only way I’d ever leave Silver River is in a pine box, and then I’ll go only as far as Restlawn. I’ll not run away like you did.”
Lacey’s stomach churned. “I didn’t run away. I went away to college, which I had planned to do before...before...” She shut the drawer and spread her hands. “Gram, please, let’s not spoil my visit.”
Gram wrinkled her brow. “You’re right. I’m sorry, honey. I just wish you would come back home where you belong.”
Where you belong. Gram’s words brought an ache to Lacey’s heart. No, as much as she might wish it were so, she did not belong in Silver River. Not anymore.
If she could somehow prove her father’s innocence, then she could hold her head high and live here again. But, after ten years, what hope did she have of that?
CHAPTER TWO (#u2e101700-237b-59ac-8810-5cbd4da22278)
BY THE TIME Lacey returned to Sophie’s, dusk had spread a rosy glow over the landscape. The globe lights lining the driveway shone like miniature moons. Inside the B and B, the sounds of lively music, talking and laughter drifted in from the courtyard. Instead of joining the party, Lacey went toward the stairway. Despite Sophie’s encouragement, she’d decided to skip the party. She wouldn’t be here to celebrate Silver River Days, anyway. If not for her grandmother, she wouldn’t come to town at all. Ever.
“Lacey?”
Uh-oh, caught.
She turned to see Kristal Wilson enter the front door. Lacey warmed at the sight of her old high school friend, one of the few who stood by her after the tragedy.
“I heard you were staying here,” Kris said as they exchanged a hug.
Lacey shook her head. “The grapevine in this town never ceases to amaze me. I just arrived this afternoon. I planned to give you a call.”
Kris tucked a lock of silver-blond hair behind her ear, revealing a dangling silver heart earring. “I know, but here we are, and we can go to the party together.” She gestured toward the door to the courtyard.
Lacey shook her head. “Uh-uh. I decided to skip it. It’s been a long day, and besides, I’m not dressed for it.” She pointed to her sleeveless blue tunic top and black tights.
“Who dresses up in Silver River?”
“You do. You always look like a million.”
Kris grinned as she smoothed the collar of her bright yellow blouse, which she wore with a brown pencil skirt and high-heeled shoes. “That’s because I’m a walking advertisement for the shop.”
“No, you love clothes. You always have.”
Kris waved dismissively. “Okay, okay. But, Lacey, come to the party, just for a little while, so we can catch up. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait till we go to lunch, and who knows when that will be?”
“Well...okay, for a little while.”
Still, Lacey felt her muscles tense as she stepped into the crowded courtyard. There were so many people. Had the whole town come out? On the way to the bar, she nodded and smiled at familiar faces. Then, glasses of Chardonnay in hand, she and Kris strolled the walkway circling the burbling fountain. Music from the four-piece combo filled the air, and balloons and streamers added a festive touch. They chatted about Remy’s move and Kris’s job at her aunt’s clothing store and the problems of being a single parent to eight-year-old Lucas.
“Thank goodness for day camp,” Kris said. “It’s been a lifesaver this summer.”
At the buffet table, they sampled the appetizers.
“Has anything changed between you and Sam?” Lacey asked, plucking a potato chip from a napkin-lined basket.
Kris munched a cracker topped with cream cheese. “Not really. He’ll never forgive me for breaking up with him and marrying Nolan.”
They chatted for a while longer, and then Lacey said, “I really should go. But we’ll get together for lunch soon.”
“I look forward to that... Oh, oh...” Kristal placed her fingers to her lips.
“What?”
“If you leave now, you’ll run smack into him.”
“Him, who?”
“Rory. He and Sam just arrived.”
* * *
RORY DRAGGED HIS steps as he followed Sam into the courtyard at Sophie’s B and B. He wasn’t really in a party mood. After a busy day at the shop, all he wanted was to go home, snap open a beer, kick back and relax. But he’d told Sophie and Hugh he would come and help celebrate the upcoming festival. On the way in, he’d met Sam, and so here they were. He wouldn’t stay long, just say a few “hellos,” and then leave.
Sam pulled two bottles of beer from an ice-filled tub. “Here you go.” He handed one to Rory.
“Thanks.” Rory opened the beer and took a sip. The cold liquid made his taste buds tingle.
“Hits the spot, doesn’t it?” Sam held up his bottle.
“Yeah, but I could drink beer at home.”
“Not with all the food you’ll find here.” Sam gazed around. “Let’s head over to the buffet table... Uh-oh.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Kristal’s here.”
“That’s okay, isn’t it? You two are on speaking terms.”
“Yeah, but are you and Lacey? ’Cause she’s here, too.”
Rory followed the direction of Sam’s nod, and sure enough, Kristal and Lacey stood at the buffet table. Feeling his chest tighten, he took a deep breath. “I never expected Lacey to be here. She keeps to herself when she comes to town.”
“Not this time. But Kris spotted us, so we might as well say hello.”
Rory frowned. “But I...”
