up what they began in earnest eight years ago. I think he pushed her to help her recover from her heart attack. She loves a good challenge.” He held up his plate. “I can fix you one.”
Her chuckles floated through the air. “I think I’ll pass on that. I ate more tonight than I usually do.”
He put his sandwich on the kitchen table and gestured at a chair beside him. “Join me. I hate eating alone. When you live on a small ship with fifteen others, you’re rarely alone except in your tiny cabin. You would think I would cherish this time.”
“You don’t?” Ellie slid into the seat next to him.
He noticed she didn’t wear any fragrance and wondered if Winnie would change that. “I’m used to it so it’s strange when I’m not here. When I’ve come back here, I’ve felt the isolation I never felt while I was growing up here.”
“Well, it won’t feel isolated too much longer. Winnie has several evening events the closer we get to the holidays.”
“Let me guess. Most of them have to do with the business.”
“Yes, and she is the mistress of ceremony at the lighting of the Christmas tree in Bakersville in a few days. This year the town is naming the park after your grandparents.”
“They’ve been trying to get her to light the Christmas tree for years. I’m glad she finally accepted.”
A tiny frown made grooves between Ellie’s eyebrows.
“You aren’t?” Colt asked.
Her expression evened out. “I’m only concerned she doesn’t wear herself out. She has the big gala for Endless Youth and Christy’s introduction to the press a few days after that.”
“Yeah, she’s been trying to get me to stay an extra week.”
“I can understand the demands of work.”
“Is this job demanding to you? Is the isolation getting to you?”
“I love the isolation. Remember, I grew up in Chicago where everywhere I turned there were people.”
“How did you find out about this job?”
Ellie rose. “I think I’ll fix a cup of tea. Do you want any? Herbal, no caffeine.” She walked to the cabinet where the tea was kept and withdrew a tin of lavender tea.
“No, thanks.” He waited until she put the water on to boil then continued, “Harold said something about him finding you. How? Chicago is a far piece from here.”
“Harold knew my former employer. She suggested me for the job.”
“She let you go?”
“Not exactly. She knew how much I love the mountains and thought this would be perfect for me.”
“What did you do at your former job?”
She laughed. “I feel I’m being interviewed again, but since I already have the job, that isn’t it. So why the interest?”
“Because I love Winnie and have her best interest at heart.”
Gripping the counter edge with both hands, Ellie lounged back, except that there was nothing casual about her stance. Something wasn’t right. Colt lived in close quarters and had learned to read people accurately and quickly. It made his life much easier and calmer.
“What are you hiding, Ellie?”
THREE
“What makes you think I’m hiding something?” Ellie busied herself pouring the hot water into a mug and dunking the tea bag.
“I get the feeling there’s something in your past you don’t like to talk about. If it wasn’t that Harold is thorough when it comes to my grandmother, I would be concerned at your evasiveness.”
“But Harold is thorough.” She drew herself up straight, cupping her hands around the mug. “I didn’t know full disclosure about all the details of my life was necessary for me to get this job. Winnie seems satisfied. Is this something we should bring up to her?” Lifting her chin, she clamped her jaws together to keep from saying anything else that would get her fired.
He dipped his head in a curt nod. “Duly noted. Winnie is a great judge of character.”
Meaning he had his doubts? Pain shot down her neck from the tense set of her teeth grinding together. She strode to the table and took the chair across from him. Though she would rather drink her tea in peace, she knew escaping to her bedroom would only confirm that she had something to hide.
One of the reasons she liked being a bodyguard was that she could blend into the background. Most of her clients didn’t engage her in casual conversation. But Winnie had been different, and it seemed to run in the family. She kept a lock on her past—a past she didn’t want to take out and reexamine. No point in going over it.
“If you must know, the short version of my life so far is—”
“That’s okay—”
“I grew up in Chicago,” she interrupted, “in a part of town where I had to learn to take care of myself and stick up for my brother, too. People weren’t kind to him. He had a mental disability and talked ‘funny.’ Their word, not mine. When I could get out of the neighborhood, I did.” She sipped her tea, gripping the mug tighter to keep her hands steady.
“Where’s your brother?”
“Dead.” The word hung in the air between them for a long moment while Ellie relived the moment when Toby had slipped away from congestive heart failure.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”
“What did you mean to do, then?”
“To make sure Winnie was in good hands.”
She stared into his light, gray-blue eyes. “She’s in good hands. When I do a job, I do it one hundred percent.”
Another long silence stretched between them as she felt the probe of his gaze, seeking, reading between the lines.
“Did I pass?” She raised her cup and drank, relishing the warm, soothing tea.
“This wasn’t a test.”
“You could have fooled me.” After she scooted back her chair, the scraping sound filling the kitchen, she pushed to her feet. “While I would love to continue this interrogation—I mean conversation—I’m tired and plan to go to bed. Good night.”
She left the kitchen. Out in the hallway she paused, a hand braced on the wall as images of her twin brother washed through her mind—running from the neighborhood bullies, falling and scraping his palms and shins, crying because he didn’t understand why they didn’t like him. But the worst picture was of Toby on the floor of their small, dirty apartment, taking his last breath. He looked straight at her. She held him while they waited for the ambulance. A light brightened his
