quite a bit younger than she is,” she said.
“How much younger?”
“About twenty years.”
“It’s not unheard of,” Bryce agreed thoughtfully. “But I see the concern.”
“So you’re right, we’re worried.”
“Who’s we?” he asked, swallowing a bite.
“About half the family,” she admitted.
“And the other half?”
“Thinks she’s making a fool of herself.”
Bryce barked out a laugh. “So you get a feeling that something is up, do you?”
Lily sighed. “If there were something suspicious going on, I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try to protect my aunt. I know that TV isn’t real life, but I’ve seen the shows, and—”
“No, you’re right about it looking a bit suspicious. I mean, there might be nothing to it. It might be that two perfectly nice people fell in love with each other and want to get married. A few months of dating is quick, but not unheard of. Like you said, though, you’ve never seen the guy before. People can pretend to be something they aren’t pretty easily online.”
“So you think I’m right?” she clarified.
“I think it’s worth looking into,” he replied, spearing a piece of chicken. “This is amazing, by the way.”
“Thank you.” Lily smiled at the compliment. She was relieved to have Bryce agreeing with her about her aunt’s beau. When she’d mentioned it to another officer she knew, he’d told her that there was no legal obstacle to her aunt marrying anyone she chose. But Officer Nick Colburn had also been fighting with his girlfriend’s family at the time, so that might have colored his view a little bit. But if Bryce would help her—
“So, will you look into it, then?” Lily asked.
“Pardon me?” Bryce blinked.
“My aunt’s fiancé.” She leaned forward. “Will you make sure that he isn’t some sort of con man?”
Bryce didn’t answer for a moment, and his gaze turned toward the window. Outside there were some fruit trees and a wooden framed swing. He didn’t seem to be taking in the scenery, though. Had she overstepped again? Probably. She was the queen of overstepping, it seemed.
“I’m sorry.” She rose to her feet and swayed gently, the baby’s eyes slowly closing as she did so. “I can get too friendly. I’m used to knowing everyone and—”
“So what’s this guy’s name?” Bryce asked.
“Are you saying you’ll look into it for me?” She stopped rocking, and Emily’s eyes popped back open again.
“I might as well,” he said. “While I’m here.”
Lily blinked back a mist of unexpected emotion and gave a curt nod. She was more relieved than she realized.
“His name is Aaron Bay. He claims to be from Denver. And the wedding is in two weeks, so—”
“So we’re on a bit of a tight schedule,” Bryce concluded.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Thank you, Bryce. You have no idea how grateful I am.”
If this officer would help her to get some answers, it would take away one of her worries. Aunt Clarisse was a kind woman—maybe too kind for her own good. A cynical cop was just what they all needed, and his visit was perfectly timed. He had two weeks in town, and she had two weeks until her aunt’s wedding.
Lily began to rock Emily again, and those little eyes drooped shut. She might be the queen of overstepping, but she’d keep a tight rein on her behavior with this handsome cop. The last thing she needed was to complicate her life any more than it already was.
The room smelled faintly of floor polish mingled with the scent of the flowers on the bedside table. His hostess had thought of every detail, from the Wi-Fi password in a silver picture frame to the handmade quilt draped across the end of the bed. Bryce lay between crisp white sheets that smelled ever so subtly of bleach, knowing that he’d probably never been more comfortable in his life, but was still unable to sleep. There was something about the quiet that was throwing him off. How did people relax in a place so ridiculously silent?
Lily and the baby stayed in a little cottage in the back—a structure that probably used to be a mother-in-law suite, but that seemed to serve her purposes nicely. She got some privacy, but she was still close enough if her guests needed anything during the night. She’d given him a phone number for her cell phone and told him not to hesitate to call if he needed anything at all. Truthfully, he’d hesitate. He never had been comfortable being waited on.
Bryce’s Bible lay to the side. He’d tried reading it twice already and been unsuccessful.
Lord, I’m sorry.
Bryce wasn’t one to shirk the consequences of his own actions, and he knew he’d been wrong when he punched Leroy Higgins. He wasn’t the kind of guy to just lose control like that, and the episode had scared him a bit. Leroy had been ragging on him for weeks when he’d found out who his father was.
Bryce’s dad had been a police officer, too, until he quit under some fierce allegations of professional misconduct. And while Leroy thought his jokes were hilarious, Bryce had finally had enough. But physically lashing out...that had been wrong and a lot more like his father than he was comfortable with.
Outside an owl hooted, forcing him to take back his last thought about silence. It wasn’t completely quiet, really, because there were sounds, just not the kind that he was used to. The constant hum of traffic and the far-off chug of a train did the trick back in Fort Collins. A mystery novel and a couple of Psalms just before turning in had been a great relaxer as well, but all this quiet made his ordinary routines insufficient. His conscience wasn’t helping matters, either.
That evening, he’d held Emily for an hour or more while Lily went around cleaning up the kitchen. The baby cried in the bassinet and cried in Lily’s arms. The only quiet they managed to get was when he paced the kitchen with Emily snuggled against his chest. What was a guy supposed to do? Lily had cleaned and scrubbed while he paced, and while she worked, she talked. For as much as she talked, though, he had a feeling there was a lot she held back.
Lily was pretty in a way that he didn’t see too often in the city. Her hair was natural—not the bottle blond he saw so often. She wore very little makeup, and he was glad of that because the smattering of freckles over her face was endearing. She was petite and slim, but she wasn’t weak by any stretch. He’d seen her effortlessly lift a twenty-four-pound bag of flour. It was impressive.
And the whole time he’d held little Emily with those big brown eyes and the black hair that sprang off the top of her head like fireworks. Every time he looked down at that pink bow of a mouth, or let her grasp his finger with that tiny little hand, he couldn’t quite forget that he was terrible at this—he
