mother-in-law was using subtle methods to drive a wedge between her and Malcolm and Zoe. And it was Malcolm in particular. Not only did he look like Justin, he was also bright for his age—articulate, curious and outgoing—while Zoe was shy and more reserved.
She thought about the terse back-and-forth with Joyce about Lee. Joyce’s views about her friend and his father were echoed and believed by so many in The Falls that it was difficult to find someone who thought otherwise. However, Angela was different. She’d liked Lee from the moment she and Justin befriended him in the high school cafeteria. She’d seen him around town, and was as surprised as a lot of kids when he had transferred from a private Catholic institution to the local high school. Angela found him more mature than most boys their age, and despite living in what most called a mansion he was modest and unpretentious.
Did she like him? Yes. Was she in love with him? No. Justin Mitchell was the love of her life, the only man she’d slept with, and she doubted if she would ever fall in love again.
Angela piled slacks, blouses and several sundresses on a chair before taking out a Pullman, and then made quick work of packing her clothes.
Lee opened the door to his sister’s knock. The first thing he noticed was that she didn’t look as tired as she had the week before. Pulling her into the suite, he dropped a kiss on her hair. She had blown out the curls and in its place was a cascade of raven strands sweeping down her back.
“Welcome to my humble abode.”
Viviana smiled and the gesture lit up her brown eyes. “It doesn’t look that humble to me. I’ve passed this place a number of times and never knew it looked like this inside.”
“I was also quite surprised,” Lee admitted. He had spent the past few days catching up on sleep, swimming laps in the outdoor pool, working out in the exercise room and binge-watching a favorite TV series of which he’d missed a few episodes. The suite had everything he’d want if he was looking to rent a furnished apartment. “How are you?”
“Much better now that you’re here.” She sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”
Reaching for her hand, Lee eased the canvas tote from her fingers and placed it on a side table. He led her into the dining area and pulled out a chair to seat her at the table set for two. “I decided we’d eat before wading through what I expect is tons of paper.”
Viviana’s expression sobered. “And it’s more paper and receipts than I’d expected to find. I still can’t believe that rat hid bills that the mail carrier delivered to the house. And it wasn’t until the bank manager called and told me that I’d overdrawn my line of credit that I realized something was wrong.”
“We’ll talk about your rat later, but right now I need you to tell me how much you need to cover the delinquent property taxes.” Lee schooled his expression not to reveal his shock when Viviana quoted a figure that was a lot more than he’d anticipated. “That can’t be for one year.”
“It’s for two years.”
“I’ll make arrangements to get a bank check and then drive over to the county offices and take care of it.”
Viviana lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry you have to dip into your savings to bail me out. As soon as the boardinghouse is up and running again I promise to pay you back.”
Lee smiled. “Did I say anything about you paying me back? Remember, I own half the property, so I do have a personal stake in keeping it in the family.”
Their mother’s will bequeathed them the house and the twelve acres on which it sat. He and Viviana were also equal recipients of their mother’s life insurance. The terms of the policy had designated her older sister Barbara Wolfe-McCarthy as executor and legal guardian for her children until they were eighteen. Lee had taken control of his trust months before enlisting in the army, purchasing ten-year tax-free municipal bonds. Once they matured he’d reinvested half in a retirement fund and purchased certificates of deposits with the remaining half, while Vivi had used her inheritance to pay for college and set up a partnership with their aunt and uncle to convert The Falls House from a private residence to a boardinghouse.
“I can’t believe I trusted someone so much that I wasn’t able to see what was right in front of me. His online profile was almost picture-perfect. I’m definitely through with online dating sites.”
“I didn’t invite you here for a pity party, Vivi. What’s done is done, and hopefully it will never happen again.”
Viviana met her brother’s large eyes, eyes that reminded her of their mother’s. When he’d walked into The Falls House, she was seeing him for the first time in nearly four years, and she was shocked at how much he resembled their father. He could have been Emory Remington’s younger clone, except for the eye color. She was only two years younger than Lee, but there were times when she felt he was more of a father figure to her than an older brother. She was also aware that if he did come back to Wickham Falls it would be to visit, but never to live again.
Days before he was scheduled to leave for basic training he’d told Viviana there were too many bad memories to make him feel at home in his place of birth. However, he did come back to attend her high school and college graduations, and to sign the legal documents transferring half their share of the boardinghouse to Aunt Babs before she relocated to Arizona. He had also come back for the funeral of Justin Mitchell. Not only had he looked different, but something inwardly had changed. There was a vacant look in his eyes that frightened her, and he didn’t speak unless spoken to. He’d stayed long enough to pay his respects, and then he was gone.
“What are you making?” she asked, changing the topic of conversation.
“Your favorite: rack of lamb with mint sauce, roasted asparagus and rosemary potato wedges.”
Viviana smiled. “You remembered.”
Lee opened the oven to check on the meat. “There aren’t too many things I forget.”
“Like Dad being gone more than he was here?”
He went completely still. “I really don’t want to talk about him now.”
“Sorry about that.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Vivi. I’m just not ready to relive the past.”
She nodded. He didn’t want to talk about the past and she did. Times had changed and so had their father, so she decided to bide her time before broaching the subject again. Pushing back the chair, Viviana rose to her feet and walked over and stood next to Lee as he blended fresh mint leaves, confectioners’ sugar and cider vinegar in a mini food processor.
“Have you thought about getting married?”
“No. Why would you ask me that?”
“I just thought you would’ve been married and made me an aunt by the time you were thirty.”
He gave her a sidelong smile. “I could say the same about you making me an uncle.”
Viviana affected a frown. “Not with my track record for attracting lowlife vermin masquerading as the opposite sex.”
