She groaned. “I’m bored.”
“No, you’re not,” he called out from the kitchen. “You could find something to keep you occupied on your laptop with no problem.”
“But I don’t have a case to work on,” she complained.
He poked his head around the corner, gave her a fat smile, and said, “I know.”
“I could work on the Bob Small stuff,” she said in a considering tone. “It’s not like I can do much else, but I could start researching that case—or rather cases. As in many cases really. He was a serial killer, after all. Still at large.”
“Too bad you can’t get to that basket of clippings by yourself anytime soon, and no way will I pull it down for you,” he said in a bright cheerful voice. “That’s hardly resting if you’re sleuthing.”
Her irritation at being bedridden melted as soon as she heard him say sleuthing. It was almost a validation of what she did. And anything was better than meddling.
“Dinner is ready,” he called out. “Do you want to eat there or make your way to the kitchen?”
“Kitchen please.” She grabbed the crutches Nan had gotten her from somewhere, and, no, she’d not asked where, and made her way to the kitchen. Doreen stopped and sniffed the aroma and cried out, “Spaghetti!”
“Absolutely. Now sit down and get that leg up,” he ordered. “At least this way you’ll have enough leftovers until you’re cleared to walk again.”
She beamed and immediately obeyed. Anything for spaghetti. “I really appreciate the leftovers.”
He walked over, bearing a heaping plate of spaghetti and, oh joy, … meatballs as well. “Oh my,” she whispered softly, staring at the plate in rapture.
“You know how they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Now I don’t know that for sure about all men, but it’s definitely the way to your heart.”
She nodded but didn’t waste time talking. She forked up part of a meatball and some noodles dripping with sauce and took her first bite and closed her eyes.
There was an odd silence. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. That was a new look on his face, but the look in his gaze was universal.
He dropped his focus to his own plate, breaking the moment.
But it would be a long time before she forgot the heat in his eyes.
Chapter 3
Thursday Morning …
Yes, finally freedom called. She woke up bright and early, knowing today was the day. She’d promised Nan and Mack she’d behave and stay off her ankle until today. And she didn’t know what her problem was, but she couldn’t break a promise once made.
But today was Thursday, and she could walk on her ankle. She noted only a slight stiffness to the movement, but, other than that, it felt great. But she’d go easy. No running or long walks for a few days. She’d ease into those.
She got dressed and went into the kitchen. She’d have to ask Mack to move her mattress back upstairs when he came by next. She fed her animals, which made them all very happy. With her first cup of coffee she stepped out onto the deck and walked to the water’s edge, absolutely loving the fresh air and the soothing sounds of the water, her trio glad to be outside as well. It was a beautiful sunny morning and an absolutely gorgeous day. She looked at how her little creek had turned more into a river here as it neared the lake itself, and the river was quite a bit higher than she had expected. Also a lot faster moving now.
She studied the little bridge and frowned. Mack must have fixed it because the broken boards were gone. All of them it seemed. The bridge had brand-new flooring. She smiled. He must have done that this week, while taking care of her. She wondered how he managed that without making any noise. She’d have to ask him later. And thank him.
She turned slowly and made her way carefully back to the café table on her veranda, testing her ankle. All good, she thought. Then she sat down, only to wince as something poked her hip. She reached inside her pocket to find the metal pieces Thaddeus had found before her tumble into the water.
She’d forgotten about them. After Mack had helped get her home, she’d quickly changed out of her wet clothes and Mack had done laundry for her. She’d been living in dresses all week. Until this morning …
At least the metal pieces were clean now.
With her coffee gone, she walked back inside, refilled her mug, then came out and picked up her shovel. She’d missed her garden all week too. No one came to weed her beds. And she had Millicent’s to do tomorrow too, if she was up to it. Which she already planned to do. After weeding one bed, she checked the discharge from the sump pump hoses that lay stretched across her yard, but no water came from them. With that reassurance, she returned to her gardening. She studied the two little tags once more and then shoved them back into her pocket. Just as she went to pick up the shovel again, her phone rang. “Good morning, Nan.”
“My, don’t you sound better,” Nan said. “Are you outside?”
“I feel better too. And, yes, I’m out working in the garden.”
“Well, that’s much safer than catching robbers and murderers,” Nan said. “How about tea?”
“Sure. As much as I’m enjoying being outside, I’m always good for an excuse to leave the work and visit you.”
Nan laughed. “I think you’re a workaholic. But why don’t you come down? One of the residents here dropped off a huge basket of veggies. I’d love to share.”
“Perfect. I’ll walk down now. My ankle could use a short walk to loosen it up.”
“I’ll put on the teakettle.”
Nan hung up, and Doreen looked down at the two animals at her feet, with a side glance at Thaddeus, still on her shoulder. “What do you think? Shall we go for a walk to Nan’s?”
She quickly locked up her house even as Mugs barked and raced back down to the creek, heading to the path that would take him around the corner. Goliath sauntered along beside her, as if to say, Well, I don’t have anything better to do. Thaddeus was happy for any chance to visit. “Visit Nan. Visit Nan.”
Smiling, Doreen walked back down beside the creek, loving the way the water gushed beside her. The bank was still several feet above, even though the water overflowed the rocks. It was just beautiful. She looked back to where the old ratty fence had been at the creek side of her property, wondering again what it would take to put a bench there. She didn’t have any real lawn chairs or outdoor furniture, something to withstand the sun and the bad weather alike, but it would be nice to have something close to the creek, where she could sit and have her coffee. At least sit long enough to relax and to take a few moments off. Something was just so delightful about the sunlight bouncing off the water as it ran beside her.
She walked along the creek, turned the corner, and headed toward Rosemoor. With Nan living there since she’d handed over her house to Doreen, Doreen came to visit on a regular basis. So much had happened in the couple months that she’d lived in Kelowna, BC. Not just all the cold cases she’d been involved with but also selling the antiques, emptying the house. Yet it would still be months and months before everything was sold, and the transactions completed, and she had a check in her hand from Christie’s.