The Orchard at the Edge of Town Page 24

  “It isn’t good parenting if what you’re saying isn’t true,” Evie pointed out.

  “Are you calling me a liar, young lady?!” Daisy demanded, her face beet red.

  “She’d better not be,” Simon broke in.

  “I would never call you a liar, Aunt Daisy,” Evie responded, her sweet little face and sweet little smile warning Simon that trouble was brewing.

  “Evie,” he warned.

  Too late.

  Her mouth was already open and the words were already spilling out. “I’m calling you mistaken. Besides, it seems to me that if you’re so sure someone let the kittens outside, you were probably the one to do it!” She pointed her finger straight at Daisy.

  At which point, World War III erupted.

  Daisy yelled something about false accusations and started sobbing so loudly the windows shook in their frames. Her sobs made the girls cry. Next thing he knew, the entire house was echoing with the sound of sobs and of a phone ringing.

  A phone?

  He pulled out his cell phone, glanced at the caller ID.

  Work. Of course.

  “Enough!” he snapped, and Daisy and the girls fell almost silent, their hiccupping sniffles a quiet backdrop to the still-ringing phone.

  “Baylor, here,” he answered. “I pulled graveyard shift last night, so if this isn’t an emergency, find someone else.”

  “No need to snap my head off, Simon,” Emma responded with a hint of glee in her voice. “I thought I’d be doing you a favor by calling, but if you’re not interested—”

  “I’m seriously not in the mood for games, Emma. If there’s something I need to know, tell me.”

  “Jet found Daisy’s wallet and cell phone.”

  He glanced at Daisy. She was trying so desperately to hear, her neck was straining as her head jutted toward him.

  “Hold on,” he said. “Girls, get your schoolbooks. Your bus will be here any second.”

  “We can’t leave until we find the kittens,” Evie protested, but he nudged them both toward the stairs.

  “I’ll look while you’re gone. Now hurry up. If you miss that bus and I have to drive you to school, I’m docking a half dollar from each of your allowances.”

  They went reluctantly, trudging down the stairs, their shoulders stooped, their feet dragging. Even their hair looked lank and sad.

  “You mind waiting with them, Daisy? I know you like to get in your car and leave for work as soon as their bus pulls away, so it’ll be convenient if you do. Of course, if you’d rather I wait with them, that’s okay too.”

  She mumbled something under her breath, but followed the girls, tearing off her apron and dropping it on the floor as she walked outside.

  He pressed the phone to his ear again. “Sorry about that, Emma. I had to deal with my family. That can be a little difficult this time of day.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir on that one, brother,” she responded.

  “Where did Jet find the stolen items?”

  “At Rose’s place. Sad thing is, he found the stuff, freaked out and ran. Cade found him heading out of town in his grandfather’s Oldsmobile.”

  “Is he in custody?”

  “Nah. You know how Cade is. He’s gathering facts. Right now, he’s at the grandparents’ place with Jet.”

  “Who’s at Rose’s place?”

  “Max.”

  “Then why are you calling me?”

  “Two reasons. First, Daisy is your sister-in-law, and I thought you’d want to be kept updated on the case. Second, you’ve been moping around for the past three days, and I’m getting sick of it.”

  “Real men don’t mope.”

  She laughed. “Okay. How does this sound? You’ve been grumpier than a pack of vultures fighting over fresh roadkill.”

  “Better, but I’m not grumpy. Grumpy is for old men and toddlers.”

  “Whatever you are, it’s got to stop, and I have the perfect way to make that happen. Daisy’s stuff being found on Rose’s property gives you an excuse to have a little face time with Apricot. I suggest you use that time to iron out your differences.”

  “What gives you the idea that we have differences?” he asked, because he sure as heck hadn’t told anyone about the lunch that hadn’t been.

  “It’s not an idea. It’s a conjecture based on a conversation I had yesterday.”

  “What conversation, and who did you have it with?”

  “Rose. I just happened to run into her while I was helping set up some of the stands at the fairgrounds. She mentioned the lunch she packed for you guys. Said that not much of it had been eaten.”

  “So?”

  “She also said Apricot came back inside and looked like she’d seen the ghost of Abigail Shaffer. Rose was pretty excited about the idea, but Apricot said she hadn’t seen anything but the end of a really nice dream. Any idea what she meant by that?”

  “None,” he lied.

  “Sure you don’t,” she spat out, obviously disgusted. “Go to Rose’s or not, but don’t come back to the office tonight with a chip on your shoulder and a scowl on your face. I get enough of that when I’m at home.”

  She disconnected, and he was left standing there with his cell phone in hand, the house silent as a tomb. He glanced outside. The bus had come. Daisy was gone. He could search for the kittens and then take the nap he needed.

  Or, he could do exactly what Emma had suggested.

  He wasn’t sure which was better, so he took the easy way out and started hunting for the kittens. He combed every inch of the house and the yard with no luck. He finally had to admit that they were well and truly gone. The girls would be devastated.

  I bet Apricot can help.

  Evie’s words wound their way through his head.

  Apricot wasn’t the cure-all for everything, and she probably couldn’t help, but he found himself in the SUV anyway, winding his way through town, raindrops splashing on the windshield as he made his way to Rose’s place.

  Max was gone by the time he pulled into the driveway, and Simon got out of the SUV, the cold rain streaming from the sky in a heavy deluge that soaked through his jacket as he ran to the front door.

  The door opened before he reached it, and Lilac stepped onto the porch, her long dress swirling around her ankles. “It’s about time. I thought you’d never get here.”

  “I didn’t think you knew I was coming.”

  “Of course I knew. People are people. No matter the era they live in, the place they live, the community or culture. If you observe long enough, you start to realize that we all act in predictable ways.” She dragged him into the house and closed the door. “It was completely predictable that you would come.”

  “Great. Good.” He glanced around, hoping Apricot was somewhere close by. He liked her family, but he wasn’t in the mood for long, convoluted discussions. He wasn’t in the mood for much of anything.

  As a matter of fact, if he were honest with himself, he’d admit that he’d been about as irritable and antsy as Emma claimed.

  He’d have liked to blame it on the graveyard shift, but he’d weathered that plenty of times without having it affect his mood. No. His irritation had nothing to do with work and everything to do with Apricot.

  Or, rather, her absence from his life.

  He hadn’t realized just how much he was going to miss her quirky attitude and sunny smile. He’d even missed her ugly kitten.

  “It was,” Lilac continued. “Of course, inevitable that you’d also arrive moments too late.”

  “Too late for what?”

  “To see Apricot before she left.”

  His blood went cold at her words. “Did she head back to Los Angeles?” Because if she had, he might be tempted to take the girls on a road trip to find her.

  “Why in the world would she do something like that?” Lilac asked, smoothing her hair back from her face, an armload of bracelets clinking together. “She loves this little town. She’s been talking nonstop abo
ut getting the orchard going and starting a new venture here. I’ve had so much of her apple sauce, apple butter, and apple blossom tea that I’m starting to smell like an apple tree!”

  “You said she’d left. I thought she’d gone back to LA.”

  “Hardly! She went to find that ugly little cat of hers. It disappeared sometime this morning, and she’s worried sick.” She sighed, walking across the living room and lifting a green vase off the mantel. “Do you see this?”

  “I do,” he responded, not quite sure where she was headed with the conversation, but fairly certain he wasn’t going to be able to follow.

  “It has a crack in it.” She poked a finger at a wide crack that ran the length of the vase. “According to my daughter, that’s my fault.”

  “Did you drop it?” He glanced out the front window. The rain seemed to be coming down harder, but he wondered if he might be better off out there.

  “Of course not. I’m very graceful and coordinated. I simply did what Apricot asked me to do. I took the white feather back to the bakery—”

  “Sweet Treats?”

  “Yes,” she said with exaggerated patience. “Sweet Treats. Apparently the kitten has a thing for feathers. He stole one from the shop while he was there with Apricot. What in the world she was doing bringing a kitten into a bakery, I don’t know. But she was there and Handsome was with her and the klepto kitty took the feather.”

  “I can see that happening.” He could, and it made him smile.

  “Then I’m sure you know what happened next,” she responded.

  “Apricot insisted the feather be returned?”

  “Exactly!” She slapped her hand on her thigh, her bracelets jingling. “Only she didn’t want to make a jaunt into town to return it herself. We all know why that is, don’t we?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe you should explain.”

  She grinned. “I like you, Simon.”

  “I like you too, but I’d probably like you a mite bit better if you got to the point of your tale.”

  “Yes, right.” She held the vase up. “The feather was in this, and I took the whole thing to Sweet Treats, tried to return it, but Charlotte absolutely wouldn’t hear of it. She said she had plenty of happiness and love, and she was happy for the feather to have a new home. So, of course, I brought the feather and vase back home.”

  “Of course,” he agreed.

  “And I set them right here.” She plopped the vase on the fireplace mantel. “And that devil of a cat knocked them down and cracked this priceless family heirloom.”

  “Is it really a priceless family heirloom?” Because what it looked like to him was an arts and crafts project from the seventies.

  “I have no idea, but it makes for a good compelling detail, which makes for a good compelling story. Which, by the way, I’m getting to the end of.” She took a deep breath. “Hubert heard the crash and thought the ghost of old man Schaffer had returned. He ran outside—”

  “Let me guess. Handsome ran out with him.”

  “That’s right. And not only did he run out, he took the feather with him. I figured the kitten would return eventually. He’s always slipping in and out of the house. But he’s been gone for hours. Even the rain didn’t chase him back home.”

  “He might have found a place to hunker down until it passed,” he suggested.

  “That’s what I told Apricot, but she’s worried. She loves that kitten. As soon as that good-looking deputy left, she headed out to look for Handsome. That was”—she glanced at her watch—“fifteen minutes ago. I’m not sure when she’ll be back, but if you’d like me to give her a message when she returns, I will.”

  “That’s okay.” He headed to the front door, mulling things over in his head while he went. It was odd that all three kittens were missing. Almost as odd as Daisy’s things being found on Apricot’s property. “Did Max find anything while he was here?”

  “Max?” She followed him to the front door, jingling and swishing the whole way.

  “The good-looking deputy,” he responded, the words nearly choking him. Good thing Max wasn’t around to hear him say them. He’d never let him live it down.

  “Oh. Yes. Deputy Stanford.” She sighed dreamily. “He said there wasn’t much evidence. Just the wallet and a phone.”

  “Where were they found?”

  “Out in the old shed. It’s way back at the edge of the orchard. Apricot and Jet were working back there this morning.”

  “They’d been in the shed before?”

  “Yes, but today Jet knocked over a planter. It had a couple of inches of dirt in it. When that spilled out, the wallet and phone came out with it.” She paused. “At least that’s the way Apricot described it. Had I been there, I’d have probably had a few more details to add to the account.”

  “I’m sure you would have.” He wasn’t able to keep the hint of amusement from his voice, and she grinned.

  “One more little tidbit of information,” she said, obviously relishing each and every detail. “Apricot saw someone walking into the orchard the other night. She thought it was Dusty, so she didn’t bother mentioning it to the police. I’d say it was either old man Shaffer’s ghost or the guy who mugged your sister-in-law.”

  “Sounds like some reasonable assumptions. How about you call Max and fill him in.” He opened the door, let cool wind blow in. It carried the scent of apples and a hint of winter, and he wondered if Apricot had brought a jacket and umbrella when she’d left the house, or if she’d gone out to search wearing one of those flimsy long skirt and tank-top combos that she seemed to favor. “I’ve got a couple of kittens missing myself, and if I don’t find them before my girls get home, there are going to be a lot of tears.”

  “Is that why you stopped by?” she asked, stepping onto the porch as he retreated down the steps.

  “One of the reasons.”

  “Did any of the other reasons have something to do with Apricot?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Humph,” she responded, the wind whipping her dress around her legs and making her hair fly around her head in a wild frenzy. “That is a very safe answer.”

  “It’s as much of an answer as I can give.”

  “Be careful, Simon,” she said in a voice that had a hint of mystery in it. “Sometimes two people are meant to be together. Sometimes everything in their lives conspires to make sure that they are. When that happens, they really have no choice. They either walk the road side by side, or they live their lives wishing they had.” She grabbed a handful of her hair and frowned. “Now I’ve got to get inside. This weather isn’t good for my hair.”

  She walked inside, closing the door with a quiet snap.

  He had the distinct impression that he’d disappointed her, and he was half-near tempted to apologize.

  He glanced around the yard. No sign of Handsome. No sign of Apricot. No sign of the girls’ kittens. King Henry was parked in the driveway, the Airstream right behind it. Wherever Apricot was, she’d gone on foot.

  He rounded the side of the house, rain soaking through his jeans and sliding off his jacket. He could have gotten in the SUV and gone home, but he’d come for a reason. Despite what he’d said to Lilac, despite what he might even be trying to tell himself, he wanted to see Apricot. It was as simple as that, and maybe even as complicated.

  He splashed through a couple of puddles as he crossed the backyard and made his way into the orchard. The scent of apples hung thick in the air, the rain creating a rhythmic melody that the girls would have danced to if they’d been with him.

  He headed toward the clearing in the center of the orchard because he wasn’t sure where else to go, and because he figured that if Apricot had any thinking to do, that’s where she’d be.

  He found her there, sitting on the bench, her head bent, her hair plastered to her head. Her black T-shirt was soaked, her jeans coated with mud. It looked like she’d been tromping through the orchard for hours rather than minutes.

 
; He was sure she heard him coming, but she didn’t look up as he approached.

  “It’s a little wet for a picnic,” he said, settling onto the bench beside her.

  She met his eyes, a soft smile curving the corners of her lips, rain streaming down her face. There were goose bumps on her arms, and her teeth were nearly chattering, but it didn’t look like she had any intention of going back inside.

  “I thought you were Lilac,” she said.

  “Are you disappointed that I’m not?”

  “Relieved is a better word for it,” she responded. “She is driving me batty.”

  “Is that why you’re sitting out here in the rain?” He took off his jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders. His knuckles brushed her jaw as he tugged it closed, and it was all he could do not to lean in, taste her rain-soaked lips.

  “I’m out here because Handsome is missing. I’ve been looking for him. I’m sure Lilac told you all about it.”

  “She did.”

  “Did she also give that bunch of blarney about people who are meant to be together?” She made a good show of being disgusted, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

  “She did.”

  “Silly, isn’t it?” She laughed, the sound echoing hollowly through the clearing.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “Oh, come on!” She stood and paced to the edge of the clearing, her work boots slapping against the wet earth. “You’re not the kind of guy who buys into that sort of stuff.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” he responded, closing the distance between them.

  Sheets of rain were falling all around them, but he couldn’t see anything but Apricot, think of anything but how he felt when she was in his arms. “I’m standing in the rain with you, looking in your eyes, and I’m thinking that every day I don’t spend with you is a day with just a little less sunshine in it. I’m not sure if that means we’re meant to be together, but I know for damn sure that it means I don’t want us to be apart.”

  “I think,” she said, her cold hand settling on his jaw, “that is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”