Love Inspired January 2016, Box Set 1 of 2 (48 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

W
hen the doorbell rang Matt hoped beyond odds that somehow it could be Anne and Claire. There was a time when being alone was plenty of company for him. Those days had disappeared when he'd moved to Paradise.

Everything had changed.

Instead of enjoying the quiet, he had paced the empty house for the past hour, missing them. Missing Stanley, as well.

He was ready to admit that he even missed Lily Gray.

Manny had declined his invitation to go to dinner so he could spend the evening with Delia and the baby. Manny was one fortunate guy. Even Sam Lawson had plans that included going to bed early so he could go fishing in the morning.

It was only five in the evening and he had hours in front of him with nothing to do but watch the clock tick.

When he opened the door he found not Anne and Claire but two smiling elderly ladies in matching tan slacks and pink blouses. One held yet another casserole from the Paradise ladies' auxiliary in her hands.

“Mr. Clark?”

“Yes?”

“I'm Doris and this is my sister Dee. We're the Knight sisters. This is your final meal delivery from the auxiliary. Well, unless you'd like us to have the auxiliary extend your home visits?” They looked hopeful.

“Oh, no, ladies, you've done plenty already. I couldn't impose on your hospitality any further. Thank you.”

He opened the screen and took the still warm container from them and placed it on the coffee table.

“Would you like us to come in and heat it up for you?” one of the women asked.

“No.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, no, thank you. This is plenty.”

“All right, then,” a sister said. “We'll see you in church.”

“Absolutely.” He moved to close the door.

“Um, Mr. Clark?”

He turned back.

“Yeah?”

“My sister was wondering if you had met anyone in Paradise. We have a lovely granddaughter...”

Matt froze. “Thank you for thinking of me, but I'm already spoken for.”

Their eyes lit up with curiosity. “Anyone we know?”

“I can't tell you until I tell the lady in question. She doesn't know yet.” He winked.

They sighed in unison. “How romantic.”

As far as he was concerned it was the absolute truth. He was spoken for. By Anne. She'd realize it sooner or later, but sooner would be a lot better.

He lifted the foil cover. While it looked good, it had only been a few hours since he and Anne and Claire had shared a big lunch in Paradise.

What were Anne and Claire doing tonight, anyhow? Girl stuff, he imagined. He walked through the house again, restless. Maybe he could take Stanley for a walk. Except Stanley was with Anne, too. The traitor. The overgrown mutt loved Lily's house more than he liked his own home.

Matt grabbed his keys from the counter. He could take a walk by himself.

As he headed toward Main Street, his cell began to ring.

“Clark, here.”

“Mr. Clark, this is Hollis Elliott.”

“Mr. Elliott. What can I do for you, sir?”
And why is the bison baron of Paradise Valley calling me?

“Actually I'm calling because I want to do something for you, son.”

“Sir?”

“I've got a nice piece of land that overlooks the valley that I'd like to give you.”

Matt swallowed his stunned surprise.

“I'm very appreciative, sir, but I don't quite know how you came to decide to give me land.”

“Lily Gray. I've owed her a large favor for a couple decades. It's time to pay that debt. She was clear in her suggestion that you might be in the market for some property and that a donation of land in your name would settle our score.” He cleared his throat. “I like it when my debts are paid, son, so I hope you aren't going to argue with me on this.”

Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sir, did she happen to mention what I was going to do with the land?”

“You're going to move a house there is what she said.”

“Move a house there?” He shook his head. So Lily was moving forward, all right.

“That's all I know, except she seemed to think that she in turn owed this to you for something. Said this was her way of giving you a piece of Paradise, a future here in the valley, with roots for your family.”

Matt could hardly speak past the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Mr. Hollister.”

“No need to thank me. I'm simply the middleman. This is all Lily's doing. She's the one to thank. And while you're at it, let Lily know we're all square, will you? Once that woman starts pulling in her favors she doesn't rest until the job is done. I'd like to be able to sleep some tonight.”

“I will. I certainly will.”

“Give my secretary a call and we'll take a ride up to the property when you've got time.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lily Gray?

This was beyond his comprehension. He'd been wandering his entire life. Somehow the woman had managed to know what he'd needed before he did. The woman had not only provided him a lasting tomorrow in this valley but she'd given her official blessing to him and Anne.

“Now all I have to do is convince Anne that she and I have a future together in Paradise,” he said aloud. Matt continued to stare at his phone. “And figure out how I'm going to help Lily move a one-hundred-year-old house.”

* * *

“Can we sleep in here tonight?” Claire asked.

Anne and the girl stood in the turret room looking out at Paradise. The night sky was illuminated by a full moon and the mountains were visible in the distance. If the pine trees weren't so tall they could have seen the water on the lake by moonlight.

“We don't have beds in this room,” Anne said. She glanced around. The room had been empty for years. The only piece of furniture was a rocking chair and a small wrought-iron table. On occasion Anne came up here to pray and to sip a cup of tea.

“Did you mean it when you said you'd never been to a slumber party?” Claire returned.

“That's right. Aunt Lily was a little strict when I was growing up.”

“She was your mom?”

“Pretty much. After my mother died she was my whole family.”

“Just like me and my dad.” Claire chewed her lip, considering Anne's words. Then she looked up at her. “I can show you how to have a slumber party, if you want.”

“Okay, but no sleeping on the floor. This princess needs a mattress,” Anne said.

“Can't we bring one from the bedroom up here?”

Anne laughed. “I suppose we could do that. How about we bring the two twin mattresses from the guest room?”

“Why are you laughing?” Claire asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking about a friend of mine who says I'm not impulsive.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that she thinks that I would never drag a mattress up two flights of stairs at nine o'clock at night simply so I can fall asleep under the stars.”

“But you are. So she's wrong.”

“Yes. She is wrong.” Anne smiled at the thought.

“Anne? Claire? Are you up here?”

“Aunt Lily?” Anne rushed to the doorway at the sound of her aunt's voice on the landing. “You walked up all those steps?”

Lily grinned as she slowly came into the room, leaning heavily on the doorjamb. “Oh, my.” Her breathing was short pants of air. “I haven't been up here in years, and now I know why.”

Anne pulled the single rocking chair in the empty room closer to her aunt. “Here. Sit down. You must be exhausted.”

“Not at all. I took my time. Simply a bit winded.” She eased into the chair and glanced out one of the tall windows. “It was worth it. I'd forgotten what a view there is up here.”

“Whose room was this, Aunt Lily?” Claire asked.

“It was mine and my sister's. Anne's grandmother.” A wistful smile curved her thin lips. “We were twins.”

“Twins?”

“Yes. Identical twins. Her name was Rose. Lily Anne and Rose Anne.”

“Like the flowers outside.”

“That's right, Claire. I grow those roses to remember my dear sister.”

Claire looked at Anne. “You were named after the twins.”

“Yes. My name comes from their middle name.”

“What happened to her?” Claire asked.

“Oh, the complications of delivery after Anne's mother was born,” Lily answered.

Claire stroked the soft, paper-thin skin on Lily's hands. “I'm so sorry.”

“You are such a caring child. Thank you.”

Anne stared out at the night sky, suddenly realizing something about her aunt she'd never dared to consider. Lily Gray had lost everyone who'd meant something to her. It wasn't that she'd wanted to control Anne's life, it was that Anne had been the only person Lily'd had. She'd been trying to protect Anne because she hadn't been ready to lose another person she'd loved. Somehow that eased the sting of her disapproval of Matt ten years ago.

Anne leaned over and gently wrapped her arms around her aunt's thin shoulders. “I love you, this much, Aunt Lily.”

“Why, dear, I love you, too.” Lily reached out a hand to touch Anne's face. “Are you crying?”

“Am I? Maybe. But only because I love you so much.”

“It's going to be all right, you know,” her aunt whispered.

“Is it?” Anne knit her brows together, trying to follow the thread of the conversation.

“Yes. I've been praying and now I've got it all planned out.”

Anne stood and looked at her aunt. “What have you got all planned out?” she asked very slowly.

“Oh, you'll see soon enough. Soon enough.”

Anne offered her aunt a weak smile. She had no idea what Lily was talking about, but that was okay. This was a precious evening and she was glad they all were together. Tomorrow she could worry about the riddles of tonight.

“Go get those mattresses I heard you talking about,” Lily said. “Then maybe you can make us all popcorn, Anne.”

“Can I have popcorn?” Claire asked.

“Sure, we'll check your glucose first and see how you're doing.”

“You'll be okay up here by yourself for a little while?” Claire asked Lily.

“Of course, I will. No need to worry about me. Go and get everything ready. And when I see you are all settled in your castle room, you can help me downstairs to bed. I'll sleep well, knowing that there are two princesses up here in the turret room tonight.”

* * *

A tapping at the window roused Anne from sleep. Was it raining? She opened her eyes and nearly screamed. Matt stood on a ladder outside one of the turret room windows with his face smashed against the glass. His nose was sideways and his mouth was flat on the pane. When he realized that she saw him, he pulled away and laughed heartily at the expression on her face.

“Very funny,” Anne mouthed as she patted down her bed head.

“I thought so,” he said through the glass.

She put a finger to her lips and pointed to Claire asleep in a tangle of sheets and blankets on a mattress on the floor.

“What are you doing out there?” she mouthed again, trying not to wake Claire herself.

He held up a window-glazing tool and grinned.

Anne struggled with the window sash for a moment before finally remembering how the pulley worked. She opened the double sash enough to allow her to stick her head out and look at him and his position on the ladder. “Oh, my goodness, don't you have some sort of rope around you so you don't fall?”

Matt scoffed. “I'm a professional. I climb ladders all the time.”

“Well, Mr. Professional, you've got the wrong window.”

“I know. I already fixed the broken pane.” He assessed the window she'd opened. “No screens?”

“Not in an authentic vintage Victorian.” Anne glanced out at the morning view, her gaze moving past the top of the trees and straight to the mountains. She took a deep breath before she turned to Matt. “How could you fix the glass without coming in the house?”

“I did come in the house. Through the window. Then I climbed back out.”

“Okay, but that doesn't explain what you're doing out there now.”

“I figured I'd check the gutters while I was up here.”

“Wait a minute. Let's back up a minute. I thought we postponed fixing the window.”

“You postponed. I was bored. You have my daughter and my dog. I had to do something. Besides, I've given you plenty of time to sulk over that town meeting fiasco.”

She straightened. “Excuse me?”

“We're moving on, Anne.”

“Are we?” A smiled slipped from her lips.

“Yep. Besides, you're half asleep right now, when you wake up you'll be thrilled the window is fixed.”

“I wasn't sleeping, either. I got up hours ago and showered.”

“Sure looked like you were sleeping.”

“I was merely resting my eyes.”

Matt started to laugh, the gesture propelling him slightly backward. “Whoa. Whoa.” He swayed again.

“Matt, be careful. That's not funny.” Anne grabbed the front of his shirt with two hands and pulled him forward until he crashed against her.

“Oh” was all she could say as her head rested against his shoulder, and her heart thumped loud enough to echo in her ears.

“Thanks,” he murmured as his lips grazed her forehead.

When his mouth moved on to caress the curve of her cheek, she shivered.

“That's the second time you've caught me before I fell. Think there's some significance there?” Matt asked softly.

She swallowed. “Yes. I prefer you in one piece.”

“Just so long as you prefer me.”

“I do,” she murmured as she edged away from the dangerous warmth of his touch. He'd terrified her a moment ago and she was still shaking as much from that as from his touch.