Always & Forever

Published by Chantel Rhondeau

Cover Design: LFD Designs for Authors

Copyright © 2012 Chantel Rhondeau

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of a brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please send an e-mail to the e-mail address listed below, subject line “Attention: Permissions Coordinator.”
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, events, and places in this novel are used fictitiously or are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to actual places, businesses, or real-life events, is entirely coincidental.

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DEDICATION

I’d like to dedicate this book to Elaine Hansen. Thank you for encouraging me along the way and for always believing I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. I love you bunches, Mommie!

Aren’t you the woman who murdered her fiancé?

Limping toward the desk on shaky legs, Lilly Price prayed those wouldn’t be the first words on Margaret Woodbridge’s lips. She already heard them too often.

She fought off the panic as she looked at her possible future employer. Lilly assured herself the older woman would never recognize her as she reached out to shake Margaret’s soft hand. Even if Margaret noticed the faint resemblance to the socialite whom everybody assumed hired a hit man, surely she would attribute it to coincidence. After all, the woman whose picture appeared all over the news and in the papers seven months ago had hair dyed a deep sable and kept curly. Now, Lilly left it her natural red hue and painstakingly straightened it every morning.

In addition, she now went by her middle name. Even though Margaret moved in the upper levels of society, it was unlikely she would connect Lilly to a scandal that happened on the other side of the country. Unless Margaret investigated Lilly’s past.

She needed to convince Margaret to hire her on the spot. It was her only hope of avoiding discovery.

“I’m honored you agreed to meet with me, Mrs. Woodbridge.” Lilly smiled and pushed down her nerves. This interview would be no worse than hosting Daddy’s dinner parties. She could make it through.

Margaret nodded her head regally and pointed to the chair across from her. “Please sit, Miss Price. I have some questions to ask you. Though I must say, you’re the best of the bunch.” Margaret laughed and shook her silvered head. “I really don’t want to put up with Sally Jansen’s eighteen-year-old daughter every day, and you’re the only other applicant. Not many of the townsfolk are willing to deal with a crusty old woman like me.”

Lilly grinned reflexively and took the indicated chair. “What a pity for them. I have a feeling you aren’t near as crusty as you claim to be.”

Schmoozing with the fabulously wealthy wasn’t new to Lilly. Perhaps that would serve her well here. She desperately needed this job.

Her savings dwindled more rapidly than she imagined once she moved to Serenity, Oregon. Forget renting one of the lovely cottages along the lake pictured in the brochure she had received. A run-down, one bedroom house was all Lilly could afford. Even that made serious inroads into her available money. Unless she found a job soon, Lilly didn’t know how she would manage her rent next month. She already skipped the utility payment, and hoped they didn’t disconnect her before she found a way to pay the bill.

Everyone in this tiny, lakeside community had a connection to the others. It made finding work hard, as employers passed on hiring Lilly for available positions in favor of people they knew. Lilly was an outsider, and no one wanted to take a chance on her.

Margaret settled into her chair and regarded Lilly with lively blue eyes. “Truth be told, child, my bark is worse than my bite.”

She laughed, and Lilly joined in, relaxing slightly. For a member of the upper class, Margaret seemed quite casual.

“But it does get lonely here,” Margaret admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved this town. Living here full time has been wonderful in many ways, but I miss my house in Seattle and being near family.”

“I’ve heard your family come out and spend the entire summer on the lake. It must be nice for you then,” Lilly said. The small town was full of insatiable gossips, and their favorite topic was the famous Woodbridge family. Lilly felt better equipped with the armor of knowledge gained through eavesdropping.

“Yes,” Margaret agreed, “but I rarely see them the rest of the year. That’s why I’m hiring an assistant. My old eyes aren’t what they used to be, and I can’t read my stories anymore. Do you like to read, Lilly?”

“More than anything. I read several books a week.” Lilly breathed a little sigh of relief. She’d heard Margaret was partial to books, but she hadn’t thought that would be an interview question. One more point to connect with her on.

“Excellent answer.” Margaret grinned. “What about card games? Know any of those?”

Lilly tried to think up a response to cast herself in a better light. She had never played in her life.

Still, if Margaret searched for a companion to keep her company, rather than a person to run errands, that should work in Lilly’s favor. Certainly, she had more in common with the older woman than Sally Jansen’s young daughter would.

She glanced at Margaret and shook her head regretfully. “I’ve never played, but I’m a quick study. You could teach me.”

Margaret waved her gnarled hand through the air. “Can’t have everything I suppose.”

Hope blossomed in Lilly’s heart at those words.

“Now for the hard stuff,” Margaret said, snuffing out the hope as soon as it bloomed. “I see you didn’t fill in anything under work history. Care to explain that? How have you been living? I don’t mean to be pushy, but that sounds rather odd.”

Lilly’s life
had
been rather odd the past two years. She thought of the dank little cell and the horrendous two months she spent there. The guards looked for excuses to use brutal force whenever possible and took pleasure enforcing their dominance over the inmates. Lilly lived in terror of her cellmate, who had stabbed an old man on the street and then stolen his wallet.

She took a deep breath. “I worked for my father, catering for his business and doing event planning. He has an investment firm. We’ve had a bit of a falling out, and I decided it was time to strike out on my own, find my own path.” The best stories contained portions of the truth. Lilly hated to lie, but she definitely had to leave parts of her life out.

A media frenzy had exploded upon her release seven months ago. Every reporter wanted an exclusive, and made things up when Lilly refused interviews. Charles Danner had been an awful man in life but, in death, he sold newspapers.

Of all the women available, why had Charles chosen her as his intended bride? His actions during the last few months of his life destroyed any chance of peace Lilly expected to find after his murder.

Margaret leaned forward in her chair, recalling Lilly to her present surroundings. “Your father isn’t willing to provide a reference?” she asked. “That seems strange.”

Lilly blew out a nervous breath. She had hoped this subject wouldn’t come up. “Daddy and I don’t really get along. He was quite angry when I decided to leave.”

Would Margaret accept that answer? In truth, Lilly’s father hadn’t summoned any regret when she told him her plans to leave. Then again, he would never win the prize for father of the year.

Margaret shook her head. “I’m inclined to make my own decisions about people, anyhow.” She set Lilly’s job application aside. “Now, I need to understand a little bit about your injury. I hate to point out your handicap, but I saw how badly you limped walking in here.”

Lilly looked down at her hands and blinked tears from her eyes. She couldn’t lose this job based on that. Good thing she left her cane in the car, afraid of drawing attention to her weakness. Apparently, Margaret wouldn’t be pleased to see Lilly hobbling around on it.

Margaret reached out and patted Lilly’s shoulder. “Please understand, dear, I’m not trying to be unkind. I need an able body to run errands in addition to reading and playing games. Also, I’ll have the occasional guest to my suite for dinner or coffee. I need to know you can handle taking care of those things for me, and you won’t have any problems because of your leg.”

That limb would never be the same, but she
could
walk, and she would handle anything Margaret required of an employee.

Images of that brutal night flashed through her mind. Cold steel caressed her neck. The slashing blade seemed to be everywhere, and white-hot pain exploded in her belly, across her arms, in her thighs. Lilly shuddered as she once again smelled the onions on her attacker’s breath. She coughed, remembering the scent of his cloyingly sweet cologne.

After months in the hospital merely existing through the pain, Lilly finally became strong enough to start physical therapy. The injury to her leg was extensive, made worse when an infection attacked the muscles. The doctors told her to get used to the wheelchair and accept her fate. Lilly struggled through, determined to walk again and regain her independence.