Always & Forever (17 page)

Zach stared at his sister, openmouthed. Sarah never swore. He chuckled softly. “I didn’t know Victoria had that effect on you.”

Sarah wrinkled her nose at him and rolled her eyes. “Yes. You did.”

“No one likes to hear ‘I told you so,’ especially not eight years after he made the biggest mistake of his life.”

Sarah slapped her hand against the table. “Then stop bringing it up. You’re missing my point. Lilly is
not
Victoria.”

“But she lied to me,” he protested. “She lied for three months about who she is.”

“Good heavens. Stop being such a baby. Just what did you expect her to say? She didn’t lie to you for three months...she shared her darkest secret with you after
only
three months.”

“So, lack of sex hasn’t turned my brain to mush?”

“Not that this is an appropriate discussion to have with your sister,” she said with a glare, “but, no. I really like Lilly.”

“So do I,” he admitted.

“What’s more,” Sarah continued, “Savannah likes her. Maybe we have a hard time reading people, but Savannah’s judgment is spot on. Did you know she can’t stand Bridget, but absolutely loves her ‘Aunt Lilly?’ What does that tell you?”

Zach considered that. His niece normally shied away from anyone new, yet she had taken to Lilly like an old friend. And Lilly was great with Savannah.

Zach had looked in on them while they played Sunday night. Lilly sat down on the floor with Savannah, participating in all the pretend play. The pair laughed the entire time.

“She’d be a terrific mother, and I do want children.” Zach felt a smile cross his lips.

Sarah leaned back and nodded, returning his smile.

He cocked his head sideways. “Do you believe her story?”

“Of course, I do.” Sarah’s eyes widened. “Don’t you?”

He nodded. “I was just being stubborn.”

She laughed. “Nothing new there.”

“You’re quite the comedienne,” he said dryly and sipped his wine.

“You’re jealous of my skill.” Sarah winked.

They sat comfortably together without talking. Zach needed to figure out what to do. He believed Lilly was innocent of murder. Her dishonesty bothered him, but he knew Sarah was right. Her identity wasn’t something she could bring up in casual conversation.

Sarah caught his eye again, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know, it’s so weird to think about.” She shook her head.

“What’s weird?”

“Well...about Victoria’s death. If you hadn’t had an iron-clad alibi and been halfway across the country when she went overboard, you would’ve been at the top of a suspect list in her death.”

Zach shook his head. “Victoria’s death was an accident. She fell overboard and drowned.”

“Yes, of course,” Sarah agreed. “But if there was any chance you could have been on that boat with her, what would people have thought? If the truth about your marriage had come out during an investigation and they could place you at the scene, you can bet the cops would’ve looked your direction.”

Zach stared at his sister for a long time. The cops had asked some pointed questions when he got home and they’d given him the news. He’d figured they were suspicious because of his lack of reaction. It was hard to sum up a proper grief response for a woman who had done her best to make five years of his life hell.

Had they suspected him of murdering Victoria? What sort of waking nightmare had Lilly been forced to endure since Charles’ death?

“You’re right. They would have,” Zach agreed. “I have to talk to Lilly. I bet she’s really angry with me.”

“She’ll understand you needed a little time to process things.” Sarah reached across the table to squeeze his arm. “You deserve to be happy, big brother. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

***

Lilly had escorted Margaret to several appointments without getting a chance to talk to her. They were finally alone in Margaret’s suite, and Lilly shored up her courage.

“Margaret, we need to talk.”

Margaret rocked back in her chair. “We’ve been talking, child. Tell me how great things are with my grandson. Aren’t you glad I got you together?”

“Well, about Zach...” Lilly sank into the loveseat and sighed. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

Margaret shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. What are you talking about?”

“I told him some things last night. I need to talk to you about them, too. I’ll gladly turn in my notice so you can hire a more suitable candidate for my position, but I’d appreciate if you don’t spread around what I’m about to tell you.” Lilly took a deep breath. “It’s about my life before I came here.”

“You want to talk about your past?” Margaret’s thin eyebrows flew toward her hairline. “I would think that topic would be off limits...Katherine.”

The bottom fell out of Lilly’s universe. Her stomach did a flip-flop and settled somewhere too high in her chest.
Margaret knew.

She’d wasted so much time worrying about discovery. A tight knot of anger clenched in her belly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Calm down, Lilly,” Margaret said. “You didn’t really think I’d hire you without investigating your past, did you?”

Lilly’s hands curled into tight fists and blood pounded in her temples. That was exactly what she’d thought. “Why did you set me up with Zach?”

Margaret sighed. “I like you. Patricia is hell bent on Zach starting a serious relationship. I want it to be a
happy
relationship.”

“And
I
was the best you could come up with?” Lilly wrapped her arms around her shaking body. “What if I hadn’t worked out? Would you have looked at the ladies working in the laundry room? Maybe one of them actually
did
kill someone.”

Margaret slammed her fist against the arm of her chair. “That’s quite enough, child.”

“No, I really don’t think it is.” Lilly couldn’t think clearly. All her hurt at Zach’s rejection turned to cold anger. Margaret set her up for failure all along. “I know you found Steven for Sarah and that he also worked for you. Is it your dream to marry all your grandchildren off to someone from the working class?” She glared at Margaret. “Do you do it to annoy Patricia?”

Margaret’s eyes flashed. “Maybe you were lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, young lady, but the Woodbridge family knows the meaning of hard work.” She jabbed a gnarled finger at Lilly. “My husband and I lived in a studio apartment for the first four years we were married. When James came along, we had to depend on charity to afford enough food to get by. Sometimes, I thought we’d starve before more food came into the household. We worked hard, damn it!”

Lilly’s eyes widened and she sat in stunned silence, watching the older woman.

“My husband was blessed with a keen sense of business and a great eye toward what fancy, rich people wanted. If he hadn’t been a hard worker, he would’ve never started Woodbridge Luxury Boats, and I’d be sitting in a small apartment, dependent on welfare to pull through.

“How can you, of all people, look down at someone who works for a living?” Margaret shook her head and leaned back, her anger spent. “How can you look down on me for not holding your past against you? I care about the person you are, not what you do for a living. And I certainly never believed you tried to kill anyone, or I wouldn’t have hired you in the first place.”

Lilly was at a loss for words. The tight anger that clutched her chest moments before morphed into deep shame. She leaned forward and took Margaret’s soft hand into her own. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anything about your history, but that is no excuse, is it?”

“These past three months with you have been wonderful.” Margaret tightened her fingers briefly against Lilly’s. “I’ve grown to love you very much. I consider you family.”

Lilly shook her head and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall at the warmth caused by Margaret’s words. Was this what being with family felt like? “You believe in me that much?” she asked. “Not many people are willing to overlook my past.”

“Gossip dies fast.” Margaret shrugged. “I know it must not feel that way to you, but it really does. Once people discover who you are, of course there will be talk. People always talk, Lilly. Soon, it’ll be old news. Some other tidbit of gossip will eclipse the notoriety of your past.”

Lilly shook her head doubtfully. “You think so?”

“I know so.” Margaret replied.

Maybe Lilly could continue her life here. Even without Zach, it would be enough to return to the peace she found upon first moving here. It would be even better than before; she wouldn’t have to fear Margaret discovering her past and firing her.

Lilly felt herself smile. “I hope you’re right. If my impertinence hasn’t changed your mind, I’d like to stay here, working for you.”

“Of course you still work for me. Little misunderstandings can happen to the best of us, my girl.” Margaret gave her a searching gaze. “I think we should tell the family about this at Tommy’s engagement party. Get all the cards on the table, so to speak.”

Lilly shook her head. “No, no. I won’t be going to the party. I told you, things are over between Zach and me. In fact, I need to call Patricia tonight and tell her to hire a cook.”

Margaret pursed her lips and narrowed her eyebrows. “Can I ask you a question?”

A little thrill of anxiety washed over her. “Sure.”

“
Did
you hire that man who killed your fiancé?”

“Of course not,” Lilly sputtered. “I could never do anything like that!”

“That’s what I thought.” Margaret reached over and squeezed her hand again. “Zach will figure that out, too. Give him time.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Trust me. I knew the moment I met you that Zach was your future husband. I believe the two of you can fall in love.” She looked steadily into Lilly’s eyes. “
That
is what I look for when I pick someone to match my grandchildren with. I want them to know the happiness I experienced with their grandfather—true love.” She grinned. “Zach’s a smart boy. Give him a little time and he’ll come around.”

Lilly shook her head. She didn’t want to argue with Margaret, but even if the older woman was correct in her assessment, things could never work with Zach. He knew about her shame now, and maybe it wouldn’t be the best thing to get back together with him, even if he decided he wanted that. Lilly couldn’t stand the humiliation of seeing pity in his eyes every time he looked at her and thought about her past.

Lilly forced herself to smile at Margaret. “Whatever happens, I’m happy to have this job still. Thank you for taking a chance on me.”

Margaret moved over to the loveseat and wrapped her arm around Lilly’s shoulders in a maternal fashion. “I promise everything will work out, child.”

***

Since Lilly’s shift with Margaret ended an hour before regular shift change, she left Woodbridge Manor to walk through the deserted parking lot. Behind her, came the unusual sound of hard boots hitting the pavement. The memory of footprints in her flowerbed and the strange car caused her to hurry her steps.

No one was ever in the parking lot this time of day. The residents barely finished dinner and normally didn’t have guests coming in and out of the manor. She snuck a quick glance over her shoulder as the pounding footsteps came closer.

“Lilly, wait. I need to speak with you.”

She sagged with relief upon recognizing Curtis Crandall’s handsome features. “What are you doing here?”

“I arrived back to town this morning, and couldn’t wait to see you.” He smiled as he reached her. “I had some business at my Seattle office to take care of, and had to leave Sunday morning.”

In the daylight, Crandall seemed less scary than he had on the dark walkway of the yacht, and Lilly relaxed slightly. “What business are you in?”

He shrugged negligently. “I do risk assessment for corporations. I do a lot of work over the computer and my main office is here in Serenity, but occasionally I travel.”

“Fascinating,” Lilly responded. She hadn’t a clue what a risk assessor did, but she smiled politely.

“You’re limping quite badly this afternoon. Mind if I help you to your car?” Crandall offered his arm. “I have a question to ask.”

Lilly took a deep breath. She knew Crandall tried to be a gentleman, and she forced herself to slip her hand into the crook of his elbow.

He grinned and patted her hand with his free one, leaving it across the top of hers. “Now, where’s your car?”

Lilly tried to ignore the tension his touch provoked in her and didn’t snatch her arm away from him. She pointed with her free hand. “It’s that silver one over there.”

Crandall nodded and walked slowly in the correct direction.

Lilly limped along beside him, grateful the cologne he wore was something different from before. She wouldn’t have been able to handle this contact with him otherwise. “Why did you track me down at work?”

He laughed. “Well, I could have found out where you lived and showed up on your doorstep, but that might seem creepy.”