So much for destiny. After Henry heard her mother’s story, he would stay as far away from her as possible.
She loved her mother, but sometimes she was a burden. Damn. She couldn’t think that way. Her mother was a lovely woman. Her mother took care of her. Her mother had said all the right things when she’d needed to. She’d held on to reality in order to save Nell. She couldn’t ever repay her mom for that. And Henry Flanders had just been a fleeting dream. She was lonely, and he was interesting.
She would start dating. She could ask men out. Maybe she would ask Rye Harper out. He was attractive and charming and ate way too much meat. And came with a brother. She couldn’t handle those two even if they’d showed any interest in her at all.
Henry Flanders was the most interesting man to walk into Bliss in forever. That was all.
“Our cabin was broken into by my cousin’s forces,” Moira explained calmly. “He’s finally found us after all these years.”
Bill’s left eyebrow arched. “You’re on the run from your cousin?”
Nell held a hand out, all hope for getting through this with dignity gone. “Mother is talking about her Fae relatives. According to Mom, she’s royalty from another plane of existence. She was forced to flee when I was just a baby because we’re apparently some sort of faerie princesses, and her cousin wanted to kill anyone who could possibly claim the throne. But seriously, our cabin was broken into.”
Bill looked to Pam, who shrugged as though to say, “Live and let live.”
Nell felt herself flush. Her mom lived in her own world. It was seemingly harmless. When she was younger she’d loved the stories her mother had told her, but as she grew she realized just how much her mom’s disconnect could cost them.
“Well, Moira, then we need to look into this.” Bill gave Moira a smile. “Don’t worry about a thing. Perhaps for the time being you would feel more comfortable here in the community. We’re gated and have lots of security. You and your daughter are more than welcome.”
Her mother breathed an enormous sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Bill. You are such a gentleman.”
Yes, her mother’s differences had cost them much, but not in Bliss. Tears sprang to Nell’s eyes. She loved it here. No one tried to throw her mom in a home. They let her work and sell her gorgeous pottery in the galleries in town. They let her be part of the community.
Nell blessed the day her mother had met Pamela Sheppard in radiation therapy. Pam had convinced Moira to come home to Bliss with her. Pam had gone into remission. Her mother had not. Nell took a long breath. Nothing was more important than her mom. “Thanks, Bill. I appreciate it. Mom has been really worried. Whoever broke in didn’t actually take anything. They just destroyed a bunch of furniture.”
Furniture she would find hard to replace. Her mom had used every last bit of their money to buy their cabin by the river. Nell thought seriously about finding a job. Her writing career was going to have to get put on hold. Not that idealistic, environmentally sound romances seemed to be selling right now. What was wrong with people?
“Are you sure it wasn’t a bear, hon?” Pam asked. “Sometimes they get in, and they can make a real mess.”
“It wasn’t a bear. It was Torin, I tell you. He’s found me.” Moira shook her head as though she’d known it would happen all along.
Torin was apparently their tormentor. Yes, she’d heard many stories about the evil faery. “I don’t think it was a bear, Pam.”
“It wasn’t a bear, Mom,” Callie agreed. “Bears don’t spell as well as this person.”
Callie was right. Everything on the message the man had left behind had been properly spelled, if slightly vulgar. Bears rarely left behind personal messages. It was one of the things she liked about them. “He wrote on the wall.”
“What did he write?” Bill asked, his brow furrowing in consternation.
Nell frowned. She really hated this part because she was pretty sure this wasn’t about her mom. “Die, bitch.”
“Did he?” Henry’s voice was ice cold.
Nell had to turn around to answer. “Well, yes. Why would I lie about that? It’s not exactly something I want to talk about around town.”
“Why are you here and not at the sheriff’s office?” Henry leaned negligently against the wall, but there was nothing casual about the look on his face. “This sounds like a criminal act. You should involve the authorities.”
“Sheriff Bryant was fishing,” Nell explained. “And his deputy was on a call.”
“Rye is working a traffic accident,” Callie said. “He’s the deputy. I would really rather Rye look into it than the sheriff. Sheriff Bryant is real close to retirement, and he doesn’t expend a whole lot of energy, if you know what I mean.”
“I don’t,” Henry replied. “If the sheriff isn’t doing his job, he should be replaced by someone who will.”
“That’s a very narrow-minded view.” Nell was a little surprised. Maybe he wasn’t the man of her dreams. The man of her dreams would be a bit more tolerant.
“On what planet, sweetheart?” Henry shot back.
“Uhm, Henry, you’ll find things work a bit differently here than the rest of the world,” Bill explained. “The sheriff was voted in, and he can’t be voted out until the end of next year. I’ll put it to you in a way you should be able to understand. Think of it as Sheriff Bryant having tenure. He can’t be let go because he takes the odd day off to go fishing. We take fishing damn seriously here in Bliss.”
She chose to ignore Henry’s glare at that statement. She’d allowed her hormones to rule her very excellent brain. He was obviously like other outsiders. He was judging them, and she wouldn’t tolerate that. No matter how nice he looked. Or how pretty his eyes were. Or how broad and masculine his shoulders happened to be. She wasn’t going to fall for a Neanderthal.
She turned back to Bill and the problem at hand. “So, do you think you can help us? I know you can’t find this guy, but maybe you could help us make the cabin safer for when we go home.”
“I’ll find him.”
Nell was forced to turn again because Henry had said it, and he’d sounded so very, very sure of himself.
“You’re sure you want to do this? I thought you were on vacation,” Bill said, a silent moment passing between the men. “I wouldn’t like for Nell or her mother to be hurt.”
“I’ll take care of them.”
Those five words from Henry Flanders seemed to settle something in Bill Hartman’s mind. He reached over and gripped Pam’s hand, bringing it to his lips. “Then it’s settled. What do you say we go and get some lunch, dear? Henry will take care of the problem. Moira, dear, why don’t you join us? Nell can show Henry the cabin.”
That hadn’t gone the way she’d planned.
Her mother stood up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. They could still be out there just waiting for my Nell. I should go with her. I can trade my life for hers if need be.”
And that was her mom in a nutshell. Nell sighed and walked across the room to hug her. “I’ll be fine. It’s just an hour or so and then I’ll be back here. I’ll bring back your books for you, and then we’ll settle in for a while. It can be like a vacation.”
A vacation where she found a job because her mom’s sales wouldn’t cover fixing up the cabin. She would have to see what she could get for her laptop.
“I don’t know.” Her mom looked Bill’s way.
“Henry can take care of her,” Bill said.