night?”
“Works for me. Oh, and are you planning to come to the Harvest Festival on Saturday?”
“Maybe, if I remembered what it was. Fill me in?”
“It’s an annual celebration of Granford’s founding, timed to coincide with the harvest. It’s on the town green, and there’s something for everyone—food, rides for the kids, music. It’s fun. It’s on Saturday. And that’s also the official kickoff for Granford Grange.”
“Oh, right—you did tell me. I’ll see if Bree and Raynard will let me play hooky. I take it you’re involved in the planning?”
“Of course.” Seth planted a kiss on the back of her neck, and withdrew his hands. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
When he left, Meg still hadn’t found the energy to get out of her chair.
6
At breakfast Meg sat at the kitchen table savoring a leisurely cup of coffee. “Bree, are you sure you don’t need me today? I feel guilty just enjoying myself.”
Bree snorted. “Hey, when I need you, I’ll let you know. Go out and have some fun. See a movie, go to a spa or something. Or maybe you and your mother can smooth things over?”
Meg sighed. “Easier said than done. Bree, how well do you get along with your parents?”
“Good, mostly because I don’t see much of them. They’re in Jamaica half the time, and I’m here. But I know what you’re getting at. I understand why my parents did what they did, leaving me here with my auntie, and I’m grateful. If I hadn’t been a resident here, I wouldn’t have gotten the education I did. But my auntie was older than my mother, and she had no kids of her own, so she kept me on a short leash. We get on better now than we did when I was in high school, but there were a few rough patches. Doesn’t sound like that’s your problem with your mother.”
Meg wondered just how to explain her problem, either to Bree or to herself. It seemed kind of silly to complain that her parents had been too distant with her. She had had everything she ever wanted, except true warmth. Maybe that’s why she was attracted to Seth, because he was so warm and open. And maybe that’s why she didn’t quite trust him, because she didn’t really understand that kind of personality. Had her ex-boyfriend Chandler’s distance been what had attracted her to him? No, Meg, don’t go there . Chandler had been a mistake from the beginning, but that didn’t make it a pattern.
“I really don’t know what our problem is,” she said at last. “Growing pains, I suppose. I’ve been living my own life for a while, and she’s not up to speed on that, which is my fault as much as hers. And now I find that she’s been . . . well, not hiding things, just failing to mention them. And I definitely think she’s hiding something about Daniel Weston, and I’m almost afraid to find out what.”
“Like that she killed him? Ha! If that lady wanted someone dead, she’d hire help, she wouldn’t get her hands dirty. She’d probably interview six candidates first, to make sure she was getting the right hit man.”
“Bree!” Meg was horrified at the snap judgment of her mother, but couldn’t suppress a giggle. Bree was right: Elizabeth was efficient, decisive, and dispassionate. But not a killer, even secondhand. “Okay, I’ll go over to Amherst and talk to her. Maybe we can do a girly lunch and some sightseeing.”
“Good luck! I’m going to check on our supplies and make a few deliveries. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
After Bree bustled out, Meg poured another cup of coffee and watched her cat, Lolly, take an intense and thorough bath in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was still too early to head for Amherst, and if she admitted it, she was willing to put off seeing her mother as long as possible, even while admitting that it was the right thing to do. She was interrupted by a knock at the back door: Seth. She stood up to let him in. “Hi,” she said. “You’re up early. You want coffee?”
“Nope, can’t
“Works for me. Oh, and are you planning to come to the Harvest Festival on Saturday?”
“Maybe, if I remembered what it was. Fill me in?”
“It’s an annual celebration of Granford’s founding, timed to coincide with the harvest. It’s on the town green, and there’s something for everyone—food, rides for the kids, music. It’s fun. It’s on Saturday. And that’s also the official kickoff for Granford Grange.”
“Oh, right—you did tell me. I’ll see if Bree and Raynard will let me play hooky. I take it you’re involved in the planning?”
“Of course.” Seth planted a kiss on the back of her neck, and withdrew his hands. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
When he left, Meg still hadn’t found the energy to get out of her chair.
6
At breakfast Meg sat at the kitchen table savoring a leisurely cup of coffee. “Bree, are you sure you don’t need me today? I feel guilty just enjoying myself.”
Bree snorted. “Hey, when I need you, I’ll let you know. Go out and have some fun. See a movie, go to a spa or something. Or maybe you and your mother can smooth things over?”
Meg sighed. “Easier said than done. Bree, how well do you get along with your parents?”
“Good, mostly because I don’t see much of them. They’re in Jamaica half the time, and I’m here. But I know what you’re getting at. I understand why my parents did what they did, leaving me here with my auntie, and I’m grateful. If I hadn’t been a resident here, I wouldn’t have gotten the education I did. But my auntie was older than my mother, and she had no kids of her own, so she kept me on a short leash. We get on better now than we did when I was in high school, but there were a few rough patches. Doesn’t sound like that’s your problem with your mother.”
Meg wondered just how to explain her problem, either to Bree or to herself. It seemed kind of silly to complain that her parents had been too distant with her. She had had everything she ever wanted, except true warmth. Maybe that’s why she was attracted to Seth, because he was so warm and open. And maybe that’s why she didn’t quite trust him, because she didn’t really understand that kind of personality. Had her ex-boyfriend Chandler’s distance been what had attracted her to him? No, Meg, don’t go there . Chandler had been a mistake from the beginning, but that didn’t make it a pattern.
“I really don’t know what our problem is,” she said at last. “Growing pains, I suppose. I’ve been living my own life for a while, and she’s not up to speed on that, which is my fault as much as hers. And now I find that she’s been . . . well, not hiding things, just failing to mention them. And I definitely think she’s hiding something about Daniel Weston, and I’m almost afraid to find out what.”
“Like that she killed him? Ha! If that lady wanted someone dead, she’d hire help, she wouldn’t get her hands dirty. She’d probably interview six candidates first, to make sure she was getting the right hit man.”
“Bree!” Meg was horrified at the snap judgment of her mother, but couldn’t suppress a giggle. Bree was right: Elizabeth was efficient, decisive, and dispassionate. But not a killer, even secondhand. “Okay, I’ll go over to Amherst and talk to her. Maybe we can do a girly lunch and some sightseeing.”
“Good luck! I’m going to check on our supplies and make a few deliveries. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
After Bree bustled out, Meg poured another cup of coffee and watched her cat, Lolly, take an intense and thorough bath in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was still too early to head for Amherst, and if she admitted it, she was willing to put off seeing her mother as long as possible, even while admitting that it was the right thing to do. She was interrupted by a knock at the back door: Seth. She stood up to let him in. “Hi,” she said. “You’re up early. You want coffee?”
“Nope, can’t
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