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.”“We don’t know them.That’s something the police can handle better than we can.I’m not exactly chummy with the state police, but I know they haven’t arrested anybody.There’s just no evidence, or not enough.” Meg sighed.“This hasn’t gotten us very far, has it?”Phillip sat back in his chair.“Well, I think we should shelve this fruitless discussion and concentrate on our excellent meal.We’re not going to solve anything sitting here, and it would be a shame to let the food get cold.”And talk drifted to other matters.Nicky came out briefly to say hello and dimpled at Phillip’s compliments.They lingered over coffee until Meg realized her eyelids were drifting down.Elizabeth noticed.“Phillip, we ought to be getting back.Meg’s had a full day, and she’s going to be picking again tomorrow.Right, dear?”“I will.Dad, I’ll see if I can break some time loose to show you around, but Bree’s got me on a tight leash.”“I understand, my dear.I’m sure your mother and I will find something to keep us busy.”Back at the house Meg played good hostess and let her parents take the first turns in the bathroom.Bree’s light was on, but she didn’t emerge from her room.Meg sat at the kitchen table, waiting, idly stroking Lolly.She was surprised when her mother emerged silently from the dark dining room and leaned against the doorframe.“I thought you’d go straight to bed,” Meg said.“In a moment.Your father’s already dead to the world.” Elizabeth smiled.“As usual.”“I’m glad he’s here.Are you?”“Of course I am.” Elizabeth took a seat at the table.“Were you really worried about us? Or about me and Daniel?”Meg was too tired to prevaricate.“I guess so.What you did—coming up here to see him, without telling me—seemed so out of character.”“And you actually thought that we were having a hot and heavy affair while your father was out at sea?” Elizabeth’s mouth twitched with amusement.“I’m flattered.”“I wasn’t sure—and you did admit you were thinking about it.So you and Daddy are really okay?”Elizabeth briefly laid her hand over Meg’s.“Yes, we are.We have a solid marriage, if that’s what you’re asking.You know, darling, you don’t put much faith in relationships, do you?”“I guess not.They don’t usually work out for me, and I’m not even sure why.”“I think it’s a matter of trust,” Elizabeth said slowly.“You have to trust yourself, your own instincts, and then you have to trust the other person as well.Your father and I have that.Oh, I’ll admit I was tempted—I mean, Daniel was still an attractive and interesting man, even after all these years.But I’ll never know if I would really have acted on it if he’d asked.Which he didn’t.”“You mean you weren’t driven to a psychotic rage when he rejected your unwanted advances?”Elizabeth smiled at Meg’s attempt at humor.“Meg, this is me.I don’t do psychotic, in case you haven’t noticed.And why on earth would I have killed him at an obscure farm stand in the middle of the night? Even the police had trouble making that fit.Although I will admit that I was a wee bit pleased that they think I’m capable of such a thing.One has so few thrills left at this advanced age.” Elizabeth sighed dramatically.Meg snorted.Elizabeth began again, “Meg, I don’t want to meddle in your love life, but I don’t want to think that your view of your father’s and my relationship has somehow put you off finding one of your own.As I keep telling you, we have a good marriage.I know it’s hard for you to see us as people rather than parents.”“Maybe I didn’t look closely enough.Did you say anything to Daddy about Seth?”“No.I thought it was your business, and you can tell him in your own time.Although he’s bound to notice that there’s someone else coming and going in your backyard.”“Maybe we can all have dinner together tomorrow? If you’ll cook, that is.”“Deal.” Elizabeth stood up.“Well, we should both get some sleep.Good night, dear.”Meg was left alone at the table, too tired to move, while Lolly purred contentedly on her lap.Had she really misjudged her parents’ relationship so badly? She had always sensed a certain level of reserve between them.They had seldom argued, and when they had, it had been tense and controlled—no throwing of plates or physical blows.But how had that shaped her own concept of a “good” relationship? And how did Seth fit? She had no idea, and this was not the time to try to make sense of it.Bed called.In the morning she awoke to the sound of male voices outside on the lawn.She recognized her father’s—and Seth’s? Well, now the decision of how to introduce them had been taken out of her hands.What would her father think of Seth? Or about Seth and his darling daughter as a couple? Was she really worried about his opinion, one way or another? In any event, she had better get herself moving and face.whatever.Ten minutes later she entered the kitchen to find her mother once again dishing up a hearty breakfast, which Bree was already enjoying.“Hey, slowpoke,” Bree greeted Meg.“You’re late.”“It was a late night.” She glanced at her mother at the stove.“I heard Daddy outside.”Her mother looked up briefly from the eggs she was scrambling and smiled.“Yes, he wanted to go out and survey the domain.And he ran into Seth.”“So I heard,” Meg said.“Last I heard, Seth was giving him a tour of the barn and his business quarters,” Bree said, mopping up eggs with a piece of toast.“Eat up—we’ve got apples waiting.”“What are you harvesting now?” Elizabeth asked.“Today, mostly Cortlands, Empires, and McIntoshes,” Bree responded promptly.“They’re our biggest crop, and the easiest to sell.The Gravensteins are done—they have a real short season [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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