“You’re not set in your ways.” His grandfather sank deeper into the worn cushions of his well-used chair. “I thought I’d die at home. To be honest, I never thought I’d see seventy-five, never mind eighty-five, and here I am.”
“For a while, I hope. I have to run, Gramps. Be good.”
He winked. “No fun in that. See you, Gabe. Enjoy your party. The girls had a good time doing up those critters. The writer and artist—what’s her friend’s name again?”
“Kylie Shaw, but she writes under the name Morwenna Mills.”
“I wouldn’t have kept that straight at forty. She’s talented. She and Felicity both are.”
“That they are,” Gabe said. “Want me to bring you your slippers or something before I go?”
His grandfather eyed him as if trying to gauge if Gabe was teasing him. Finally he shook his head. “All set. G’night, and you be good, too.”
Gabe met Felicity in the parking lot, and they continued into the village. He watched the scenery out his window, appreciating how little had changed since he’d moved away. No ex-urban sprawl here. The air was clear and dry. The stars would be bright again tonight.
When they arrived at the library, he helped carry things in. Kylie and Russ arrived, but Felicity shooed them inside. “This is my job,” she told Kylie. “Yours is to be Morwenna Mills.”
Kylie smiled, obviously ambivalent about the evening ahead. “I love seeing people, but an event like this—it does take a lot out of me.”
“You’ve got Russ this time,” Felicity said.
“And a bunch of your badger buddies,” Gabe said, lifting the box out of the back of Felicity’s Land Rover. “Did you bring Sherlock?”
Russ grinned. “Always.”
Kylie smiled, too, looking less jittery. “Sherlock, Russ and friends. Can’t go wrong.”
If she was worried about Nadia, she didn’t say as she headed up the steps into the library. Maggie Sloan arrived in her van with the food for the evening. She burst out of the van with her usual energy, her red hair coming out of its pins and clips. She’d been like that in high school, too. Gabe grinned at her. She seemed to read his mind and put him to work.
“Brandon still hiking?” he asked, grabbing a covered tray.
“Home tomorrow. He loves it. Sloan & Sons has tons of work with all the construction going on around here, but he needs these excursions. They keep him from getting restless. We were separated for a while, did you know?”
“I heard something about that.”
She nodded. “I’m not surprised. We’ve been together since the beginning of time, I swear. We got married and had kids young, but we both wanted to see what was beyond Knights Bridge.”
“That’s not unusual for those of us from small towns,” Gabe said.
“We’re both happy being back here. It’s a great place to live and to raise our boys. We’ve made a place for ourselves with the work we do. Brandon’s a damn good carpenter, and we’ll see how he does with his first adventure travel excursion.”
“Are you worried he’ll like it too much?”
“Not worried at all. I used to think Knights Bridge wasn’t a great place to be young and single, but that hasn’t been the case lately, that’s for sure.”
“Is that a hint?”
“You’re a tumbleweed, Gabe, but one of these days you’ll get swept somewhere and stick, don’t you think?”
“See me back in Knights Bridge?”
“I didn’t see Brandon and me returning, but we did, and now we’re having the best time of our lives. Our work, our boys, our extended families, life here. It’s all good, Gabe. It’s not without problems, of course, but that’s life.”
He smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear it, Maggie. Really.”
“Excellent. That tray is holding delicate tarts. Don’t go bull-in-a-china-shop on me, okay?”
He promised he wouldn’t and managed to get the tray up the stairs, into the library and on the food table without incident. At that moment, nothing seemed more important. Maybe it was true—maybe nothing was more important.
As he headed back outside, he glanced at his phone in case he’d missed a message from Nadia, but there was nothing. He paused and looked up and down South Main and across the common, but he didn’t see her. There were no obvious rentals or out-of-town cars parked yet on the street or in the parking lot, but he knew that would be happening soon. Security wasn’t his job tonight, but he did feel responsible for Nadia.
Felicity eased in next to him. “Nadia’s not in the library. I checked with Russ. He made sure she’s not hiding in a bathroom or one of the library’s nooks and crannies—although it’d be hard to check every single one of them. That’s why Daphne Stewart’s secret sewing room in the attic went undetected for so many years.”
“Decades,” Gabe said.
“She loved creating a mystery. Nadia’s more straightforward, I think. I’m sorry she’s had it rough lately.”
“I’m sorry, too, but there’s no reason for her to take her troubles out on anyone else.”
A black town car pulled up to the library. Gabe tensed, but when the back door opened, a man in his mid-to late-thirties got out, thanked the driver and shut the door and turned to Gabe with a grin. “Relax. I’m Marty Colton, Russ’s big brother.”
Gabe introduced himself and Felicity.
Marty glanced at the retreating car. “Man, I wish I had a picture of my arrival. I’ve always wanted to make a grand entrance.” He turned back to Gabe. “If we want to call arriving at the Knights Bridge public library an entrance.”
“Point taken.”
“But, hey, it counts. The car wasn’t as expensive as I thought. I got in early yesterday and took a day in Boston to get my feet under me.”
“Is Russ expecting you?” Gabe asked.
Marty shook his head. “I’m surprising him. I figured this is as good a time as any to see his new town. Good Lord, it’s cute, isn’t it? I’m such a desert rat. Daphne’s told me about this place in bits and pieces
