Page 13 of Tangled Up In You

"Until today when someone knocked over the display." A chill ran through her. "I hope no one comes back."

"That you're here now should be a deterrent. But I would stay alert and keep the door locked until you're ready to be open. Where's your phone?"

"It's on the counter."

"Why don't you get it? I'll give you my number. You can call me if you have any more problems."

"Okay, thanks. This is nice of you," she said, as she got her phone and put his number in.

"To be honest, I don't have a lot else to do, and I hate that."

She smiled at the frustrated note in his voice. "How long will you be off work?"

"I'm back to desk duty on Monday. No on-site investigations until I can move without crutches. But I'll be more productive than I am now." As his gaze moved toward the boxes next to her, he said, "So, are these boxes from the film actress who recently died?"

"Yes. Phoebe and Caroline were friends since childhood."

"I met Caroline a few months ago, shortly after she moved back."

"Caroline was living here?" she asked in surprise.

"In a remote house on the west shore of the lake. She had a security issue that I spoke to her about."

"What kind of issue?"

"A trespasser, a broken window, but once her security system was in place, she had no further issues."

"What did Caroline look like? Was she as beautiful as she looked in the movies?"

"She looked like she used to be pretty, but she was very sick and extremely tired. She only said a few words to me."

"What did she say?" Molly asked with interest.

"That I was as handsome as her second husband, but she hoped I wasn't an asshole."

She smiled. "What did you say?"

"That I usually tried not to be an asshole. She didn't look like she believed me. I never saw her again after that."

"It's sad that they died only days apart. Phoebe never even had time to open these boxes. I know Caroline used to send Phoebe treasures from her travels. I suspect that's what I'll find inside. I was going to leave these boxes for last since I need to get the saleable items out first, but now I'm getting more curious."

"What's your story, Molly?" Adam asked. "How were you able to suddenly drop everything in your life to come here and take over for Phoebe?"

"I was getting ready to leave a job when I got the news. It seemed like a sign that I should change my life."

"Anything can be a sign if you put meaning on it."

"That's one way to look at it. Or it could have been the universe telling me to make a move," she said stubbornly. "Sometimes we need an external force to help us make a decision we've been avoiding."

"What decision were you avoiding?"

"Whether I should stay in a job I didn't like all that much or if I should take a risk."

"And now you're taking the risk."

"I've always wanted to work for myself, to make the rules, set the prices, do what I felt was right, and now I have it. I just need to make it work, and I will, because I have to." She decided to turn the tables. "Why did you come to Whisper Lake? It seems like a man of action would want to work in a bigger city."

"I've worked in bigger cities, but after my sisters moved here, I came to visit, and I liked what I saw."

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