Page 11 of Vows of Murder

“Greg told me about Levi’s passing.” Amanda pulled out her wallet. “Can I buy you a drink? Or is being here too painful?”

Now Amanda was being thoughtful. I smiled and nodded to the board. “I’ll have an iced tea, unsweetened. I’ll go grab us a table.”

The one thing about spending time on the patio was you had both an ocean and a mountain view, depending on how you turned your chair. The designers had spent a lot of time making sure of it. Back in the day, the owner had a private zoo on the property. There were still zebra and deer running around, but most of the animals had been rehomed. Maybe we’d be lucky today and see part of theremaining herd.

I wasn’t getting too far in thinking about Kane and his death, except for the way he treated women in his cult, I mean, group. But with all that security around on the day of the open house, Kane had to be hiding more than just a few people who didn’t want to talk to their families. Like Carlie.

Amanda set two plastic cups on the table, my iced tea, and something that looked like a milkshake. She saw me looking at the cup. “It’s a strawberry smoothie with a protein boost. I guess it’s popular with the weightlifting and over-fifty crowds. We both want more protein in our lives, according to the twelve-year-old who was making our drinks.”

I snorted at her description of the young woman who was manning the outdoor bar. “Everyone looks so young anymore. I went to my doctor the other day and there was an intern following him around. I asked if he was in an advanced placement high school class. I was off by about ten years.”

“That must have been embarrassing. But I know how you feel. Every time I went to get a scan or a biopsy last year, I always had students watching. I go to a teaching hospital, I get it, but I didn’t realize that diagnosing breast cancer was a community event. Everybody wants to see my boobs.” Amanda took a sip and sank back into the chair. “I love the sun out here. The air just feels soft on my face.”

“I’m glad you like it here. You should visit more often.” I sipped my tea and scanned the hills for zebras.

“I think you mean that,” Amanda said.

I turned and saw she was watching me. “Of course I do. The upstairs guest room is always open. I know Emma can be a handful, though.”

“Oh, I love Emma. She’s perfect.” Amanda stirred her pink smoothie. “I just, well, when I’d visit before, Sherry always said the right things, but I could tell Iwas intruding.”

“I’m not Sherry.” I turned back to watching the hills. I wanted to say so much more. Like, why do you have a letter from Sherry to Greg in your purse? But that wasn’t my battle.

“I’m beginning to understand how completely different from Sherry you are. Greg made a better decision choosing you.” Amanda reached out and squeezed my hand. When I turned back this time,I saw tears in her eyes. “All I’ve ever wanted is for my boys to be happy. Thank you for being Greg’s path.”

Thinking about the resume fight, I smiled. Maybe I wasn’t perfect for her son in Amanda’s eyes. And we still argued. But I knew Greg was my path to happiness as well. “I love him.”

She let my hand go and pulled out a tissue from her purse.“I know that.”

We sat in silence for a bit. I was watching for zebras. Amanda was watching the ocean in the opposite direction. The air was cooling down and I could see the sun dropping in the sky. I finished my drink. “Are we ready to head back to the house? We can stop at Lille’s and pick up fried chicken for dinner.”

“That sounds wonderful. Do you think Greg will be able to join us?” Amanda stood and threw away her protein smoothie.

I glanced at my phone. I hadn’t received a text message from him, so I sent my own. “I just told him that we’ll have Tiny’s chicken at the house in an hour. If he’s hungry and available, I’m sure he’ll be there.”

As we walked back to the Jeep, Amanda said, “It must be lonely sometimes. Being with Greg, I mean. Especially when he’s in the middle of aninvestigation.”

“He’s threatened to move into a hotel when he’s investigating, just to keep me out of his hair,” I said as I remotely unlocked the Jeep. “I see him enough. Besides, I have the bookstore. And Emma. And friends.”

I called in our dinner order, then thought about my answer as we drove to Diamond Lille’s. I did have a good life. Even when Greg was busy with his job. It wasn’t like we lived separate lives, but we both knew how to keep busy if the other one wasn’t available. I hadn’t even mentioned my reading habit, but I guess she’d already figured that one out.

Greg didn’t come home until ten—not even for Tiny’s fried chicken. Emma and I were curled on the couch with a book and a cooking show on the television. She was watching the show,I was reading.

He went to the office and stored his gun in the safe, then came and gave me a kiss. “Mom in bed already?”

“Yeah, I think being out in the open air is wearing her out. But she had a blast at the Castle. I got her some books from the shop to keep her busy.” I reached up and touched his cheek. “You look tired.”

“I am. But I’m starving. Any of that chicken left over?” He kissed the top of my head and went into the kitchen.

“Nope, we ate it all ourselves.” I got up and followed him. I saw the pained look on his face. “Just kidding. There’s a lot left over. You know I alwaysbuy too much.”

“Leftovers are a vital part of a cop’s food source.” Greg pulled out the chicken. “Turn on the oven and I’ll heat this up. Do youwant a piece?”

“Sure.” I turned on the oven to 400 degrees and got out a sheet pan. We had nailed the specifics of keeping Tiny’s chicken perfect during the leftover stage. I got out a pot for the gravy while Greg put the chicken into the oven, keeping out a leg to snack on.

We moved around the kitchen like we’d been doing it for years. Of course, it had been a while since Greg had moved in with me. We had a rhythm together. As we waited for the food to reheat, I got out two sodas and sat down at the table.

“Your mom asked me if I was lonely when you were on a case.”

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