Page 39 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

To Garrett, she said, “Do you know him?”

“Everybody knows him. He’s the mayor. Should we?” He nodded toward the double doors. The crowd had dwindled, and the volume of the music was steadily building.

Fortunately, Andrew and Grace had saved them seats, and they were able to slip in just as the worship team started singing.

Aspen recognized all the worship songs, and their familiarity made her feel comfortable. The pastor was apparently in the middle of a sermon series on the book of Ephesians, one of her favorites because it had taught her who she was in Christ. The reminder that, though her earthly father was gone, her heavenly Father was right by her side, brought fresh peace. As much as she’d pressed into Him in the year since Dad’s death, she feared she’d need God’s guidance now more than ever.

After the service,Aspen and Garrett were following the crowd toward the lobby when a man approached. “Aspen Kincaid?”

He stood out of the way of the church members streaming into the cold morning as if he’d been waiting for her.

She moved toward him, feeling Garrett at her side. “Have we met?”

He held out his hand. “Only on the phone. Jeff Christiansen.”

Over her shoulder, Garrett said, “Hey, Jeff. Aspen, I’ll see you outside.”

Garrett walked out, and she and her father’s local attorney moved farther from the crowd into the corner.

“I just wanted to introduce myself,” he said. “Have you gotten settled?”

“I have. Garrett’s been a great help. Thank you for recommending him.”

The man nodded. Barely taller than Aspen’s five-six, he was older than her dad would have been, probably in his mid to late sixties, with a ring of gray hair around a shiny bald head.

“Have you made a plan?” he asked.

Jeff had encouraged her to sell the house immediately, but she’d wanted to come here and fix it up first. When she’d told him that, he’d suggested she do so from Hawaii.“No sense traveling all the way to New Hampshire,”he’d said.“I can manage the details on this end.”

He’d been surprised when she’d called in November to say she was coming.

More than surprised. He’d tried to talk her out of it.

She’d detected a hint of… she wasn’t sure what it was. Not displeasure so much as concern when she’d told him her plans. She’d forgotten about that until this moment, maybe because she detected the same thing on his face now.

“Garrett has some great ideas,” she said. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get Jeff’s feedback. “He thinks that if we redo the entire house, I’ll get a lot more money out of it than if I just do the bare bones. What do you think?”

“Defineredo,” he said.

She gave him a quick rundown on what they planned.

His bushy gray eyebrows lowered over light brown eyes. “That’s a huge undertaking.”

“He can do it, though, right? You said Garrett?—”

“He’s more than capable. And the numbers sound right. But you’re not going to stay the whole time, are you?”

The way he asked the question had her defenses rising. She crossed her arms. “Why shouldn’t I?”

“I just thought… Don’t you have a business to run back in Hawaii?”

“I sold it.”

The attorney’s gaze darted behind her, and she was tempted to turn and see why. She could tell by the lack of noise that most of the church had already filed out.

This conversation—and the lawyer’s concern over her staying in town—seemed very important.

“Is there something I should know, Mr. Christiansen?”

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