Page 41 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Whatever happened to your mother, it had nothing to do with me. I just know that there are people in Coventry who won’t take kindly to you digging up things that should remain buried.”

Before she could argue, he slid an age-spotted hand over her forearm. His grip was strong. “Go back to Hawaii and your life there. Let Garrett fix up your house, and I’ll handle the sale. You don’t need to be here.”

“My father?—”

“Forget what your father said. He shouldn’t have put this on you. It’s not your responsibility.”

“She was my mother.”

“She was…” He pressed his lips together.

“I know she was suffering from a mental illness. My father told me that much.”

He relaxed the tiniest bit. “She did a lot of damage and left nothing but destruction in her wake. That’s not your fault, but people around here have a long memory. The fact that you look just like?—”

“There you are.”

Aspen turned as a woman walked toward them from outside. She was heavyset with pretty silver hair and giant round sunglasses, which she pushed up on the top of her head.

As she approached, Jeff cleared his throat. “Maury, this is Michael Kincaid’s girl, Aspen.”

The older woman smiled at Aspen. “I’m Jeff’s wife, by the way. You’re gorgeous, just like your mother.” She held out her hand, and Aspen shook it.

“You knew my mom?”

“Oh, not well.” She waved the words off, so casual, especially compared to her husband. “We met a few times. She was a fiery one, your mother. I’ve never met anybody with so much passion.”

Passionate. Fiery. Aspen had rarely heard a positive adjective used to describe Jane Kincaid. She gripped the words like a lifesaving drug. “About what?”

“Oh, everything she cared about. She was in college, and there was something…” She turned to Jeff. “Was it nuclear power plants?”

He shrugged. “Something about the environment.” He sounded too casual. He knew more than he was saying.

Maury didn’t seem to notice. “And she was charismatic. Everybody loved her. I once saw her stir up a group of mommies into demanding a nursing room downtown.”

Aspen smiled, trying to imagine such a thing. “Did they add it?”

“Nobody defied Jane Kincaid.” Maury said the words with a little laugh before turning to Jeff. “The kids are holding a table for us. We’d better hurry.”

Jeff said goodbye, and Aspen watched as the older couple walked out the door, reeling from all the information she’d gotten.

Her mother’d been passionate and charismatic, and everybody hadlovedher.

This was the first she’d heard anything like that.

Aspen wished the facts had stopped there. But Jeff’s words were the ones that resonated.

Your mother did a lot of damage and left destruction in her wake.

And there were people who didn’t want Aspen digging into what that meant.

But who? And why?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The last thing Aspen had wanted to do on Monday was shop, but Garrett had insisted they couldn’t get started remodeling until they picked out and ordered everything they’d need.

Which made sense, of course. He couldn’t exactly install tile—or anything else—if she never ordered it.

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