Page 43 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
It was quiet on the other end. Maybe June hadn’t heard the question.
“Truthfully?” she finally said. “I think it’s because Kade made something of himself and Oren didn’t.”
“So, jealousy?”
“I think that’s part of it. From what I hear, Oren bore the brunt of the trouble they stirred up. Oren got tried as an adult and was convicted. Kade at the time was still a minor. The judge went a little easier on him from what I hear.”
“What did they do?”
“Went for a little joy ride. Damaged some public property. Agnes told me a long time ago. She’s never gone into details, understandably.” June paused. “How did the interview go?”
“Perfectly. I’ve already put together the press release and dropped it off at theLakeshoreWeekly. The editor assured me I’d got it in on time for the Friday edition.”
“Wonderful.”
Fallon wheeled into a parking spot close to the department store entrance. “I’m at the mall, June. The sooner I get in, the sooner I can find a dress.”
“For the sponsors’ dinner you’re not going to with Kade Behar?” teased June.
June was insufferable. “Yes, that one.”
* * *
Inside the store,Fallon went straight for the dress department. It had been years since she’d worn a formal dress, so long in fact she couldn’t remember the occasion.
She rifled through the black dresses in no time. Most in her size had been picked over. Same with the red dresses. What she did find in her size was either too garish—beads and feathers galore!—or too skimpy for her taste. A mild sense of panic seized her. She’d have to settle for something.
A clerk popped up from around the rack Fallon picked through.
“Can I help you find something?” the woman asked, slipping glasses that hung from a beaded chain onto the end of her nose. Her name tag read “Sibyl.”
“Every color I’ve looked for so far isn’t available in my size.”
“It’s getting late in the year. What did you hope to find?” Sibyl asked.
“A sheath style in black or red. Minimum embellishments but not plain.”
“Is this for a party?”
Fallon nodded.
The woman asked for her size before adding, “I may have some things on the rack in the fitting room that I haven’t had a chance to put out again.” She excused herself, saying she’d be right back.
Fallon continued to push through the racks, checking sizes when she came upon something tolerable. She may need to venture farther into the mall to another store if she struck out here.
Her attention drifted over the rack and across the aisle to other shoppers. The store was moderately busy for a weekday morning. A woman comforted a toddler having an epic tantrum in front of a teddy bear display. A trio of ladies fawned over the handbag selection on the nearest table, zipping zippers, lengthening shoulder straps, trying them on for size. A holiday buzz was in the air. Fallon fanned her face with a coupon book on top of the rack, searching for her sales lady.
She gasped when a familiar figure caught her eye.
Kade! What was he doing in Duluth?
He’d stopped to look at the table of ties in the men’s department about twenty feet away. The only thing that blocked him from seeing her if he turned was a standing shelf of holiday candles and resin Christmas figurines. His back was to her, but there was no mistaking the midnight black hair and his broad shoulders underneath the brown canvas jacket with its leather collar.
Fallon hunkered down behind a carousel of costume jewelry next to the dress rack. She’d stay hidden until he left. Her pulse thrummed between her ears.
“I think we’re in luck,” said Sibyl, who had snuck up behind her so quietly Fallon jumped.
As soon as Fallon laid her eyes on the dress, she knew it was the one. A deep wine velvet, the dress had a modest V-neck and three-quarter sleeves. The neck was trimmed with red satin too. A slim band of embroidery in the same thread color encircled the waist. It was a stunning dress. She knew the shoe style she’d look for to complement it.
