Page 9 of Kisses Sweeter than Wine

Weezer was either going to jump up and down for joy or march herself over to wherever Talbot was staying with a loaded shotgun and give that girl a big piece of her mind.

“Does she have siblings?” She blew into her mug and took a sip.

“She has a son,” Carter said.

Weezer spit out her coffee. “Don’t you dare leave that one hanging. Give me the details.” She snagged a napkin and wiped up the table.

“He’s almost twenty-one. The timing matches. If Talbot is Daisy, then her son is Merlot’s without a doubt.”

“There is a chance we have this wrong.” Weezer held his gaze. “Just because I got the same feeling you did when looking into her eyes and Merlot saw it too, doesn’t mean she’s Daisy.”

“It could all be one cruel coincidence, but I have to know for sure, not just because we could have another grandchild out there. But I have it on good authority that Richard will announce his bid for governor soon and he plans on doing it right here in Candlewood Falls.”

“He questioned the validity of those death certificates. He screamed conspiracy theory and didn’t believe his family was dead. The few times he’s come back to town, he’s made threats that if ever found out that someone put his family up to faking their deaths, they’d rue the day.”

Carter had always been on the receiving end of those threats. “My buddies in DC are telling me that Richard plans to make his announcement between now and shortly after the three-legged race. I drew up Georgette’s will. I know how long Claudia and Talbot will be in town. It will overlap.”

“Maybe we should send Merlot on a trip,” Weezer said. “Or at the very least, find a girl and get him good and distracted.”

Carter laughed. “You don’t mean that. Besides, he’s already seen Talbot and we both witnessed what that did to him. If it’s Daisy, he’s going to figure it out.”

“His love for her never died.”

“Perhaps that’s because his heart knew she was still alive.”

Talbot

Talbot groaned when the doorbell rang. She wished she hadn’t called the landlord and complained. She had two or three more days before Claudia rolled into town. Cleaning up this rental would give her something constructive to do while she waited. She’d already managed to make the master bedroom and prominent bathroom at least appear clean.

She scurried to the front of the house. A gasp escaped her lips as she stared at Brad Wilde and Lyra Chambers. She cleared her throat. “Um, may I help you?” What on earth would these two be doing at her rental?

And together.

The Lyra she remembered was a total stuck-up snob and wouldn’t be caught dead with the likes of someone like Brad.

Not that Brad was a bad apple or anything. Far from it, but they were definitely polar opposites.

“We’re here to do a little sterilizing,” Lyra said. “I used to live here and I guess Andy never cleaned the place up—or even rented it—after I left.”

“I thought he was sending a service.” Talbot had been a few years younger than both Brad and Lyra. But she knew Brad well since he’d been close friends with Malbec, Merlot’s older brother. This was all too close for comfort. What the hell had she been thinking coming to Candlewood Falls? It didn’t matter that it had been twenty-one years.

Or that she was close to thirty pounds heavier.

Had slightly darker hair.

A straight nose and no scars, thanks to an excellent plastic surgeon.

When she looked in the mirror, she could see her old self and Merlot had seen it too.

But Daisy was dead and a remembrance plaque was in the park for her and her mother on a random bench.

“I own the cleaning service,” Lyra said. “Unfortunately, it would be ten days before my girls could get you in.”

Brad smiled, lifting a big bucket filled with cleaning supplies. “You’ll learn that Andy isn’t the best landlord. He does almost nothing to keep this place going. I shouldn’t be surprised that all the stuff we didn’t take with us is still here.” Brad peeked his head in the door. “And exactly as we left it. I can’t believe he didn’t put in new furniture. Half that stuff came from Weezer’s basement. I’m so sorry.”

“I believe I met Weezer yesterday in town.” If Talbot was going to get through the next three weeks, she needed to pretend she didn’t know any of these people. It was made easier for her by Brad and Lyra since they didn’t seem to be stunned by her resemblance to Daisy. “She seemed interesting.”

“That’s an understatement,” Lyra said. “I still think that woman hates me.”

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