Page 58 of Love From the Ashes

“I can’t wait.” Reid gave me one of his devilish grins and kissed me. “I better see what Teddy wants. We’ll need to leave in about fifteen minutes.” Reid walked away, his shoes making a soft thudding sound as he trotted down the stairs.

I went into our bedroom and changed from my sweat clothes to something more appropriate, putting on a pair of maternity pants and a pullover sweater. Turning sideways, I studied my image in the mirror. My baby bump protruded pretty well at twenty-one weeks. It made me wonder how big I’d be by the time I delivered. Few of my clothes fit me as it was, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I eventually ended up with a new wardrobe. Today’s shopping trip with Della was along those lines, since I hoped to find several shirts I could wear.

After brushing my hair, I went downstairs to find Reid. He was in the family room, staring out the sliding door. He must have been deep in thought because he didn’t hear me come into the room.

“What did Teddy want?” I said, apparently surprising him based on the way he jumped.

“He found something in one of the bushes on the deck and wanted to show it to me.” Reid turned around and motioned to the coffee table in front of the couch. “That’s what he found. I spread it out.”

I walked to the table and reached out to pick up the paper.

“It’s best if you don’t touch it. That way, only Teddy, me, and the person who left it there have fingerprints on it. I’m certain it belongs to the person who broke into our house Monday night. I called the detective on our case. He said he’ll send someone over this afternoon to pick it up and photograph where Teddy found it.”

I sat on the couch and leaned forward to see what it was. Having worked in retail for quite a few years, I recognized the paper as an article torn from one of those rag publications you find next to the store checkout stands. “This is us,” I said quietly, feeling shocked. “It has the picture of you and Samantha together in that restaurant in New York and one of Samantha and Ryan on their honeymoon. The last picture is of you and me with your mother at the orchestra’s annual gala. Why?”

“Read the captions.”

“Okay. Oh my God. ‘Samantha Wilding Dumps Boston Millionaire,’ then there’s ‘Samantha Wilding’s New Beau,’ followed by ‘Boston Millionaire On The Rebound.’ Reid, why would this be on the deck?”

“Because whoever broke into the house was targeting us. Teddy was here last Saturday and didn’t see that article on the deck. So that means it got placed there sometime within the past week. I don’t know if the article was left there on purpose, but it makes it clear that this person knew we lived here. We need to find out what this person wants.”

My body was like ice when Reid sat beside me and slipped his arm around my shoulder. He’d confirmed what I’d already feared, and based on my incident during lunch on Monday, I was sure the target was me. My past had come back not only to haunt but to terrorize me. They had tracked Dean and me from Pennsylvania to New York, swooping down on us like vultures and ruining our lives. After a string of moves between Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, they lost track of us. We’d finally felt safe when we moved to Quincy, Massachusetts. Now, with that article in their hands, it wouldn’t have taken them much effort to figure out where I was.

“Dwelling on this isn’t going to help. Let’s go ahead with our plans. We’ll go to lunch, and afterward, you can walk across the street to the shopping mall to meet Della. All right?”

I nodded in agreement, although I didn’t want to leave after everything that had happened. But Reid was right. We should continue with what we planned. We couldn’t put our lives on hold and hide.

We grabbed our coats and left the house. Reid parked in the public garage on Boylston and, after making sure I was bundled up, escorted me from the garage to the restaurant, careful not to slip on the icy ground.

Once we were inside, a host led us past the small table area by the front door to the dining room in the back. The left side of the restaurant had another dining area, while the right side held the bar. It was constructed from a dark-stained and highly lacquered wood and fronted by a row of royal-blue upholstered barstools. The countertop contained bundles of silverware wrapped in white linen napkins, with a set placed in front of each chair.

After some minor chitchat between Reid and me about what I hoped to find at the mall, our server appeared and took our order. I asked for the clam chowder in a bread bowl with sparkling water while Reid ordered their Maine lobster roll and an iced tea. We got into a discussion about baby names while we waited for our food. Reid preferred the old classic names like Amelia and Lillian for a girl and Clark and Ethan for a boy. I wanted something more creative. Reid was asking me to give him some examples of names I liked when our server interrupted our conversation, setting our lunch down on the table.

“Oh, this looks good,” I said, eyeing my bread bowl, a faint smell of clams and cream wafting to my nose.

“Can I get you anything else?” our server said, smiling down at Reid with her back to me.

“I’m good. Sofie, did you need anything?” Reid glanced at me from across the table.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to your lunch, then. Enjoy.” She walked away, stealing a parting look at Reid over her shoulder before rounding a corner.

“I swear there’s always some woman ogling you no matter where we go. At least you ignore it. I’d have to get pissed if you didn’t,” I said teasingly, although it did bother me a little.

“First of all, it’s unsolicited, and I’m not in the slightest bit interested. Second, I’m deeply in love with this gorgeous, sassy, extremely quirky, intelligent, and pointedly brash little minx. You should meet her sometime. You’d like her.”

“Oh, you’re funny. Ha-ha.”

“Of course, there’s the risk my fiancée might deck the woman should she take offense.” Reid looked like he was trying to suppress a grin and was failing. “Hmm, like Jillian?”

“You knew?” My voice was incredulous. He’d never given me the slightest hint that he was aware of what had happened.

“Yes, I knew.” Reid chuckled. “I saw your knuckles. It was an extreme challenge to keep from saying something at the time. Honestly, I wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t exactly appropriate. I don’t know what she said to you, but knowing Jillian, she got what she deserved.”

“You’re as bad as I am.”

“Sometimes, but not all the time. There’s no one quite like you.”

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