access, she’d assumed it was Wi-Fi.
The color-themed guest rooms, occupying the two upper floors of the four-level estate were still decorated in an intriguing mix of Victorian, French country and European Old World. Downstairs, the common areas consisted of a sitting room near the front of the house with a large stone fireplace, handcrafted furniture and bookshelves lined with magazines and novels. These were the better-maintained areas of the house, and Victoria suspected it was because they saw the least amount of use.
The dining area with its six-round wicker table and chair sets extended onto a magnificent, large wraparound deck with a view of the big, fenced yard. She’d been disappointed to see that the large floor-to-ceiling, stained-glass windows were chipped, and the floral wallpaper was outdated and peeling in the corners. The weather-worn gazebo still stood in the center of the yard, near the rock waterfall overrun with weeds; it had been the location she’d selected for the wedding ceremony. In summer, the garden had been the perfect backdrop. Now, draped in mounds of snow and ice, the bare trees and neglected rock beds seemed just a sad shadow of a more elegant time.
The buzzing stopped and her home page opened at a snail’s pace. She typed her remote access login and password and hit Enter. Nothing. The hourglass icon appeared on the screen. “Oh, come on.” Her BlackBerry revealed thirty-two new messages, which the cell service here maddeningly prevented her from accessing. At this rate it would take her until midnight to read and respond to them all. Her voice mail could wait until morning; it was too late to return calls now anyway.
She stood and stretched at the bedroom window. The street below was dark and quiet—a typical Monday night in Brookhollow. In the city, the sound of traffic and the glow of lights were a constant reminder of life in continuous motion. She missed the noise and distraction. Here, the silence allowed her to hear her own thoughts.
Raising a hand to her lips, her cheeks heated. When she’d left home, she’d been certain the memory of Luke would plague her forever, but time and distance really did have a way of mending the heart and allowing you to forget. And then one simple kiss had shaken her.
A loud knock on the bedroom door made her jump and she released the thick curtain. Mrs. Harris? Her eyes widened as she opened the door. “What are you guys doing here?” Three of her best friends from high school stood in the hallway. She hadn’t told anybody she was coming to town and guilt now washed over her. She was here for work and she hadn’t wanted to mix business with pleasure. Rachel Harper was the only one she kept in touch with, and she’d been planning to stop in and surprise her at some point. Well, the surprise was on her.
“We went by your parents’ place. I thought you’d be staying there.” Rachel was struggling to catch her breath after the climb to the third floor. Her flushed cheeks held the glow of a woman eight months pregnant.
Victoria shook her head. “They finally transformed my old room.”
“Anyway, we didn’t want to wait any longer to see you,” Rachel said, struggling to lean in to give her a hug, her belly making it difficult to get close.
“Hey, girl, long time,” Lisa Cameron said as she hugged her next. “We haven’t seen you since Rachel’s wedding’ How long ago was that—three years?” Tall and thin, Lisa towered over the others, just as she always had. With her long, dark hair and slanted, hazel eyes, she could have signed a modeling contract anywhere in the world. It amazed Victoria that her beautiful friend had chosen Brookhollow and the domestic role of wife and mother instead.
“I know. I should visit more. I just travel so much for work, being at home in New York is a luxury.” Besides, she didn’t add, a vacation to Brookhollow couldn’t be classified as a vacation. She’d be constantly checking around the corner for a member of the Dawson family. One in particular, the one she couldn’t avoid this time.
Ava Miller took her hands. “Wow, you look even better in person than you do on Facebook,” she said, laughing. “And those are the best pictures anyone has of themselves.” She tossed her red hair over her shoulder.
Lisa nodded her agreement. “You’re telling me. Kenny has his high school football picture posted. He refuses to believe he looks a day older, despite the receding hairline and beer belly, which gives Rachel’s massive bulge a run for the money.”
“Hey!” Rachel protested, swatting her friend’s arm, as she joined them in laughter.
“It’s true, Rachel, you are huge.” Ava raised her eyebrows, staring at the protruding stomach fighting the constraints of the buttons on Rachel’s coat. “Are you sure you’re not having twins again? They say if you’ve had them once, the likelihood increases you’ll have them again.”
This would be Rachel’s third pregnancy and fourth child and the Harper family didn’t seem to be slowing.
“The doctor confirmed it—one baby.” Rachel looked terrified as she patted her middle. “He better be right.”
The playful interaction between her friends warmed Victoria. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed them. It shouldn’t surprise her that they knew she was in town. She suspected by now everyone did.
“Um…did you guys want to come in?” She glanced at the stack of paperwork on the desk and struggled with a sense of obligation. She really had a lot of work to catch up on.
Rachel waved a hand. “No, your friend from New York…” She paused, thinking hard.
“Heather?” Victoria guessed.
“Yes, that’s it. Sorry, I can’t remember anything these days with this pregnancy. I swear it’s like living in a fog for nine months. Anyhow, she messaged me on Facebook earlier today— I guess she found me among your thousands of friends.” Rachel laughed.
Two hundred and sixty-four, and not real friends. Mostly business acquaintances. She actually knew only a handful of people on her friends list.
“Anyway, she confirmed the rumors that you were arriving today and agreed that we had to take you out for a night on the town.” Rachel suppressed a yawn. She unbuttoned the top of her coat and fanned herself with her gloves.
Heather. She should have known. “You don’t look like you’re up for a night on the town.” Victoria smiled sympathetically.
Rachel scoffed. “Nonsense. I’m the life of any party. Let’s go.”
“That’s right, grab your coat,” Lisa chimed in. “I got a babysitter for the first time in six years.”
“Me, too.” Ava high-fived Lisa.
The two looked giddy at the prospect of an evening out. Something she took for granted in New York. Other than her extensive travel schedule, she had no real responsibilities. She was lucky. She could come and go as she chose. Her friends’ lives were foreign territory.
She didn’t want to disappoint them, but the messages in her in-box needed a response. She hesitated. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I have a lot of work I need to catch up on.” A glance toward her laptop screen revealed the internet connection had timed out again. “Where would we go anyway?” she asked, eyeing them with suspicion. The choices in Brookhollow were slim. If they said the karaoke bar, she was locking herself in this bedroom.
“Just to the pool hall for a drink.” Rachel rested her hands against the back of her hips and blew a lock of wavy brown hair off her forehead.
Victoria frowned as she studied her friend. “I thought you were supposed to be on bed rest?”
“No, I’m fine now. I’m past the thirty-six-week mark, so the doctor says I’m okay to deliver anytime now.”
Victoria’s eyes widened.
Rachel laughed again. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Believe me, this little one likes it tucked in under my rib cage. I’ll be lucky to coax him or her out when it’s time.” She rubbed her side.
“I don’t know…” Victoria hesitated. “You