Full Moon: The earth, moon, and sun are in alignment, just as the new moon, but the moon now sits on the opposite side of the earth with the sunlit part completely facing us, the shadowed portion hidden from view.
February
Duncan didn’t consider himself a man who took the word “no” lightly, so he’d give this one more try. Maybe the third time would be a charm.
He watched Sophie at the top of the snow-covered hill he’d just sled down.
She waved to him from the hill’s crest and cupped her mouth. “Be down in a sec. Hurry up, Tia!”
Tia slowly dragged a snow tube behind her up the hill.
In the two weeks since Duncan had learned about Henry’s death on the Tates’ land, he’d twice offered to take his firm’s bid off the table. He no longer cared about his original goals and, quite simply, believed she deserved a future on the land.
Both times, she’d shaken her head with an adamant no. “I can’t let you ignore the reasons that sent you here in the first place. It’s his real father’s land.”
He didn’t want to say this to her, but his trust level with the two elderly brothers had dipped to below zero. Elmer’s strange expression as Duncan left their house last time they talked made him wonder what else they were keeping from him.
He moved to warm his feet. Standing in one place made him chilly. According to the news, the blizzard of ’96 was the last time this much snow had covered the ground in Northbridge. Yesterday’s storm left twenty-three more inches of the fluffy white granules in one fell swoop, mounting on top of their second week of steady snowfall.
A car pulled out of the entrance to Crickle Creek Orchards, across from the large hill near Duncan’s house. He waved to the orchard owner, who had downplayed the uncontrollable weather with a sign in the cab of a vintage truck displayed at the orchard’s entrance reading “FREE SNOW.”
“Here I come.” Sophie dropped the tube onto the ground and plopped into it, adjusting her seating.
She pressed her hands in the snow and pushed to start, gaining speed on her way down, and veering in his direction. “Fore!”
He jumped aside and she flew past then spilled off the tube. He ran over, his feet slowed by the heavy boots and deep snow. He stuck out his hand and pulled her upright.
She brushed snow off her pants. “Thanks.” Her fair cheeks and the tip of her nose were bright red. “Want another turn?”
“Maybe. Come here.” He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. “Damn, your lips are chilly. This is fun, but I like the part where we go inside to warm up.”
“Me too.”
He kept hold of her mitten-wrapped hands. “Listen, now that I’ve got you here, I think we have some unfinished business.”
“Careful, Sparky, the kids are over there.” She arched a suggestive brow.
“Not that. But I always like a woman with a dirty mind. Seriously, though. Hear me out before you say no to this.”
Her lips pressed firm, as if she knew what came next.
“I have this weird feeling something else is going on with the Tates. My gut says I should step away. I don’t want to remove my bid and have someone else buy the place. It belongs to you, your family.”
Her mouth dropped open. “God, you’re stubborn.”
He chuckled. “Funny, I had the same thought about you.”
She stared at him for a few long seconds. “In truth, the money end had me stressed from the start. My dad and Jay too. We’d have to sell at least two of our homes, take out a pretty hefty mortgage, and… Frankly, it was a financial stretch. Besides, I don’t want the guilt of taking the land from your brother. Can you understand that?”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty. Trent’s interest is for a good reason, but yours is equally as valid. Probably more so.”
She crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. “Yes, mine is valid. Here’s the thing, I don’t know what our future holds, but I’d never want you to look back on this decision and regret what you gave up for Trent. Please let fate decide. After all, fate brought you back here.” Her eyes softened. “To me.”
His heart fluttered, the way it had when he’d found himself around her at the age of thirteen. “Okay. If you want me to wait, I will.”
* * * *
Sophie devoured the aroma of fresh bread in Bellantoni’s Market’s bakery then tossed a warm paper-wrapped loaf into her basket. The mouthwatering aroma did little to make her forget the question bugging her all day. Why hadn’t she just said yes to Duncan’s last request she reconsider buying the land?
In part, every major decision she’d made in her life had factored in the happiness of others. So did some minor ones. Duncan tripped her up, a paradoxical catch-22. Someone ended up unhappy no matter what choice she made.
What did she really want?
One thing was certain. Duncan’s willingness to give up the land so easily confirmed he had nothing to do with the alleged bribery, a fact that created a vat full of remorse over tonight’s after-dinner trip with Cliff to Southbridge.
Cliff had called early this morning and said he’d made arrangements with his friend Sean Carney to go to his father at a nearby nursing home. In a way, Sophie hoped Jack Carney didn’t remember anything from his old job as dispatcher at the station. She’d almost asked Cliff to call the meeting off. The request, however, might draw attention to the thing she’d kept from Cliff, her relationship with Duncan.
The extent of her dishonesty these days sent a ripple of nausea to her stomach. After how upset Duncan got at the studio when he’d learned about the call to Marcus, there was no way she’d open another gooey can of worms by telling him about the anonymous note she’d hidden from him. With any luck, tonight’s visit to the nursing home would reveal nothing and Duncan would be none the wiser.
Turning down an aisle, she spotted Duncan halfway down, still dressed in his work clothes and holding two spray bottles of bathroom cleaner. His brows dipped together and he studied the back of the bottle with more care than she’d give to medication. Glancing around and seeing the aisle empty, she inched closer, then abandoned her cart nearby, tingling with a rush of excitement over his unexpected presence.
She stretched on tiptoes and grazed his cheek with a kiss. “Hey, handsome.”
He looked her way and his eyes softened with the onset of a quick smile. “Thank God it’s you. I get kissed all the time when I’m in here. What’s with this town?”
“Really?”
“Sure.” His voice dropped, now low and husky. “You’re very distracting.”
“If you’re that easily distracted, I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle tomorrow night.”
“I won’t be trying to purchase bathroom cleaner tomorrow night.”
Anticipation over their upcoming adult-only date had teased her thoughts all day. A good roll in the hay with him—or any surface—was overdue. Mike’s weekend with the kids had come at a perfect time.
“Cute coat.” He fingered one of the large gold buttons on her square-shouldered navy coat. “Sophie Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?”
The consignment shop purchase screamed the seventies but, worn with a below-the-knee wool skirt and leather riding-style boots, Sophie thought the garb looked trendy. “We gals call this vintage.”
He inspected her more closely. “You look cute.”
“Thank you. Any aches and pains from Sunday?”
He groaned. “Only several thousand. You omitted the side effects when you arm-twisted me into going.”
“Come on. You had fun.”
“I did. The best part was getting warm with you on the sofa afterward.” His lids hooded and his voice took on a low purr. “You’re almost making me like winter.”
“If you play your cards right, I might even give you a massage tomorrow for those sore muscles.” Her fingers itched to reach inside his unbuttoned wool coat and take a path on the strong muscles of his back.
Duncan’s gaze softened and he studied her with such deep longing she drew a breath. Regret over tonight’s interview about his family knotted her stomach, but evaporated the second he leaned close and parted his lips.
Sophie tilted her head upward but her peripheral vision caught a cart coming around the corner and she took a step back.
Jay plodded down the aisle, coming right at them. Heat rushed up her neck, and she hoped her expression didn’t scream the guilt she held inside.
“Hey, fancy running into you.” Sophie forced herself to relax and hoped he hadn’t seen anything.
Jay glanced back and forth, his silent stare filled with accusation.
“Nice to see you again, Jay.” Duncan placed the bathroom cleaner in the seat of his cart and extended his hand.
Jay put out his, too, but his jaw flexed while they shook. An awkward silence surrounded the group.
Duncan lifted two containers of cleaner. “Sophie was just about to give me some advice on these bathroom cleaners. Bleach or the regular.”
“Bleach,” Sophie piped in quickly, thankful for the diversion.
He tossed the can in the cart and shelved the other. “Bleach it is. I’d better run. Thanks for the help. See you soon, Jay.”
Jay’s stiff nod didn’t even make Duncan flinch. As he went past Sophie, he winked then whistled all the way to the end until he disappeared around the corner.
Jay reached for some dishwasher detergent and dropped the box into the cart with a bang. “Did you hear the zoning board has rescheduled the vote?”
“No. To when?”
“Next Thursday night.” His neck muscle flexed. “I’m getting tired of waiting for their decision.”
“Me too.”
“You and Jamieson seemed pretty chummy.” He crossed the aisle and picked up a can of Pledge. It clanged against the metal cart with his toss.
She lowered her voice. “Jay, Duncan’s son is a friend of Matt’s. They play basketball together. They live here too. Jeez, if he ends up building the resort, will you snarl every time you pass him in town?”
“No.” Jay gripped the shopping cart handle so tight his knuckles went white. “I’m still disappointed. Aren’t you?”
“If things are meant to be, they’ll happen.” She gave his arm a friendly tap even though shame over withholding Duncan’s offer from her brother tapped at her.
They hugged good-bye and Sophie continued to shop. A distant tune played through the store’s speakers, but did little to drown out the word “liar,” which now played in a constant loop inside her head.
She’d hid Duncan’s offer from Jay.
She was hiding their dating relationship too.
As a cherry to the sundae, she’d hid from Duncan the documents about his family. A foreboding wave rippled through her. A perfect storm of lies stood in her path, but she pushed her cart toward the registers and ignored the warning.