Abandon the Dark. Marta Perry

      Jake nodded. He’d been there, that day, arriving with the police and Zach, Meredith’s fiancé, in time to save her. He didn’t like remembering how close it had been.

      “No wonder Laura looked as if she’s...” Lainey hesitated, apparently considering the word. “Empty. That’s how she looks. Empty.”

      “That describes it pretty well. If she knew, and I think she must have at some point, she wasn’t strong enough to cope with the knowledge.”

      “Poor woman. And poor Meredith, losing her mother that way. I’m surprised they didn’t say something about it last night.”

      He considered. “It’s a pretty complicated story to hit you with the first time they see you after twenty years. But I’d guess they’re eager to talk to you about it. They even have the scrapbook you kept that summer. You were quite an artist for a ten-year-old.”

      Her gaze slid away from his, as if she were embarrassed. “Kid stuff. Not enough talent for the real world.”

      He wasn’t sure what to say to that comment. It was revealing, and he suspected she’d regret it if he got too close.

      Maybe she thought so, too, because her expression changed and her chin came up. “You didn’t come here to tell me this story, Jake. So why did you come?”

      Jake had to do some rapid reordering of his thoughts. “Right, that. I was hoping you’d come to a decision about Rebecca’s wishes, so we can move ahead.”

      Her eyebrows lifted. “You mean you hope I’ve decided to give up the power of attorney.”

      “No.” It had sounded that way, hadn’t it? Why was he so inept in dealing with this particular woman? “Not at all. I just need a decision, one way or the other.”

      “Fine, you’ve got it.” Her face firmed. “I told Zeb Stoltzfus today, so I’ll tell you. Aunt Rebecca wanted me to do this, so I’m doing it.”

      “Right.” She wouldn’t be leaving, then. He had a certain sneaking pleasure in the thought. “That’s all I needed to know.” He stood. “We’ll go from there, then.”

      “Really? No arguments? No pointing out that I don’t know anything about Rebecca’s way of life?” She stood, which put her very close to him. “Aren’t you going to tell me that I’m...” She looked up into his face, and their gazes caught. She seemed to lose track of what she was saying.

      And he didn’t think he could utter a coherent sentence to save him. His eyes traced the line of her cheek, the curve of her lips. It was all he could do to prevent his hand from following along. She leaned toward him, as if some force of gravity pulled them together.

      With an effort of will and muscle, he drew back away from her.

      “Right,” he said, not pleased to discover that he was breathless or that he was repeating himself. Couldn’t he think of something else to say? “I...I’ll have to talk to you about business in a day or two if Rebecca doesn’t improve. In the meantime, you can refer to me anyone who has a question about finances.”

      “Yes, all right.” She turned and walked a few steps away. Maybe she felt the need to put some distance between them as well. “Thank you, Jake. And thank you for telling me.”

      She’d thanked him twice in one meeting. That had to be a record. Now he’d better get out of here before he did something foolish, like checking for himself how those lips tasted.