One Millhaven Lane Read Online Free PDF Page A

wasn’t Nate, who was it? A burglar, she thought. If she were in Boston, she’d be more inclined to believe that. Still, though, crime happened everywhere, and the Grove was not immune to violence or law offenders. She peered out the window and saw nothing but darkness. She cocked an ear and listened. Nothing. If someone had attempted to break in, they’d changed their mind. She let out a relieved breath and turned toward the hallway. She only walked a couple of steps when the door rattled. She stopped abruptly and turned. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the knob, waiting for it to turn. When it didn't, she called out, "Who's there?"
    A gust of wind clattered the kitchen window.
    Nature, Asia thought, breathing again. That's all it was. Nature.

 
     
    Chapter Three
    The next morning, Asia awakened with the rising sun and a smile. Humming, she bounced from bed and into the shower, where she thought of Nate and what they'd shared last night. It had been wonderful being with him again. He'd put on a few pounds and there was some white sprinkled among the chestnut hair, but he was still the sweet, gentle and courteous man she'd fallen in love with her junior year in high school.
    His periwinkle blue eyes had popped when he looked at her, just like they always had.
    He'd never stopped loving her. She hoped nothing or no one would stand in their way this time. But if the past repeated itself, she knew how to handle the Brittanys of the world now.
    No one would get in her way of a happy-ever-after. Not this time.
    Moments later, with upswept hair and dressed in a navy pantsuit, she skipped down the stairs, through the hallway and into the kitchen where she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
    On the way to the garage, she noticed footprints in her mother's flowerbed below the dining room window and stopped. She studied the prints. A size twelve if she were to guess, the pattern distinctive of a hiking boot. She recognized the tread. She had the woman's version at home in her shoe closet.
    The same kind Nate wore last night.
     
    ***
     
    On the short drive to her lawyer's, Asia was back to thinking about the rattling doorknob last night. It hadn't been nature, after all, and if it wasn't Nate coming back for something he thought he left in the house, who was it? She shrugged. The print could have been there a while and she'd never noticed and the shaking door and rattling doorknob last night was the wind, just as she'd suspected. Yes, that was it. She let out a deep breath and relaxed.
    She parked on the street in front of Harry's office.
    Seconds later, she was brushing a knuckle against the hardwood and peeking around the door into his office.
    Harry stood in front of bookshelves, holding a law journal in one hand.
    "Hi, hi," she said from the doorway. Her mother's lawyer looked every bit his seventy-one years, and every bit the barrister in striped trousers and suspenders.
    Harry turned and looked at her over the rim of his glasses, smiling. "Asia. My, don't you look dapper."
    She walked over to him and leaned in to accept his kiss on her cheek.
      He kept his hands on her arms and appraised her.
    "How is it possible that you become more lovely every time I see you?"
    She smiled. "You’re too kind."
    He smiled and led her to a leather chair in front of his desk and ushered her to sit.
    After she made herself comfortable, he walked around his desk and sat.
    "Your timing is perfect," he said, shuffling papers in a file. "Two of the insurance checks arrived earlier in the week and the last, in this morning's mail. As you know, two of the policies were small."
    "Yes, and the third, the largest. Isn't that the case?"
    "It is." He stared at her a moment.
    Asia could see that something troubled the old lawyer. With a gentle voice, she nudged him. "What is it? If you're worried there isn't enough money to pay Mom's funeral expenses, don't be. I settled the account."
    "It isn't that at all." Harry grimaced.