Page 16 of The Secret of Emerald Cottage

Chapter Nine

“Sweet Lord in heaven, how I missed this!” Miss Lilly stood on crutches and just stared at her house after Brec helped her out of the car, drinking in the beauty and peace of Emerald Cottage. Eyes glossy with a sheen of emotion, her gaze appeared to caress every single inch with love, and Brec sure didn’t blame her. Uncle Hal had built a true haven, a cottage castle for his queen, and a haven for memories Brec would never forget.

From its open wraparound porch dotted with rockers and potted plants, to the newly painted forest-green siding—compliments of Chase Griffin, no doubt—the cottage was a true respite from the world. The steep, shingled roof—emerald green, of course—boasted numerous gables that gave the cottage a fairytale feel amid a sanctuary setting of oaks, maples, and Georgia pine, all hovering like sentinels, protecting Miss Lilly’s peace.

Glistening in the background was Emerald Cove, thick with forest and backdropped by gentle hills so rare for Georgia’s Lower Coastal plain, making Lake Loon a true secret retreat in a land of barrier islands, marshes, and swampy lowlands.

Carefully closing the car door behind his aunt, Brec assessed the mossy pavers leading to the two front-porch steps with a dubious eye, wishing his aunt would just let him carry her inside instead of using her crutches. “Aunt Lilly, I’d feel a whole lot better if you let me carry you.”

“I know, Breccan, but I wouldn’t. Been usin’ these stupid stilts for my bum ankles just fine afore you come home, sonny, and I can do it again, no matter how doggone riled they make me.” Clomping toward the porch, she stopped at the first step to gaze up with a gentle sigh, a bit of her former glow returning as the peace of this tranquil place obviously worked its magic. “S’pose anything’d be sheer heaven after that poke jail, but I do believe in all my born days—and we all know that’s quite a few—I have never seen a more beautiful home.”

“Brec and I couldn’t agree more,” Molly said as she followed them to the front door with her purse and Miss Lilly’s hospital sack slung over her shoulder. “And trust me—Li’l Pelé and I don’t agree on all that much,” she said with a smirk as she scooted around to unlock the front door.

A rusty chuckle popped from Miss Lilly’s mouth as she slid Brec a wink. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me none. Had a sneakn’ feelin’ you two might butt heads right out the gate, since you’re about as alike as a duck and a June bug. Figured my bossy caretaker’d give you a fair amount of lip, just like she does me.”

“I’d say more than a ‘fair amount,’ if truth be told,” Brec said with a lazy smile that promptly dusted Molly’s cheeks with a pretty pink. “So you figured right, Aunt Lilly, but you’ll be happy to know we called a truce on your behalf.”

“Well, thank the good Lord for that,” Miss Lilly said as Molly opened the door.

Right before she jerked it closed again.

“What’s wrong?” Brec demanded, his smile draining out along with the blood in Molly’s cheeks.

“Uh … whoops! I … a … I guess in my excitement to pick Miss Lilly up, I forgot to tidy the front room”—flashing a smile that appeared somewhat forced, Molly shot Brec a wide-eyed appeal—“so Brec, why don’t you take your aunt around back to see how well we took care of her gardens, and I’ll bring some iced tea after I straighten up.”

“Prairie poop!” Miss Lilly said with a pert thrust of her chin, waving Molly aside as she reached for the knob of the front door. “You make Mr. Clean look like a ditch digger in a swamp, missy, the way you’re always a-fussin’ around this house, so if somethin’s not aright here, it shore ain’t your memory. Step aside.”

Molly’s worried gaze met Brec’s, and when his aunt flung the door wide, he immediately understood why.

“Sweet mother of Pearl,” Miss Lilly whispered, scanning her beloved great room, which looked as disheveled as when Aunt Lilly had hosted overnights for Brec and his friends. Couch and love seat cushions were strewn all over the floor while Miss Lilly’s beloved curio drawers had been dumped, tossed on top of piles of linens and throws that’d been stored inside. “You two may have made a truce, but looks like the skunk who tossed me in the drink hasn’t.” She huffed out a heavy sigh and commenced to rolling her sleeves. “Well, let’s get this place cleaned up—”

“No, ma’am,” Brec said with a clench of his jaw. “Your pushy caretaker and nurse wants you out on the deck drinking tea, so that’s where I’m taking you while we clean up, young lady, no argument. Molly, grab her crutches.” Scooping his aunt up in one fell swoop while Molly did the same with the crutches, he marched into the house and toward the sliding doors off the kitchen that led to her deck, dodging disheveled items on his way.

“Humph, neither young nor a lady, sonny,” his aunt said with a pointy elbow to his chest. “Thought I taught you better than to lie.”

“Yes, ma’am, you did, but you also taught me to obey rules, which is all I’m trying to do.” He sailed right out the sliding door that Molly opened wide and promptly laid his aunt on a brand new cushioned chaise Cat and Chase had bought, still wearing a bright green bow. “Because your doctor ordered you off your feet for at least two weeks, and you know it, so I’m here to make sure you do just that, understood?”

“Humph. I understand you two are more alike than I thought, both pushy to the core.”

“And don’t you forget it either,” Molly said as she gently lifted Aunt Lilly’s feet up on the chaise with a hint of tease in her tone that was at odds with the strain in her smile. “Now you relax in this comfy lounger Cat and Chase bought for you and relish in the fact that the girls and I wreaked havoc on every single weed in your garden, missy, while I fetch you some tea.”

Ignoring his aunt’s mumblings, Brec followed Molly into the kitchen, firmly shutting the door behind. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he said, stomach suddenly as tight as his jaw as he watched Molly fill a tumbler first with ice and then with tea.

“Unfortunately, yes.” She plucked a lemon from the produce drawer in the fridge and clunked it on a cutting board on the counter, snatching a knife from a wooden knife block with enough force that he took a step back. “This scares the living daylights out of me, Brec, because it means I was right—someone has been searching this house for something they want pretty badly.” She whacked the knife through the lemon with a loud clack before turning to wag it at him. “Maybe badly enough to hurt Miss Lilly by dumping her in the lake.”

“Wait a minute.” He rounded the dining-room table to stand beside her, her words instantly twisting his gut. “You said that was sleepwalking.”

“I hoped it was, I promise, but this”—she waved the knife toward the ransacked great room so fast, he retreated several steps— “says otherwise.” Slicing the lemon into huge wedges, she promptly slapped one on the edge of the glass. “I should have listened to Chase when he wanted to install a security system, but no, I didn’t think it would be necessary. Which just goes to show my gut instincts are obviously as faulty as my judgment in both men and roommates.”

Brec’s pulse picked up. “Wait—why did Chase want to put in a security system for sprained ankles? To alert you if Aunt Lilly tried to go outside while sleepwalking?”

“Yes, and as a precautionary measure in case the parked car and noises she kept hearing were more than we thought.” She slapped the other three wedges on a saucer and shoved it against his chest while handing him the tea, the same look of grit in her eyes as when she’d pulled the gun. “Which just proves that Tyler was probably right when he said I was too soft to be a detective, the moron. But I intend to prove him wrong. Here—take this out to Miss Lilly and come right back.”

Brec blinked at the array of lemons. “She needs all of these?”

“Yeah. Sucks on ’em, then eats ’em, peel and all.” She wrinkled her nose. “Says she’s been doing it all her life because rinds have calcium, potassium, and vitamin C, and she refuses to waste anything ‘the good Lord created for the good of her body.’” She squinted at him as she dug in her purse for her cell phone. “You should already know that. How long have you been away, anyway?”

“Too long, apparently,” he said, his tone as dry as his mouth after the thought of sucking on lemons.

“Keep her busy while I call Chase and Sloan, will you?” She hurried over to get the door for him. “Don’t want to rile her anymore than we need to till they get here, okay?”

No, not okay. The thought of both Chase and Sloan descending to save the day—the “self-appointed caretaker” and the “gorgeous detective type” Molly’s friends were trying to set her up with, suddenly made him feel all the worse, wishing just once it could be him that his aunt depended on.

“Then I’ll be out soon with tea for us both, because heaven knows I don’t want to touch anything till the police get here.” She opened the door and blew Aunt Lilly a kiss. “Be right out, Miss Lilly. Oh, and Pelé—you want lemon for your tea?”

“Nope, I’ll pass.” He handed his aunt her tea, then placed the saucer on the table next to her chaise with a grim smile.

This day is already sour enough.