AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She hadn’t replied to the text he’d sent her the day after he’d kissed her. Not even to tell him not to text her. Just silence. Obviously, she was merrily going about her day, their kiss forgotten.
He stopped typing. Damn it, this happened every time he thought of Riley.Focus, Miller, focus. One more paragraph.
His fingers hovered over the keys. There were two possible endings he’d been musing over. The one was a neat ending, a happy one. The other one was more real.
Chuckling, he finished the last paragraph within minutes. He’d known which one it should be for some time. He just had to write it down.
The End
Tired but elated, he leaned back in his chair. It was done. He’d written the story. It had taken him months, sleepless nights, many, many cups of coffee, but it was done.
Dazed, he looked around him. He still hadn’t unpacked all the boxes standing around; he hadn’t even furnished the rest of his house. His life had basically been put on hold over the last few months while he’d been concentrating on finishing his story.
Stretching, he got up and walked toward the window.
It was a little after midnight, his watch told him. The street below was empty, the lights strangely comforting. Here and there, a house had already been decorated for Christmas.
As he and his two sisters had discovered the previous year, folks in Marietta were big on Christmas. All sorts of activities were spread out over the weeks leading up to the actual day. The whole town was already abuzz with everything that would happen over the next few weeks.
Because he’d been so focused on his writing, he hadn’t seen either of his sisters for a while. On his phone, there was an invitation from Annie to lunch on Sunday that he should respond to. She was sure to also invite Aiden and Vivian. It would be a good opportunity to find out how Riley was doing. Someone was bound to mention her.
He walked back to his chair. There was still editing to be done, but for the first time in a long time, his mind wasn’t busy working out scenes.
Riley. Groaning, he closed his laptop. He wished he could turn off his thoughts about Riley as easily. What was he supposed to do about that?
Chapter Five
Her brother finallyreturned her call on Friday as Riley and Dylan drove away from Bozeman airport. It was nearly four o’clock, and Dylan’s eyes were drooping. Three hours weren’t that bad for a flight, but the hour-long layover in Seattle made for a long day for a four-year-old. They’d had a quick lunch at the airport before they fetched their rental car.
She’d tried to phone Aiden and Craig before they’d left Portland, but neither had picked up their phones. When they’d landed in Seattle, she’d texted both of them, asking about Aunt Janice, but so far, she hadn’t heard from them.
“Hi, Riley,” Aiden called out. “Sorry, I see you called me and sent a message, I’ve had a busy morning. We’ve been worried—we haven’t heard from you in a while and then two calls and a text on one day.”
“I’ve had a crazy few weeks, but seriously, Aiden, you and Craig should please let me know when Aunt Janice isn’t well. She’d always been so good to us, I’m happy to drop everything to come and help her. Dylan and I have just left Bozeman airport, so we should arrive at her place in about twenty minutes’ time.”
“What? I don’t understand. We saw her earlier in the week and she was fine.”
“She called me last night—she’s definitely ill. She said she’d seen Vivian…” Confused, Riley frowned.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Aiden said, also clearly baffled. “I know she was here to see Vivian yesterday morning, but I as far as I know, she’s not ill. Let me find out what’s going on, though. I’ll meet you at her house.”
Riley stepped on the gas. She was really worried now. Maybe Aunt Janice had had a fever when they’d spoke. What if she’d passed out by now and wasn’t able to contact anyone else?
*
Mitch was drivingback home from school on Friday when he saw his brother-in-law, Aiden, racing down the street in his car toward Janice O’Sullivan’s house.
Had something happened to Janice? She’d seemed fine earlier today when he’d seen her at school.
With a quick look in his rearview mirror, he made a U-turn and followed Aiden. As he parked in front of Janice’s house, Aiden was already getting out of his car.
“Is there a problem?” he asked as he got out of his car. “Has something happened to Janice?”
“I’m not sure,” Aiden said as they walked toward the house. “Riley just phoned. She’s on her way here. She spoke to Aunt Janice last night. According to my sister, our aunt is ill, but…”
At the mention of Riley’s name, Mitch’s heart kicked him in the ribs. “I saw your aunt this morning at school,” Mitch said. “She looked fine then.”
“Well, let’s find out.” Aiden knocked on the door.
