"Have any of you spoken to DeAnn lately?” she asked. “With the mess Joseph left us in, I haven't had a chance to follow up with her or her husband. I hope things have settled down."
"I think things are going better for them now,” Aunt Beth said with a glance at Harriet that told her to keep her mouth shut.
"Why didn't you tell her about DeAnn's daughter not being African?” Harriet asked her aunt when Phyllis was back out in the driveway, getting into her car.
"If Joseph has been playing fast and loose with Phyl's business, she's going to have a stroke, literally. I don't want to get her all wound up until we have a better understanding of what actually happened.
"As we've discussed, it could have been a mix-up on the other end, or a simple mistake, or Joseph may be running a scam of some sort. He's been like a son to her, and it's going to kill her if it turns out he's been embezzling or sabotaging the business or I don't know what else."
"Unfortunately, his disappearing act is making the last choice the more likely one,” Mavis said.
"I hate this,” sighed Aunt Beth.
"I do, too,” Mavis agreed.
"I'm glad Phyllis made her quilt,” Harriet said. “I was starting to feel guilty about tricking the Stitches into using Sarah's design. At least this way they'll have one respectable entry."
"I guess that's something,” Aunt Beth agreed. She turned to Mavis. “Shall we go see if your car's ready? I need to check out the sale shelf at Pins and Needles for more fabric to use in the functional dog quilts."
"How many of those quilts have you made?” Harriet asked.
"I've only done six of them, and they need so many more. We have to go to town to get Mavis's car anyway. She left it at the garage on her way here to have the oil changed. It won't take that long, and Aiden should be coming back shortly, in any case. Do you need anything before we go?"
"I don't suppose you'd consider letting me come with you."
"Not a chance."
"Come on, I'm not an invalid. I have a sprained ankle and a sore back, and it's been almost five days."
"No way, and don't even think about going out on your own while we're gone."
"We'll call Aiden,” Mavis added. “We'll tell him you're here waiting for him."
"You guys are mean."
"Okay,” Beth said, ignoring her protest. “You've got your book and your water. You better be right where we left you when we get back."
"I promise, I'll be right here,” Harriet said. “Have fun."
Aunt Beth followed Mavis out the door, locking it when they were outside. Harriet listened for the crunch of tires, indicating they had driven away. She waited another minute before struggling to her feet-well, foot-and picking up her crutches. She went to the connecting door and backed through it into the kitchen. Fred meowed as she entered.
"I'll bet Aunt Beth has had you on a diet, too, huh, big boy?” she said.
She reached into the cupboard below the bar where she kept Fred's kitty treats and, balancing on her good foot, set her crutches aside and extracted a small handful. She'd just bent down to put them in his food dish when she heard a noise that sounded like tapping on glass.
She turned and looked toward her studio. She heard the noise again. It definitely sounded like it was coming from the studio. Fred's ears were upright, and he stared at the connecting door.
"Well, cat, let's go see what's going on,” she said as she picked up her crutches and worked her way back into the studio.
Joseph Marston stood on her porch, tapping on the etched glass of the studio door. She hesitated for a moment then went to open it.
"Joseph,” she said. “There are a lot of people looking for you."
"I know, it's why I waited until everyone was gone before I came to your door. We've probably only got a couple of minutes…"
"Well, come in, then, and let's talk."
"No, I can't come inside. What if someone comes?"
"No one's coming. Come on."
"We're wasting time. We need to talk about what happened."
"Are we talking about what happened at your house? Are you going to tell me why you attacked me?"
"No…I mean, yes…I mean, it's complicated, and I need your help."
"You attacked me, and you want my help? The only help you're getting from me is a nine-one-one call to the police.” She reached for her phone in her pocket then remembered she'd left it on the arm of the gray chair.
"I think you'd better leave,” she said.
He held his hand out toward her. “Please, you have to understand,” he said. Tears glistened in his eyes.
"Is this about the adoptions?” she asked as she looked frantically around for a weapon of any sort.
"You know about the adoptions?"
Before she could answer, they heard the sound of tires at the bottom of her driveway. Joseph turned abruptly and jumped off her porch in one leap, then ran down the opposite end of the driveway as Aiden drove up and parked.
"What are you doing outside?” he called.
"Joseph Marston,” she yelled back. “He was here-he just ran down the other side of the driveway.” She pointed where Joseph had just gone.
Aiden dropped his phone and keys and the paper bag he was carrying and ran in the direction Harriet was pointing. He was gone for a couple of long minutes before returning, this time at a slow trot.
"There's no sign of him,” he said. “He must have gone to the end of the street and into the woods."
Harriet's street terminated at a wooded greenspace that went all the way down the back side of her hill.
"I went down the trail a little way, but he could have gone any direction. If he went off the trail, he could be anywhere. What did he want?"
"I don't know. He said he wanted to talk about what happened at his house, and he said he wanted my help."
"That takes nerve. Why would he think you'd want to help him?"
"No idea. I asked him if it had to do with the adoptions, and he seemed surprised I knew anything about them."
"I'm sure he was. He probably thinks he had a foolproof system going. And for the most part, he did. Whatever scam he's been running has probably been going on for a while-years, maybe.” He picked up the things he'd dropped and came up on the porch. “You're freezing,” he said and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. He picked up the crutches-she had dropped them and not even realized it. She took them and hobbled back into the studio.
"I brought donuts,” he said. “You want some tea or something?"
"I can get it.” She started for the kitchen.
"Whoa, you need to sit down. If your aunt sees you up, she'll kill me."
"She won't see me. Besides, it's got to be bad for my circulation or muscle tone or something to be sitting so much."
"It's probably true it won't hurt you to get up a little bit by now. With my patients, if we can keep them down for twenty-four hours, we consider it a success."
"Glad to know I'd make a good dog."
He gently pulled her into his arms. “I would never compare you to a dog,” he said, and kissed her softly on her lips. “I've missed you."
"Me, too,” she said. “As annoying as you can be, I have missed you, and I don't like it that we were fighting."
"I'm sorry about that,” he said and looked into her eyes. “I really am."
"You've had a lot going on."
"Yeah, but that's just an excuse. I had no right to bite your head off. I've had a lot of time to think while I've been taking care of the hoarded dogs."
"And?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"And…I realized that if I had been you and had seen that woman and that baby, I would've had to at least ask."
She twined her fingers into his silky black hair and pulled his face down to hers for another kiss.
"You're forgiven."
Aiden slid his hands down her back, inadvertently touching the bruised area. She winced.