THE WORST NOEL: The Juniper Junction Holiday Mystery Series: Book One by Amy M. Reade

Author:Amy M. Reade [Reade, Amy M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-73269-071-4

Chapter 31

The smart thing would have been to act nonchalant, continue washing the mugs, but Lilly froze and Tighe noticed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing. He’s just someone I used to know.”

“Laurel looks just like him.”

The realization that Tighe had probably figured out who Beau was hit Lilly like a fist.

“You think so?” was all she could summon the courage to say.

“Yeah. Is he our father?” Tighe had stopped shuffling and stood still now, staring at Lilly. She couldn’t lie to him and she couldn’t avoid answering the question.

“Yes.” She met his gaze but her voice was barely audible.

“I knew it. Why didn’t you guys say something?”

“That wasn’t the time or the place.”

“Does he live in Juniper Junction?”

“I hope not. He showed up in town recently and I assume he’s not planning to stay.”

“Why’s he here?”

Lilly shrugged. She couldn’t tell her son that Beau wanted to be his father again.

“Where’s he been all this time?”

“You mean, since he left us?”

“Yeah.”

“I asked him the same thing. He said he’s moved around a lot. He goes where the jobs are, it seems.”

“What’s he do?”

“Like I mentioned earlier, he’s a ski instructor. I don’t know what he does when there’s no snow.”

Tighe smiled. “I wondered why you freaked out when Nick said he wants to be a ski instructor.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Yeah. But I don’t blame you. I think he’s a loser.”

“I have to agree with you there, but let’s keep that between us for now. I don’t want to come right out and tell Laurel what I think of him. I’m hoping she’ll come to that realization on her own.”

Tighe nodded. “Hopefully they won’t get married before she realizes it.” He looked up and saw his mother wince at his words. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”

“That’s okay. I know what you mean. I definitely should have done some serious thinking before I married your father. I would have come to the same conclusion as I hope Laurel will.”

“Did Gran like him?”

Lilly grimaced. “She didn’t when we were married, but apparently she thinks he’s just wonderful now.”

“What do you mean?” Tighe had been looking down at his fingernails but Lilly’s mention of his grandmother snapped him to attention. Lilly immediately regretted saying anything.

She tried a breezy approach. “Oh, it’s no big deal. He just stopped by to say hello to her for old time’s sake.”

“And she liked him?” He sounded incredulous.

“She told me she did.”

“I can’t believe he would go see her. Does Uncle Bill know about it?” There was that protectiveness again. Lilly felt another pang of sadness at the thought of her son leaving for college.

“Yes,” she answered, nodding. “As you can imagine, Uncle Bill was not happy to hear about that. He and every other police officer in Juniper Junction has been trying to figure out where Beau’s staying.”

“What was he like?” Tighe asked. The questions were slipping into untested territory for Lilly. She had never said much to the kids about their father except to tell them that he

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