Page 5 of This Heart
They all turned to me and forced fake smiles. Some might have been genuine, but I wouldn’t have placed a bet on any of them.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to grab James. Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you next week! The mayor will be here to read to us.”
I swore I heard someone whisper, “No, not the mayor.” Luckily, my best friend Harper wasn’t around this time because the mayor was her father.
The women dispersed, and I drew Mary up next to me. “James, have you been introduced to Mary? She’s Jake’s daughter and Hope’s younger sister.”
James smiled at Mary, then turned to me with a confused look on his handsome face. “I know Mary, Aurora. I’ve talked to her before.”
Mary cleared her throat and looked down at the floor. She was a cute little thing with her light brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and soft blue cotton dress that did little to hide her curves.
I laughed, then hit my forehead. “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course, you’ve met. James, did you know Mary works in forensics?”
His brows shot up. “You do?”
Shrugging, Mary nodded. “I did back in New York City. I’ve taken a leave of absence to help Liam.”
“That’s really great of you to do,” James stated.
Mary smiled. “Thank you. My time is up, though, and they told me I have to come back or my position might be filled by someone else.”
I turned to look at her. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah,” Mary said, nervously wringing her hands together. “Liam keeps telling me he’s good and doesn’t need any help, but I’m worried he might not be able to do it on his own. If things were different, I would at least like to have a small place here in Moose Village so I could be close by. My sister asked me to move here before she passed. Actually, she made me promise, but I need a job to do so, Liam pays me, of course, but it’s nothing like what I get paid back in New York.”
I put my hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Mary. Did you say Hope asked you to move here to Moose Village?”
She nodded. “She told me and Liam she didn’t want anyone other than family to watch Winnie.”
My mouth fell open. “That has to be stressful for you, but Liam will be okay and so will Winnie.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I hope so. I hate breaking my promise to her.”
“It was kind of a crazy request from her, Mary,” James stated. “I’m sure it was the disease talking at the end, and she wouldn’t really expect you to honor that promise.”
I nodded.
Mary simply shrugged.
“Well,” I said, unsure of where to take the conversation now. Luckily, James came to my rescue.
“I would love to hear more about what you do, with me being in law enforcement and all. Would you like to grab dinner tonight?” James asked.
Mary and I both looked at him. She wore an expression of utter shock, while I wore a smile. I almost answered for her, but she recovered quickly.
“I would love to.”
James nodded. “Great. I’ll get your number and we can discuss the details.”
I stood there, bouncing my gaze between the two, as if I were watching a tennis match. When they both looked at me, I laughed. “Right! I’ll just leave you two.”
It took everything I had not to sprint back to the counter where Granny was. “Oh my gosh! He asked her to go out to dinner tonight!”
She smiled. “I knew it! I knew he liked her. I could tell.”
Frowning, I asked, “How could you tell?”
“A woman my age just knows these things.”
