sympathy had her reaching across the space between them to pat his hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize Laura was still so affected by Aaron’s death.”
That wasn’t entirely true, was it? Well, she’d wondered about it, but she hadn’t known for sure until last night.
“Is that what Laura said?”
The question had a sharp edge that startled Meredith, and she drew back. “She...she didn’t really say anything that made much sense. I just had an impression that she was grieving.”
“For Aaron?” Victor’s jowls still drooped sadly, but his eyes focused on her with laserlike intensity.
“Well, I...” Careful, she told herself. Tread lightly. In addition to his place in a difficult situation, Victor was also one of her most lucrative accounts. “She didn’t actually say that, but of course I know Aaron Mast died there, and that they were close at the time.”
“Yes.” Victor’s gaze dropped, and he contemplated his hands. “Yes, they had a little romance that last summer.”
A little romance. Laura and Aaron would have hotly denied that description, she suspected, sure that theirs was a love that would last a lifetime.
“It does seem odd that Aaron would kill himself, doesn’t it?” she said tentatively.
Victor drew himself back against the sofa cushion. “No one knows for sure that it was suicide. But if it was, it certainly wasn’t Laura’s fault.”
“No, of course not,” she said hastily. “But you know how intense teenagers can be. If she felt she had to break up with him—”
“Laura had nothing to do with it.” Victor’s eyes flashed. “If anyone is saying she did, that person is lying.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she murmured, more than a little startled by his reaction. In company with the rest of Deer Run, she’d always thought Victor a bit inane—diffident and never quite sure of himself, either in regard to his wife or the business he’d inherited.
“Yes, well...” Victor seemed to subside into his usual vacuity. “I suppose it’s possible that Aaron himself realized their relationship would never work. Amish and English isn’t a happy mix.” He stopped, flushing slightly as he obviously remembered that her parents’ had been just such a mixed marriage. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“It’s all right. Believe me, I know my parents’ marriage wasn’t entirely successful.”
Victor fidgeted, as if he’d gotten himself into a situation he didn’t know how to get out of. “If you do remember anything specific that Laura said, please give me a call. Her doctor would find it helpful, I know.”
“Of course I will.” Meredith’s heart twisted for him. Poor Victor. He might seem ineffectual in most areas of his life, but who was she to make a judgment like that? At least Laura had inspired his devotion.
Victor stood. “Thank you, Meredith. I knew I could count on your good sense and your discretion.”
Was that a plea? She had a feeling it was. “You can trust me not to gossip about Laura’s visit to the dam.”
“Thank you,” he said again. He seized her hand quite suddenly and squeezed it, tears forming in his eyes.
Shame flooded through Meredith when she thought of the questions she’d asked Laura. She couldn’t go on like this, creating problems for people who already had enough of their own. She’d have to tell Sarah that finding out more about Aaron’s death was impossible.
* * *
T HE FLOWER BOOTH was a good vantage point from which to watch all the comings and goings at the auction, Meredith realized. She perched on the kitchen stool someone had brought and propped her elbows on the booth’s counter. During the morning rush there’d have been two or more people working, but the auction was in full swing now and she was alone in the booth. Things would pick up later, as people stopped to buy flowers on their way home.
Gawkers and serious bidders alike crowded the auction tent, leaving few customers at the
That wasn’t entirely true, was it? Well, she’d wondered about it, but she hadn’t known for sure until last night.
“Is that what Laura said?”
The question had a sharp edge that startled Meredith, and she drew back. “She...she didn’t really say anything that made much sense. I just had an impression that she was grieving.”
“For Aaron?” Victor’s jowls still drooped sadly, but his eyes focused on her with laserlike intensity.
“Well, I...” Careful, she told herself. Tread lightly. In addition to his place in a difficult situation, Victor was also one of her most lucrative accounts. “She didn’t actually say that, but of course I know Aaron Mast died there, and that they were close at the time.”
“Yes.” Victor’s gaze dropped, and he contemplated his hands. “Yes, they had a little romance that last summer.”
A little romance. Laura and Aaron would have hotly denied that description, she suspected, sure that theirs was a love that would last a lifetime.
“It does seem odd that Aaron would kill himself, doesn’t it?” she said tentatively.
Victor drew himself back against the sofa cushion. “No one knows for sure that it was suicide. But if it was, it certainly wasn’t Laura’s fault.”
“No, of course not,” she said hastily. “But you know how intense teenagers can be. If she felt she had to break up with him—”
“Laura had nothing to do with it.” Victor’s eyes flashed. “If anyone is saying she did, that person is lying.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she murmured, more than a little startled by his reaction. In company with the rest of Deer Run, she’d always thought Victor a bit inane—diffident and never quite sure of himself, either in regard to his wife or the business he’d inherited.
“Yes, well...” Victor seemed to subside into his usual vacuity. “I suppose it’s possible that Aaron himself realized their relationship would never work. Amish and English isn’t a happy mix.” He stopped, flushing slightly as he obviously remembered that her parents’ had been just such a mixed marriage. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“It’s all right. Believe me, I know my parents’ marriage wasn’t entirely successful.”
Victor fidgeted, as if he’d gotten himself into a situation he didn’t know how to get out of. “If you do remember anything specific that Laura said, please give me a call. Her doctor would find it helpful, I know.”
“Of course I will.” Meredith’s heart twisted for him. Poor Victor. He might seem ineffectual in most areas of his life, but who was she to make a judgment like that? At least Laura had inspired his devotion.
Victor stood. “Thank you, Meredith. I knew I could count on your good sense and your discretion.”
Was that a plea? She had a feeling it was. “You can trust me not to gossip about Laura’s visit to the dam.”
“Thank you,” he said again. He seized her hand quite suddenly and squeezed it, tears forming in his eyes.
Shame flooded through Meredith when she thought of the questions she’d asked Laura. She couldn’t go on like this, creating problems for people who already had enough of their own. She’d have to tell Sarah that finding out more about Aaron’s death was impossible.
* * *
T HE FLOWER BOOTH was a good vantage point from which to watch all the comings and goings at the auction, Meredith realized. She perched on the kitchen stool someone had brought and propped her elbows on the booth’s counter. During the morning rush there’d have been two or more people working, but the auction was in full swing now and she was alone in the booth. Things would pick up later, as people stopped to buy flowers on their way home.
Gawkers and serious bidders alike crowded the auction tent, leaving few customers at the
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