I was embarrassed that I'd compelled her to even explain it. If anyone knew about how gossip could get carried away, it was me. Living in Moose River, I'd been subjected to more than my share of rumors. Most of them were harmless, but after awhile, it became tiresome and there were times that I'd wanted to scream at people to mind their own business.

“I understand why people jumped to that conclusion,” Delilah said, the tension slowly seeping out of her shoulders. “He was always here. We spent a lot of time together. Hell, we went drinking together  more than a few times. But he and I laughed about it, the notion of us being a couple.” She smiled ruefully. “I just wished more people believed us when we told them that we were simply friends.” She paused. “And maybe friends is the wrong word. I think I was more like a second mother to Harvey.”

“You mentioned his mother yesterday,” I said. “That she'd be devastated at the news. Was he close to her?”

She shifted in her chair and an uncomfortable look crossed her face. Her lower lip trembled. “He was at one time. I was, too. Kat was my best friend.”

I wasn't sure whether she wanted me to ask more questions or not, so I stayed quiet.

“We grew up together around here, Kat and me,” she said, turning her gaze toward the window. “When she had Harvey, his father left. He was a no-good loser but she thought he'd turn over a new leaf when the baby was born. She came home from the hospital and he was gone. She never heard from him again. So I helped her raise Harvey. He was like my son.”

I nodded, listening. It dawned on me briefly that it was weird how she was just pouring out her life story to me. But then again, she'd just lost someone important to her and seemed desperate to talk about him. If that was what she needed me to do, I was more than willing to listen.

“Kat was a good mom but she wanted him to get out of here when he graduated, to go see the world. She wouldn't let him work during high school—she didn't want him to get trapped into some dead-end job that would make him feel like he couldn't leave.” Her top lip tucked into her bottom lip and she tilted her head to the side, like she was trying to get a better look at something outside the window. “But then he asked me for a summer job.”

A truck honked outside the office and Delilah punched the remote. The gate arm outside rose and the truck crawled past the building, hauling a shiny blue and white speed boat behind it.

“He wanted to stay here,” she continued, her fingers resting on the remote. “He wasn't interested in going to college. This...this was his home. They argued about it and she basically kicked him out, thinking that would force him to go somewhere else.” She sighed. “But he came to me and asked for a job and a place to stay. I tried to get him to go back to Kat, to try and work it out, but he wouldn't. He said he'd tried a hundred times.” Her fingers traced the remote. “I wasn't going to leave him homeless. So I let him use one of the campsites and I hired him to do some maintenance work.”

I leaned against the wall. “And she wasn't happy about that?”

She smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. “No, she was not. She found out three days later and she marched right in here, asking if it was true. I told her it was. Tried to get her to calm down, told her that it wasn't forever, that if he made some money then maybe he'd reconsider and pack up and head out for wherever she wanted him to go.” She shook her head. “But she wasn't having it. She went and found him. He was working on the laundry room, I think. She screamed at him, told him to leave. He dug in and refused. She stormed back here and demanded that I fire him.” She squirmed in the chair. “I couldn't fire him. He was like my own son.” She pulled her fingers away from the remote. “She hasn't spoken to me since.”

Based on her body language, it seemed like she hadn't gotten over losing her best friend and that she still felt badly about it. But she'd been put in a tough situation. I wasn't sure what I would've done, but I tended to think my reaction would have been the same as Delilah's.

“And he just decided to stay?” I asked. “He never left?”

She shook her head. “No. He got a studio in town to live in during the winter. He loved this place,” she told me. “That's what Kat never understood. Harvey loved this place. It's why he took such an interest in running things around here. He wanted it to grow and get on solid footing so it would be here forever. He'd talked about taking it over from me whenever I decided to retire. I used to blow him off because I couldn't even think of the idea of retirement—couldn't afford it, if I'm being honest—but there was no doubt.” She looked at me. “I wrote it into my will that this place was all Harvey's if anything ever happened to me. He loved it more than I do.”

Her eyes drifted to the window again and my heart hurt for her. She'd lost a friend in Kat, a friend in Harvey and, the way she was talking about it, the future of Windy Vista had gone with Harvey, too. Jake and I had mocked the place when we'd gotten there, but now there was nothing funny about it. It meant a lot to plenty of people and it was in jeopardy of disappearing.

“Anyway,” Delilah said, snapping out of her reverie. She lay her hands on the desk. “I didn't mean to bend your ear like that. I'm sure you came down here for some reason other than to have some old woman cry on your shoulder.”

I smiled at her. “I didn't hear an old woman crying on my shoulder. And even if I did, she'd be welcome to do that anytime.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

I nodded. “I did have a question for you, though. When I woke up this morning, there were...visitors on our deck.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Squirrels?” Her expression clouded. “Or bears? We don't usually see them this time of year...”

I swallowed. I hadn't thought about bears. “No,” I said. “Guys.” I told her about our confrontation with Chuck and Jaw.

She frowned when I was finished. “I know those two boneheads. Annoying, but harmless. Nonetheless, they shouldn't have been there. You see them again, feel free to call me or the police. Wouldn't be the first time they've been called to pick those two up.”

“They hang out here?”

“No, not here,” she said, shaking her head. “Harvey would chase them away. But we'd see them in town, just hanging around, doing nothing. Pretty sure the local police are on a first name basis with them.” Her eyes fluttered again. “No, Harvey wouldn't let them stick around here. He took care of that kind of stuff.”

Her gaze moved back to the window and she let out another sigh. This one sounded more like a sob. “All that kind of stuff.”

FOURTEEN

Wayne Hackerman was staring me down.

I'd said goodbye to Delilah and started back up the hill toward the cabin. I had my head down, lost in thought, thinking about my conversation with her. I heard footsteps at the top of the hill and looked up. Hackerman was there, shuffling his way directly toward me.

“Delilah down there?” he growled as he reached me.

I hadn't intended to say anything to him, just hoped to pass by him in silence. “Yes. She's in her office.”

“Good,” he said. He adjusted his sunglasses. “Need to file a formal complaint with her about your husband assaulting me.”

“You know she's not the police, right?”

“Oh, I'll be talking to them, too, little lady,” he told me emphatically. “I got plenty to say to them. Don't you worry.”

I brushed past him. “Well, make sure you let them know that there are lots of people who saw you grab Jake first. Don't forget that part.”

He grunted and halted to a stop. “I think a lotta people need to get their eyes fixed, little lady.”

Every time he said little lady, it was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. I knew Jake had been forced into the altercation with Hackerman, but I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd swung first. Because Hackerman's big mouth was pretty impossible to ignore.