Christmas In Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4) (12 page)

Frannie laughed. “You think I’m a cougar? I suppose I should be flattered that you’d think me capable of such a feat
, but the truth of the matter is, Arnie and I don’t have a physical relationship. We’re just people who have common interests and enjoy spending time together. When we first met he was still getting over his wife’s death and wasn’t really interested in a romance, and I’m not one to date, so we decided to become friends so we would both have someone to see a movie with, or attend social engagements together. ”

“I’
m so sorry.”
Way to put your foot in your mouth, Tj
. “I just assumed.”

“You know what they
say about assuming.” Frannie smiled. “I do understand why you might have gotten the wrong impression, though. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t spend time with men. Ever. I guess when Arnie and I started spending time together, it was natural for people to assume we were dating.”

“So Arnie
. . .” Tj continued, hoping Frannie would realize that she was inquiring about the likelihood that he had killed Bob King.

Frannie hesitated.
“Arnie didn’t kill Bob. He had no motive to do so. I, on the other hand, did have a motive. I’m only telling you this so I can also assure you that I didn’t kill him.”

Tj leaned on the table
behind her. “You knew Bob King?”

“
I not only knew him, I dated him. It was a long time ago and he was going by the name Rupert Kingston then.”

“What happened?”
Tj realized it was none of her business, but she found she couldn’t keep herself from asking.

“
I met Rupert in college. Although I wasn’t looking for a relationship, he was a real charmer, and eventually I decided to take the plunge and give him my heart and body. We ended up living together for two wonderful years.”

“And
then?” Based on the fact that Frannie had never married, Tj suspected the answer to the question would be tragic and almost wished she hadn’t asked.

“And then he graduated and I stil
l had two years left until I received my degree. I loved him so much, and he’d told me many times that he loved me. I expected he’d wait for me to graduate so we could be married, but he didn’t. After graduation he told me that he was going home to spend some time with his family but that he’d come back and we’d build a life together. I waited and waited and waited, but he never contacted me and he never came back. Eventually, I moved to Serenity and got on with my life.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Frannie looked directly at Tj. “I recognized Rupert the moment I arrived at the dinner. I felt so guilty and wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation, so I pretended not to know him. I realized I needed to speak to Bonnie but decided it could wait until after Thanksgiving.”

“I probably would have made the same decision
, but why should you feel guilty?” Tj asked.

“I’m pretty sure the reason
Rupert pursued Bonnie was because of me.”

“You? Do you think he hooked up with her to make you jealous?”

Frannie shook her head. “No, I don’t think it was that. It’s just that Rupert came to Serenity over the summer. I was never so shocked in my life as when he walked in the library door. He claimed he’d been thinking about me and wanted to look me up. He said he missed me, that he had things to explain if I would give him the chance. I may be naive at times, but I wasn’t born yesterday. It was evident to me that the only reason a man might come around after so many years is because he wanted something. I was polite but told him in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t interested in renewing our friendship. He seemed really sad, so I took him to lunch at the Antiquery before I sent him on his way.”

“And he met Bonnie?” Tj asked.

“He didn’t meet her, but he noticed her. Bren was off that day, so Bonnie was covering for her on the floor while Jenna held down the fort in the kitchen. As always, she was friendly and cordial as she took our order. Other than a few pleasantries, we didn’t speak, but Rupert asked me about her and I explained that she co-owned the restaurant and usually worked in the kitchen. I guess it came out that she was a widow. I really didn’t think much about it until I saw Rupert at the dinner and realized that Bonnie’s Bob and my Rupert were the same man. I assume he must have returned to the restaurant as Bob at some point after we shared our meal.”

“So how did this
Rupert, or Bob, or whatever his real name is, get Bonnie to attend that retreat?” Tj wondered.

“I don’t know.
You’ll have to ask her. I will say that Rupert can be very charming and very persuasive. He has a knack for breaking down your defenses and making you trust him. He did it with me, and I can see how he would be successful with Bonnie. If I had to guess, he probably chose women who were inexperienced in the area of dating. He preyed on their desires to form intimate relationships while exploiting their corresponding fear of entering into them.”

Tj sighed. Frannie
was probably right. Bonnie had married early in life, so she never really had the chance to learn the cold, hard facts of the dating game. She’d had a happy marriage and Tj could understand that she might very well be nurturing the desire to replace what she’d lost, while at the same time be hanging on to her fear of doing so.

“I gues
s I will need to talk to Bonnie,” Tj said.

“I think that would be a good idea
, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t share my messy love story with anyone you don’t absolutely have to. The whole thing is beyond embarrassing.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”
Tj’s heart bled for Frannie, but she realized that with Frannie’s confession they were back to square one. If Arnie didn’t kill Bob King, the killer probably was someone she knew and loved.

It appeared the entire town had come out for the tree lighting. Mike
had agreed to bring the family into town in the sleigh he used to provide a genuine backwoods experience for Maggie’s Hideaway guests. Tj sat on the backseat with Jordan, Ashley, and Gracie, while, Mike, Ben, and Rosalie sat in the front. It really was a magical ride into town. Tj, Jordan, and the girls sang carols while light snow drifted down and covered their knit caps. As he always did when the family went for a sleigh ride, Ben made hot chocolate that he handed out in spill-proof cups after everyone was tucked in under a pile of blankets.

Once the family
arrived, Mike tied up the horses well away from the loud noise created by the big crowd. Ashley followed Ben to where Jenna and Dennis were standing with their family, while Rosalie, Jordan, Gracie, and Tj squeezed in behind the people who were already there as best they could. Tj had attended the tree lighting ceremony every year of her life except for one. The year she had missed, she’d snuck away with Hunter for a quick kiss under the moonlight; in spite of their best intentions at the time, they never had made it back to see the giant tree light up the night sky.

“I’ve never ridden in a sleigh before,” Jordan commented
to Gracie, who was perched on his shoulders so she could see over the top of the crowd. “It was really fun. I especially liked the place where the tree branches grew over the trail like a canopy. You’re lucky to live where you get so much snow.”

“It doesn’t snow on your boat?” Gracie asked.
She had one red-mittened hand resting atop Jordan’s head and the other resting comfortably on his shoulder.

“No, not usually,
” Jordan answered. Tj noticed the way he held on carefully to Gracie’s feet, which were dangling across his chest.

“Does Santa come to your boat?” Gracie w
ondered as the town council began to gather around the tree for the official plugging in of the tree.

“No, I’m afraid he doesn’t.”

“How come?”

“Well,” Tj smiled
as Jordan struggled for an answer, “most of the time the boat I’m assigned to is very far out at sea.”

“But Santa has a sleigh,” Gracie reasoned. “He can fly to you and drop stuff off.”

“True.” Jordan was stuck, but Tj didn’t feel inclined to help him out. “But our position in the ocean is usually secret, so Santa doesn’t want to take the risk of being followed. You have to admit there are a lot of people watching out for him on Christmas Eve.”

Gracie thought about
that. “I saw a thing on TV last year where they were tracking Santa’s trip. I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t come to your boat.”

“Exactly. Santa knows that safety is the most important thing.”

“Then it’s good you’re staying with us this year,” Gracie decided. “He comes to the resort every year. Last year he brought me a baby with blond hair, and this year he’s bringing one with brown hair, like me. Ashley wants Santa to bring her a computer,” Gracie continued. “What do you want him to bring you?”

Jordan looked surprised
. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve celebrated Christmas.”

“You don’t
even have Christmas on your boat?”

“Well, we have dinner
, but we’re usually working, so we don’t exchange gifts or do much in the way of celebrating.”

Gracie frowned. “Your mommy and daddy don’t give you stuff?”

“My mom and dad passed away a long time ago, so it’s just me.”

Suddenly
, Tj wanted to cry. Her first order of business next week was going to be to buy Jordan a stocking to hang on the fireplace and gifts to put inside.

“My mommy is dead too,” Gracie informed Jordan. “And my daddy don’t want me and Ashley
, so we came to live with Tj.”

Uh
-oh.
Tj noticed Jordan’s frown at the daddy comment.

“It seems like it worked out okay,” Jordan commented.

“Me and Ash like living with Tj, Papa, and Grandpa. Do you have a grandpa?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”

“You should get one. Papa isn’t our real grandpa, but Tj says he’s like a real grandpa since he loves us so much. I bet if you asked someone you know who loved you a bunch like Papa loves us, they would want to be your grandpa.”

Jordan squeezed Gracie’s
foot. Tj could tell that her innocent statement had really gotten to him. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll think about it.”

“Can we get
more hot cocoa after the choir sings?” Gracie asked Tj.

“Yeah, that sounds good
,” Tj said.

“And can we go see Santa? I want to make sure he knows about my doll.”

“Sure, baby, anything you want.”

“Maybe you should ask Santa for something
, since you aren’t on your boat this year,” Gracie suggested to Jordan. “You can come with me and Ashley.”

Jordan smiled. “I don’t really need much of anything.”

“Christmas isn’t about needing something; it’s about
wanting
something,” Gracie explained. “Tj got a snowboard last year even though she already had one.”

Jordan looked at Tj.

“It’s true,” she replied.

“Oh look
, they’re starting.” Gracie gasped as the choir began to sing and the huge fir tree as well as the gazebo lit up the night sky.

After the choir had finished their set, Mike and Rosalie went for coffee while Ben met up with his friends and Tj and Jordan took Ashley and Gracie to look at the decorated windows along Main Street. While all the windows contained imaginative displays, Tiz the Season, a store selling seasonal goods, tended to be the most extravagant year after year. This year the store’s proprietor had outdone herself, with a fully functioning miniature ski resort all decorated for Christmas displayed in the window.

“Who knew so many people were in need of white lights and tree bulbs
?” Jordan commented as they walked into the crowded store.

“
’Tis the season,” Tj said with a grin. “I want to look for some new decorations for the house. I’m not sure how we did it, but we somehow managed to use the house decorations in the resort lobby.”

“Are we gonna get
the tree this weekend?” Ashley asked.

“I’m hoping we can get it on Sunday
, if the weather holds,” Tj told her.

“Uncle Hunter wants to come with us so he can get one for his house,” Ashley
said.

“Where is Hunter?
” Tj asked. “I saw him talking to you earlier, but he seems to have disappeared.”

“His duck was quacking and then he left.”

Jordan furrowed his brow. “His duck was quacking?”

“Uncle Hu
nter has a duck for a ring tone,” Ashley explained. “He uses it to know when he’s needed at the hospital. He’s a doctor and has to go right away when they call him.”

“I see.
”

“I was thinking that maybe we could decorate the tree using only red and purple decorations this year,” Ashley suggested.