it was a long time ago. How did it start? How did the woman die?"
"It apparently started with a lit cigarette in the sofa."
"And Mark was there?"
"No. Mark, his wife, and his son were away that weekend."
"Oh. Well, where did you hear this?"
"It doesn't matter. It's concerning to me that he never told you about it."
"Well, he hasn't told me everything about his past, so it's not that concerning to me. I mean, it's very sad that a woman died, but I don't understand why you and I are talking about it. There are things that have happened to me that I haven't told Mark about." She paused. "You've been digging into his life, haven't you?"
"Yes. He showed up out of nowhere and he's been very aggressive in getting reacquainted with you."
"We're catching up, Keira. We mostly talk about high school and friends we remember from the past. Or we talk about our kids or what we've been doing the last ten years. But our former spouses have not been a real topic of conversation. Is that it? Is that all you have?"
"No, it's not all. The nanny's sister, Mandy, has posted a lot of things about the fire and the loss of her sister online. She talks about someone needing to pay. And I believe she's referring to Mark."
"Why would Mark have to pay for a fire that started when he wasn't home?"
"I don't know, but Mandy is here in town. Dante saw her arguing with Mark in the parking garage at the rehab center, and Lizzie told me that a red-haired woman stopped by the inn yesterday and made some cryptic accusations about needing to be careful around Mark, because he's unpredictable. If you put all the pieces together, Mark could be in some sort of trouble, and I don't want you caught in the middle of it."
"A red-haired woman," her mother mused. "I saw a woman with red hair sitting in her car outside the house today when Lois and I came back from church. She had the windows down and she gave us a funny look, but after we got out of the car and went into the house, she drove off."
She didn't like the idea that Mandy had been here at the house. "You need to talk to Mark about this woman."
"I don't want to pry into Mark's life. It's not my business. He's entitled to his privacy."
"What if he's involved with this woman? What if he's not as single as he claims to be? And the fact that this woman came here to your house makes me uncomfortable."
"She wasn't doing anything. She was just in her car, and you don't know if it was the same woman."
"I can show you a picture."
Her mother held up her hand. "Keira, I appreciate that you want to protect me. But I trust Mark, and if there's something for me to know, he'll tell me."
She blew out a breath of frustration. "Mom, you need to trust me more than Mark."
"Well, of course I trust you, Keira. But you've been suspicious of Mark from the start. I think you've gotten so used to taking care of me that you don't realize I'm better now. I can make decisions for myself. My mind is clear."
"I'm glad, Mom. But you can be blinded by love even when your brain is clear."
"I know I've made mistakes about men and romantic relationships, but I'm a different woman now. Mark is someone I knew and loved a long time ago. It's not like I picked him off the street. Can't you just give him a chance?"
"I'd be more willing to do that if this angry woman wasn't hanging around."
"All right. I'll talk to Mark about her. But I don't want you to bring her up tonight. Mark wants to get to know you, and that won't happen if we start off with accusations. Can we have a nice dinner and then I'll talk to him tomorrow?"
"All right," she reluctantly agreed. "I won't bring her up tonight."
"Thank you. Now, I'm going to take a shower and change. You should do the same. Put on something pretty for Dante," her mom added with a smile.
She rolled her eyes, but she did follow her mother upstairs to change into a short floral dress.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dante felt inexplicably nervous as he rang Keira's doorbell. It wasn't about meeting her mom or talking to Mark. It also wasn't about bringing his brother along to a dinner that could very likely