on getting away from where she was that she hadn’t thought too hard about where she was going.
There was a freshness here that seemed more marked than Atlanta. The sky appeared bluer, the clouds punctuating it whiter. The air was cleaner. She swatted at her arm. And holy hell, the mosquitoes were bigger—much bigger.
Stepping into the airstrip office, the scent of wood, coffee and cookies greeted her even before the person at the desk did. The woman stood, a welcoming smile wreathing her face and lighting her eyes. Medium-length blondish-gray hair, blue eyes, mid-to-late fifties, pressed jeans and a flannel shirt trimmed in lace, she had to be Merrilee Swenson, the founder and town mayor. Skye had told Delphi all about Merrilee.
She took Delphi’s hand in hers. “Welcome to Good Riddance, Delphi, where you get to leave behind what ails you. I’m Merrilee.” Yep, she’d known it. “Skye is swamped so she couldn’t be here to meet you. But we’re going to get you over to the clinic right after we get you settled.”
It was impossible not to smile back at this warm woman. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Now, honey, I don’t want you to worry, but there’s been a little snag in getting your cabin ready.” When they’d spoken earlier, she had told her they’d house her in a little cabin near the clinic. “You’ll find that happens here and we just have to go with it. But we should have you in there by next week. In the meantime, you’ll be in one of the rooms upstairs.” At this point, it didn’t matter to Delphi where she stayed. As long as she had a bed and could close the door on the world for a while, she’d be happy. “Right next door, through that door in fact—” she gestured to a door on the right-hand wall “—is Gus’s Restaurant and Bar. We’ll comp your meals until you’re in your own place. We really appreciate you coming here to help us out.”
Merrilee Swenson finally paused to take a breath and Delphi chuckled—really chuckled for what felt like the first time in months. “That all sounds good. I’m glad to be here.” She hadn’t realized just how ready she had been for a change.
Before Merrilee could respond, the back door opened and the group she’d passed on her way out piled into the room, Lars in tow.
Merrilee beamed at him. “Lars, it’s so good to see you again.” She closed the gap and they exchanged a hug.
Merrilee turned to Delphi. “Let’s get you introduced around.”
“Everyone, this is Delphi Reynolds. Delphi’s helping us out for a couple of months while we find a replacement for Nelson’s replacement. And as for this motley crew...” She turned to Delphi. “Of course you’ve met Lars.”
Delphi smiled and nodded but avoided eye contact with the disconcerting man. “Well, this is Liam, his twin.” She touched the shoulder of a man who bore a striking resemblance to Lars, but wasn’t as big and broad. “Liam runs a survival training camp north of here.”
“I’m the older brother by five minutes,” he said with a slight smile and a firm handshake.
Delphi laughed. “I see.” Liam was nice but he wasn’t as handsome—or sexy—as his younger-by-five-minutes brother.
Merrilee indicated the woman at Liam’s side. “And this is Tansy Wellington, the bride-to-be. Tansy’s a love guru.”
Tansy was a petite, curvy brunette with happy eyes behind black-rimmed specs.
“Love guru?” Delphi said, intrigued.
“I write a column, a blog, and my first book just came out. I give relationship advice.”
A day late and a dollar short—she could’ve used some of that half a year ago. Dear Tansy, My boss is obsessed with me. Please advise. Delphi kept her smile firmly affixed. “Wow, impressive.”
“I don’t know about that, but it’s fun. Nice to meet you.” She also had a nice, firm handshake. Handshakes said something about people, at least in Delphi’s book they did.
Merrilee nodded toward a woman with shoulder-length salt-and-pepper hair and glasses. She was even shorter than Tansy. “This is the mother of the groom and my sister-in-law, Janie Reinhardt.”
“It’s actually Dr. Reinhardt. I’m a professor of sociology.” She shook Delphi’s hand as if it was a chore to make contact. “And I prefer Jane.”
“Sorry,” Merrilee said, “I’m just used to—”
“I know my brother insists on using that childish name.”
“Nice to meet you,” Delphi said. So, maybe Lars wasn’t too far wrong about his mother. She certainly wasn’t warm and fuzzy.
“And this is Dirk Swenson, the boys’ cousin,” Merrilee said, continuing the introductions.