The Best Man to Trust - By Kerry Connor Page 0,24
way downstairs to the office, she checked the phone line. Silence greeted her. It was still dead.
Grimacing, she hung up the phone and headed for the kitchen. She had no idea what time everyone else would be up and expecting breakfast, but at the moment, she could certainly use some coffee.
She wondered if Ellen was awake and working on breakfast. When Meredith had hired her, they’d agreed she would be in the kitchen by six to get started on the meal, but given everything that had happened last night, Meredith wasn’t sure she could count on that or if she even had any reason to.
But when she reached the door, she heard sounds of motion inside the room. She started to push through the door, only to realize at the last second that it might not be Ellen. Pausing, she slowly eased the door open and peered inside.
She exhaled when she spotted Ellen working at the counter, preparing a tray of muffins for the oven.
As soon as Meredith stepped into the room, Ellen jerked her head up. Meredith didn’t miss the way the woman tensed as she looked to see who it was. Or how she relaxed slightly when she saw it was Meredith.
“Good morning,” Meredith said, working up a smile.
“Morning,” Ellen replied with a nod. “I wasn’t sure what time everyone would be up after...everything that happened last night, but I figured I might as well get a start on things.”
“Thank you,” Meredith said. Moving to the island, she set her vase on the countertop. “I know this isn’t what you signed on for. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to quit on the spot and barricade yourself in your room until the police get here.”
“Sounds like it’ll be a while until that happens, and I’ve found it’s best to keep busy as much as possible. Better than sitting around thinking about a killer running around, or trying to find a new job.”
Meredith couldn’t help but frown at the woman’s words. A second later, Ellen looked up and met Meredith’s eyes, a hint of apology in hers.
“I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I have to be realistic, right? There’s not much chance there will be any more weddings here after this.”
Meredith’s heart sank, a rock-hard feeling settling low in her gut. In the middle of all the madness last night, she hadn’t really had time to think about it. Or maybe she just hadn’t wanted to. Hearing Ellen say the words made it impossible to ignore the issue any longer.
The other woman was right, of course. There was likely no chance the wedding business could continue after this. Even if anyone actually would want to hold their wedding here, Meredith doubted she had it in her to try again. Not to mention she would always wonder if someone else would try to take advantage of Sutton Hall’s history to hurt somebody. She couldn’t put anyone at risk again.
A wave of sadness crashed over her. The wedding business was supposed to be her fresh start. When she’d first come here and started making plans, she’d been happier than she’d felt in a long time. She remembered the excitement of those months when she’d first begun preparing the place for guests, all the dreams she’d had of joyous celebrations, of happy couples, happy endings... She’d never imagined how horribly wrong everything would go.
An instant later, she shook off the feeling. A woman had died. That was far worse than her dreams being dashed. She would simply have to move on and start over.
She’d done it before.
If Ellen was at all disappointed by this turn of events, she certainly didn’t show it. “I have to admit, you don’t sound too upset at the idea,” Meredith observed.
The cook gave a little shrug and turned back to the muffins. “Something else I’ve learned over the years—no point being sad over things you can’t control. And I have to say, maybe it is for the best.”
“What do you mean?”
“To have something like this happen at another wedding...maybe there just aren’t supposed to be weddings here. Sure seems that way.”
Meredith frowned. “Did you feel that way before?”
Ellen hesitated for a moment before admitting, “I thought about it. Most folks around here did. Can’t really blame us, can you?”
“Then why did you want to work here?”
“A job’s a job. And who could have thought something this terrible would happen again?”
Indeed. The woman’s attitude made sense, but Meredith couldn’t help but be a little bothered by