The woman nodded, sank onto the couch with a soft sigh. Christine took Nate’s hand, led him into the bedroom, and closed the door. “Help me straighten up this mess,” she whispered, pointing to the clothes strewn on the floor and the rumpled bed. “I don’t want her to see this.”

“What the hell came over you?” Nate scanned the room, shook his head. “Looks like a hurricane blasted the place.”

“I was angry at the thought of someone violating my father’s memory.”

Her husband eyed her. “I hope you never get that angry with me; no telling what you’ll do.”

She glared at him. “Will you just help? I’ll put her clothes back in the drawers and you fix the bed.”

“If she comes with us, she’s just going to take the clothes back out again. Wouldn’t it be easier to throw them on the bed and say we decided to help her pack?”

Was he serious? Sometimes it was hard to tell, especially when those lips pulled into a straight line and those dark eyes shut down all signs of emotion. And Nate’s voice gave nothing away either since his tone was usually authoritative and self-assured. If a person didn’t know the man, he could be very intimidating, but right now he was frustrating her. “Of course we can’t do that. I’ll handle the clothes; you put the bed back together.” She checked her watch. “We’ve got five minutes.” A big sigh and another head shake from him as he bent to retrieve the chenille spread and begin the process of remaking the bed.

Before Christine moved to Magdalena, she had drawers filled with all sorts of clothing items, so many that she’d grown quite skilled at folding and organizing and this helped her return Elissa’s drawers to their pre-Christine rage order. Elissa Cerdi was innocent to the ways of manipulators like Gloria and the ex-fiancé, Victor. One day, she’d have her heart crushed and then it would be a long time before she trusted anyone. For now, they could keep her safe in Magdalena until she decided what she wanted to do. What would Uncle Harry say when he realized who she was? No telling, but he’d have a few thoughts on the subject and knowing her uncle, he’d tell Elissa himself. Where would she stay? Nate must have a plan or he wouldn’t have offered.

“Christine? Can you come here for a minute? There’s something I want you to see.”

Dear Reader:

This could have been Elissa Cerdi’s story and one I considered for the first several pages. Her ex-fiancé would be a threat to her, rather than a liar like the one I wrote about who had another fiancée and a baby. In this scenario, Elissa would have to leave the cabin and end up in Magdalena where she’d meet Pete Finnegan, her love interest. He’d protect her once he learned about the dangerous ex. At some point, Victor, the ex-fiancé, would track her down in Magdalena. It would get ugly between Pete and Victor. The town would discover that Elissa had supported Gloria Blacksworth, and even mailed a few of the letters that caused so much trouble for several of the residents.

I didn’t choose this version because I wanted to keep Elissa and Pete at the cabin, and I liked the idea of pretending nothing else existed outside the cabin. That allowed me to write about this couple without outside interference or commentary from the crew in Magdalena!

I hope you enjoyed reading the version I chose as well as this one… I also had yet another possibility that included a boyfriend finding a copy of Gloria Blacksworth’s notebook and deciding that blackmail could get him some easy money…didn’t pick that one either…but it might have been interesting…