Scene of the Crime: Widow Creek

“Face it, Lexie,” he had said. “You’re a little bit weird. It was fun for a while but I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it.”

She’d mentally dug a hole and buried her hopes for happily-ever-after in it and had returned to a social life that involved cyberfriends who didn’t have the capacity to hurt her.

Nick reminded her just a little bit of Michael. Maybe because he was good-looking and seemed to know exactly what she wanted to hear when she wanted to hear it.

The waitress appeared at their table and Nick ordered lasagna while Lexie opted for the manicotti. “Lauren told me the two of you were raised by your father,” he said once the waitress had departed.

She nodded. “Our mom died in a car accident when we were four. Dad was devastated, but he rose to the challenge of raising us.” A pang of grief touched her heart as she thought of her dad. He’d been her rock and she missed him desperately.

“He didn’t remarry?” Nick asked.

“No.” She picked up her water glass and took a drink, then continued, “He told us that mom was his one great love and he had no desire to be with anyone else.”

“Ah, the one arrow theory.”

She looked at him curiously. “One arrow theory?”

“Some people believe that Cupid has one true arrow for everyone. If you’re lucky when that arrow hits you, you’re with your soul mate and you’re together and happy for the rest of your life.”

“That’s a nice theory, but it doesn’t account for Cupid’s misfires,” she said dryly.

His eyes sparkled with a light that threatened to draw her into their depths. “But if you believe in the one arrow theory, Cupid doesn’t misfire, and people often misinterpret and think it’s a real arrow that has struck their heart. I assume from your comment that you haven’t been struck by Cupid’s magic arrow yet.”

Lexie thought about her relationship with Michael. Had she truly been in love with him? She’d certainly thought so at the time, but since their parting of ways, she had become equally certain that Michael hadn’t been her soul mate. In the very depths of her heart, she wasn’t sure there was a soul mate for her on the face of the earth.

“No,” she finally replied. “I don’t think Cupid’s arrow has connected with me.”

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with their orders. The food looked delicious and tasted just as good. “So, you said you grew up in Widow Creek. Have you always ranched?” she asked after enjoying several bites.

“Always,” he replied. “The house where I live was my parents’. They decided to enjoy early retirement in Florida and so I bought the place from them. I thought it would be nice for my kids to be raised in the same house where I’d had such happiness.”

“But you don’t have a wife so I’m assuming there are no children yet.”

His eyes darkened, the twinkling silver lights in the center dousing like candle flames that had been blown out. “I had a wife and almost had a child but then everything exploded apart.”

Lexie stared at him as grief stole over his handsome features. She set down her fork, the food in front of her temporarily forgotten. “What happened?”

For a moment he stared down at his plate as if lost in thought, and when he looked up at her again some of the grief had passed and weariness lined his face. “I was twenty-five when I married my high school sweetheart and we moved to my parents’ ranch to start our lives together. Danielle and I were a perfect couple. I worked the ranch and she worked in the mayor’s office and things were terrific. After a couple of years of marriage we decided it was time to start a family. It took almost three years for Danielle to get pregnant. We were so excited when it finally happened.”

He paused and took a sip of his water. Lexie felt a tightness in her chest. She knew something bad was coming and even though she’d only known him for a day her heart already ached for him.

As he placed his glass back on the table she noticed his fingers trembled slightly. “When Danielle was eight months pregnant she went in for her usual checkup and the doctor couldn’t hear the baby’s heartbeat. The doctor decided she needed to deliver immediately so Danielle was hospitalized and labor was induced. Ten hours later she delivered a beautiful stillborn baby girl.”

Lexie released a small gasp. “I’m so sorry.” She fought the impulse to reach across the table and take his hand in hers. “Did they know what caused it?”

He shook his head. “One of those tragic medical mysteries.” He straightened his shoulders. “Anyway, I took Danielle and we went home to get on with our lives.” He eyed Lexie intently, beseechingly. “She was so depressed, and I tried to do everything in my power to be supportive, but it seemed like no matter what I did or said it was wrong. After six months she told me she needed some space and she moved into an apartment in town.”

“So, you not only lost your child, but your wife as well,” Lexie said, working to speak around the lump in her throat.

He leaned back in the chair and released a deep sigh. “Actually, four months after the separation we began to see each other again.”

For a moment his features lifted and a small smile curved his lips. “It was just like old times and we started talking about a reconciliation. She seemed to have moved past her grief and was ready to start living again.” The smile dropped from his lips. “And then she disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Lexie’s heart slammed into her ribs. Was he implying that there was some sort of connection between his ex-wife and her sister?

“She was gone for three days and during that time I went to Gary Wendall to file a missing persons report.” His eyes darkened with a steely light. “And he basically told me the same thing he told you, that it wasn’t a crime for a grown woman to take off. He also told me that everyone knew Danielle and I had a troubled history and she’d left me and maybe she just didn’t want to be found by me. But I knew something was terribly wrong. Three days later her body was found in a motel room.”

Once again a small gasp escaped Lexie, but before she could say anything he continued. “She had a fatal gunshot wound to her head and it was officially ruled a suicide.”

Lexie searched his face. “But you didn’t believe the official ruling.”