It just wasn’t real before, but now with the ticket tucked in his pocket, he knew it was the right thing to do. He walked towards the park that was near his office. As he was walking through it, he realized that Lily was sitting on a bench. She looked as if she had been crying. His heart wrenched in his chest as he went to sit next to her. “Lily, what’s wrong?” he asked, as he went to grab her hands. “Why are you crying.”

  “No reason,” she said, as she wiped the tears away from her face. “I just had some decisions I had to make,” she said, as she looked up at Colin. “I settled on a date.”

  Colin felt his stomach drop. “Oh, that is wonderful,” he said, trying to make his voice sound even. “When did you decide?”

  “It will be in March of next year,” she whispered. “It gives me several months to prepare. Or for Iva to prepare.”

  I’ll be gone by then, Colin thought to himself. Then he wouldn’t have to see her marry someone else. “But shouldn’t it be a joyous occasion? I don’t understand why you are so sad?”

  Lily sighed. “It’s nothing,” she said as she looked up at him. “It’s getting late. We should get back to the office.” She started to get up from the bench, but Colin took her hand.

  “I have some news too,” he said, leading her back to sit down next to him. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes. He could feel the words form in his throat but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

  “What is it?” Lily asked, after a few moments of silence.

  She deserved to know. He had to tell her, before she tried to show up to work and there was someone else there. “I’ve decided to sell the practice,” he said.

  Lily’s eyes widened. “You are going to sell the practice? But you worked so hard!”

  “Yes, but I’ve realized that I’m not happy anymore. I need some new scenery. And I’m not going to get that in the city,” he said.

  “You mean, you are leaving?”

  “Yes. I just bought my train ticket. I’m leaving in a weeks’ time.”

  “How long have you been planning this?” Lily looked at him with suspicion.

  Colin wiped his hands on his pants, feeling nervous. “For a while actually, but I started to look for a buyer several month ago. It’s a nice man from New York that has decided to move his wife away from the city. He wants to settle down here, as his son lives here. You’ll like him.”

  “You’ve decided to leave, and you didn’t tell me?” Lily said, her voice volume rising. “You are packing up on a train and leaving? Are you going to return to be here for my wedding?”

  Now it was Colin’s turn to be angry. “Why would I want to be there for that?” he snapped.

  Lily flinched. “Because I thought we were friends. It would be important for you to be there.”

  “I’m not just going to watch you get married to a pretentious social climber.”

  “Nicholai is not a pretentious social climber! He’s only been nice to you, you haven’t given him a chance.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him, Lily. It matters how you feel about him. You are the one marrying him. But now that I’m leaving, you don’t have to worry about what I feel.”

  “But I can’t believe you are going! And you weren’t even going to tell me, were you? I was just going to walk in one day and have someone else in your office?”

  “I told you now,” Colin said, rising from the bench. It was all becoming too much for him. He had said what needed to be said, and now they should be getting back to the office. They were going to make a scene right there in the park if they weren’t careful.

  “Let’s go. We should be heading back to the office.”

  “No, I’m not done talking to you,” Lily said, rising to face him. “Why do you believe I would be comfortable being someone else’s secretary? I work for you, not anyone else.”

  “But this way you can keep your job. I’ve already talked to him and he would love to keep you on as staff. I thought you loved your job?”

  “I only love it because of you,” she said, as tears started to fall down her face. “You are the one that makes it worth it.”

  It was the closest she had ever come to admitting her feelings to him. It made Colin even angrier that she was admitting this now. “What did you think was going to happen? That you were going to marry someone else and keep working for me? And every night you would go home to your loving husband and I wouldn’t think anything of it?”

  “I would have thought you would ask me to go with you!” she shouted at him. “Why don’t you ever think of me?”

  “Lily, you’re getting married. I can’t expect you to go with me.”

  “I would have gone,” she said, putting her hands to her eyes. “You just had to ask me. My sister was right. You can only think of yourself.”

  Colin reached for her hand. “Lily, maybe we should talk about this back at the office.”

  Lily pulled her hand back. “No, there is nothing to talk about. And since it’s inevitable already, I quit.” She turned around and started to walk out of the park, in the opposite direction of the office.

  “You can’t just quit,” Colin said, running after her. “What am I going to do without you?”

  Lily stopped and turned around, pointing her finger at him. “You decided to take this trip without me, so I guess you’ll have to make due.”

  With that, she turned around and walked out of the park. As Colin watched her retreating form, he thought to himself. She didn’t mean it. She’ll be back. Colin started to walk back to the office. In a few days, she will have thought about it and come back. Because she always did.

  Only Colin waited, and she never did come back.

  Chapter 10

  The next day Lily made up her mind to visit Nicholai and settle on a date. She didn’t lie to Colin when she said a date had been decided. She decided. She just hadn’t talked to her groom.

  She could see Nicholai in the window, talking with what appeared to be one to the general managers. She smiled at her handsome future husband before she stepped inside. She waited for him to notice her; when he did, a flash of anger appeared for a moment but disappeared so quickly Lily thought she imagined it. She smiled again.

  Nicholai returned her smile and came rushing over. “My love!” he exclaimed, reaching for her hand and kissing her cheek. “What brings you here?” he asked, as he looked down at what she was carrying and back up to her. His eyes looked concerned.

  “I thought we should decide on a date to get married. The sooner the better.”

  “I am overjoyed.” He picked her up and twirled her around before setting her back on the ground. “What made you decide now?”

  “Nothing in particular. I just thought, why wait any longer?”

  Nicholai didn’t look convinced. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you losing your job, does it?”

  Lily gasped, “Whatever would make you say that?”

  “I ran into Martin and Iva last night. I understand you may be moving out of the dormitory and back into their house?”

  “I haven’t decided.” It was true. Lily had some money put aside, but she would need to economize if she wanted it to last.

  “When were you thinking?”

  Lily thought. “How about a week’s time?”

  “Your sister would never agree to that.”

  “You aren’t marrying my sister.”

  “Yes, but without an income, you need to defer to her and her husband for guidance. A beautiful fall wedding would be lovely. October, perhaps? After the elections?”

  “I was really thinking sooner, like now. Where is this coming from?”

  “You need to curb your independent streak, Lily. It is rather unbecoming.”

  Lily cringed. He had never talked to her like that. “I know exactly why you are pushing this wedding now. It’s because of him,” he said.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said, even though her face was turning a pale shade of red.

  “Tell me then, what is causing this rush?”

  Lily didn’t want to lie to him, so she remained silent.

  “Don’t lie to me and say that is because you now feel the urgency to be married. I know the way you look at him! I thought it was just a crush that you would grow out of. I waited for you Lily. I waited to see if you would finally realize what you had in front of you. But you didn’t. Only now that he is leaving you want to marry me. I won’t be somebody’s leftovers.

  “No, you aren’t understanding it. It’s nothing like that. He’s only my friend.”

  “Then tell me, do you love me? Because I know I love you.”

  Lily looked at Nicholai. He looked so desperate and so in love. And Lily wished that she could feel the same desperate love that he felt for her. Her hesitation was all Nicholai needed. “If you leave, don’t come back.”

  Lily didn’t know what to say. So, she removed the ring from her finger and placed it in his hands. “I may not be in love with you, but I cared for you deeply. I hope one day, you can forgive me.”

  Martin Coates came rushing into the dining room where Iva and Lily were having tea and toast. The children were either down for a nap or having quiet time completing their studies with the governess that Iva hired. The governess was recommended by Mrs. Montgomery, who had taken Iva under her wing. Even thought it was a bit of a stretch to their budget, Iva took her friend’s advice and hired the woman on the spot.

  “You will never believe what happened this morning, my love.”

  Iva put down her toast and looked at her husband. When he didn’t respond she said, “Well are you going to tell me, or just keep standing there?”

  “I apologize for being indelicate, but they found Mrs. Montgomery murdered in the park. Her body was at the end of an alley surrounded by bushes.”

  “An alley?” Lily’s ears perked up. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I was visiting with the Police Chief when the report came in. It appears she was bludgeoned by some object and then strangled.”

  “Oh my, dear,” cried Iva. “Are we safe? Is there a madman in the city?”

  “The Chief assured me this looked like a crime of passion. There is nothing to be worried about.”

  Crime of passion. The words reverberated in Lily’s head. She recalled making eye contact with Mrs. Montgomery and her secret lover in the park. She wondered if she should tell the police what she knew.

  “Poor Mr. Montgomery. I bet he is inconsolable.”

  “Quite right, my dear. He is putting up a reward for the capture of the person who committed this heinous act.” He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. “I need to get going, I am going to be late for a meeting. I just wanted to stop by and let you know.” He kissed his wife’s head and nodded to Lily before departing the room.

  Iva looked at her toast and burst into tears. “My friend has been horribly murdered. What shall I do?”

  Lily sprang up and put her arms around her sister.

  “There, there, Iva. Cry it out.” Lily continued to hold her sister while she wept, all the while wondering who the man was when she saw Mrs. Montgomery in the park.

  Lily went to visit Nicholai at the factory. She felt she needed to see him, especially with the recent finding of Mrs. Montgomery’s body and their argument the day before.

  She entered the office, but he wasn’t there. The factory was completely silent. Peering inside the varnish room, she didn’t see anyone. It was as if the entire factory had the day off. But why was the door unlocked, and why didn’t Nicholai tell her?

  Walking behind the counter she did a quick scan of the papers on his desk and her eyes fell upon a bundle of letters tied with a red ribbon.

  Lily picked them up and quickly scanned through them. Love letters. How fascinating.

  She pulled the first one out and quickly scanned it. Then another. Then a third.

  These were love letters between Nicholai and Mrs. Montgomery.

  My Dearest Selena…

  Lover…

  Your touch…

  Your caress…

  Meet me in the Park…

  I’m only marrying her for the status…

  I miss you…

  I cannot leave my husband…

  I will never love her the way I love you…

  She continued to scan the letters, the words on the last few becoming more evident of the changes she had seen in Nicholai.

  My husband gave you that business loan…

  He cut off my allowance…

  You will pay me in addition to him…

  Don’t make me expose you to the committee...

  Lily’s stomach revolted. She should have paid more attention. Nicholai was being blackmailed. No wonder he was stressed. The mysterious accidents at this factory allowed for more money to come so he could pay both Mrs. Montgomery and her husband.

  She looked for a wastebasket to relieve her aching belly. Noticing the rear office door was slightly ajar she went in.

  The contents of her stomach rebelled on their own as she saw Nicholai hanging from the ceiling beam.

  The police were quick to close the case, citing Mrs. Montgomery’s murder directly to the letters Lily found when visiting Nicholai. It appeared she had been blackmailing him for months. It was Nicholai and her that Lily saw that day in the park.

  Other than the letters, the injuries to her skull were consistent with being struck against a sharp object. The police found hair stuck in the corner of one of the tables in the varnish room along with blood drops. The varnish matched what was found in Mrs. Montgomery’s hair. They surmised she was pushed and then strangled, with her body being dumped in the same place the lovers held their clandestine meetings.

  Mr. Montgomery was inconsolable and angry. Nicholai’s brother stepped up to take over operations at the factory and the political graciousness that was once bestowed upon the elders did not find its way to him.

  In fact, everyone was on edge. It seemed that Mr. Montgomery was pressed on a shakeup in the committee. Iva was honestly worried about what would happen to her family. She let the governess go and started to economize almost immediately.

  If Colin heard about the murder-suicide he didn’t reach out to her. He left without ceremony and Lily didn’t reach out to see him before he departed. It didn’t stop her from watching him from afar as he made the process of moving away. But he never once came by to see her, to let her know he was wrong or offer for her to go with him.

  The day he left Lily moved from the dormitory back into her sister’s house and resumed where her life left off nearly seven years ago.

  Lily received a telegram from Samantha informing her Colin had arrived safely, but not many details. Lily didn’t get any correspondence from Colin.

  Days were filled with taking care of the children and at night she would curl up in bed and cry. She was so afraid of being lonely, especially now when she felt more alone than ever. Even Daniella picked up on her sadness and brought Aunt Lily her favorite dolls to cheer her up.

  Spring turned to Summer, which turned to Autumn. The leaves were finally falling, as Lily walked across the park. It felt like it had been fall already for months; September seemed to bleed into October and dragged right into November. The floor looked like a sea of red and golden browns, crunching under her feet with every step she took. A cold gust of wind brushed through her and she pulled her coat tighter against her chest. She felt her hat falling, she grasped it with her fingers. She let out a sigh.

  Her heart simply ached. It had been nearly six months and still no word from Colin. He must know of her situation by now.

  She finally shared it in her letter to Samantha. Samantha wrote back faithfully, she mentioned Lily’s loss only once. In a short sentence. I am sorry. She would share little anecdotes of the town, how there seemed to be a band of cattle rustlers stealing from the local ranches and occasionally she would pepper in comments about Colin. How Colin was well-liked, and how respected he was. How he even caught the eye of a local widow. When she joyously shared that she and Seth were expecting their first child, Lily bawled like a baby. She didn’t want Samantha to know how deeply she missed Colin, so she tried to keep her letter Colin-free. She also made sure to write about how she was enjoying life and was thinking of going to university to study law.

  Though, in her last letter, it didn’t seem that Samantha was too convinced about the smoke screen Lily had put over her life. She had another question for Lily: “Are you happy?”

  That was a question that Lily fought with for the last past weeks. And if the answer was no, would she ever be happy again?

  Late October, Black Hills

  It was a blustery day as Colin made his way to his office in town. He was still living in the local hotel while he was putting together his office and apartment. The office was located in the town square and had a little apartment at the top of it. Samantha had offered for him to stay with her and Seth for as long as he needed to; he had mulled over the idea but decided that the house would be too crowded with baby Joseph in the house too. It was hard to believe that he had been here nearly nine months. He had hoped his heart would have healed in that time. The ache was dull, but it was still there, a constant reminder of his past.

  He had the future to look forward too, and that future was in the form of Samantha’s baby boy. Her son was the most adorable child he had ever seen; that baby filled him with joy from the moment he first laid eyes on him. It was all the proof he needed to show that Pat and he had done the right thing by initially sending her away. Samantha was starting a nice little family with her new husband. If only Pat could see her now.

  As he stepped closer to the office, he saw there was already someone waiting in front of his door. “Elizabeth, how are you? What are you doing here?” he asked, looking at the beautiful toddler she was holding in her arms.

  “I was hoping to catch you this morning. I have a bit of a favor to ask of you,” she said as Madeline, her little girl, was starting to grab her loose strands of hair. Madeline was actually Elizabeth’s niece; one of the first cases Colin had when he had arrived in Black Hills was to handle her adoption. Elizabeth’s aunt had died during childbirth, leaving Maddie with no family to speak of (at least, no suitable family). Colin was able to help Elizabeth and her new husband Tom become legal parents of Maddie.