Lily of the Valley in May by Clare Revell Page A

take the way he felt for granted. He was going to savor every moment he had with her.
    Joel led them into the visitor’s center and paid the entrance fee for them. They walked past the shops and café into the country park beyond. They walked across to the observation deck and climbed the steps onto it. If he tried hard, he could even forget DC Blondell standing with them. To give him his due, he did give them a certain amount of privacy, just not as much as Joel would have liked.
    Because, try as he might to blend into the background the cop was a permanent reminder of the danger that plagued them and hung over Faith like a thick black storm cloud.
    The sun shone brightly in the spring sky. Sunlight sparkled off the deep blue water of the river in the distance which rippled and shifted. The hills on the horizon had their crowns of white where the snow had yet to melt on high ground, tapering into the green and purple of the heather. Birds circled overhead, cows grazed over one field, sheep on another.
    “Oh wow!” she gasped.
    Joel smiled. “You like it?”
    “It’s incredible. How often did you come here?”
    “I spent two months here writing my first novel and then also the rewrites and edits. I dread to think how much I spent on entrance fees in the end.”
    “You should have bought an annual pass. You’d have saved a fortune.”
    Faith leaned on the edge of the decking. Her childlike enthusiasm amazed him. She took in every little detail, pointing out things, seeing the same beauty in it as he did. “I can see why you liked to sit up here and write, Joel. It is so beautiful.” Her eyes shone as she looked out at the view.
    Joel grinned. “I love it. Just looking out at that view makes me want to write.” He pointed to a cottage up on the hill side. “See that cottage?”
    Faith gasped. “It’s the baker’s emporium. It’s exactly as I imagined it would be.”
    Joel chuckled. “Yup. I took it from that hillside and threw it directly into my novel.”
    “Did it mind?”
    He shoved his free hand into his pocket. “Well, I didn’t ask it first, but I don’t think it minded. I’ve always wanted to include the park in one of my books, just wasn’t sure how to go about doing it.”
    “Change the name.”
    “Well, yeah, that goes without saying, but the right story line just never came up. This place is far too pretty to have a dark past.”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Just imagine, a dark winter’s night, with a creepy villain, long black greasy hair, smells of curry—”
    “The villain or his hair?” Joel laughed at the way her thoughts jumped.
    Faith poked her tongue out at him. “His hair, of course.”
    “Hmmm, now that begs the question, why did he wash his hair in curry or eat the curry with his hair? In which case, why didn’t he just go wash it after cooking the curry? Or was it the shampoo? In which case the person who invented curry scented shampoo deserves the nasty death heading his way.”
    Faith laughed. “And you said you couldn’t work a plot into it. The mystery of the man with curry scented hair by Paul Darrow …starring the dashing Dirk Shepherd and introducing his new sidekick P.T. Useless. Maybe I should dare you to write it.”
    “Uh huh, maybe I just buy you lunch instead. There’s a great restaurant just next to the river.”
    “Now that sounds good.”
    Joel walked silently until they came to the café. At first he had wondered if it was just physical attraction, but now, was it something more? He had never felt for his wife the way he felt about Faith. He pulled his thoughts up short.
    Faith was no Caroline, and it wasn’t fair to compare one to the other. They were vastly different— worlds apart.
    The only thing they shared was his love, but even that was different for each of them. Joel knew that deep down he’d always love his first wife, no matter how much that love had twisted because of her actions.
    But could he live through another betrayal?
    He glanced at