One Summerhill Day (The Summerhill Series Book 1) by Keira Montclair

arise, and I gave them your name as the next of kin. The sergeant I spoke to didn’t know anything about her or the accident. He didn’t remember it, because he wasn’t involved.”
    “Okay. Well…” She nodded her head, then reached up to swipe the tears gathering at her lashes. “Well, at least I know.”
    They ate in silence, and Ryan couldn’t help but worry about her. “Do you want to catch a movie or something when I get off at ten?”
    “No. Thank you, but I think I’d rather be alone tonight.”
    Silence descended again while they both picked at their food. He wanted to respect her need to be alone. He hoped her rejection wasn’t directed at him, but just the situation and the timing.
    “All right.” Ryan said. “I’ll accept that. You probably had a long, tiring day. But I won’t take no for an answer to this next question. How about if I pick you up in the morning and bring you over to the famous Ramsay picnic at the inn on Saturday.”
    “The what?” she grinned.
    “My dad and my stepmom have a picnic every Saturday, summer or winter, rain or shine. They claim it’s the only way they can keep track of all of us. It’s always potluck, but my stepmother is a great cook. Mallory will be there and most of my other siblings. Plus my dad has been asking how you’re doing in the new house.”
    She nodded. “I would like that. Sure. What time?”
    “Can I pick you up around eleven?”
    “Sure. Eleven it is.”
    Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
    ***
    Caitlyn set her phone down and sat staring out of the window overlooking Orenda Lake. It was over. Finally, her marriage to Bruce Dalton was over. She had just finished a conversation with her lawyer, who had informed her that Bruce’s lawyer had accepted the terms of the divorce. Bruce had actually signed the papers. Her lawyer was just waiting to get the papers before it was official.
    She was single again.
    Bruce hadn’t argued the terms of the divorce either, which surprised her. Her lawyer had insisted on a prenuptial agreement, and Bruce had willingly signed it. But the prenup had specifically stated that if Bruce was ever caught cheating, he would receive no settlement or alimony payment—that he would only be entitled to half of what they’d both made while married.
    Bruce hadn’t made much. He had managed a cell phone retail store for half of their marriage, but then he had been fired. He had been job hunting ever since, but he hadn’t found anything. Caitlyn suspected he hadn’t been searching very hard. He had been quite content to stay at home, though he’d refused to do laundry or anything to help her out.
    She had been quite naïve about their marriage. One day, Caitlyn had been sent home early from a twelve-hour shift because they were slow. When she pulled into the driveway at their house, she had wondered why her friend’s car was there, but she’d walked into the house without giving it too much thought. There, in the living room, her best friend from the hospital was on her knees servicing her husband, who sat splayed on their couch. Caitlyn had frozen in the doorway, not knowing what to do or say. What was the proper response to such a sight?
    At least her friend had appeared to experience a little guilt. She had jumped up, grabbed her bra and shirt (her pants were still on), thrown them on, and ran out the door with a trite, “Sorry,” on the way out.
    Bruce hadn’t moved. Instead, he’d actually said, “Oh my God, Caitlyn.”
    She’d stayed at a hotel that night and contacted her lawyer in the morning before leaving for Buffalo. She never wanted to see Bruce Dalton again.
    Caitlyn had offered to give him the house for two reasons. The first was that she never wanted to go back to Philadelphia. The second was that she wanted no part of that house after what she’d witnessed there, after the unhappy life she’d shared there with her sleazeball ex. Since he was unemployed, and