Nighthawk's Child

Summer did, indeed, know how the old battle-ax was, but in this particular instance, she couldn’t take offense—not when Lily Mae’s criticism generated just the response she was hoping for.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Meg Reilly said with a frown from the booth where she sat with her soon-to-be stepdaughter, Hope Baxter Kincaid. “Maybe the girl’s just got more sense than most of the folks around here who are so quick to judge. Better yet, maybe all this time everyone’s been mistaken about Gavin. Summer’s smart and kind and nobody’s fool. She wouldn’t go near any man she thought was capable of murder.”

Surprisingly, a few more diners nodded in agreement, but Lily Mae only sniffed in disdain. “You always were a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, Meg, seeing hearts and flowers everywhere you looked. And that’s fine when you’re putting together one of your fancy weddings at your flower shop. But you need to take off the rose-colored glasses when you’re out in the real world. The man’s guilty as sin and we all know it. If Summer can’t see that, she’s the one who’ll pay. If I was one of those aunts of hers, I’d take out a big life insurance policy on her because any day now she could turn up as dead as Christina Montgomery.”

Just last week, practically everyone in the café would have agreed with Lily Mae, but there’d been a subtle shift in attitude over the last couple of days. No one other than Meg spoke up in Gavin’s defense, but more than a few people were frowning in silent disagreement with Lily Mae. Pleased, Summer quietly ordered a chicken salad sandwich.