“Shock you about what?” Reede asked as he cut in between them.
“Sophie had some problems just before she arrived in Edilean. Maybe you heard about her nearly being run over and pouring beer over the driver’s head.”
“I heard about it,” Reede mumbled.
“Have you seen Russell?” Sophie asked. “He was there that night so he knows who the man is. I thought I’d ask him.”
“And he couldn’t lie,” Mike said, with barely concealed merriment. “I haven’t seen the preacher, but Roan saw it all, and he’s over there. He’s the Viking. Sara had to order the horns for his helmet from Texas. I’m sure Roan would love to tell you about the man who almost committed a hit-and-run. And, Sophie, if you find the man and want to press charges, let me know. I can arrange it for you. Reede, you don’t look so good. Maybe you better lay off the booze tonight. Ames is calling me, I gotta go.”
Sophie smiled at Mike’s back as he walked away. “He’s a nice man.”
“He has a mean streak in him wider than the Shenandoahs,” Reede said as he took her hand to lead her to the dance floor.
“Why would you say that?” Sophie asked. “He seems—”
“Let’s go talk to that man in the Hobbit costume.”
“I’d rather talk to Rowan.”
“Roan,” Reede said as he led her to the other side of the room. “Roan is a bore and he’ll make a pass at you.”
Sophie didn’t like the proprietary way Reede was treating her and she jerked her hand from his. “And that’s okay because I’m not in a committed relationship,” she said.
Reede halted. “If you think that, then you don’t understand small towns. My mother has already booked the church for you and me.”
His answer was so absurd that she couldn’t help but blink at him. “Do I get to choose my dress?”
Reede’s face was serious. “Yes. And your china pattern, but that’s it. Edilean does the rest.”
“And who chooses the mask you’ll wear?”
At that Reede laughed. “Who would want to see me when I’m beside such beauty as yours?”
She couldn’t top that. “Okay, so no Roan the Viking to be competition. Lead me to the Hobbit. But I warn you that if there are any more gladiators here I’m getting back on the horse.”
“Any more Vikings or gladiators and I’m going to throw you across the horse and ride away. Damned relatives!”
Behind him, Sophie was smiling.
Another hour went by and she was tired and wanted to leave the party. Half the guests had gone home, few of them aware of what had been going on. Since it was after ten and there’d been no explosion, the thief knew his plan wasn’t going to work.
“He must be gone by now,” Sophie said to Reede. They were standing to one side, watching the few couples who were left.
“Mike says they’ve been questioning the two guys they caught and they don’t know where this guy Pete works in Edilean—or even what his real name is. To catch him, they’re going to have to have a lineup that includes every man in town, and even then they probably won’t identify him. They’re saying . . . ” He trailed off.
“Saying what?”
“That they know nothing about a planted bomb and that whoever heard them talking is a liar. Sorry.”
Sophie didn’t want to look at Reede. Once it was found out that she’d stolen the Treeborne cookbook, her credibility would be gone. No identification she made would stand up in court. “I think I’ll go to the restroom,” she said and made her way to the back.
When she got inside, she had to resist the urge to start crying. Since she’d arrived in Edilean it had almost been magic. The outside world was full of men like Carter and the man who’d nearly run over her. But as soon as she’d crossed the town line, it had all changed. She’d entered the enchanted town of Brigadoon, a.k.a. Edilean, where everyone was nice and so honest and open. There’d been the welcome from Dr. Reede’s three employees. The kindness of the other women—they’d almost begged to go to the grocery for Sophie and to run out to buy pillows—had been so welcoming to her, a Newcomer.
And as for Reede, she didn’t know where to begin. He was the sweetest, kindest, most . . . well, heroic man she’d ever met. She’d never believed that there were men like him in the world. No deviousness, no lies, no ulterior motives, just honor and . . . and kisses.
What made Sophie nearly cry was that she didn’t have that same honor. She was a liar and a thief. She’d stolen a book that was the backbone, no, the entire skeletal system, of a major company. Nearly everyone in her hometown worked for Treeborne Foods. Would what Sophie had done put them out of work?
She put her hands on the counter by the sink and her head down as she fought back tears. When the door opened she quickly stood upright and grabbed a paper towel. The woman she’d seen before, dressed as Martha Washington, came in, barely glanced at Sophie, then went into a stall and closed the door.