Free Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) by Elizabeth Rose

Simon for the invoices and books from the business right away. Not after everything she’d just witnessed. Simon seemed to be enjoying running the marina, and his passion showed. He loved this place, there was no denying that. So instead of getting right into her work, she just pretended to be doing something on her laptop. She also busied herself making and drinking coffee all day from the machine she found on a table in the corner, as a courtesy for the tourists at the lake.
    Simon had been busy the rest of the day, taking care of one person after another, from tourists to the lake residents. It seemed like once word got out that Simon was back in town, everyone wanted to stop over to see him. Suddenly, the near empty slips on the docks were filled with boats.
    She loved to see him conversing with the people of Thunder Lake. Though most of the people were just coming to visit, he was a true salesman, not missing an opportunity to sell them bait or new parts for their boats.
    Some of the people who came in were part-time residents of the lake who paid to keep their boats at the marina for the summer. Others just docked and either refueled or bought a soda and hung around to chat. But every one of them knew Simon and his family.
    She sat in the corner with her laptop opened the entire time, but only looked at it when Simon noticed her watching him. She didn’t know the password for the Wi-Fi, and when she’d asked Simon he told her he didn’t even know if there’d be a connection to the Internet in this area. She wasn’t sure if he was just saying that trying to slow her down, or if it was true. But even if they didn’t have the ability to connect online, it didn’t seem to bother anyone. They were all happy and laid back and in no hurry at all.
    An interesting observation, since the only life she knew was one of a big city where people walked around ignoring each other, and everyone was in a hurry. She’d lived in the outskirts of Chicago for the last ten years and still didn’t even know her neighbors. People were not friendly in Chicago the way they were out here in Sweet Water.
    Suddenly, Simon started turning out the lights and closing the windows, and she glanced at her watch to realize that it was already half past nine in the evening.
    “Time to go,” he told her.
    She closed up her laptop and collected her briefcase, meeting him across the room. They were almost out the door when she realized she’d forgotten her purse.
    “Wait! I forgot my purse.” She turned around to go back for it, but his strong hand on her arm stopped her.
    “I’ll get it, Pippa. It’s dark and I don’t want you to trip. Just wait for me out by your car.”
    At first she was going to say something about him calling her Pippa, but she decided not to. He’d told her he wouldn’t call her Pippi, and he hadn’t. And for some odd reason, she liked his little endearment of calling her Pippa instead.
    She loaded her things into the car, and he followed her and hopped into the passenger seat without asking.
    “What are you doing?” she gasped.
    “I was wondering if you’d drop me off at my brother’s house. I didn’t want to call him so late to come get me.”
    “Late? It’s only nine-thirty.”
    “Well, his kids go to bed at nine now on school nights, and they get up very early to do their chores before school. It wasn’t his idea, because he’d let them stay up til midnight, but things are different now that he’s married. Angel is mother to his kids and he likes having her take care of them, so he just goes along with it.”
    “Oh, is he divorced?”
    “No. A widower.”
    “I’m sorry. How did his wife die?” She started up the engine and turned on the headlights.
    “Which one?”
    That caught her by surprise. “Well, how many wives did he have that died?”
    “Two. The first one died from cancer, and the second one was killed.”
    “She was murdered? That’s awful. Did they ever find the