Free Circumstantial Marriage by Kerry Connor Page A

they’d come all this way. But in the middle of a major story, no one would pay much attention to a couple of hapless newlyweds.
    Audrey understood the reasons, knew perfectly well this wasn’t real. But as she looked into his eyes and smiled and felt his fingers wound through hers, what she felt inside her in response seemed entirely too real indeed.
    She suddenly realized she had been standing there staring into Jason’s eyes for far too long. She didn’t have to fake the embarrassment that rose in her cheeks as she tore her gaze away, looking back at the woman with a self-conscious chuckle. “My great-aunt actually lived in Barrett’s Mill as a child and always talked about how beautiful it was, so when we decided to elope, I talked Ben into coming here for the honeymoon. It never occurred to us that we’d have trouble finding a place to stay.”
    “What’s your great-aunt’s name? Maybe I remember her.”
    “Martha Greer,” Audrey lied without missing a beat.
    The woman seemed to consider the name before slowly shaking her head. “I’m afraid that doesn’t sound familiar.”
    “I’m sure she must have been before your time,” Audrey said. “Anyway, I’m sorry that we bothered you. You have such a lovely place. Thank you for your time though.”
    As she and Jason started to turn away, she held her breath, trying not to get her hopes up.
    “Wait.”
    Audrey’s hopes immediately shot up. When they turned back, the woman was gently biting her lip, apparently deep in thought. “I do have one room,” the woman said hesitantly, after a moment. “It’s in the basement though. It was my son’s when he was a teenager, and we made a space for him that was out of the way of the guests, so he could have some privacy. I normally wouldn’t think of renting it, but it does have its own bathroom, and if you give me an hour or so I’m sure I can get it fixed up real nice for you.”
    “That sounds wonderful,” Jason said with a grin. “Somewhere with some privacy is just what we need. You’re a lifesaver. By the way, I’m Ben Randall and this is my wife, Lila.”
    “Marybeth Kent,” she introduced herself. “Good to meet you. I’m glad to be able to help. Honeymooners shouldn’t have to worry about where they’ll be spending the night. They should be enjoying themselves.” She said the last with a sparkle in her blue eyes, before turning to move behind the front desk.
    Taking in the woman’s friendly smile, Audrey felt a twinge of guilt at having deceived such a kind woman. She did her best to shake off the feeling. Marybeth was being paid for a room she otherwise wouldn’t be. If anything, they were doing her a favor.
    Audrey couldn’t help but wonder why Marybeth hadn’t rented out the room. Even if it wasn’t one she normally would, with rooms in such high demand right now, she could have charged a premium for it. Yet she’d been willing to let it remain empty. Audrey suspected it wasn’t a coincidence that someone who didn’t appear to be a fan of Rich Bridges had let a room go unrented rather than offer it to another reporter or Bridges staffer.
    She studied Marybeth’s smiling face anew, wondering if the woman really disliked Richard Bridges that much and why.
    The questions chased away the last of her guilt.
    They may have had to lie to get the room, but Audrey had a feeling she and Jason were exactly where they needed to be.

    R EVIEWING THE ARCHIVES of the local newspaper had seemed like a good idea when Stone thought of it. If anything had happened involving Bridges the summer before he left for Europe, it may have made the local paper. It seemed like the best place for them to start, at any rate.
    That was before he discovered that each year’s issues were preserved on a single piece of film, then found himself crowded next to Audrey in front of a tiny cubicle containing a projector, trying to scan through the back issues from that summer at the same time.
    They didn’t both