Free The Perfect Bride by Kerry Connor Page A

didn’t try to take Zack?”
    “Carolyn...wasn’t really the mothering type.” Emma lowered her voice. “Truth be told, the main reason she and Ray got married was because she was pregnant, and there wastalk about whether Ray was really Zack’s father.”
    “Did they ever hear from her again?”
    “Not that I ever heard. She never returned to the area, and word never got back about where she ended up.”
    Jillian could understand why Zack was so jaded. Not only had the woman walked away from her commitment to her marriage, her duty as a mother apparently hadn’t meant much to her, either. Itwasn’t surprising he might have issues with women. Ray, too, for that matter.
    “Ray never remarried?” she asked.
    “No. I can’t think of him seeing anyone after Carolyn was gone. He just raised Zack and kept working up there, about near becoming as reclusive as the rest of them.”
    “I get the feeling Zack thinks he’s quite the ladies’ man.”
    Emma smiled wryly. “I think it’s the youngladies in the area who give him that impression. I’m sure you’ve noticed he’s quite handsome. From what I can tell, he’s been able to have his pick of female company, and he’s taken full advantage of that. A real love-’em-and-leave-’em type. I guess he’s more like his mother than his father in that regard. And he’s always been talking about leaving the area, so I guess there’s that, too. He actuallydid move to Boston last year, but he came back a few months ago.”
    That seemed strange, since he didn’t seem all that enthused about working at Sutton Hall. “Why did he come back?”
    “Nobody knows. As much as he likes to talk, he’s been real tight-lipped about that. Guess it didn’t work out for him in the city.”
    This was exactly the kind of stuff Jillian had hoped to learn, insideinformation on the people at Sutton Hall that might help her better understand who they were and what made them tick. It had also come a lot easier than she’d expected.
    Jillian surveyed the librarian carefully, trying to get more of a sense of who she was exactly. Her tone wasn’t exactly gossipy, more matter-of-fact than anything, but she certainly wasn’t sparing many details. “I appreciatethe information, but I have to admit, I’m a little surprised you’re sharing so much about these people’s private lives with a complete stranger.”
    Emma lowered her eyes briefly. “If you’re going to be married there, I suppose it’s only fair you know about the people up there.”
    Jillian frowned, suspicion nudging at the back of her mind. Most people wouldn’t think it was necessary to learnabout the personal lives of the staff handling a wedding. Unless... “I saw your reaction when I told you I was getting married there. Be honest with me. Do you think there’s some reason I shouldn’t?”
    “I wouldn’t say that....”
    Jillian bit back her impatience, wishing the woman would just spit out what she would say. “Tell me, what do you think happened to the woman who died there?”
    Emma hesitated, the pause so noticeable it was almost answer enough. “They said it was an accident,” she said carefully.
    “But what do you think?” Jillian pressed.
    Emma slowly licked her lips, not quite meeting Jillian’s eyes. “It’s just...my husband always said that to live out there, all isolated like that, it’s almost like the folks out there were hiding from the world. And youhave to wonder exactly why it is they’re hiding.... And the idea of that woman just falling from a balcony... It’s kind of hard to imagine.”
    Yes, it is, Jillian thought, anger stirring in her gut.
    “On the other hand, it was a windy night,” Emma conceded. “Being that high up, she could have gotten too close, maybe gotten disoriented. Maybe it was an accident. Without any proof otherwise,the police couldn’t say it wasn’t. I really can’t, either.”
    I can, Jillian thought, more certain than ever.
    Perhaps misreading