Free Hemlock Veils by Jennie Davenport Page B

morning,” she said, subtly clearing her throat. Eustace gave his crooked smile and turned back to his omelet, his eyes being the only to free Ms. Ashton. There was an air of discomfort about her as she walked forward. Hopefully, that discomfort would take her from Hemlock Veils as quickly as her situation allowed.
    Her eyes flitted about the place and met his own, sticking there ever so briefly before he glanced back at the newspaper. He raised it high, blocking the view—refusing to show any more curiosity than he already had.
    “Good morning,” Regina said. “Sit. I’ll get you something warm.”
    “Thanks,” Ms. Ashton said, and by the rustling of bodies against the vinyl booth across from him, Henry guessed Brian, Taggart, and Eustace were making room for her.
    “Sheriff Taggart tells me you took a walk through the forest this morning,” Brian said. Henry loathed that tone in Brian’s voice, the tone he used on all women worth looking at. Giving in to his curiosity—about why she would take a walk through the forest and whether she would react like the rest of the women Brian involved himself with—Henry lowered the paper, finding Brian leaning close to her.
    She recoiled, but smiled politely. Clearly, Nicole had already become background noise for Brian. And there was no competition. While Nicole probably had to put hours of maintenance into her plastic-looking appearance, Ms. Ashton was a classic beauty. Even Henry allowed himself the realization that she was the most attractive thing Hemlock Veils had seen. In truth, she was the most beautiful woman Henry had seen in too many years to remember, maybe even ever. Her hair, the color of rich soil, had been the first thing he’d noticed when she’d walked through the door. It fell onto the shoulders of her wool sweater in gentle waves and somehow accented her eyes, which were striking beyond description. Her every facial feature seemed carefully crafted by the Maker Regina frequently spoke of. Even the outline of her face and the narrowness of her nose—mousy, but in a charming way—were exquisitely shaped. He imagined little effort went into her appearance, but beauty could be deceiving. In his experience, it always was. It wasn’t often he admired women, not like he used to, and he stopped himself now.
    Regina placed a mug of coffee before Ms. Ashton, one of her best he could see, since it had no chips, and Ms. Ashton smiled a gracious smile, one that made Brian scoot a little closer. She glanced only at the mug, placing her hands around it as steam rose to meet her face.
    “I lost something out there last night,” she said in answer to Brian’s question.
    “Lost something?”
    “Mind your own damn business, Brian,” Eustace said, his dentures mangling a poor straw.
    Ms. Ashton smiled. “It’s okay. It was a necklace,” she said at Brian. “A locket.”
    Brian’s eyes feigned sympathy. “I hope you found it.”
    “I did, thank you.” This surprised Henry.
    Brian inched closer. “I’m real sorry, Beth, for what you went through. It must be hard being thrown into such an awful nightmare.” He touched her arm, delicately, and slowed his voice. “It can be a tough pill to swallow, and if you ever need anything…”
    Nicole rolled her eyes and Henry fought the desire to do so himself.
    Ms. Ashton pulled her arm away, smiling that polite and stunning smile only briefly. “It was nothing. I appreciate all the concern, really, but I mean it when I say I’m fine.” She looked at everyone else to convey her meaning, as though the sympathy irked her. Perhaps it did. She seemed just that: fine. Unaffected.
    “I believe it,” Taggart said as he shook his head, bringing his coffee to his mustache-covered mouth. “Any woman sane enough to be scared after an encounter like that wouldn’t have the mind to go wandering through the forest again.” It wasn’t difficult to see he had already developed a soft spot for her. Her fearlessness