Page 13 of Speak of the Devil (New Hope 3)

There’s a long pause. She wants me to argue my case. It’s better if I don’t.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Good. You had me stressed for a minute there,” she says. Only Melanie isn’t that good a liar. At least not to me. She wants me on my toes, sure. More so, she also wants to hammer in the importance of commemorating New Hope’s former leaders. This was her baby, after all. The idea that we meet at the founder’s lake house, now the church’s lake house, under the full moon, once a quarter.

“Sorry,” I say. “I know how important it is that we honor them.”

“Mark and Beth Jones, Vanessa. We have to say their names, Vanessa. And my Tom…it’s like you…it’s like you’re just tiptoeing around it. Like I haven’t been widowed. Everyone is forgetting.”

“I’m not. I know how much Tom meant to you. And you left out Dr. Dunn. I still hear stories about his work…”

“Ah, yes. The infamous Dr. Dunn…I miss them all so much.”

They all have one thing in common: they’re founding members of the church who are no more—reminding the rest of us, at least subconsciously, that you can never be too careful. “Me too.”

“Right—so—you won’t mind giving a testimonial?”

My stomach sinks. I hate speaking in public. I can’t come right out and say this. As a founder’s widow, Melanie has seniority. She also happens to be my new sponsor. Which is a New Hope code word for chaperone. Adam’s idea—or at least that’s what she told me. I thought maybe it was Sean’s idea. Maybe her own. She and Adam are lovers, so it’s probably one and the same. I haven’t quite figured it out. But I plan to.

“Ummm…” I don’t know what to tell her. Showing the slightest sign of disrespect is a huge no-no, and there are consequences to letting the church down. Just ask any of the people we’re honoring tonight.

You can’t.

That’s the point.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an excuse at the ready. “Of course, I don’t mind. What am I testifying about?”

“What else?” she gasps. “Where is your head at V?”

“Sorry. With Sean gone, I have a lot on my plate…”

“I wasn’t asking for real. I have my own problems—trying to get a simple answer out of you being one of them. I don’t need to know about yours.”

“Sorry. Yes.” I sigh. “My answer is yes. What do you want me to say?”

“The new vitamins…”

“Oh. It hasn’t been that long.”

“Yeah, but look at you. Look how much you’ve changed.”

I consider tellin

g her how much of this has to do with her lover. But I won’t. There’s plenty of time for that.

Part of me thinks she already knows. Melanie has a way of knowing things.

“Speaking of changes…I have something in the works for the Women’s Alliance.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But, that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Right,” I say, because despite what Melanie thinks, she knows little about the art of suspense.

“Anyway—I’d like you to share how much better the vitamins make you feel. You know, all the changes you’ve experienced as a result.”