“Who were you expecting to send them?”
“Nobody in particular. But I thought some poor soul might remember me. I can’t believe Derwood never called.”
“You hated him.”
“Not for long.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t gotten any deliveries yet either.”
“Los Angeles is three hours behind Hartford. You’ve still got time.”
“Kit, I just got back from lunch. It’s two o’clock. If I was going to get anything, I would have gotten it by now.” Regan reached over and picked up the mail off the floor that had been dropped in the slot while she was out.
“The only thing good is that today is the end of the Bermuda Triangle. We’re safe for the next ten months. Regan? Regan?”
Regan, who’d been shuffling through the mail, ripped open an envelope. “Hmmm? Just a second.”
“Reilly, if I think you’re bored talking to me, then I’m really dead.”
“No, Kit!” Regan exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I have in front of me!”
“A card from Stewart.”
“No! It’s an invitation to Geraldine and Angus’s wedding! With a special note from Geraldine!”
“Oh God, now I’m really depressed. What does it say?”
Dear Regan,
Life really couldn’t be more wonderful. Angus and I have decided to seal our love after all these years and get married next month. At our age, we don’t think long engagements are a great idea.
We certainly hope that you and your parents and Kit and Sam and Kendra will be able to make it. But I know that Kendra is doing so well in that play in New York, she probably won’t be able to come. We’ll have to send her pictures, I guess.
And can you believe it, thinking back to the first day I met you, that the reception will of course be at Louis’s place? He’s a real star here in Aspen now. Angus and I bring the twins down there several nights a week for dinner. Louis has a special table he keeps for us because it’s so hard to get a reservation there!
Eben’s fine. He loves working for Kendra and is so glad she let him keep the job and even gave him permission to live in the guest suite when they’re not there. But he made me put a hot tub out back here so there’d be one for when he comes over! I must admit that Angus and I love soaking our bones in that gurgling water.
And Bessie loves her new apartment. I couldn’t stand the thought of her going back to New York with the Grants. After all this time apart, I wanted us to be as close as possible and make the most of the rest of our lives together. So we got her a place in town and she’s got a good job with the Rescue Aspen’s Past Association, overseeing the room dedicated to Pop-Pop, her Great-Pop-Pop. I think she’s a little bossy with them but I guess she comes by it honestly. She was in charge of cleaning all the junk that came out of my barn for the museum. You should see the shine on those spittoons!
So, Regan, after all these years I have a family! How can I ever thank you for your part in saving my children? And Angus and I are so happy together. Who would have thought that at my age I would have found again this most wonderful man? It can happen! We really hope you’ll be able to share with us our special day. The ski slopes will still be open too!
Let me hear from you.
Love,
Geraldine
Regan paused. There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Kit, are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
“Arithmetic. Geraldine is getting married for the first time at seventy-five. If we follow in her footsteps, that means another forty-five years.”
“It’ll fly by.”
“I don’t think I can live through forty-five more Bermuda Triangles.”
“Sure you can. I’ll throw you a shower when you and Derwood are reunited in the year 2040.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
The phone beeped in Regan’s ear. “Hold on, Kit.”Regan pressed the clicker. “Hello.”
“Regan, it’s Lar!”
“Hi, Larry! I’m talking to Kit on the other line. Can I call you back?”
“Sure. But tell Kit she has to come to Aspen for the World Cup Weekend in March. It’s the first weekend. There’ll be lots of guys I’ll introduce you both to.”
“That’s the weekend Geraldine and Angus are getting married!”
“They are! What’s the rush?”
“It’s called love. I’ll call you back.” Regan got back to Kit. “That was Larry. He’ll be out in Aspen the weekend of the wedding. It’s the World Cup. You’re going to come, aren’t you?”
“Sure,” Kit said. “Why not? After all, I think I’ll make each minute of the next forty-five years count.” She laughed. “Hey, Regan, do you think Geraldine will throw a bouquet?”
“Are you kidding? She’ll fire it into the crowd.” Regan laughed. “But don’t stand next to Bessie!”
BOOKS BY CAROL HIGGINS CLARK
Decked
Snagged
Iced
Twanged
Fleeced
Jinxed
Popped
Burned
Hitched
Laced
Deck the Halls (with Mary Higgins Clark)
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping (with Mary Higgins Clark)
The Christmas Thief (with Mary Higgins Clark)
Santa Cruise (with Mary Higgins Clark)
PRAISE FOR CAROL HIGGINS CLARK AND
ICED
“Carol Higgins Clark has created some delightful characters who frolic through her well-crafted stories, creating humor and satisfying reading in the midst of mystery and mayhem.”
—Chattanooga Times
“Fun and frolic! Clark has penned a frothy… funny story of art theft and kidnapping in that winter playground of the rich, Aspen.”
—Princeton Times
“Clark writes with skill and humor.”
—Miami Herald
“Clark writes with great dialogue for her idiosyncratic but loveable characters.”
—San Antonio Express-News
“A nimble and entertaining writer.”
—Topeka Capital-Journal
“A superb mystery writer… Shades of Nick and Nora and the other greats of the stylish thirties and forties.”
—Washington Times
Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Preface
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter 1: Aspen
Chapter 2: Summit, New Jersey
Chapter 3: New York City
Chapter 4: Summit, New Jersey
Chapter 5: Aspen
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
&
nbsp; Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Epilogue
Books by Carol Higgins Clark
Praise for Carol Higgins Clark and Iced
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 1995 by Carol Higgins Clark
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Grand Central Publishing
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First e-book edition: June 1996
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ISBN 978-0-446-53713-1