Fun with Funerals

Chapter One

With every passing second, the ferry's throbbing diesel engines drew Alicia Highmere closer to her childhood home, Highmere House. Possibly, for the last time.
In the gathering twilight, she caught only meagre glimpses of the three-story sandstone monstrosity among the trees. As the vessel traveled down the coastline, the slate roof, darkened to black by the misty rain, was only partially visible.
The ten-acre property had grown even more wild and uncontrolled over the past weeks. Logically, something should be done about the over-growth, but her mother never allowed it. Was it Olivia Frost-Highmere's intention to obliterate their old home from current memory? The thought wasn't a shock if it were true.
Alicia wasn't exactly sure how she felt about going back, especially now. There would always be a thread that tied her to the old place, no matter what happened in the next few days. Past images of her life in the house surfaced. Some were not pleasant and those she pushed aside.
"Alicia, are you cold?" Bryce's words pierced the steady noise of the boat engines and the churning water.
He woke her out of the light trance she'd fallen into while staring across the open expanse of Sansum Narrows, the body of water that separated Salt Spring Island from Vancouver Island.
She blinked, and only then did Alicia feel the slice of the November wind against her cheeks. She turned to face her driver. "Yes, a bit," she said and opened stiff fingers to let go of the metal railing. It didn't matter her hands were encased in soft leather gloves. The cold was generated from within, not by the elements.
Bryce's dark brown eyes held hers as he stood by the driver's side door. The silver-grey Bentley, its surface beaded with cold rain, would be warm inside. So too, was his gaze.
As always, in this typical Pacific Northwest weather, Bryce wore a sensible black trench coat. And yet his head was bare. Moisture frosted the tight black curls of Bryce's short-cropped hair.

The design and colour of Bryce's overcoat made his large shoulders appear broader and there was something about the man's bearing which inspired confidence and security, literally. His sheer presence made Alicia feel safe. She was glad he would be with her through the difficult days to come.
"We'll be disembarking in about ten minutes. It might be best to return to the car now." To prod her further, he opened the rear passenger door.
"Thank you," Alicia gave him a small smile. She stepped away from the railing and climbed stiffly into the car. As she passed by him, she noted black stubble coated the dark skin of his firm jaw and found it not unattractive. Bryce wouldn't have found time to shave. It had been a long day of travelling.
Alicia firmly shifted her focus away from the handsome man who was also her bodyguard. She kept the 'mother hen' remark she was tempted to use, to herself. He was only trying to look after her and do his job. Do not make this personal she reminded herself as she settled into the back seat.
Bryce Graham had been in his position for mere weeks. Had he really been with her so short a time? It felt like he'd always been there, he fit so easily into her life.
With her door firmly closed, he opened his, and slid behind the wheel. Their eyes met briefly in the rear-view mirror. She knew he was checking her position, ensuring he could see her while he drove.
Bryce's specialized security training was showing again, but she wouldn't tease the man about this either. She was glad he took his job so seriously and now was not the right time to joke...about anything.
He was the silver lining in all of this. Last month, an incident with a would-be mugger in the parking garage at her water-front condo reinforced her reliance on the man. Even though he assured her that event was unrelated to the previous 'accident', the foiled robbery had still been disturbing for her.
The previous accident had spurred her to hire a bodyguard in the first place, and once Bryce was on the job, the number of threatening messages had decreased, which was an improvement, even if the emails hadn't stopped all together.
At least she no longer had to deal with any of the messages since she hired Bryce. As head of security, he handled all those duties. With his ongoing investigation into the source, she trusted he would soon put an end to all the threats. In the meantime, his steady presence made her breathe easier.
Alicia looked down as she stripped off the autumn-brown gloves. She must attempt to get a handle on her black mood. Wallowing wouldn't help.
The gloves she laid next to her matching purse on the tan leather upholstery. As always, the briefcase which contained her computer was her constant companion. It too, lay on the seat beside her.
Offers and contracts were sitting in her email from legal. She should review the documents from Wu Abernathy and his team but couldn't summon the energy. Best to get the reason for this last ferry ride of the day out of the way first. There would be plenty of time in the evening for paperwork. It wasn't like she slept anyway.
Alicia flipped down the mirror in the back of the driver's headrest and took a quick look at her short hair. The brown shot with silver strands curled smoothly around and behind her ears. Damp, but not terribly wind-blown and passible as tidy. But there was nothing she could do about the white tension around her dark eyes.
In another twenty minutes they would be arriving at the tiny funeral home where Alicia's mother would be laid out. She took a steadying breath.