14. Chapter 13
Don’t fall for someone not willing to catch you.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hope watched as Tiago and his fiancée (wife? She couldn’t remember) slid into one of the only empty booths along the diner window. She thought she’d seen him earlier when she’d left Chelsea’s office to go over more paperwork.
Now that her head was clearer, she had questions, and her dad’s lawyer had been more than happy to come in on a Sunday. It had surprised her, but the woman had really loved Hank and credited him with her getting and staying sober.
Hearing these kinds of stories about him had shaken her to her foundation, and she wasn’t sure if she liked them or hated them. Maybe a bit of both.
She knew that her mom had fallen for him for a reason and there had been good years, but still. It sucked that she’d never seen the best parts of him. That she had to live with the bad memories and regrets instead.
“Hey hon, what are you in the mood for?” Kim stopped in front of her with a smile.
She’d chosen to sit at the diner counter because most of the booths were full. There was no way she’d be able to get any information with so many people around, but she could eat. “Would you judge me if I said I wanted pie for dinner?”
Kim snickered. “How about pie and ice cream? If I remember correctly, peach is your favorite?”
“You really are a goddess. Yes to peach pie and ice cream—and I’ll take two of the specials, but to go.” She wasn’t sure if Bradford would have time to stop and get something, and she wanted to make sure he ate. He was doing so much for her.
“Got it.”
“I’m going to grab a seat with some friends if that’s okay?”
“Of course, I’ll bring your pie to you.”
She picked up her drink and headed for Tiago’s table. It had been years since she’d seen him, but he looked the same. Even sitting down, he was tall and he had an easy toothpaste-commercial smile as she approached.
She found herself smiling back at him and… “Fleur, right?”
The other woman smiled as wide as Tiago and it was clear to see why the two of them were together.
They both had an easygoing energy. The woman had dark hair, green eyes, and in that moment Hope could see how much she looked like Adalyn.
Though Adalyn had hard edges that Fleur didn’t, they had the same facial features.
“Yes, it’s so nice to see you again. And I really am sorry about your father.”
Throat tight, she nodded. “Thank you. Tiago…are you following me because Bradford asked you to?”
His dark eyes went wide, but before he could answer, Fleur nodded.
“Oh yeah,” Fleur said as she scooped up some of the same peach pie Hope would be devouring in moments. “He said we’d better not let you out of our sight. ”
“Fleur,” Tiago murmured, nudging her gently. “That’s not how this works.”
The other woman shrugged. “I’d be annoyed if you had someone following me, so I’m not going to lie to her.”
Hope grinned as she watched the two of them talk.
Tiago sighed. “We’re just keeping an eye on you. Because of…you know.”
“I do know. And you could have just asked me.” She didn’t mind someone having her back. And the truth was, she was surprised Bradford had been fine when she’d told him she had errands to run. This whole protective thing made way more sense to her.
“That’s literally what I said.” Fleur pointed her fork at Tiago.
Something settled inside her, knowing that Bradford was still looking out for her.
She knew she didn’t deserve him, but… “So have you heard from him?” He’d told her that he had “something to take care of” and that she should have “plausible deniability,” but he’d also hinted at what he was doing. So.
“Yep.” Tiago nodded. “He’s safe.”
“That’s all I’ll get, huh?” She smiled up at Kim as she dropped off the pie and ice cream with a gentle pat on her shoulder.
“Yep.”
“Ah, a man of many words, just like I remember.”
Fleur snort-laughed.
“So when’s the wedding?” Hope figured that was a safe enough topic, and she was right.
They talked about wedding plans and a lot of light things as they ate. And when Kim dropped off the two to-go bags, Hope said, “Feel free to call me if you lose me.”
“Oh, B put a tracker on your car,” Fleur whispered low enough only for their table to hear .
Hope paused in getting up, blinked once at the two of them.
Tiago covered his face for a long moment. “Babe, that’s not how any of this works.”
“Well it’s how I work. We’ve got you. Also…why don’t you just take my number?” Fleur already had her phone out as she was talking. “Or just give me yours and I’ll text you so you know it’s me.”
“Thanks.” Hope rattled off her number quickly, then stood when she saw the sheriff pulling into the parking lot. “I hope to see you both later,” she said, meaning it.
In the parking lot, she smiled at Sheriff Crow as she headed to her car—which was right next to his cruiser.
“Hope,” he said with a tired smile. “I’m just getting off work and had the same idea as you.”
“Us and everyone else.” The parking lot was almost full. She wasn’t sure if that was normal for a Sunday, but figured it was a normal thing every day, considering how good the food was.
He grunted in agreement.
“So…anything new?”
He lifted a shoulder. “He’s out, of course, and it’s up to the prosecutor now whether it goes to trial.”
Yeah, she knew how it worked. Forcing a smile, she said, “Okay, thank you. I’m headed home now. Hopefully I won’t have any more break-ins.” She couldn’t quite keep the tartness out of her voice.
The sheriff glanced around then looked back at her. “I don’t think he’ll bother you again. He’s an asshole,” he murmured. “But his daddy’s got a lot of sway around here. My guess is that he was at your dad’s place for kicks, thinking no one was there. The kid has got rocks in his head.”
Yeah, she wasn’t so sure about that. “He never said who was with him?”
“Nope. ”
“But you know?”
“I can guess,” he finally said.
And clearly he wasn’t going to tell her. It was so damn frustrating. “Okay, well I’ll see you around.”
“You’re staying in town, then?” His eyebrows rose slightly, which made sense.
It wasn’t like she’d spent any time here since she’d split years ago. She lifted a shoulder. “We’ll see what happens.” He wasn’t telling her anything, so she wasn’t telling him shit either. Sure, she understood he had to play politics, but she didn’t have to like it. “Have a good one.”
She waited in the parking lot until Tiago and Fleur paid, then left only once they were in their own vehicle. Might as well make it easy on them to follow her, even if they did have a tracker.
It was clear that the sheriff wasn’t going to do anything about the Killeen family, and she wondered if the rest of the town knew about their exploits.
Which, after this afternoon, she was guessing had to be drugs.
No one had a random bunker in the woods and shoved duffel bags in them if they weren’t doing something shady.
If she hadn’t planned on staying before, she was now. Because this was a mystery she had to solve.