Chapter Nine
Luna ate more than she thought she would. And it was fabulous. How Nate could make homemade hummus and tzatziki from the paltry offerings in the kitchen, Luna would never know. He whipped together a Mediterranean dinner fit for a fine dining restaurant.
With her plate clean, and a second glass of wine half empty, Miley was telling a story about Nana and husband number five. “I’m telling you; he was a driver for the mob.”
“He drove a cab.”
“Which was a cover,” Miley insisted.
“It was suspicious,” Luna told Nate. “His name was Joe Chaney. Anytime we came over, he’d have gifts for us. Didn’t matter if it was our birthdays or not.”
“He’s the one that Nana was with when she remodeled the kitchen and her bedroom,” Miley said. “How can a taxi driver afford that?”
“I see your case for a side hustle. But what made you think it was the mob?” Nate asked.
“Nana told us after they split that all of Joe’s friends were Italian. His late-night cab runs were more consistent than Uber drivers at Sea-Tac Airport, only they ran down by the pier. Late at night,” Luna said. “Back when no one was at the pier at night except the homeless.”
Nate leaned in. “Did you ever meet any of Joe’s friends?”
“No. Ash did. On accident.”
Nate’s brow narrowed so Luna explained. “Nana had an open-door policy. We could show up anytime for any reason. But we were living in Auburn so it wasn’t like we could just walk down the street to get here.
Most of the time we’d give Nana a heads-up.
Only that wasn’t the case this time. Ash and our stepdad were fighting so he hitchhiked his way here. ”
“Hitchhiked?” Nate asked. “How old was he?”
“A teenager. I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, Nana was at work.
Joe wasn’t home, Ash let himself in. At some point Joe came home with a big Italian guy dressed in a suit.
Ash heard them talking and came down from his room.
Before they saw him, Ash noticed Joe taking a ‘fat envelope’ from suit guy.
When they realized they had an audience, suit guy got up in Joe’s face.
According to Ash, he acted like he hadn’t seen anything and introduced himself to Joe’s friend.
Joe asked why he was there. Ash said there was trouble at home.
Then suit guy was all . . . ‘What kind of trouble?’ ‘Could he help?’ Joe shut it down and they both left.
Shortly after that, Nana and Joe split. Joe gave her a pretty good chunk of change when he bailed.
” The image of Joe, albeit faded in her mind, made her smile. He gave the best hugs.
Nate’s sharp gaze found hers. “Did Nana ever say what happened that split them up?”
“Irreconcilable differences.” Luna laughed. “That’s what she said about all of them.”
“She bored easily,” Miley chimed in. “It was the hippie in her.”
Luna agreed.
“Did you ever see Joe again?”
“Once. He told me that if I ever needed him, he’d be there. Not that he gave me a phone number or anything.” If he had, so many things might have been different.
“Mafia help comes with strings,” Nate pointed out.
“I’m thinking Nana caught on to that. She was rather fierce about protecting us kids. Since Ash ended up living with Nana for a while, Joe and his friends had to go.”
Nate sat back after taking in the whole story. “You do know I’m going to look up these names, right?”
“What kind of PI would you be if you didn’t?” Luna asked. “I’m sure Joe is gone by now. He’d have to be in his midnineties if he was still alive.”
“We’ll find out,” Nate said. “People with Mafia connections tend to have short lives.”
Miley let out a huge yawn.
“Are we keeping you up?” Luna asked.
“Sorry. Two twelves in a row wipe me out.”
Luna grabbed her plate and started clearing the table. “Dinner was amazing, Nate. Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Miley said. “Anytime you need to practice your culinary skills, we’re here as your test subjects.”
Nate followed them from the kitchen table to the sink. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Miley excused herself after the dishes were done, leaving Luna and Nate alone.
“I can’t believe how late it is. I don’t remember the last time I sat for a two-hour dinner,” Luna admitted.
“But did you forget about your car?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, actually. I can thank you for that.”
He shook his head. “I’m just the new guy you get to share old stories with.”
“You’ve been a good sport about it.”
“Are you kidding? Your grandmother was what made-for-TV series look for. I can’t wait to hear more.”
Luna ran a hand over the back of her neck. “That will have to wait for another time. I’m shot.”
“I look forward to it.”
She started for the stairs. “Ash has clothes here. Sweatpants and a T-shirt will be okay?”
“Perfect.”
Nate followed her.
“The guest room has clean sheets. I’ll make sure there’s a clean towel in the hall bathroom.”
“How about a pillow and a blanket and I’ll crash on the sofa downstairs.”
Luna paused and turned. “What’s wrong with the bed?”
“Nothing. I’d likely hear someone outside that shouldn’t be here if I’m closer to the front door.”
For a minute, Luna forgot why Nate was staying over. “Do you really think someone is out there watching?”
“Did you really think your car would be stolen when you left for Denver?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Good point.”
In Ash’s room Luna turned on the light and stood away from the door. “Find whatever you think will work, I’ll grab the pillow and blanket.”
Nate moved to the closet. “Any chance you have an extra toothbrush hanging around?”
“I’ll grab one.”
“Do you mind if I shower?”
“Of course not.”
Luna set Nate up in the bathroom before finding what she needed to make a bed out of her couch.
The old pipes in the house rattled when Nate turned the water on in the spare bathroom.
Midnight, who had been hiding all evening, now followed Luna around like a puppy.
“Be nice to our guest,” Luna told her cat.
Midnight lifted her nose and walked in between Luna’s feet.
With a clean sheet over the cushions, two pillows, and a blanket, the sofa was as ready as it would ever be.
Lights from a car passing by illuminated the room, drawing Luna to the window.
It was pitch black as rain clouds filled the northwestern sky, blocking out the passing full moon. The thought of the moon made her think of the sage she’d burned in the attic.
That seemed to work for the insurance guy.
Too bad she hadn’t burned some in her car.
The thought made her laugh.
Her car.
Her former car.
She tried to recall any and everything she had in it.
An unopened roadside emergency kit. A blanket and water. Chains. An umbrella, reusable grocery bags . . . maybe a few dollars in change she had on hand for parking meters. Nothing of real value.
Other than the car itself.
“Is anything out there?” Nate asked, catching her staring out the window.
“Rain.”
“Let’s hope that’s all we see tonight.”
It was difficult to not look at what Nate had changed into. Gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt on many men wouldn’t look all that great.
But Nate did seem to have that “hot” factor Miley had talked about. The sweatpants hung on his hips, showing off the curve of his . . .
Luna diverted her eyes.
“It looks like Ash’s clothes worked out.”
If Nate noticed her gawking, he didn’t comment.
“They’re a little big, but yes.”
“My brother spends more time in the gym than the average person,” she told him.
Nate set his pile of clothes along with his gun on the coffee table that Luna had pulled away from the couch to give him more room.
“Is there anything else you need?” she asked.
Nate tilted his head to the side. “A phone charger?”
“Of course, yes.” Luna went into the kitchen and returned with a spare cable.
When she handed it over, Nate’s fingers grazed hers.
An unexpected static snap made both of them flinch.
“I haven’t felt that in a while,” she said.
Nate shook his hand before taking the charger.
“Thank you again.”
“It’s really no problem, Luna. I’m still living out of boxes. This house is a nice change.”
Still, the man hardly knew her, and he certainly wasn’t under any obligation to put his life on hold for the night to babysit her and Miley.
“You already know where everything is in the kitchen. If you need anything . . .”
“I know which room is yours,” he said.
“Right.” She turned away. “Good night, then.”
“Good night.”
“Right,” she said again.
Why were her hands shaking? And why the sudden flutter of nerves?
There’s a stranger sleeping in my house. Shaking and nerves should be expected.
Before heading up the stairs, Luna made sure the front door, mudroom door, and the back door were locked. At the same time, she turned off the lights, leaving only the few night lights plugged in at ankle level.
The sound of Nate settling in offered a bit of solace. If he hadn’t stayed over, Luna would have left lights on and would probably be sleeping on the couch herself.
And do what? she mused. Throw a candlestick at an intruder if one came?
Ash had told her more than once that a shotgun wasn’t a bad thing to have in a home.
For the first time in her adult life, she considered her brother’s suggestion.
How did he get here?
Nate rested against the arm of Luna’s sofa, a pillow under his head and images of the day taking up space in his brain.
There was a lot more to Luna Canning than her accounting skills.
Her life had been anything but boring. And after an evening in the Canning home, Nate understood why Ash would be concerned that a thief might see Luna’s address and come around looking for more.
The house was packed with antiques. Nate was clueless of the value, but that wouldn’t mean a thief didn’t know. Thieves believed big houses meant expensive stuff inside. So even if Nana’s old belongings weren’t worth crap, thieves would turn the place upside down looking for gold.