CHAPTER FOUR
After a quick jaunt on the lake, Brody put away the canoe and oars and started back on the trail to his cabin.
From the water, he’d seen the petite brunette cabin manager—Alex—run through the parking area, and wondered if the exercise had improved her mood. He’d already counted her initial greeting as strike one toward his review.
On the positive side, it was a beautiful setting, definitely more serene than Peaceful Dove. His cabin had a few issues, but that was his fault for booking late.
He opened the door and startled at the unexpected sight of Alex, standing smack in the middle of the living room.
“Ahh!” she screamed.
“Why are you yelling? And why are you in my cabin?” he asked calmly when she stopped. “Is there a problem?”
“I run. A lot. I can totally outrun you.” Her eyes darted to the exit.
“Not if I was dead-set on catching you,” he said dryly, closing the door but staying near it.
“I also take karate. I could incapacitate you.”
“Well, that’s just objectively false, but it’s cute you think otherwise.” He folded his arms. “What’s this all about? You’re the one invading my privacy. Why are you threatening me?”
“Fine. Please don’t kill me,” she begged, backing away from him and into the kitchen.
“What? I have no intention of hurting you,” he said, holding up both hands. “Why would you think that?”
She glanced around frantically, finally grabbing a spatula from a canister of cooking utensils, and circling the kitchen island. Was she genuinely scared? Or genuinely crazy?
“Stay back. I’ve called the police.”
“To report your own breaking and entering?” He huffed out a sigh of frustration, his patience wearing thin.
Someone pounded on the door, and she screamed again. Still standing next to the door, he rolled his eyes and opened it. Sure enough, a deputy. Not what Brody expected for podunk law enforcement. This guy was tall, broad, and looked like he could handle himself in any situation.
“Thank goodness,” Brody and Alex said in unison.
“Sheriff Walker,” the man said, introducing himself. “What’s goin’ on here?”
“That tiny crazy person broke into my cabin and is threatening me with a spatula.” Brody pointed to Alex. Which wasn’t necessary. There was only one pint-sized lunatic in the room.
“Alex,” the sheriff said. Of course they knew each other. Small towns were notoriously incestuous. “Why don’t you head on out and let me take care of this?”
Alex skirted around the lawman, glaring at Brody the whole time. “I’ll be right outside if you need me. Be careful, Nick.”
Once she was out of the room, it finally clicked. “She thinks I’m that fugitive, huh?”
The sheriff had one hand on his gun, but Brody got the impression that’s just where he habitually rested it. The rest of his body was relaxed and nonthreatening.
“She did have some pretty good evidence that you might be. No reservation. Paying cash. No ID.”
“Ah, yes,” Brody said. “That would raise suspicion. Especially under the circumstances.”
“She also said you lied about your wallet being stolen.” He raised an eyebrow.
“You mean after she broke in and snooped around?”
“Technically, it’s her place, but yes. If you’re not the felon, who are you?”
“How do you know I’m not the felon?”
Sheriff Walker shrugged. “Just do.”
“Fine.” Brody walked to the island, retrieved his wallet, and handed it to the sheriff. “My name is Brody Collins. I’m a travel writer. I check in under a false name so people don’t know I’m critiquing their property.”
He took a perfunctory glance. “How do you do that when nowadays everyone requires a photo ID and a credit card?”
“I usually book everything online and put a company card on file for the payment stuff. And I actually do have a fake ID that verifies my alias. It’s behind my real license, if you want to take a look.”
The sheriff opened the wallet and pulled out Brody’s IDs. “Kevin McHale. You a Celtics fan?”
Brody nodded.
“So what happened? Why pay in cash today?”
“My assignment, and therefore reservation, was a place called Peaceful Dove.”
“That place is a dump.”
“Which I figured out from the parking lot. Once I bailed, I had to wing it. Found this place online and just showed up. The credit card doesn’t match the McHale name. Online, that never matters, but in person, it would. Just seemed easier to say I didn’t have anything.”
“Sounds like quite a hassle.” He handed the wallet back to Brody.
“It’s important for authenticity. People tend to act differently when a scathing review is on the line.”
The sheriff laughed. “How’s Alex doing so far?”
“Not great,” Brody said, but couldn’t help smiling.
“Don’t be too hard on her. How long you in town?”
Now that Brody was no longer a threat, the typical small-town friendliness was coming out.
“A week. But I’m gonna make a quick trip to NYC on Thursday.”
“Oh yeah, somethin’ special goin’ on?”
“My girlfriend and I are celebrating our one-year anniversary. I’m going to propose.” His jacket hung on a hook near the door, and he reached into the pocket to show off the ring. And to lend credibility to his story.
“Good lookin’ rock. I just took that plunge earlier this year.” He held up his left hand and wiggled a gold-banded ring finger.
“Nice.” Brody felt like he should offer him a beer, but hadn’t hit the grocery store yet. “How’s marriage?”
“Ten out of ten. Highly recommend.”
Brody chuckled. “No offense, but you seem different than most small-town cops I’ve met.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, I grew up here, but left as soon as I could. Lived and worked in Boston for almost ten years. FBI. Got shot and had to come back to recuperate. Fell in love and well, love makes a man do crazy things.”
“Like quit your job and move to the mountains?”
“Exactly like that.”
“Well, Sheriff Walker—”
“Call me Nick.”
“Nick. It’s been nice chatting. Any chance I can convince you to keep my identity from Alex? I’ve still got a job to do, you know?”
“I’ll try, but my wife has a way of getting information out of me. And if she knows, Alex will find out.”
“Fair enough.” Brody sighed. “You think Alex is waiting outside?”
Nick huffed out a laugh. “If I know Alex—and my wife—four women are waiting outside.”
“Four? Why four?”
“Well, there are six of ’em total, but one lives in California and one in New York City, so it’s just the four here in GVF. They’ve been a team since middle school, and it’s sort of a buy-one-get-them-all situation.”
“Team?”
“Their high school basketball team won the state championship several years ago. If you’re in town longer than two days, you’ll likely hear someone mention it.
It was a huge deal for our humble little town.
Anyway, if Alex didn’t call them the minute she cleared the porch, I’ll give you a hundred dollars. ”
“I’ll take that action,” Brody said. “Hard to imagine Alex playing ball. She’s so short.”
Nick laughed. “She’s tiny, but tenacious. Don’t let her size fool you.” There was a light shuffling noise outside the door. He lowered his voice. “Wanna see something funny?”
Brody raised an eyebrow as Nick went to the door and swung it open quickly. Sure enough, four women toppled over the threshold, scrambling to catch themselves from falling.
“Nick!” they all complained at once, attempting to regain their balance. And dignity. They’d obviously been pressed up against the door, eavesdropping.
“Ladies,” Nick said, biting back a laugh.
Alex huffed and placed her hands on slender hips. “I take it he’s not the escaped con?”
“Nope,” Nick said. “Just a poor bearded chap who likes to pay in cash.”
“If you shaved,” Alex said, “you probably wouldn’t look like that guy at all.”
“I’ll make a note,” Brody said.
“Kevin,” Nick said. Brody appreciated the effort to save his alias. “You’ve met Alex, but let me introduce you to my wife, Faith.” He pointed to a tall, pretty blonde.
“Lovely to meet you.” Faith smiled like a newlywed who loved hearing the “wife” title.
“That’s Juliet. She owns a dog kennel outside of town.” Nick nodded to a tall, pretty redhead. “And my sister, Tess. She runs The Outdoor Outpost.” A tall, pretty brunette.
“Wow,” Brody said. “Must be somethin’ in the water ’round here. Feel like I dropped onto Paradise Island.”
Nick and Tess laughed, but the others shared looks of confusion.
“You know,” Tess said to her friends. “Where Wonder Woman was from. The place with all the tall women?”
“Tall, beautiful women,” Brody said. “It was meant as a compliment.”
They gave a polite chuckle.
“Tough crowd,” he muttered.
“Anyway,” Nick said. “Sorry about the misunderstanding. We’ll let you get back to your day.”
“Thanks.” He shook hands with Nick and watched as they headed down the stairs, laughing and ribbing each other.
A slight pang of jealousy hit. Being a nomad made it hard to cultivate friendships. He had acquaintances in all corners of the world, but nothing deep or lasting.
He closed the door and picked up his phone to call Chloe. Alex had warned that the signal was spotty, but it showed two bars. Not bad, but there would be better coverage in town, and he needed some groceries anyway. He grabbed his camera and keys and headed out.
The trees were on the cusp of metamorphosis, a few overachievers already leaning toward yellow and orange. Soon, the mountains would catch fire, creating opportunities for some spectacular pictures. Even if he had to extend his stay a bit, he wasn’t going to miss the New England fall colors.
As he passed under the Whispering Pines sign, his cell signal returned full force, but his call to Chloe went straight to voicemail. He left a message telling her about his change of plans, where he was staying now, and that reaching him might be difficult and why.
Finding downtown was easy, and it was just as he imagined—a real small-town, USA vibe.
He parked and got out, taking pictures here and there.
The century-old courthouse. The mountains towering over the quaint Main Street stores.
An old-fashioned red, white, and blue-striped barber pole.
An elderly man sitting on a park bench feeding birds.
A bookstore caught his eye. And a coffee shop. Both were just what the doctor ordered.
Since screen time wouldn’t be an option for the week, a book seemed like the perfect way to pass the nights. Bells jingled as he entered Page Turners.
“Brody!” Faith greeted. “Long time no see.”
“Hey,” Brody said, bummed his secret was out of the bag already. “Broke Nick down pretty quick, huh? He warned me you had a superpower over him.”
Her tinkly laugh made him smile. “Actually, Alex saw your ID and did an internet search. I guess we could keep pretending you’re Kevin if you want.”
He waved a hand. “Too late for that.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Oh, just looking for a book. Won’t be much else to do at night with no internet.”
“Hah. I knew it. Alex cutting the Wi-Fi is gonna garner so much business for me. I feel like I should offer her a cut.” She winked. “Don’t tell her I said that.”
He made an X over his heart.
“Hey,” she said. “I just had a great idea. Why don’t you come to dinner with us tonight? Nick is always complaining that he’s the only man in our group. I’m sure he’d love some testosterone at the table.”
“Oh, um, sure,” Brody said. They seemed fun, and even if it turned out they weren’t, it would be good to get the locals’ advice on what to do while he was in town. “Thanks.”
“Great. I’m headed out, but if you need anything, Irene’s here, somewhere. Dinner at The Rusty Nail. Seven o’clock.”
“All right. See you later.”
He found a book and checked out, ran into The Rise and Grind for a coffee, then stopped by the Kitchen Kart grocery store for the bare necessities—beer, milk, cereal, and ice cream.
He tried Chloe again, but got voicemail straightaway. Which was weird. She should still be at work.
Back at the cabin, he opened the freezer to put away the ice cream and stopped short.
“What the…?” Who stored knives in the freezer?
He laughed out loud. This had the tiny manager written all over it. He swapped out the knife block with a pint of Rocky Road, re-homed the knives, and shut the freezer.
After putting away the rest of the groceries, he tackled his beard, jumped in the shower, and dressed for dinner.