Chapter 16 Hughes
HUGHES
“Good, you brought the ham. Now you need to slice that up into small pieces. Watch the rolls while you’re in here,” Willow’s grandmother tells me when I stomp the snow off my boots at the back door to her house.
“I gotta go clean the bedrooms. The tourists checked out late today, even though they knew I have the party. Willow was supposed to do it. Have you seen her? Where’d she run off to? You didn’t pass her coming from your granny’s house?” Beryl asks.
“Um, I’m not sure,” I lie, still reeling from the kiss and from Willow’s reaction.
Dammit, Taylor Grace. Did she ruin what I had with Willow? And what did I have exactly? I’m pretty sure she likes me—or liked me prior to Taylor Grace kissing me, anyway. Jeez. How did I blow that?
Then I wonder: Did Taylor Grace know Willow was there? Did she kiss me just to make her mad? My sister always liked to say girls were way meaner than boys.
Now I sound like Taylor Grace. Paranoid and crazy. But if she does get that crazy jealous, then maybe Willow’s right. Taylor could have killed Dr. Merriweather out of jealousy.
While I hate to think that I had a murderer right under my nose as a client—I mean, what kind of private eye would I even be?—it’s better than my nana being the murderer. And she’s not making it any easier to think otherwise.
The back door slams open, then there’s Willow, smacking containers of cupcakes down on the counter. Her mouth is a flat line. “You can go. You don’t have to be here.”
“I’m helping with the party,” I remind her, setting down the knife.
“We don’t need your help.”
“Look, we have to talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Her voice has an edge. She shoves past me to wash off pomegranates in the sink.
I grab her arm and push her against the counter, feeling her struggle against me. “Look, Willow. I didn’t kiss Taylor Grace.”
“Are you kidding me, you stupid, lying—”
I grab her other wrist before she can slap me. She glares up at me, fuming.
“I don’t know why I even care. I hope you two are miserable together and she ruins your life and kills you like she did Jonah,” Willow spits.
“Well, damn.”
“And don’t say I’m bad-mouthing your ‘client’”—she makes air quotes—“either, because I have evidence from Hollis.”
I let her jerk out of my grasp.
“Taylor Grace was having an affair with Jonah, and he was going to break up with her,” Willow says in a rush. “I just don’t know how she strung up the body, but she was at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, so she definitely had the opportunity.”
I pull out my phone from my pants pocket and thumb through Taylor’s messages.
Willow’s face goes scarlet when she sees the photos.
“This is what you two are texting about?”
“She barely knew me, and she sent me these photos like thirty minutes after our first meeting. In hindsight, it might have been a red flag. Point is”—I tap on the weights—“she is capable of dragging a body. Jonah doesn’t work out. He’s not that heavy.”
“Glad you’re getting your jollies while working. What a way to multitask. No wonder you like being a PI.” She tries to wiggle out from under me, but I keep her pinned against the cabinets with my hip.
“She can, and—don’t try and run away, I need you to hear this.
We’re working on a case. Focus—Taylor Grace kissed me.
I didn’t kiss her, and I couldn’t very well drop the ham to push her off, could I?
Nana would kill me. But no argument from me—I think Taylor’s crazy, and I hope she did kill Jonah because otherwise…
” I lick my lip and lean down to whisper to her.
She makes a strangled noise.
“I think our grandmothers could maybe, possibly, be guilty as well. Maybe.”
“That’s not—”
I clap a hand to her mouth. “Shh!”
“Our grandmothers couldn’t have killed him. It has to have been Taylor Grace.” Her voice drops at the end. “We will never speak of their potential involvement again. Besides, I live here, and apparently, you’re about to move in here too.”
“Really? So you forgive me for the kiss?” I murmur.
“The assault.”
“She’s just jealous of you.” I smirk down at Willow, trace the curl of hair that has escaped from the messy bun. “Taylor knows I don’t want to kiss her.”
Willow swallows, staring unblinking up at me. “You don’t?”
“Nah.”
“Well, that’s probably a good thing because she gets really upset when you don’t call her by her full name.” Willow licks her lips.
“Yeah, I noticed.” I lean in.
Before I can capture her mouth, there’s whispering and giggling from the doorway.
Willow jumps, banging her forehead into my chin.
“What the—”
Willow follows me as I peer around the corner to see our two elderly grandmothers holding onto each other and grinning like mad.
“Oh, we didn’t mean to interrupt.” Beryl and Nana give each other knowing looks. “Go back to what you’re doing.”
“He was about to kiss her,” Nana crows.
Willow keeps clearing her throat behind me, fussing with her clothes. “I guess we’d better get working on this party.” She looks a little frazzled.
My chest feels too cold now that she’s no longer pressed against me.
“What a wonderful Christmas surprise! Willow’s not going to be a virgin anymore.” Beryl claps her hands.
“You’re a virgin?” I yelp.
“What? No! You are.” She points accusingly.
“No, he’s not. You take that back,” Nana says, jumping to my defense. “You’re not, are you?” she whispers out of the side of her mouth.
“No. I know how this all works.” I gesture awkwardly.
“Wonderful! I’m going to cancel the Airbnb guest I have coming to the carriage house and let you two have an early Christmas—not the big house,” Nana warns me.
“I finally got that rented out. And to think it was a murder that made true love happen.” Nana swoons.
“Jonah being murdered is the best thing to ever happen to us!”