Chapter 17
The Red Firepot hid along a small walkable alley, which explained why Blake didn’t know of its existence in Nova Cambridge.
Several candles emitting a patchouli scent fluttered from the breeze when he and Paradise stepped onto the tile floors of
the shop. Colorful pottery lined open shelves and display cases throughout the small space. Pottery appeared to be sold here,
not created.
Two women stood at the checkout talking to an older woman with red hair. Paradise nudged him. “That’s the woman who used to
play cards with my mom. What luck!”
“We’ll browse while we wait for her to be free.” He wandered over to a display of blue mugs. “I like these.”
“Me too.” She picked one up and showed him the attached tag. “The owner made them. Trisha Miller. I remember that name now.
Mom called her Trish, and her husband was Wes. He called her Red. Maybe that’s how she came up with the name of the pottery
shop.”
He set the mug back on the shelf. “I don’t think I’ve met her.”
The two women carried their bubble-wrapped pottery out of the store with contented expressions, and Blake headed for the counter with Paradise. “Are you Trisha Miller?”
“Sure am.”
Paradise inched forward with a smile. “I’m Paradise Alden, Becky’s daughter.”
Trisha gasped and came out from behind the counter. “My goodness, no wonder you looked familiar to me when you came in. You
look so much like your mom. She was a great friend, and Wes and I still miss playing euchre with your parents. Those were
great days. I saw the newspaper article about you opening Pawsome Paws. I planned to bring my dog Buster in for a checkup.”
“I’d love to see him.” Paradise fidgeted, then straightened. “How long were you and Mom friends?”
“Gosh, honey, years. We went to high school together. Wes and your daddy played football at USA together.”
The University of South Alabama in Mobile played in NCAA Division I sports, so Granger Alden must have been a good athlete.
And since the couple had been friends for years, Trisha might spill good information for Paradise. Blake kept quiet and let
her lead the conversation, though he itched to pepper Trisha with questions. She might have an idea who killed Paradise’s
parents.
Paradise laced her fingers together. “Then you might know about something I recently discovered. Mom gave up a son for adoption.”
The smile vanished from Trisha’s face. “I’ve never talked about that, and it’s not something I’m comfortable discussing. Your
mom is gone, and there’s no reason to dig up dirt.”
“My parents are dead, Trish, and I have a brother out there. That’s a big deal to me. It’s not dirt on my mom—it’s about finding my family.”
“I promised your mom I wouldn’t talk about it, not ever.” Trisha moved back behind the counter.
“Do you know who adopted my brother? His name is Andrew. If Mom didn’t want anyone to know, why would she keep all the information
in a box? I think she planned to tell me someday.”
“I doubt it. It would be too dangerous.” Trisha’s brown eyes went wide as if she wished she could call back the words.
“Dangerous? To whom?”
The older woman bit her lip. “Your brother’s dad came from money, and talking about it wouldn’t be wise. That’s all I can
say.”
“I don’t have to know who Andrew’s father is—I just want to connect with him. Do you know where he lived growing up? Even
a hint of how to find him would be wonderful.”
“I’m sorry, Paradise.” Trisha glanced at the clock on the wall. “I need to tend to some things in the back. I’m sorry I couldn’t
be helpful, but you should forget about it.”
She would bolt any minute. Blake cleared his throat. “Did Becky ever talk about leaving Granger? We’ve heard rumors she might
have been having an affair.”
“You’re not investigating that old murder by yourselves, are you? You must have a death wish. I don’t want to be involved
in any of it.” She hustled toward the door to the back without a backward glance.
Another dead end. Paradise and Blake exited the alley, and she pointed out University Grounds. “I could use a pick-me-up.
I’d hoped for a lot more from her.” What kind of family connection could be so terrifying to Trish?
The aroma of espresso and steamed milk felt like a warm hug when Paradise stepped into the coffee shop.
They placed their orders and took their drinks outside to a patio table on the wide front porch.
Paradise nursed her mocha with tiny sips while she contemplated what to do next.
A customer across the street waved at her and another one honked as he drove by.
Little by little she was becoming part of the community again.
She set her cup on the black iron table. “Every door I go through to try to find my brother gets slammed in my face. I don’t
get it.”
Blake’s brows rose. “That same thought crossed my mind. It feels like our efforts are scattered right now too. Do we find
your brother or work on tracking down who killed your parents?”
Paradise ran her finger around the rim of her cup. She wanted both things, but it made sense to focus on one. “We have the
murder at the park to figure out too—Greene won’t get anywhere. And finding out Adams was the one who sabotaged the fence
changed everything, don’t you think? It feels like someone is trying to drive me away before I remember the night my parents
were murdered. At first I thought someone didn’t want me to find my brother, but maybe that’s not it.” She rubbed her head.
“It’s all so confusing.”
Blake reached out and took her hand. “The attacks keep coming. I’m weary, and I know you are, too, but we have to keep going
and figure this out. Someone wants you gone and the park closed. Why? We have to know or this won’t end.”
What he wasn’t saying was that Greene seemed determined to pin a crime on Blake.
The attacks on her were meant to scare her away.
If Blake ended up being charged with murder, he wouldn’t have the luxury of moving away and leaving it all behind.
“The priority is the park. I got distracted by the crazy things like the snake in my car and creepy music. That’s probably what the intruder wanted.
The future of the park rests on finding out who killed Ivy.
Greene will have you charged, tried, and convicted if we don’t figure it out. Let’s not lose our focus.”
“I’m not so sure the person after you isn’t dangerous though, babe. The snake wasn’t a prank but an effort to harm you. I’d
give up the park before I stood back and let someone hurt you. I’d even go to jail first.”
She returned his squeeze on her fingers, and her eyes burned with the effort not to cry. Blake always put the people he loved
first. His example of selflessness was something she wanted to follow. “I’ve come through it all unscathed. Here are my priorities.
One, make sure the park is safe. Two, find my brother. I can’t bring back my parents, but I can build a relationship with
my only sibling. Three, bring whoever killed my parents to justice.”
“And four, we start a new life with all this behind us.”
A smile curved her lips. “We can’t get through the others fast enough for me. I’m ready to step past all this.”
“Me too,” he said. “Me too.”
Paradise squatted beside the large red wolf, Czar, she’d just sedated. The rest of the wolf pack watched through the fence
separating her and Blake from the inner and outer perimeters of the enclosure, and the wind carried their musky scent toward
her. The winner of the fight that had caused the gash on Czar’s flank seemed particularly interested in what they were doing.
She sterilized the wound and began to suture it. “We’ll need to keep him crated with a cone for a few days. He won’t like
that.”
The call from Blake about the injured wolf had come in before six, and Paradise had rushed immediately to the enclosure.
The injury was deep and four inches long.
She finished the sutures and put a cone around his neck, then Blake eased him into the large crate.
It was sheltered from the sun by a large oak tree.
She filled a water bowl for him and planned to withhold food for a few hours until she was sure his tummy was okay from the anesthesia.
Blake embraced her and kissed the tip of her nose. “You do good work, Dr. Alden.”
She smiled and gave him a real kiss, one she felt clear down to her toes. The man had a way with kisses. Someone called his
name, and he released her with obvious reluctance to turn toward the male voice.
Clark rolled toward them in the Gator. There was a figure in the passenger seat, but the sun was in Paradise’s face and she
couldn’t see much more than it was a woman until Clark braked and she recognized the private investigator who had pretended
to be a student at TGU. Nicole Iverson held her chin up and met Paradise’s gaze with a challenging glint in her green eyes.
The green hair was gone, replaced with a more natural brown shade. And a pantsuit replaced the casual college attire she’d
worn last time.
Clark stepped from the Gator. “I found this lady wandering around in the back pasture. She’d cut the fence.” His big hands
were fisted at his sides, ready for any threat to Blake or Paradise.
“Thanks, Clark, I’ll take it from here.” Blake’s expression went grim as his gaze swung to the woman. “Still looking for oil
and gas, Ms. Iverson?”
She flinched and her smile faded at his use of her real name. She got out of her seat and stood with her shoulders squared
and her chin up. “Not gas or oil. I think you know what you have out there, Mr. Lawson. Rare earth elements.”
Paradise bit back a gasp at the woman’s knowledge of the report. Clark eyed them all before getting back in the Gator to return to his job.
Blake tensed beside her, but he studied Nicole for a long moment before he put his hands on his hips and took a step closer
to her. “Did you break into the house and see the report?”
“What? Of course not. I got the information the same way you did—with a soil sample.”
“If you already got a soil sample, why were you in the field again?”
“I wanted to see if you knew what you had yet. I saw where your soil sample had been taken, so I planned to come see you anyway
before your goon grabbed me.” She rubbed her forearm.
“Cut the act,” Blake said. “There’s nothing wrong with your arm. Clark is a good man and was doing exactly what he was hired
to do, which is take care of the property.”
Nicole dropped her hand back to her side and stared back coolly. “Is there somewhere we could go to discuss the offer I’m
prepared to make?”
“An offer for what?” Blake reached out to pull Paradise to his side. “And you can say whatever you have to say in front of
Paradise. I don’t have any secrets from her.”
Nicole pressed her lips together. “I have a serious offer to purchase your property. Fifteen million dollars.”
Blake’s arm tightened around Paradise, and she could feel the tension in his body. An offer that high had to be tempting.
They could purchase other land and build animal sheds, barns, and the other things a park would need.
He stepped back. “We aren’t interested in selling.”
“I’m sure we could raise that offer a bit. And my employer realizes the park is not doing well financially.”
“Who is your employer?”
“I’m not at liberty to say. Can you really afford to turn down an offer this high? Surely you at least want to present it
to your mother.”
“My mother wants to sell even less than I do. I don’t think any offer will sway her, but I’ll tell her about it, of course.”
Nicole extracted a business card from her leather bag and held it out. “Here’s my contact information if you change your mind.
And if you get another offer, we’d like to have the opportunity to increase ours.”
Blake took the card but stared at Nicole. “You’ve told others about the rare earth?”
She raised a brow. “Of course not, but whoever ran your tests could have told someone. News like this rarely stays secret.”
The woman slid the strap on her bag up on her shoulder and walked toward the parking lot with brisk steps.
“Well, that was a surprise,” Blake said.
“Fifteen million dollars. That’s crazy, Blake, especially since you only have 120 acres.”
“I’d like to know who her employer is.”
And Jenna would have to hear of this offer.