Chapter 1
One
“Why are we in the middle of nowhere again?” Charlie asked, sucking in a breath of thin, chilly air. She was used to living at a high altitude, but this seemed excessively high. Ridiculously high. Higher than any town with actual residents should be.
“I’m sick of Mom having the advantage,” Felicity said in the overly patient tone she tended to use while explaining the same thing over and over. “She has too many friends in Langston.”
Charlie knew she was being annoying. She’d first asked that very question before they’d left home, and then again while they were going over the first pass and her phone lost service.
As she peered around the odd little mountain town—and the suspicious-looking residents glared back—she was just having a hard time seeing how being here gave them any advantage.
Fifi must’ve seen her skeptical expression because she gave a secretive little smile. “Just wait until you meet the murder ladies.”
“Okay, I am excited about that,” Charlie admitted.
Fifi and Bennett had spent some time here recently, and four local women had helped them chase a skip—and investigate the murder of Cobra Jones, a local militia leader.
Apparently, the women had done some amateur sleuthing before—enough to dub themselves the Simpson Murder Club.
Charlie found it intriguing that such a small town had enough killings to support an actual murder club.
She saw a sign for the Black Bear Inn. “Is that the place that kicked you out?”
Felicity was already headed for the coffee shop door, but Bennett gave a short nod.
“Want to burn it down later?” Charlie asked conversationally as she followed her sister into The Coffee Spot.
The corner of Bennett’s mouth twitched up in a tiny smile that Charlie took as a definite yes.
This was why she liked her new brother-in-law.
He understood that no one who hurt Fifi—or any of her sisters—should be allowed to go unpunished.
She doubted he was actually down for some arson, but she bet she could talk him into some minor graffiti, possibly an egging.
It was also nice to have him in her back pocket as someone who’d help her get rid of a body without giving her a sisterly lecture, if the need arose.
Between that and his ever-present multi-tool, he was a handy guy to have around.
Bennett proved his usefulness yet again by holding the door open for her.
Charlie gave him an absent nod of thanks as she took in the occupants of the busy shop.
There were four acting shifty that she was going to keep her eye on, plus one woman at the counter who looked a little too sweet to be authentic.
The innocent-looking ones always caused the most trouble when it came down to a tussle.
“Fifi!” The barista’s voice filled the coffee shop. “My favorite best friend!”
“I’m sitting right here, Lou,” the too-innocent-looking woman complained, although she couldn’t completely contain a laugh.
“Oops.” The barista—who was apparently the famous Lou that Fifi had told them about—attempted to look contrite, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You’re my equally favorite best friend, Daisy.”
“Uh-huh. Nice save.” Daisy was having as hard a time holding her mock-offended expression as Lou was. Turning to Felicity, Daisy smiled. “Good to see you again, Fifi.” Her gaze moved to Bennett, who’d taken a seat at the counter right next to his wife. “You too, Fifi’s stalker-husband.”
Charlie laughed. “That’s our nickname for him too!” Surging forward, she grabbed the seat between Daisy and Bennett. “I’m Fifi’s sister—her favorite sister—Charlie.”
“Charlotte,” Bennett muttered under his breath, making her poke him.
“Char-lie.” She emphasized the second syllable as Bennett and Fifi snickered, their heads together.
“Don’t worry,” Lou said as she washed her hands. “I get it. I’m a Louise on all my legal documents.”
Charlie gave her a grateful nod before shooting her sister and new brother-in-law a death glare.
Bennett was undeterred. “Charlotte Calamity.”
Scowling, Charlie said, “I liked it better when you didn’t talk.”
“Your middle name’s Calamity?” Daisy asked. “That’s amazing.”
“Mom named her perfectly,” Fifi agreed.
“Except for the Charlotte part.” Charlie made a face. Her full name sounded so proper and not-her.
“I’ll help you kneecap anyone who calls you Charlotte,” Lou promised.
Sending a sideways smirk toward Bennett, who’d suddenly sobered, Charlie gave Lou a grateful nod. “I knew I’d like you.”
“Ditto.” Lou extended her fist, and Charlie bumped it.
“Okay, down to business,” Fifi said, and Lou and Daisy leaned closer, their eyes alight with interest.
“Yes, tell us everything.” Lou leaned on her forearms, close enough to Fifi that she could keep her voice low. “You were extremely and unhelpfully vague on the phone. Who’s your latest skip? How can we help?”
“Our mom,” Fifi said.
Before she could elaborate, Lou jumped in again. “Your mom? She’s here?”
“Not yet.” Charlie grinned, pulling out the key she’d found in her mom’s closet. “But she will be.”
The door jangled as a customer entered. Charlie glanced over automatically at the sound, closing her fingers protectively around the key, but then she did a double take.
The man striding toward them was out-of-this-world gorgeous—all muscles and bad attitude, wrapped in a black “Field County Fire Department” T-shirt.
His thickly lashed blue eyes stood out dramatically against his tan skin and black-as-night hair, his gaze spitting fire and ill-temper at everyone in the shop.
“Holy moly,” Charlie muttered, resisting the urge to fan herself.
“You’re not kidding,” Lou said just as quietly. “Here comes trouble.” Straightening, she put on a customer-service smile. “Hey, Kieran. What can I get you?”
In response, he thrust a sheet of paper at her. Lou stared at the list with such a horrified expression that Charlie was intrigued.
“What is it?” She craned her neck, trying to read what was on the paper. “A robbery note?”
Kieran snapped his head to the side so he could pin her with the full force of his glare.
Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t easily pinned—especially when she was curious.
Popping up onto the counter, she pivoted around on her butt so she could swing her legs over and hop down next to Lou, who stared at her with envy.
“You made that look so easy,” Lou complained, the note forgotten in her hand. “I’ve attempted jumping over the counter during customer lulls, and it’s always ended in tears and/or broken things.”
“I’ll coach you,” Charlie promised, tugging the paper out of Lou’s grip. Running her gaze over the scribbles, she frowned. “This is just a coffee order.”
“A big coffee order,” Lou corrected, a note of tragedy entering her voice. “A humungous coffee order. What is this?” Glaring at Kieran, she pinched the paper, pulling it from Charlie’s grip and holding it away from her like it smelled.
“Coffee maker at the station broke.” Kieran’s voice sounded like he gargled with whisky and broken glass every morning, and the baritone rasp sent a funny little shiver down Charlie’s spine.
Cocking her head, she eyed the firefighter curiously, trying to figure out why the grumpy, muscly guy had caught her attention.
She was used to hanging out with cranky, hot guys since her sisters—except for Molly—seemed to share a type. Despite this, Kieran was…intriguing.
He met her gaze and dialed his glare up to eleven, and Charlie started to grin. He was so cranky and delicious—who knew that the mountains held such a delight? His scowl shifted to bafflement as their stare-off continued, and he seemed almost relieved when he turned his attention to a wilting Lou.
“This is going to take hours,” Lou warned. “Am I going to have a horde of caffeine-deprived, ill-tempered firefighters descending on me in fifteen minutes, demanding their beverage of choice? Because listening to those drama queens whine is not going to work for me.”
Kieran gave an audible huff and yanked out his phone, stabbing at the screen like it was the cause of all his woes. Charlie realized that she was leaning closer to where he stood on the other side of the counter. There was something about the guy that made her want to push all his buttons.
“They won’t come here,” he barked in that raspy voice before meeting Charlie’s gaze again. “What?” His glare was a challenge, one she was all too happy to meet.
“You’re mesmerizing,” she said, unable to stop smiling at him.
She hadn’t expected to be so entertained in this tiny town, and finding someone new who reacted so dramatically to her teasing delighted her.
Her sisters—and most everyone who knew her, honestly—had learned to ignore the more outrageous things that came out of her mouth, but here was a gorgeous firefighter whose temper flared higher with each of her quips. It was exhilarating.
He managed to hold on to his scowl, but Charlie could tell it was an effort, which only made her grin widen. She knew her dimples were in full effect, giving her an innocent, sweet appearance that her twin Cara deserved but Charlie absolutely did not.
“Tell me you’re featured front and center in the local firefighter calendar.”
“Nope,” Lou said absently, already organizing empty cups in an assembly-line fashion.
“He refuses. There was even a petition with eighty-seven signatures demanding that he participate, but nope. He wasn’t swayed by community pressure—and that sort of petition doesn’t have any legal weight, unfortunately. ”
“Hmm…” Charlie hummed, her eyes on his torso, making it obvious she was mentally peeling off his shirt. From that five-o’clock shadow, she was guessing he had a nicely furred, werewolf-esque chest.
“Was that a murder-club petition?” Fifi asked, hiding her laughter very poorly. Even Bennett was snickering.