Chapter 1 #3
Lou glanced down at what her hands were doing and readjusted so the coffee went into the cup rather than on her feet. “Oops—thanks. Now tell me about your sister blowing up a bar.”
“Nope,” Daisy interrupted. “We need to stay on track. Tell us about last night.”
“Way to focus, Daisy,” Charlie said approvingly as she mentally switched gears.
“After Norah was banned…” She couldn’t contain another chuckle.
“Norah was banned” was not a phrase Charlie ever thought she’d say, unless it was from an Extroverts Anonymous meeting or something.
“Sorry, I just can’t get over that. Anyway, the rest of us non-banned Paxes and Pax accessories”—she gestured toward Bennett, who tipped his chin in acceptance of the term—“got a booth at Dutch’s and proceeded to talk very loudly about the key we found.
Both Dane Sanders and Eddie Cord were there, so they’re sure to have texted Jane that bit of info. ”
“Who are they?” Daisy asked.
“Zach Fridley’s minions.” When Lou and Daisy continued looking blank, Charlie elaborated. “Zach’s in prison now, but up until recently, he was Jane’s literal partner in crime.”
“Ooh,” Lou and Daisy chorused.
“But how will your mom know to come to Simpson to find you?” Lou asked.
“We had no less than five tails on our drive from Langston to Simpson,” Fifi said, and then patted Bennett’s arm. “B did a fantastic job of driving, so we didn’t lose even one of them.” Bennett accepted his wife’s praise with a tiny, pleased smile and a kiss on Fifi’s temple.
“He did great,” Charlie added, knowing there would’ve been no way she could’ve driven that slow the entire way up the mountain.
Plan or no plan, she would’ve left the tails in her dust by the time they’d reached the outskirts of Langston.
Bennett turned that small smile on her but left off the temple kiss, to Charlie’s relief.
As much as she liked her new brother-in-law, she barely hugged her own sisters.
Physical affection made her feel squirmy.
Lou paused putting all the firefighters’ drinks in carriers and rushed to look out the window. “Where are your tails hiding?” she asked.
With a shrug, Charlie took over readying the cups for travel. “Who knows? Four of the five aren’t too bright, so you’ll probably see them around town, peeking out from behind rocks and trees and road signs. The one to watch out for is Rhys Erie.”
Fifi straightened from her spot cuddled against Bennett’s side, worry creasing the skin between her eyebrows. “You spotted Rhys following us? He must be slipping.”
“Yep, I saw his green Jeep with the crooked license plate. Barely a glimpse though, so just a minor slip-up.”
“Ugh.” Fifi gave a full-body shudder. “Jeeps.”
Charlie tilted her head, eyeing her sister as Bennett wrapped an arm around Fifi, as if he was going to protect her from her hatred of a random car brand. “You know that’s a really strange aversion to have, right?”
Fifi just shuddered again as she waved off Charlie’s comment. “Rhys will bear watching.”
“On it,” chorused everyone in the coffee shop except for Fifi.
With a laugh, Charlie moved the now-full drink carriers to the counter. Giving up looking for the treasure hunters, Lou grabbed a couple and headed for the door. Without discussing it, Daisy, Fifi, and Bennett all picked up two each and followed Lou out to the parking lot.
Charlie frowned when she saw all the drinks were gone before grabbing a handful of napkins.
If there wasn’t an actual reason for her to go out to Kieran’s car, she’d make one up.
Sliding over the counter, she charged through the door after the others.
She wasn’t about to give up the opportunity to poke at Kieran as he scowled at her.
Just the thought made her grin as she stepped out into the fall sunshine.
Kieran was already backing his truck out of the parking spot, and Charlie hurled herself toward the passenger window, managing to wedge her upper body inside before he could escape. He slammed on the brakes and—she waited for it, almost trembling with anticipation—scowled.
“There it is!” Laughing triumphantly, she tucked her handful of excuse-napkins between a few of the drinks.
“Get. Off. My. Truck.” It sounded as if each word was forced between gritted teeth.
“Answer a question for me first.”
“No.”
Charlie gave him her best innocent puppy-dog eyes, a look she’d learned from Cara but that Fifi had helped her perfect. “Please? Just one?”
He turned his frown up to the ferocious setting, but it just made her smile wider.
When she didn’t move, they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.
His black-fringed eyes were as light and cold as ice, and she wanted to stare at him forever.
The thought jolted her, and she ducked her head, dropping his gaze.
Kicking herself for losing their stare-down, she was about to remove herself from his truck when he spoke—well, more like snarled. “Fine.”
Her gaze shot back to his, surprised hope flaring inside her. “Really?”
When he growled, she beamed at him.
“Which one of these coffee orders is yours?” She gestured at the sea of cups covering almost every surface in his truck.
He actually looked surprised at her choice of question, but then his scowl returned.
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning pale, and Charlie had a feeling he was about to drive away with her hanging halfway in and halfway out the window.
Instead, he grumbled, “Mocha, extra whip. Now get off.”
“Good chat. Let’s do it again soon.” A deal was a deal, so she jumped down, despite wishing she could go on staring at that hewn-from-rock face of his. “See you around!”
She was pretty sure he muttered, “Not if I see you first. Back up.”
Charlie glanced down at herself, noting that she was already well clear of his truck.
He wasn’t moving, though, so she shrugged and took a giant step back.
His scowl didn’t lighten, but he gave a tiny, tight nod before his truck’s engine roared and he shot backward, shifted into drive, and then peeled out onto the road.
He immediately braked hard again, stopping abruptly in the middle of the road.
Charlie craned her neck to see why he’d stopped so suddenly and saw a red squirrel scurry into the road, pausing right in front of Kieran’s truck to flick its tail before continuing across.
Kieran waited until the squirrel had reached the safety of a scrubby evergreen before the truck rolled forward again.
“Oh, he’s fun,” Charlie said, beaming as she watched the back of the pickup grow smaller.
And sweet, her brain added, touched by how careful he’d been not to hit the squirrel.
He’d been cautious with her too, making sure she wasn’t anywhere near his truck before he’d backed out of his parking space.
Apparently, Kieran liked her almost as much as he liked a random squirrel.
The thought wasn’t as lowering as she would’ve expected.
Fifi snorted. “And you say I’m weird.”
“I’ve never said you’re weird.” Charlie faced her sister once Kieran turned the corner and disappeared from sight.
“I said your random hatred of a certain vehicle is weird. Otherwise, you’re almost disturbingly normal.
” She saw a flicker of movement in her periphery and glanced over her shoulder.
“Hey, Dave! How’s the treasure-hunting business going? ”
“Good?” a sheepish voice came from behind the coffee shop’s dumpster.
“Glad to hear it.” Turning back to Fifi and Bennett, she asked, “Ready to go check into our honeymoon suite?”
“Murder club meeting at seven tonight,” Lou called over her shoulder as she opened the coffee shop door.
“At the gym?” Fifi asked.
“Nope, here.” Lou gestured at the building as if it were a game-show prize. “I told the owner my civic improvement group needed a place to meet, and she said we could use it.”
“Civic improvement?” Daisy repeated.
“Where’s the lie?” Lou asked, and the others looked at each other and shrugged.
A car pulled into the lot, and everyone stared suspiciously as it rolled into a parking spot, making Lou laugh. “Guys, guys—it’s a customer.”
“Oh,” Charlie said, easing up on her deadly-laser glare. “Oops.”
“Off you go,” Lou ordered. “Don’t want you scaring off the customers.”
“Since when?” Fifi asked. “I seem to remember—”
“La-la-la, can’t hear you!” Lou turned toward the woman who was warily approaching the door that Lou still blocked. “Hi, Mavis. Sorry about all the weird looks we were giving you. We’re uh…practicing for a play.”
“Oh!” The woman sounded much too interested. “A play? Can anyone audition?”
Giving them a help me look over Mavis’s head, Lou continued improvising. “It’s already cast, sorry. I can sign you up on the Simpson Drama Club email list if you like though.”
The door swung closed behind Lou and Mavis.
“Lou’s going to have to start a drama club and put on a play now, isn’t she?” Charlie asked, torn between amusement and horror at all the work in Lou’s future.
“Yep,” Fifi said matter-of-factly.
They were all quiet for a moment of sympathy before shaking it off.
“Need a ride?” Charlie asked Daisy.
“No thanks.” Daisy headed for the coffee shop door. “I still have forty-five minutes before I need to be at the gym, and I’m going to use every one of them watching Lou dig her drama-club-sized hole even bigger.”
Charlie laughed. “Enjoy.” Turning to Bennett and Fifi, she asked, “Honeymoon-suite time?”
“You do know you’re not actually going to be staying in the honeymoon suite with us, right?” Fifi asked, looking amused.
“I’m not?” Charlie put on her best shocked face. “Why not? Bennett knew when he married you that we were a package deal.”
“No, I didn’t.”
At Bennett’s interjection, Charlie turned to him. “Well, you should’ve assumed it. Fifi and I go everywhere together—trashy motels, dark back alleys, honeymoon suites…” She gave him a meaningful look, but he just sent his best deadpan stare in response.
“He called you ‘Charlotte’ up until after we were married. I doubt he had any idea what he was getting himself into,” Fifi said, heading for the left front seat.
“You don’t mind if I drive, do you, honey?
You know I love these curvy mountain roads.
” Her smile—and his return one—were full of secret meaning.
“Hmm…” Charlie frowned at Bennett in mock concern. “You’re going to have to step up your game when it comes to background checks on the women you stalk.”
“Woman,” Bennett said, finally tearing his gaze from his wife.
“What? And shotgun.” Charlie quickly slid into the front seat before Bennett could take it.
“I don’t stalk ‘women.’ Just one woman.” Leaning into Fifi’s open window, he kissed her before getting into the back seat without complaint.
Charlie twisted around so she could eye him doubtfully. “Isn’t your job basically stalking people? So approximately fifty percent of the time, you’re stalking women professionally.”
“Investigating,” Bennett corrected her. “I investigate people, and it’s more like seventy-two percent men.”
“Makes sense.” Turning back around, Charlie looked around with interest as Fifi drove through town. “Guys do tend to do shady things more often.”
His grunt could’ve been agreement or disagreement, but Charlie decided to believe he supported her theory. They’d already reached the edge of Simpson, and the road curved up and to the left. Eyeing it, Charlie started to smile.
“So, Fifi,” she said without taking her gaze off the rocky cliff rising next to the right side of the road. “Let’s see why you like driving these mountain roads so much.”
Giving Charlie a grin, Fifi took off like a shot.
“Woo-hoo!” Charlie yelled, excitement thrumming in her chest. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that even Bennett was grinning. “Your wife knows how to have a good time.”
“I know,” he said proudly.