Chapter 3
Hattie
Present
The drive from Arizona was incredibly long, but a new case always energized me, and summer here seemed amazing.
Arizona’s heat was completely different from Oregon’s.
Granted, neither place was what I’d call cool, but here, at least, I felt like I could breathe.
Arizona had been over a hundred and ten degrees every day, and it felt like I was baking from the inside out.
Here, it wasn’t even ninety-five, and there were towering trees everywhere — real shade.
However, in the evening, I loved the reprieve that night brought to the desert in Arizona.
My guess was that the temperatures here didn’t drop quite like they did there.
I had learned in my travels over the years that each place was different.
You had to appreciate them all as unique experiences or you’d drive yourself crazy.
I’d first driven through the town of Briar Falls to get a quick look at the landmarks that had been mentioned in the case files before taking a trip out to the area where Allison Finch’s car had been found.
The case was eerily similar to my sister’s, which is why I chose it.
Every week, I’d get comments or posts on my podcast suggesting new cases, and I usually had moderators who sorted through them.
When the podcast would close out a case and we’d move on, we typically looked for ones that fit a certain criterion, but this time, I couldn’t help but notice the echoes of Jane’s car left behind and the unanswered questions I still had.
After a quick look at the spot where her car was found and the town of Briar Falls, I picked a nearby town that had a real grocery store and a possible place to stay.
My rule was never to stay in a motel or any place I was investigating if it could be avoided, especially in a small town.
It just wasn’t a good idea for a variety of reasons.
There was always a risk of conflict when interviewing people, and things could go wrong.
It had only happened once that someone followed me back to a motel, but that was enough to make me cautious.
Wildwood Meadows was adorable and close enough to travel back and forth to both my locations for investigative purposes, and now I might even get a chance at some company.
I cast a sideways glance at the man-candy walking beside me. During my detour through the grocery store, I took the opportunity to look up not only the cabins through a property search but also to send his name to my hacker squad for some background info.
While I waited, I figured I might as well make the most of the chance he gave.
He was gorgeous to look at, all muscles with his t-shirt stretched tight over his shoulders, and forearms so veiny that my panties practically melted right off.
Rugged, outdoorsy, and brawny were definitely words I’d use for him, and you could cut yourself on that jaw.
Damn, he was just a little too good-looking.
I bet women around this town were tripping over themselves trying to get into his pants.
“Here we are.” He laid a warm palm on the center of my back, right where the edge of my tank rode up, sending a shiver down my spine.
God, I was a sucker for that in the movies, and it was even better in person.
He pulled out one of the sidewalk cafe tables for me.
There were cute striped umbrellas that provided plenty of shade, and even though I’d been sitting for a long time, I still wasn’t too upset to find myself at a table with Kipp as Fish flounced over to a water bowl near the front of the shop and gulped from it greedily, making droplets fly as he slurped before returning to collapse under the table.
Chapter & Crumb looked like it was a combo coffee shop and bookstore. I was getting my bearings when a woman in an oversized t-shirt that said “I’m Friends With A Monstera” fairly skipped out of the shop’s open door, a giant smile on her face and her eyes honed on Kipp.
Pinching my mouth shut, I hoped she wasn’t a current girlfriend or anything. Talk about awkward. Not that we’d gone into specifics, but I thought he was flirting earlier. Maybe I’d been wrong.
“Kippers!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “How nice to see you.”
To his credit, he didn’t seem perturbed at all by her overt display, squeezing her tight and lifting her so her pink Crocs left the ground. “Poison Ivy, did you need a little caffeine break, or were you in there talking to Lila?”
“I got an iced tea, but Lila isn’t here.
” She pushed a piece of her auburn hair back under her headband.
“So, who’s this then?” Fish panted against her hand, and she patted him absently while he gave her a lick.
She cocked her head at me in question, her eyes bouncing between the two of us. “Are you on a date?”
“Kippers?” I snorted. “I’m not sure what to do with that. Hi, I’m Hattie.” I shook the hand she offered, feeling somehow charmed by her.
“This is one of my sisters, Sage.” He slung an arm over her shoulder. “She’s impossible sometimes, but I love her anyway.” He kissed the top of her head, squishing her against his bigger body, so she struggled a little as she tried to push him off.
I’d been wondering whether the woman was an old flame or a current one.
Sister was much better. They looked nothing alike next to each other.
Kipp had almost blonde hair and a face that could almost be Viking-esque, while Sage was petite and curvy with auburn hair that curled every which way and freckles.
She was beautiful, but I wouldn’t have paired them as siblings in my wildest dreams.
“Well, nice to meet you, Hattie. I recommend everything Lila serves. Maybe we’ll see you around.”
“Never know. I’m going to be staying up at your brother’s cabins.” I gave him a wide smile as Sage clapped her hands together like I just gave her the best Christmas gift.
“Really?” Her eyes shifted between her brother and me. “That’s amazing. Then I’ll definitely see you again. Can’t wait. Toodles. My plants are calling. Bye, Fish.” She bent to pat the dog.
Without saying another word, she took off down the street. Turning to Kipp, I quirked an eyebrow at him. “She seems nice.”
“Sage is the best. To be fair, all my brothers and sisters are pretty great. We got lucky that way. All of us, except Chloe, are fost-adopted, and we clicked together like we were meant to be family from the start. Should we go in and pick a few things?” he asked.
He took my hand in his, fingers intertwining with mine as the tough callouses brushed against my softer skin.
It eased some of the sting I felt when he mentioned siblings, and he casually shared personal information about himself as if it was nothing, leaving me dizzy.
I had so many questions, but now I understood why they didn’t look alike.
Focusing on his hand, I let him pull me forward. “Fish, stay.”
The inside looked exactly like I expected from the window displays.
On one side was an adorable bookshop with rows and rows of bookshelves with cutesy signs that made you want to dive in and explore, and on the other side was an inviting coffee shop.
There was a chalkboard menu up on the wall with specials for the day, listing all sorts of coffees, teas, and pastries.
“Do you have any recommendations?” I asked as we wandered up to the counter.
“As Sage said, everything I’ve had here is amazing, but the owner is engaged to my brother, so I might be a little biased. One of my other sisters also works here, making some of the pastries, so I pretty much like everything. I don’t think you’ll find anything that doesn’t taste good.”
Predictably, Kipp also knew the person at the counter. “Mia, this is Hattie. She’s going to be around for a bit. I hope so anyway.”
Mia was almost fairy-like with pink-tipped hair and a shy smile as she greeted Kipp and me.
“Well, I think you’ll like it here. This is an awesome place. Welcome to town. What brings you our way? You doing some vacationing?” she asked as she began to plate up our order.
She dished up a confetti sprinkle cupcake Kipp had ordered, which I found myself curiously interested in.
I’d really thought he was more of a coffee and granola sort of guy, but the sprinkles were throwing me off.
It was a perfectly innocent question, one I’d expected to come up, but the way Kipp raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for my answer, made it obvious he was more than intrigued by what my response would be.
This was typically where I lost people. Some were super interested, and some thought it was weird, but I’d learned a long time ago not to give two shits about the people who dismissed my work. The ones who were too interested … well, those I shucked off like shit on the bottom of my shoe.
“I’m a podcaster.” Mia’s eyes lit with interest, but it was Kipp, whose entire body had tilted towards me, those muscles flexing, who had my attention.
Another customer came up behind us, and she gave us an apologetic smile.
“Hi, Janice. I’ll be right with you. If you guys need something else, give me a wave from outside. I can come on out.”
“Thanks, Mia. Come on, Hattie. I want to hear all about your podcasting, and I’ll tell you what I do.” He looked a little mournfully at all the items on the counter before piling his cupcake next to my scone.
Fish was plopped sound asleep under one of the sidewalk tables, his face completely relaxed, only opening one eyeball to see who was scraping back the chairs before flopping his head back onto the pavement.
“A guard dog he is not,” Kipp answered ruefully. “So … podcasting. Tell me more. What brings you to our little town?”
Taking a sip of my iced coffee, I contemplated the fork in the road, but he was too genuine for me to lie.
And I wasn’t joking when I said I was going to stay at his cabins.
They were nice—more than nice. My life wasn’t typical when it came to meeting men, so relationships weren’t in the cards, but every once in a while, I’d indulge in a hookup here or there.
A girl had needs, after all. Kipp Holt seemed like he might be willing to help me out with that.
“I’m a true crime podcaster.” There was the slightest widening of his eyes—that hint of surprise followed by the tightening around his mouth of displeasure and disapproval.
Uh oh. Immediately, I knew he wasn’t on board.
That probably blew any chance at finding out how he was in the sack.
“That’s my full-time gig.” Bending into my scone to take a big bite, I couldn’t hold back the little moan. “Wow, these are …”
“Yeah, they’re something.” He leaned back a little, but he kept his eyes on me as I caught a crumb with my tongue, and I saw the flash of heat in his eyes.
“That crunchy sugar on the top. My sister calls it pearl sugar. I love that stuff.” He cleared his throat.
“So, true crime. That’s interesting. You on a case here then?
” There was some nonchalance in his tone, but I read him easily. He wasn’t impressed.
He swiped his finger through the frosting of his cupcake and licked it off in the most lascivious way possible, which made my core tighten.
Something told me this man would rock a woman’s world in the sack.
Too bad that possibility had sailed. I didn’t do regrets, and while he might be attracted to me physically, that wasn’t enough.
“Yep. There’s a case I’m thinking of investigating nearby. So, what do you do?”
It was time to change the subject so all the attention wasn’t just on me. Not that it wasn’t nice talking to a local, but I was more interested in learning about him than using him as a source. Still, I wasn’t sure that was going to happen anymore.